Lightweight GP winner Leandro Lo : the São Paulo native will now compete in the Middleweight GP. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com.
This Saturday, June 30, in Rio de Janeiro, the promoters of the Copa Pódio Jiu-Jitsu tournament will be holding the draw to determine the matchups for the opening phase of the Middleweight GP. The matchmaking will be done by random pick at a swanky ceremony at Academia Delfim, in the Tijuca borough of the city.
Besides the competitors in the GP, the stars of the two supermatches will be there: Cláudio Caloquinha, Michael Langhi, Guto Campos and Raphael Abi-Rihan. The latter two will be paying close attention to the match between Wancler Oliveira and Tarsis Humphreys that will take place just after the draw and will determine the challenger in the December Heavyweight GP supermatch.
There will also be a second supermatch, between Diogo Almeida and Victor Bonfim, to determine who gets the final berth in the Middleweight GP.
The draw will divide up the ten athletes into two groups—the green and the yellow. Over the opening stage of the competition, every competitor in each group will face off against each other in six-minute bouts. A win yields three (3) points, while a draw nets one (1) point to each athlete. Following the final round of the phase, the two athletes with the highest point count move on to the semifinals.
The criteria for tie-breaking, in order of priority, are: 1) Direct match result; 2) Number of finishes; 3) Overall balance (points scored / points scored against); 4) And as a last resort, an extra, tie-breaking match.
Starting with the semifinals the match duration will be ten (10) minutes, with only submissions counting during the first five, after which traditional IBJJF point-scoring criteria will apply.
The group-draw event is set for the coming 30th at 6pm and will be broadcast online via the official event website: www.jiujitsuesportivo.com.br
Check out the event promo video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Lr7cmV1bw
