Tarsis comes up spades in absolute
First day of World Cup JJ Pro is over -- but not without lots of action and upsets
By Luca Atalla
Friday night was going great for Braulio Estima. On the first day of the World Pro JJ Cup, in Abu Dhabi, the Brazilian from Pernambuco state met with success after success, especially against opponents from rival Alliance. His first victim was Fabio Gurgel, in the under 95kg category. A sweep early on guaranteed Carcara’s move into the semis, which will be disputed this Saturday. The next challenge was the absolute.
After going past Rafael Lovato Jr, Braulio was spared a tough Alexandre de Souza, who wasn’t feeling well and dropped out of the dispute. The substitution, however, came as bad news for Estima. His next adversary was none other than Marcelo Garcia, back in sport Jiu-Jitsu after a two-year lay-off. Marcelo had just finished off Braulio’s brother, Victor, with a choke from the back. In a sort of familial revenge, Carcara gave a choke right back, but by way of a slick triangle a little over two minutes into the bout.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the bracket, Alliance was ruling the roost. Gabriel Vella and Tarsis Humphreys tore through adversaries until meeting in the semifinal. Tarsis overcame Tiago Braga and eeked by Zumbi Lara. In the quarters, Tarsis overcame a game Bento Ribeiro before coming up against Vella, who was coming off of wins over Anthony Peroshi, Edmilson Conceicao and Victor Costa. The semifinal between teammates didn’t happen and the decision as to who would go ahead took into account the last Capital Challenge championship, held in Jordan, at the end of 2008. On the occasion, Tarsis opened the way for Vella.
When the final began, a minority among those present at the Tennis Court da Zayed Sports City believed the Paulista could triumph over the absolute European champion. And Tarsis knew it. “I know my recent results were not ideal, but I suffered injuries in 2008 and needed to reformulate my training regimen. But I always believed in my Jiu-Jitsu,” assessed Humphreys, revealing how he paid closer attention to physical preparation: “I started training in Sao Paulo with Edmilson Dantas, who is the coach of Brazil’s Olympic weight lifting team.”
In the final, Braulio took the lead with a sweep, but was unable to develop his game, trapped in the Fabio Gurgel student’s formidable guard. A foot attack yielded an advantage for Tarsis, who needed two points to take the lead. With only 40 seconds left, Braulio was punished for a lack of combativeness and needed to get moving. That opened up the room Humphreys needed to go for a sweep, with less the ten seconds remaining. The strategy paid off and the ref ended the match designating two points and the win to Tarsis by advantage. In good cheer, Gurgel joked: “I told Braulio his house would cave in at the worst moment.”
The Pernambucan complained about the refereeing, for the penalty incurred and for thinking the sweep had not been stabilized for three seconds. But, in the end, he recognized he didn’t put up in the final what he’d been showing throughout the day: “I had everything under control throughout the championship, accept in the final five seconds.”
The World Pro JJ Cup carries on this Sunday, with the semifinals and finals of each category, for all belt groupings, white to blue, as well as purple, brown and black. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for find out about everything going on in Abu Dhabi.
First day of World Cup JJ Pro is over -- but not without lots of action and upsets
By Luca Atalla
Friday night was going great for Braulio Estima. On the first day of the World Pro JJ Cup, in Abu Dhabi, the Brazilian from Pernambuco state met with success after success, especially against opponents from rival Alliance. His first victim was Fabio Gurgel, in the under 95kg category. A sweep early on guaranteed Carcara’s move into the semis, which will be disputed this Saturday. The next challenge was the absolute.
After going past Rafael Lovato Jr, Braulio was spared a tough Alexandre de Souza, who wasn’t feeling well and dropped out of the dispute. The substitution, however, came as bad news for Estima. His next adversary was none other than Marcelo Garcia, back in sport Jiu-Jitsu after a two-year lay-off. Marcelo had just finished off Braulio’s brother, Victor, with a choke from the back. In a sort of familial revenge, Carcara gave a choke right back, but by way of a slick triangle a little over two minutes into the bout.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the bracket, Alliance was ruling the roost. Gabriel Vella and Tarsis Humphreys tore through adversaries until meeting in the semifinal. Tarsis overcame Tiago Braga and eeked by Zumbi Lara. In the quarters, Tarsis overcame a game Bento Ribeiro before coming up against Vella, who was coming off of wins over Anthony Peroshi, Edmilson Conceicao and Victor Costa. The semifinal between teammates didn’t happen and the decision as to who would go ahead took into account the last Capital Challenge championship, held in Jordan, at the end of 2008. On the occasion, Tarsis opened the way for Vella.
When the final began, a minority among those present at the Tennis Court da Zayed Sports City believed the Paulista could triumph over the absolute European champion. And Tarsis knew it. “I know my recent results were not ideal, but I suffered injuries in 2008 and needed to reformulate my training regimen. But I always believed in my Jiu-Jitsu,” assessed Humphreys, revealing how he paid closer attention to physical preparation: “I started training in Sao Paulo with Edmilson Dantas, who is the coach of Brazil’s Olympic weight lifting team.”
In the final, Braulio took the lead with a sweep, but was unable to develop his game, trapped in the Fabio Gurgel student’s formidable guard. A foot attack yielded an advantage for Tarsis, who needed two points to take the lead. With only 40 seconds left, Braulio was punished for a lack of combativeness and needed to get moving. That opened up the room Humphreys needed to go for a sweep, with less the ten seconds remaining. The strategy paid off and the ref ended the match designating two points and the win to Tarsis by advantage. In good cheer, Gurgel joked: “I told Braulio his house would cave in at the worst moment.”
The Pernambucan complained about the refereeing, for the penalty incurred and for thinking the sweep had not been stabilized for three seconds. But, in the end, he recognized he didn’t put up in the final what he’d been showing throughout the day: “I had everything under control throughout the championship, accept in the final five seconds.”
The World Pro JJ Cup carries on this Sunday, with the semifinals and finals of each category, for all belt groupings, white to blue, as well as purple, brown and black. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for find out about everything going on in Abu Dhabi.
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