Unrivaled’s second annual 1-on-1 tournament continues Friday as action continues in the highly-anticipated event. While last year’s inaugural edition featured a number of stunning upsets, seven of the top-eight seeds advanced this time around, including all four No. 1 seeds: Kelsey Mitchell, Paige Bueckers, Allisha Gray and Breanna Stewart.
The only top-eight seed to lose in the first round was Rhyne Howard, who fell in a narrow contest to Rae Burrell.
The action will resume Friday with the single-elimination second round and quarterfinals, as the 16 remaining players compete for their share of a $300,000 prize pool.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament predictions: Experts make picks as stars square off
Jack Maloney
Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier, who defeated Aaliyah Edwards in the championship to win the inaugural event last year, is not be back to defend her crown. She underwent surgery on both ankles in January and will not participate in any Unrivaled activities this season. Edwards is back, however, and defeated Dominique Malonga in her first-round matchup.
Ahead of Friday night, here’s everything you need to know about Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament.
Schedule
Second round and quarterfinals
- Friday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. ET — TNT / truTV / HBO Max
Semifinals and championship
- Saturday, Feb. 14, 6 p.m. ET — TNT / tru TV / HBO Max
Bracket
Unrivaled expanded to six teams and 48 players this season, but only 32 were initially scheduled to participate in the 1-on-1 tournament. The players were split into four, eight-player pods based on position. Fans, players, coaches and media then voted to determine the seeding in each pod.
Due to withdrawals, however, only 27 players ended up competing. Skylar Diggins, Jordin Canada, Kahleah Copper, Rickea Jackson and Alyssa Thomas all dropped out. Laeticia Amihere, who was briefly set to replace Thomas, ended up backing out at the last minute. Additionally, Tiffany Hayes was replaced by Aziaha James.
Here’s a look at the updated bracket:
Unrivaled
Second round matchups
Pod A
- No. 1 Kelsey Mitchell vs. No. 5 Veronica Burton
- No. 2 Kelsey Plum vs. No. 7 Natisha Hiedeman
Pod B
- No. 1 Paige Bueckers vs. No. 4 Arike Ogunbowale
- No. 2 Chelsea Gray vs. No. 3 Jackie Young
Pod C
- No. 1 Allisha Gray vs. No. 8 Saniya Rivers
- No. 6 Sonia Citron vs. No. 7 Rae Burrell
Pod D
- No. 1 Breanna Stewart vs. No. 4 Aliyah Boston
- No. 2 Aaliyah Edwards vs. No. 6 Shakira Austin
First round results
Pod A
Pod B
Pod C
Pod D
Rules
Here’s a rundown of the key rules for the 1-on-1 tournament:
- The first four rounds (through the semifinals) will be single-elimination, with games played to 11 points, by 2s and 3s, or 10 minutes, whichever comes first
- The championship will be a best-of-three series, with games played to eight points, by 2s and 3s, or 10 minutes, whichever comes first
- Make-it, take-it. If a player scores, they get the ball back
- Seven-second shot clock
- Shooting fouls result in only one free throw, which is worth the number of points as the attempted shot
Prize pool
The full prize pool for this year’s event is $300,000.
The winner will take home $200,000, the runner-up will receive $50,000 and the two semifinalists who are eliminated in that round will get $25,000.
