Angel Reese, Brittney Griner, and Sabrina Ionescu headline the list of Unrivaled players who won’t be participating in the 1-on-1 tournament.
MEDLEY, FLORIDA — Unrivaled has officially unveiled the details for its 1-on-1 tournament, which will begin on Feb. 10 and feature 30 of the WNBA’s best players.
That list excludes five current Unrivaled players: Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Stefanie Dolson, and Courtney Vandersloot. Relief players Natisha Hiedeman and NaLyssa Smith, signed last minute on temporary contracts to help mitigate injuries, also won’t be participating.
Outside of those five, every other WNBA star currently competing in the new professional women’s 3-on-3 basketball league will play in the single-elimination 1-on-1 tournament, which begins on Feb. 10. That list includes stars like league co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, as well as dozens of All-Stars like Kahleah Copper, Satou Sabally, and Alyssa Thomas.
Alex Bazzell, the president of Unrivaled (and Collier’s husband), told SB Nation that when the idea of the tournament was first conceived, he turned to Stewart for her input.
“Listen, you talk about brand risk… I’m like, ‘Well, let me just go straight to Stewie and see what she thinks,’” Bazzell said. “She’s like, ‘No, I want to play. I’m tired of people debating like I’m not the best player.’”
Bazzell also said some players have a clause in their Unrivaled contracts that exempts them from participating.
How the 1-on-1 tournament will work
The tournament will work as follows: on Feb. 10, a single-elimination first round will begin that is made up of 14 1-on-1 games. The following day, Feb. 11, will feature 12 single-elimination games — all of Monday’s winners.
Then, on Feb. 14, the four remaining players will compete in the semi-finals (also following a single-elimination format) as well as a best-of-three Finals. Games will be played to 11 points, or 10 minutes — whichever occurs first. There will be an 11-second shot clock, and games will follow traditional scoring rules, with a two-point shot counting as two points, and a three-point shot counting as three points.
A hefty tournament cash prize
Advancing in the 1-on-1 tournament is in players’ financial interest. Final Four players will each get $25,000, while the tournament runner-up will make $50,000. The tournament winner will earn $200,000, and each of their Unrivaled teammates will be awarded $10,000 as well.
“There’s still a team camaraderie perspective — where you may be eliminated, but your teammate keeps advancing,” Bazzell said. “Inevitably you want to root them on — not just for personal reasons, but also there’s an incentive for you if your teammate wins the ultimate cash prize.”
Fans will help determine player seeding
From Jan. 3 to Feb. 2, fans will be able to vote for player seedings in order to form first-round match-ups. Players have been split into the following pods four pods, in order to evenly distribute talents, per Unrivaled.
Pod A
- Shakira Austin – Lunar Owls
- Rae Burrell – Vinyl
- Natasha Cloud – Phantom
- Chelsea Gray – Rose
- Jewell Loyd – Mist
- Azurá Stevens – Rose
- Alyssa Thomas – Laces
- 8th Seed – BYE
Pod B
- Napheesa Collier – Lunar Owls
- Tiffany Hayes – Laces
- Rhyne Howard – Vinyl
- Lexie Hull – Rose
- Rickea Jackson – Mist
- Katie Lou Samuelson – Phantom
- Courtney Williams – Lunar Owls
- Jackie Young – Laces
Pod C
- Aliyah Boston – Vinyl
- Jordin Canada – Vinyl
- Kahleah Copper – Rose
- Aaliyah Edwards – Mist
- Allisha Gray – Lunar Owls
- Marina Mabrey – Phantom
- Kate Martin – Laces
- Breanna Stewart – Mist
Pod D
- DiJonai Carrington – Mist
- Skylar Diggins- Smith – Lunar Owls
- Dearica Hamby – Vinyl
- Kayla McBride – Laces
- Arike Ogunbowale – Vinyl
- Satou Sabally – Phantom
- Brittney Sykes – Rose
- 8th Seed – BYE
Fans will vote on players from 1-8, and first-round match-ups will be determined from there.
