Unrivaled’s inaugural 1-on-1 tournament started this week, and despite some bumps, it turned out to be a fun experiment for the players and fans. The league had to condense the bracket after several players dropped out because of “lingering injuries and to prioritize player well-being for regular-season games,” and the tournament’s atmosphere could be improved by letting fans in on any trash talk happening on the court. But the games were fun, and the players were clearly all in on winning their games.
The players were candid about their motivation in the tournament — it’s the money. The winner will get $200,000, and each of her clubmates will get $10,000. The runner-up gets $50,000. Each of the semifinalists is guaranteed at least $25,000. As semifinalist Aaliyah Edwards is on her rookie contract for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA, the top prize is more than double her reported salary of $73,499. Even for the players who are veterans with bigger contracts, $200K is still a considerable chunk of change.
That motivation opened the door for some memorable moments in the first, second and quarterfinal rounds of the tournament.
Edwards had a solid rookie year, starting 17 games for Washington and playing for Canada in the 2024 Olympics. However, injuries hampered her success last summer, and she was given a No. 8 seed on the bracket. But in the 1-on-1 tournament, Edwards has shown she is not a player to look past. It started with an upset of her Mist teammate — and two-time WNBA MVP — Breanna Stewart in less than two minutes. In the next round, she knocked out Allisha Gray in another upset.
“I don’t think I focus on people being surprised at the fact that I’m playing well,” Edwards told reporters in Miami. “I’m just focusing on trusting in my work and making sure to do whatever it takes me to win. I’ve always been that type of player. I’ve always just tried to be a smaller player. So I think just now people are realizing it. But you know, I’m not gonna get a hot head or anything like that. I’m going to stay true to who I am and how my parents raised me, and just be that greedy player.”
#8 SEED AALIYAH EDWARDS IS THE FIRST SEMI-FINALIST
Aaliyah Edwards upsets Allisha Gray 12 😶🌫️ – 6 🦉 pic.twitter.com/axI1l22uop
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) February 12, 2025
“People sleep on Aaliyah [Edwards],” said Arike Ogunbowale, Edwards’ next opponent in the semifinals. “I’ve been watching her and she’s moving for being a post. She’s got a package on offense that I got to be ready for, but she has to guard me too.”
Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier play together both on the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA and the Lunar Owls in Unrivaled. However, that friendship was put to the side with money on the line in a quarterfinal game. Williams had to win a physical game over Rhyne Howard to get there, while Collier had to beat out Rickea Jackson. Williams was her usual crafty self on defense, but Collier, who’s an Unrivaled co-founder alongside Stewart, was too good. She won 12-4, and the two immediately hugged when the game ended.
Azurá Stevens also had to beat a WNBA teammate to get to the semifinals, barely allowing Los Angeles teammate Rae Burrell to get any shots off in a 12-2 win.
Former WNBA teammates Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally played in the final quarterfinal on Tuesday night. The pair have played together for four years in Dallas, though Sabally was traded to Phoenix in the offseason. Sabally went 2-11 from the field, opening the door for Ogunbowale to win 12-8 in a physical matchup.
“Of course there’s some bragging rights,” Ogunbowale said afterward. “We were teammates for a long time and I got a lot of respect for Satou for sure and I wish her the best in the future, but I had to get the win.”
The tournament will wrap up on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, with two semifinals and three finals games. The big difference between these 1-on-1 games and what the players are used to, whether that’s 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 games, is that there are no breaks. There’s no one to pass to, and there’s no one coming in to substitute in. Conditioning is huge, as well as the ability to start strong. As Stewart found out against Edwards, a hot opponent can get to 11 very quickly.
Stevens and Collier will face off in one of the semifinals. They know each other well, as they played together at UConn before heading to the WNBA. Standing at 6-foot-6, Stevens has the considerable height advantage, and she’s shown throughout the tournament that she has the speed and agility to get to the basket. Collier is the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and was dominant as she took out Katie Lou Samuelson, Rickea Jackson and Courtney Williams to get to the semifinals. She can score from anywhere on the court, which could neutralize Stevens’ height advantage.
“I’ll definitely have to do something different I did in the other rounds because she is really long,” Collier said of Stevens. “I’m going to have to move her and try to go under her and play really good defense, but one step closer to the final.”
“It’s going to be an exciting matchup”
Z and Phee face off on Friday, Feb 14th, in the Semifinals 👑 pic.twitter.com/91ri9DoexS
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) February 12, 2025
The other semifinal features Ogunbowale and Edwards. Ogunbowale is the only guard to make the semifinals, and she gives up seven inches in height to Edwards. But Ogunbowale is a strong, muscular guard who doesn’t get pushed around under the basket. She’s a shooter who will shoot from anywhere, and if she gets hot early, the game will be over quickly for Edwards. Edwards will have to continue to do what she has been doing throughout the tournament. She wasn’t intimidated by Stewart or Gray, despite all they’ve accomplished, and Edwards needs to view Ogunbowale the same way.
After the semifinals, the two winners will play a best-of-three series to decide who wins the $200,000.
Azurá Stevens, Napheesa Collier, Aaliyah Edwards and Arike Ogunbowale advanced to Friday’s semifinals
Aaliyah Edwards, upset machine
Teammates faced off for some memorable games
What’s next for Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament
Edwards, Collier among those to reach Unrivaled 1-on-1 semis
Eighth-seeded Aaliyah Edwards advanced to the semifinals of the Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament by beating Allisha Gray in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.
Edwards, who had the most surprising win of the opening round by shutting out top seed Breanna Stewart, had a bye in the second round. Having the extra rest certainly helped against Gray, who beat Kahleah Copper in the second round.
“Shouldn’t be surprised,” Edwards said. “Played my first year in the league, now I’m tapping into myself, and the confidence is showing and the work is showing.”
She’ll be joined in the semifinals Friday night by two other ex-UConn players — Napheesa Collier and Azura Stevens. The former college teammates will face off in one of the matchups. Edwards will play Arike Ogunbowale in the other contest.
By reaching the semifinals, each of the four players is guaranteed $25,000. The winner of the tournament will receive $200,000 and the runner-up gets $50,000. The winner’s Unrivaled teammates each get $10,000.
The finals will be a best-of-three series with the winning score for each game at 11. Each game has traditional scoring with baskets worth either two or three points. Rounds up until the final are single-elimination.
Three of the four quarterfinals matchups featured WNBA teammates. Collier advanced to the semis by beating her Unrivaled and Minnesota Lynx partner Courtney Williams 12-4. Stevens beat her Los Angeles Sparks teammate Rae Burrell 12-2. Ogunbowale topped her former Dallas Wings partner Satou Sabally. Sabally was traded to Phoenix earlier this month.
Ogunbowale went up 8-0 and then held on for a 12-8 victory.
Both the second round and quarterfinals were played Tuesday night.
The best game of the second round was Rhyne Howard against Williams. Howard was down 8-0 before scoring nine straight points to take a 9-8 lead. Williams got a stop and then got fouled shooting a 3-pointer. She made the free throw to win the game and set up the matchup with Collier in the quarterfinals.
Other players who reached the second round included Jewell Loyd, Shakira Austin, Rickea Jackson, Skylar Diggins-Smith and DiJonai Carrington.
The one-on-one tournament, which tipped off Monday night, featured 23 of the 36 players in the league. Some had to drop out because of injuries before playing their first-round game.
ESPN
Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament: Napheesa Collier, Arike Ogunbowale headline final four Friday
MEDLEY, Fla. – Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 women’s basketball tournament concludes Friday night as four players have a chance to win $200,000 and bragging rights heading into the 2025 WNBA season.
Napheesa Collier (Unrivaled’s Lunar Owls, WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx) beat her fellow Connecticut standout Azurá Stevens (Rose, Los Angeles Sparks) 11-2 in the second semifinal match to reach the final.
Aaliyah Edwards (Mist, Washington Mystics) beat Arike Ogunbowale (Vinyl, Dallas Wings) 11-2 in the first semifinal match.
The winners of both semifinals will advance to the best-of-three finals later Friday night, where the winner takes a majority of the $350,000 prize money.
Here’s everything you need to know about Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament, and stay tuned for live updates from USA TODAY Sports tonight:
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT and TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.
Watch: Unrivaled games on Sling TV
Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.
The winner of the 1-on-1 tournament will win $200,000, the runner-up will receive $50,000, and the other two semifinalists will take away $25,000. Each club teammate of the winner will also receive $10,000.
Here’s the quarterfinal results from Tuesday night:
Here are results of the second-round games Tuesday night:
Unrivaled announced Sunday night that the following players won’t participate due to injury: Tiffany Hayes, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Natasha Cloud, Brittney Sykes, Kate Martin and Marina Mabrey.
Angel Reese, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Stefanie Dolson and Cameron Brink were already scheduled to not participate.
