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It all came down to Chelsea Gray and Allisha Gray for the Unrivaled 1-on-1 Tournament crown and the $200,000 prize.
In the end, Chelsea came out on top, winning the best-of-three series, 2-1.
The victory didn’t come easily for Chelsea. In the first game against Allisha, she was held scoreless as the other Gray scored in every possible way, hitting a 3, converting from the charity stripe and making a tightly-contested basket inside.
In Game 2, Chelsea responded with an 8-3 win to even the series. Allisha scored first with a 3-pointer, but after that, Chelsea took over. She hit back-to-back 3s to jump ahead, and then called a timeout. Following the pause in play, she scored on a mid-range jumper to end the contest.
The winner-take-all Game 3 was an appropriate ending to this competition.
Allisha jumped out in front 6-0, and it looked like things were over for Chelsea. However, Chelsea went on a run thanks to a stepback jumper and a free throw make. After that, both players struggled to score. With Allisha up 6-4 and the game going to seven, Chelsea needed a 3 to win, and she finally got it after multiple attempts.
When that last basket went in, Chelsea let out a sigh of relief. Both players were exhausted due to the intensity of the finals and the games that led to this matchup.
Now, it was all over and Chelsea is Unrivaled as the queen of 1-on-1.
“Exhausted,” Chelsea said postgame. “Grateful. Humbled. Excited. Everything, man, I said it out there—a lot of people didn’t pick me to be sitting here talking to y’all, keep on, you know, surprising people, I love it.”
How Chelsea and Allisha advanced to the finals
Before Saturday’s best-of-3 finals, Chelsea and Allisha had to win their semifinal games.
Chelsea defeated Kelsey Plum 12-8 to advance, and Allisha squeaked by beating Aliyah Boston 12-10.
In Chelsea’s semifinal contest, she was in trouble early. Plum jumped in front 8-0 thanks to a pair of 3-pointers. But Gray played bully ball the rest of the way, scoring inside and using her physicality to score all 12 of her points consecutively.
In the second semifinal, Allisha scored a 3 right away against Boston. Then, she took a half-court shot—and not only knocked it down but was fouled in the process.
With Allisha up 9-0, Boston was in trouble. But she gained possession and began using her size to overwhelm the guard. Boston scored 10-unanswered points and was suddenly in the driver’s seat. After a miss by Boston, Allisha grabbed the rebound and took advantage. She hit a couple of jab steps and took the gamble by shooting the 3.
It went in and Allisha pulled off the unexpected win, proving that a guard can beat a big in 1-on-1.
Allisha wasn’t able to beat Chelsea in the final, but the entire league won this week.
The 1-on-1 Tournament was a smashing success and set a new bar for what a midseason competition can look like. It featured Unrivaled’s best stars showcasing their skills in a different way, it was beyond entertaining and players got paid.
And if that’s not an all-around win, then I don’t know what is.
