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Unrivaled’s 1v1 tournament tips off Monday night, but it won’t be featuring the same lineup of WNBA players it was initially going to. That’s because 7 players are out with injuries: Natasha Cloud, Alyssa Thomas, Tiffany Hayes, Marina Mabrey, Kate Martin, Brittney Sykes, and Kayla McBride.
Due to lingering injuries and to prioritize player wellbeing for regular-season games, Unrivaled will be combining the two 1st Round sessions for the 1 on 1 Tournament Presented by Sprite into one session. The 1st Round will be played from 7-9 p.m. ET at Wayfair Arena, airing on… pic.twitter.com/jXsLCfOVgd
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) February 9, 2025
Which WNBA players are competing in Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament?
The league announced on Sunday evening that as a result of the reformatting, the new 1v1 first-round match-ups are as follows:
Napheesa Collier vs Kate Lue Samuelson
Chelsea Gray vs Shakira Austin
Kahleah Copper vs Aliyah Boston
Rhyne Howard vs Lexie Hull
Skylar Diggins-Smith vs Dearica Hamby
Allisha Gray vs Jordin Canada
Jackie Young vs Rickea Jackson
Breanna Stewart vs Aaliyah Edwards
The first round will tip off on Monday, Feb. 10 at 7pm ET. In addition to the 16 WNBA players who will compete in the first round of the tournament on Monday, 7 players will head straight to the second round: Arike Ogunbowale, Rae Burrell, Azura Stevens, Courtney Williams, Satou Sabally, and DiJonai Carrington.
Unrivaled has had to deal with an unexpected number of injuries in recent days, with Saturday night’s Laces-Vinyl game being canceled just hours before tip-off as a result of injuries. Instead of the game, players signed autographs and chatted with fans in attendance.
What will tournament receivers earn?
The 23 players competing in Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament are vying for a $200,000 cash prize. Final Four players will each get $25,000, while the tournament runner-up will make $50,000. And, to build team camaraderie, the tournament winner’s Unrivaled teammates will each be awarded $10,000 as well.
“There’s still a team camaraderie perspective — where you may be eliminated, but your teammate keeps advancing,” Bazzell told SB Nation last month. “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.”
Who was initially supposed to play in the Unrivaled tournament?
Before the injuries, the first-round match-ups were slated to feature:
Rae Burrell vs Natasha Cloud
Alyssa Thomas vs Azura Stevens
Chelsea Gray vs Shakira Austin
Napheesa Collier vs Katie Lou Samuelson
Jackie Young vs Rickea Jackson
Tiffany Hayes vs Courtney Williams
Rhyne Howard vs Lexie Hull
Breana Stewart vs Aaliyah Edwards
Marina Mabrey vs Kate Martin
Allisha Gray vs Jordin Canada
Kahleah Copper vs Aliyah Boston
Skylar Diggins-Smith vs Dearica Hamby
Satou Sabally vs Brittney Sykes
Kayla McBride vs DiJonai Carrington
Five Unrivaled players were never slated to participate: Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Stefanie Dolson, and Courtney Vandersloot. Those players had a clause in their Unrivaled contract that exempted them from participating from the jump.
