PGF Season 9 Playoffs: Kings Crowned, Tonight’s Bracket Guide
PGF Season 9 came down to the wire, and tonight it all gets decided. The Las Vegas Kings claimed the regular season title. Jett Thompson enters as the No. 1 seed. And eight athletes now battle in Las Vegas for the PGF championship in a single-elimination bracket that took five weeks of submission-only warfare to earn. Here’s the full story — how we got here, and what’s on the line tonight.
What Is PGF Season 9?
The Professional Grappling Federation is submission-only nogi team grappling at its most concentrated. Four franchises — the Las Vegas Kings, Alabama Twisters, Colorado Wolverines, and Philadelphia Phenoms — ran a five-week welterweight (under-175 lbs) regular season starting March 4, 2026, every Wednesday night from Las Vegas. Season 9 added a new streaming partnership with Kick.com alongside YouTube, giving fans more ways to watch the fastest format in jiu-jitsu.
Running the whole operation is Commissioner Brandon McCaghren, who might be the most credentialed person in the building on any given night: UFC, CJJ, EBI, and ADCC commentary; judo and BJJ black belt; national silver medalist; and, because PGF demands nothing less than the unexpected, a guitarist for Five Finger Death Punch. Rosters were built via auction bidding at the draft on February 4, 2026, meaning team managers had to gamble on who they believed would score points in this exact format.
The scoring system rewards aggression: six points for a choke finish, three for a joint lock, and a bonus point for any submission under sixty seconds. That bonus point has defined careers in this league, and it defined the wildest night of Season 9.
How the Regular Season Unfolded
Week 1 (March 4): Kings Out of the Gate
The Kings came out swinging on opening night. Jett Thompson was immediately dominant, setting the tone for what would become a season-long points assault. Austin Oranday made his presence felt early, locking ankle-locks on both Travis Haven and Jayden Groner. Chuy Magana added to the Kings’ total with a heel hook on Anthony Salisbury and an ankle-lock on Schwartzapfel. Las Vegas took the early team lead, and Jett Thompson was already looking like the man to beat.
Week 2 (March 11): Beuhring Surges, Twisters Close the Gap
Kevin Beuhring had one of the best single-week performances of the season. The Alabama Twisters big man surged to the top of the individual leaderboard and nearly dragged his entire team to the top in the process. The Twisters had a fantastic night, cutting the team gap to just seven points behind Las Vegas. It was the first real sign that Season 9 wasn’t going to be a Kings coronation lap — Alabama was ready to compete. (Read our full Week 2 recap here.)
Week 3 (March 18): Kings Re-Establish Control
With the Twisters breathing down their necks, the Kings responded at the midway point of the season. Las Vegas pushed the advantage back out to 17 points — Kings 97, Twisters 80. The Phenoms sat at 53 and the Wolverines at 21, but Colorado remained mathematically alive and fighting. Kevin Beuhring still held the top individual spot heading into the second half, with Jett Thompson close behind and ready to make his move.
Week 4 (March 25): The Night Jayden Groner Changed Everything
If Season 9 has a single moment that defines it before the playoffs, it happened on March 25. Jayden Groner, a Colorado Wolverine who had just three points heading into the night, became the first athlete since PGF Season 1 to record three submissions in under one minute each — all in a single evening.
- Jake Straus via Armbar — 31 seconds
- Jared Fekete via Toehold — 27 seconds
- Noah McCully via Reverse Triangle Choke — 42 seconds
In one night, Groner jumped from 3 points to 19. Colorado, which had looked dead in the playoff race, suddenly had a legitimate contender. The individual board shook: Thompson at 58, Beuhring at 40, Carlton at 38, Oranday at 38 — and Groner now crashing the party at 19 with momentum no one else had. (Read our full Week 4 recap.)
Week 5 (April 1): Kings Seal the Regular Season Title
The regular season finale delivered exactly what the first four weeks promised — a tight finish with major implications. Las Vegas closed out the regular season title 143–128 over Alabama, giving the Kings home-region bragging rights and the top seeds in the playoff picture.
Thompson locked the No. 1 overall seed at 64 points. In the week’s biggest individual story, Elijah Carlton surged from 38 points to 52, blowing past Kevin Beuhring for the No. 2 seed in the final week when it mattered most. Groner — riding his Week 4 momentum — beat Anthony Salisbury via Arm-Triangle Choke to lock the No. 7 seed. The top 8 was set.
Final Regular Season Standings
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Las Vegas Kings | 143 |
| #2 | Alabama Twisters | 128 |
| #3 | Philadelphia Phenoms | 71 |
| #4 | Colorado Wolverines | 61 |
The 2026 PGF Playoff Field
| Seed | Athlete | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Jett Thompson | Kings | 64 |
| #2 | Elijah Carlton | Twisters | 52 |
| #3 | Kevin Beuhring | Twisters | 46 |
| #4 | Austin Oranday | Kings | 45 |
| #5 | Travis Haven | Twisters | 39 |
| #6 | Chuy Magana | Kings | 31 |
| #7 | Jayden Groner | Wolverines | 30 |
| #8 | Shawn Melanson | Phenoms | 28 |
Tonight’s Quarterfinal Bracket
QF1: #1 Jett Thompson (Kings) vs. #8 Shawn Melanson (Phenoms)
Jett Thompson enters as the defending Season 8 champion with career stats that are almost absurd for someone this age: 29-1-18 all-time, 15 kills, 7 breaks, 126 match points. He has been the best player in this league for two consecutive seasons, and a No. 1 seed earning a matchup against the No. 8 seed is not an accident. Melanson got here on grit — 28 points, the Phenoms’ lone representative — but he has never faced anyone quite like Thompson. This is the one matchup with a clear favorite, but PGF’s format is brutal enough that no lead is safe until someone taps.
QF2: #4 Austin Oranday (Kings) vs. #5 Travis Haven (Twisters)
Oranday has been the Kings’ second engine all season — ankle-locks, consistent point production, and a dangerous leg lock game that made him a nightmare for opponents from Week 1. Haven brings the Twisters’ depth into this bracket spot, and at No. 5 he’s right at the boundary where anything can happen. This feels like the quarterfinal most likely to go to overtime drama.
QF3: #2 Elijah Carlton (Twisters) vs. #7 Jayden Groner (Wolverines)
This is the match every PGF fan wants to watch. Carlton is a legitimate legend: 78-6-21 career across all seasons, 34 kills, 43 breaks, 357 match points. He surged late in the season to steal the No. 2 seed from Beuhring, proving he still knows how to peak at exactly the right moment. Groner is the story of this entire season — a man who came from nowhere with the most explosive single-night performance in years. He is seeded seventh, and he does not care. If Groner gets Carlton in deep water early, this could be the upset of the season.
QF4: #3 Kevin Beuhring (Twisters) vs. #6 Chuy Magana (Kings)
Beuhring led the individual board through much of this season — dominant in Week 2, consistent throughout — and finishing with 46 points to earn the No. 3 seed is a solid platform to launch from. Magana has been quietly steady for the Kings all year, and No. 6 seeds have beaten No. 3 seeds before. If the Twisters want to put three athletes in the semifinal, Beuhring needs to handle business here first.
Who Has the Edge Tonight?
The Kings hold the structural advantage: two of the top four seeds (Thompson, Oranday) plus Magana at No. 6. If they advance Thompson and Oranday, they potentially face each other in the semifinals, which is a fascinating Kings-only bracket problem to have. The Twisters counter with three athletes in the playoff field (Carlton, Beuhring, Haven) — the most of any single team — which means Alabama has multiple paths to the final.
Groner is the wildcard. He goes into this bracket as the underdog with the best story, and PGF’s submission-only format doesn’t care about narrative — but it does reward athletes who finish fast and leave no margin for error. His Week 4 performance showed he can do that better than almost anyone in the building on a given night.
Watch the full playoffs live on pgf.world and on FloGrappling. Tonight’s bracket could flip at any moment.
Sources
- Professional Grappling Federation — pgf.world
- FloGrappling — PGF Season 9 coverage
- PGF Season 9 Week 5 Full Replay — YouTube (0uyyGaI6yO8)
- PGF Season 9 Week 4 Full Replay — YouTube (9UtMkRswz6I)
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