Season 9 of the Professional Grappling Federation (PGF World) has officially begun, with the customary draft taking place on February 4th, 2026 and we’re on hand with a full analysis of the results. Things went a little bit differently this time around, as each of the 4 teams actually came in with 2 competitors already signed. This meant that they were only drafting 3 competitors for their starting lineup, but they were also drafting a pair of bench players too. This created an interesting dynamic, as the teams were building on an existing spine rather than putting together a team from scratch and they were preparing for injuries at the same time.
PGF World Season 9 Draft Results And Analysis
The pre-season signings gave fans an early insight into the strengths and weaknesses of each team, and two teams came in to the draft in a slightly better position than the other two. The Philadelphia Phenoms brought in Andrew Kochel and Derek Rayfield, getting a very good mix of experience from Kochel and an aggressive submission-hunting style from Rayfield. Then the other big winner pre-season was the Las Vegas Kings, who managed to secure the services of PGF World Season 8 playoffs champion Jett Thompson. They also came in with Cameron Hurd; a man who has tonnes of valuable experience under the PGF format and is always tough to submit.
The Alabama Twisters weren’t really that far behind these two teams though; particularly because they came in with Elijah Carlton, one of the most successful PGF competitors of all time and across several different weight classes. Kevin Beuhring joined him and although he might not be as well-known as Carlton, he’s an equally exciting competitor with a tendency for finishes. The final team, the Colorado Wolverines, brought in Jonathan Wilson and Caleb Crump as their pre-season signings and although they’re both solid competitors, the other three teams will likely get more out of their first two picks.
Who Broke The Bank?
Travis Haven also broke the $5,000 barrier when the Alabama Twisters secured him for $5,100. He’s not particularly well-known but he’s got a style that’s perfectly-suited for the format, as he has a fast pace with a constant threat of submission. He’s even already submitted some of his potential opponents too, so he has a decent chance of being worth the expense. Finally, Shawn Melanson was another fairly expensive competitor at $3,200 for the Philadelphia Phenoms and he’s probably going to exceed that value fairly easily. He’s another aggressive submission-hunter but he also has fantastic triangle chokes, meaning that he has a good chance of scoring maximum points in some matches.
The Biggest Bargains
The main goal of the draft at PGF World Season 9 was the same as it is every season; to get the biggest return for the smallest investment in a competitor. Melanson went for a surprisingly low amount so will probably end up being a bargain for the Philadelphia Phenoms but the $3,000 they paid for Kyle Chambers could end up looking like a good deal by the end of the season too. He will probably end up getting beaten by some opponents and will give a few points away, but he should be relied upon to get some points on the board every week and his season-total could make it worthwhile.
For the Las Vegas Kings, their biggest bargains actually came in their bench players. They managed to secure exciting young grappler JJ Bowers and tough veteran CJ Murdock without spending a penny; deals which will probably pay off in a big way partway through the season. Where most teams suffer when injury-replacements are brought in, there’s always one or two that make a big impact and Bowers and Murdock are probably the most likely to do that on paper. They also brought in Chuy Magana for just $1,000 and although he’s an underdog in general, he will probably outscore some of the more expensive competitors on other teams.
The Colorado Wolverines spread their money among their competitors more evenly than anyone else, ensuring they didn’t really overspend on anyone. They didn’t exactly get any big bargains either, instead paying pretty much what would be expected for everyone. Sam Schwartzapfel is the only likely to exception to that really, as he went for just $2,200 in the end. He’s got plenty of PGF experience and has generally done well, so it was surprising to see him go for somewhere under the $3,000 mark. The only downside is that he’s likely to give up some points to opposing teams, but he should find it pretty easy to score enough points for the Wolverines to justify the money spent.
The Alabama Twisters were another team that got a player for just $1,000; using that money to bring Jake Straus on board. He’s in a similar position to Magana, where making the playoffs should be considered a bit of an upset but getting anywhere near there will make him better value for money than some of his opponents. Their final team-member is one of the more curious cases in the roster; as Anthony Salisbury flew through his qualifier with rapid-fire submissions but he’s also a young competitor with limited experience against opponents at this level. It’s very hard to predict how well he will do and they spent $2,700 on him, so that deal will either end up looking very good or very bad by the end of the season.
PGF World Season 9 Team Lineups
The Philadelphia Phenoms
Coach – Kris Olivo
Andrew Kochel – Pre-season
Derek Rayfield – Pre-season
Shawn Melanson – $3,200
Kyle Chambers – $3,000
Noah McCully – $2,800
Bench Players
Armin Bruni
Derek Adkins
The Las Vegas Kings
Coach – Ricky Lundell
Jett Thompson – Pre-season
Cameron Hurd – Pre-season
Austin Oranday – $5,400
Chuy Magana – $1,000
Jared Fekete – $2,600
Bench Players
JJ Bowers
CJ Murdock
The Colorado Wolverines
Coach – Kenny Johnson
Jonathan Wilson – Pre-season
Caleb Crump – Pre-season
Jayden Groner – $3,000
Sam Schwarzapfel – $2,200
Brett Moyer – $3,000
Bench Players
Clayton Wimer
Joshua Squires
The Alabama Twisters
Coach – Sean Applegate
Elijah Carlton – Pre-season
Kevin Beuhring – Pre-season
Travis Haven – $5,100
Anthony Salisbury – $2,700
Jake Straus – $1,000
Bench Players
Jeovanny Ortiz
Eric Allen
The full draft for PGF World Season 9, including their own analysis on the results, are available to watch on the promotion’s official YouTube channel:
