ADGS Rome: Amateurs open the tournament with action-packed battles

February 21, 2025

Kicking off the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour in 2025, the ADGS Rome has officially begun. Scheduled to take place over the weekend at the Centro Olimpico Matteo Pellicone, the tournament started this Friday, February 21st, with the talented colored belts from the Amateur category fighting tooth and nail to reach the gold while gaining the knowledge and mileage they'll need to advance in their Jiu-Jitsu careers. With 2000 global rankings points on the line, the race for the title of ADGS champion was a sight to behold and set the tone for the remainder of the event.

Representing the Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy, the Kuwaiti blue belt Jassim Alhatem highlighted the competition with an incredible campaign in the 77kg division. Opening the bracket with submission wins over Francesco Sportelli and Dilshod Jurazoda, Jassim kept his momentum and scored 9-0 to beat Badie Edtrees in the quarterfinals before quickly submitting Riccardo Moschini in the semis. For the gold round, Jassim had his work cut out for him with Guinea-Bissau's Sebastião Silva, facing his opponent in an incredibly balanced match that took up the regulated time and taking the final victory with a narrow 4-3 score.

On the women's side, the Luxembourgish blue belt Anne Waldbillig went through the 70kg division like a freight train. With three opponents standing between her and the ADGS gold, Anne armed herself with her Jiu-Jitsu and started by submitting Khuloud Alblooshi in the quarterfinals, quickly landing a second submission against Christina Vergou to advance to the final. Anne's last match saw her going up against the local Arianna Cornio, with both competitors remaining evenly matched throughout the regulated time and Anne taking the title via decision.

With its first day concluded, the ADGS Rome now gets ready to welcome the Youth and Master categories this Saturday, February 22nd. Watch all the action live and exclusively on the TX7.com platform, and be sure to follow @ajptour on social media to keep up-to-date on all things ADGS.