All meetings
Last year's finalists, Judo Nice Métropole and SGS Judo, are back in the Final Four of the Judo Pro League. The two teams qualified at the expense of JC Chilly Mazarin Morangis and OM Judo respectively. However, they had very different evenings.
Nice for another faultless performance
Judo Nice Métropole, who had already won twice without conceding a single point to their opponents in the group stages, once again made their mark to secure their 3rd consecutive ticket to the Final Four. The defending champions pulverized a depleted Chilly Mazarin-Morangis team. Léa Métrot's team, victorious by waza-ari in their 5th consecutive bout, won 10-0 in front of their home crowd, confirming their status as title favourites.
Revivre Judo Nice Métropole vs JC Chilly Mazarin-Morangis
SGS was scared
Trailing 3-0 at half-time to OM Judo, to the surprise of the many spectators present at the Dojo Gérard Bailo, SGS Judo turned things around to win the final bout. Quentin Joubert, elected judoka of the evening, put his team back on the road to victory by winning an essential first point, before Kaila Issoufi also won her bout, by 2 waza-ari. At 3-2, the Genovese crowd thought their team had finally made it, but Lucas Duchaussoy calmed the crowd by scoring waza-ari a few seconds from the end of his bout to give Marseille a two-win advantage that looked decisive. Yes, but... With Célia Cancan's forfeit, Léa Fontaine won her bout on the green carpet. The score was now 4-3 for OM Judo, who were also leading overall, 31-22.
For Amadou Meité, the deal was simple: a win by ippon or a surprise elimination for his team at home. Confident of his strengths, the 2024 French vice-champion went on the offensive and scored kinza. His outrageous domination was rewarded halfway through the bout when, on a standing-to-ground transition, he managed to immobilize his opponent Ryan Da Costa in front of a wild crowd. Victory 4-4, overall score 32-31: the comeback is complete for SGS, validating their ticket to the Final Four!
