Tackett brothers withdraw from ADCC in favor of Craig Jones Invitational
Elite no-gi competitors Andrew and William Tackett have withdrawn from ADCC 2024 in favor of competing in the Craig Jones Invitational.
Following the announcement on Thursday that the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) is set to take place on the same weekend at the 2024 ADCC World Championships, some athletes are already making the official switch from ADCC to CJI.
First among them are brothers Andrew and William Tackett.
Both Tackett brothers punched their ticket to ADCC 2024 on the strength of gold-medal performances at the ADCC West Coast Trials and both would have been considered serious contenders to make it to the podium at ADCC. However, with the prospect of a $1 million prize at CJI, coupled with the $10,001 guaranteed to every athlete competing at CJI, the Tacketts have opted to pull out of ADCC.
The brothers announced their decision on Instagram.
In a separate post from the ADCC, the organization announced William Tackett has been replaced by ADCC veteran Elder Cruz in the 88kg division.
Also, the ADCC announced that Andrew Tackett has been replaced by 10th Planet Las Vegas standout Andy Varela.
View a full, updated list of every athlete competing at the 2024 ADCC World Championships here.
At the time of publication, no other athletes have been announced for the CJI, but fans can expect the Tackett brothers to be the first to make the switch to the higher-paying event.
The CJI will take place on August 16-17, while the ADCC World Championships will go down on August 17-18. Both events will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada.