They say jiu-jitsu is a team sport played by individuals. When a competitor steps onto the mat it's just him and him alone out there, with total responsibility for his performance upon his shoulders. 

No jiu-jitsu athlete can prepare alone, and any competitor's victories are the result of the hard training alongside equally driven and dedicated teammates. Sometimes the hardest matches take place in the gym long before competition day, experiences which shape the athletes into the gold medal winners they become in the arena. 

ADCC does not award prizes for a team's overall performance, and it strictly prohibits "closing out," whereby two teammates will meet in the final and -- via "gentleman's agreement" -- not compete against each other but decide between themselves who shall take the top spot on the podium. 

With only two members per team allowed in each weight category (and one per team in the women's divisions), teammates are seeded so that they never fight later than the second round of the bracket. As such, you will never have more than one person per team on the podium. 

Let's take a look at some of the most interesting team-by-team results from the 2017 ADCC this past weekend in Espoo, Finland. 


Some of the members of the Renzo ​Gracie team: Left to right, Matthew Tesla John Danaher, Gordon Ryan and Tom DeBlass. Also pictured Vinny Magalhaes (not affiliated with the team). Photo: Hywel Teague / FloGrappling

Biggest Teams: Atos / Renzo Gracie (tied)

There were eight athletes representing both Atos and Renzo Gracie's team. 

Renzo Gracie Team

Renzo's squad even included the man himself, who competed in a "Legends" superfight. All but two of them hailed from the New York or New Jersey area, with two of the Canadian Tristar crew (Oliver Taza and Ethan Crelinsten) also making up part of Danaher's squad. It's worth noting that all of them train together in Manhattan, the only team where all the athletes are primarily based in the same location. 

Four of the eight made they first ever ADCC appearance (Gordon Ryan, brother Nicky, Crelinsten, and Taza). Taza and Crelinsten both qualified by winning the international trials event, while the younger Ryan (a two-time trials bronze medalist) was a last minute replacement following Justin Rader's withdrawal due to sickness. 

Renzo led the way by winning his "Legends" superfight, defeating the Japanese grappler Sanae Kikuta via penalty point. Renzo has been fighting in ADCC since the inaugural tournament in 1998, marking 19 years of experience in the event. 

Tom DeBlass (a four-time ADCC veteran) and his black belt Garry Tonon had strong showings but missed out on the podium. Tonon took fourth place, while DeBlass lost to silver medalist and 2015 champ Sanchez via ref's decision. 

The big story was the stunning performance of Gordon Ryan, which we've already talked about extensively. His 88kg gold medal and silver in the absolute is the career highlight of this young man, who has already achieved so much and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. 


​The Atos team on the podium. Back row left to right, Bianca Basilio, Michael Perez and Keenan Cornelius. Front row, JT Torres and Andre Galvao. Photo: Hywel Teague / FloGrappling

Atos

The Atos team also showed up in force, with the interesting twist that two of them should face each other in the main superfight, with reigning champ (and Atos co-founder) Andre Galvao against 2015 absolute champion Claudio Calasans. They put aside their team loyalties for this match, which was a hard-fought 20-minute match. 

Among the other six Atos athletes, three qualified by winning regional trials while the others were invited. Kaynan Duarte, Pablo Mantovani, and Bianca Basilio each qualified by winning trials in Brazil, while JT Torres, Mike Perez, and Keenan Cornelius were invitees. 

Torres (-77kg) won gold while Basilio (-60) and Cornelius (-88kg) both took silver. All of the athletes competing in the weight divisions won at least one match. 

It is interesting to note that Cornelius had to fight Duarte in the second round of the -88kg division, as per ADCC rules. Cornelius won by heel hook. 

JT Torres proved his worth as one of the top competitors on the planet with his rousing gold medal performance, the result of excellent wrestling prowess. He defeated Lucas Lepri in the final (considered to be one of the best middleweights in the world, and pound for pound one of the top black belts of all) following triumphs over Garry Tonon, Celso Vinicius, and Lachlan Giles, one of the most difficult runs out of all of the weight categories.


​The Gracie Barra squad. Photo: Hywel Teague / FloGrappling

Most Medals: Gracie Barra

With five medals, Gracie Barra had the strongest showing of any team. Four of the five GB reps placed on the podium via the efforts of Felipe Pena (gold absolute, silver -99kg), Orlando Sanchez (silver +99kg), AJ Agazarm (silver -66kg), and Jessica Olvieria (bronze +60kg). 

​​Take a look below for a breakdown of the team stats from ADCC 2017

Alliance
Rubens 'Cobrinha' Charles, -66kg -- gold medal
Lucas Lepri, -77kg -- silver medal
Diego Salomao, -99kg -- lost first round
Gabi Garcia, +60kg -- gold medal 
Total: 4

Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
Xande Ribeiro, -88kg -- bronze medal -88kg, lost second round absolute 
Rafael Lovato Jr., -99kg -- fourth place 
Casey Hellenberg, +99kg -- lost first round
Jared Dopp, +99kg -- fourth place
Total: 4

Unity Jiu-Jitsu  
Paulo Miyao, -66kg -- bronze medal
Mansher Singh Khera, -77kg -- lost second round
Felipe Cesar, -77kg -- lost first round
Murilo Santana, -88kg -- lost second round
Dillon Danis, -88kg -- lost first round weight division, -- lost second round absolute 
Total: 5

Checkmat
Marcelo Mafra, -77kg -- lost first round
Jackson Sousa, -99kg -- bronze medal 
Joao Assis, -99kg -- lost second round
Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida, +99kg -- gold medal +99kg, bronze medal absolute 
Michelle Nicolini, -60kg -- bronze medal -60kg
Leo Vieira, superfight -- lost superfight
Total: 6

Gracie Barra
AJ Agazarm, -66kg -- silver medal 
Romulo Barral, -88kg -- lost second round
Felipe Pena, -99kg -- gold medal absolute, silver medal -99kg
Orlando Sanchez, +99kg -- silver medal 
Jessica Flowers, +60kg -- bronze medal 
Total: 6

Atos
Pablo Mantovani, -66kg -- fourth place
JT Torres, -77kg -- gold medal
Kaynan Duarte, -88kg -- lost second round 
Keenan Cornelius, -88kg -- silver medal 
Michael Perez, -99kg -- lost second round weight division, lost first round absolute 
Bianca Basilio, -60kg, silver medal 
Andre Galvao, superfight -- won superfight 
Claudio Calasans, superfight -- lost superfight 
Total: 8

Renzo Gracie Team
Nicky Ryan, -66kg -- lost first round
Ethan Crelinsten, -66kg -- lost second round
Oliver Taza, -77kg -- lost first round
Garry Tonon, -77kg -- fourth place
Gordon Ryan, -88kg -- gold medal -88kg, silver medal absolute 
Jake Shields, -99kg -- lost first round
Tom DeBlass, +99kg -- lost second round
Renzo Gracie, superfight -- won superfight 
Total: 8