News

The Dublin International Open went down on Saturday April 1st at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena. ECJJA won gi and no-gi team titles, showing why they are widely considered the top team in Ireland. Darragh O Conaill, leader of the ECJJA team, won gold in the master 2 middleweight division while also coaching his kids, adults, and masters competitors throughout the day.

Espen Mathiesen of Kimura Europe returned to competition in Dublin in the black belt middleweight division. The 2022 European Champion is one of the most innovative guard players in his division, but he came into Dublin with a different focus. Espen commented on his gold medal run in Dublin.

“I felt great competing at Dublin Open. I got to showcase more of my passing game, which I have been working on a lot. I’m also happy that I was able to get the submission in both of my matches. My focus is now to prepare as well as I can for Worlds and bring home the gold.”

In the female black belt divisions, Martina Linnea of CheckMat was the standout athlete. Martina won gold at medium-heavy and then won another three matches in the open class to take home double gold in the gi.

“This was my first tournament since the pandemic hit,” explained Martina. “And in between I had a baby, so this was the first time back competing. I felt great! I had some tough opponents with different games. I submitted two of my opponents and won the rest by points. My plan today was to play on top and I managed to do so throughout all my fights. In one fight I got stuck in a very good closed guard, but overall my top game was good today. I now secured ranking points for Worlds so you will see me in LA in June.”

2023 Dublin Open team results:

1. ECJJA

2. Mario Sukata International

3. CheckMat

2023 Dublin Open No-Gi team results

1. ECJJA

2. Sigma Jiu-Jitsu

3. ZR Team Association