Everything to Know About Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 Tournament

You can be the exposer or you can get exposed. I like to be the exposer.

Nowhere does the wise philosophy of Mist guard Allisha Gray ring truer than in the isolation of the Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament. Every move either proves or reveals, and there’s a reason why the format feels like the ultimate spotlight. Beginning Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on truTV, the best women’s basketball players on the planet will face off to determine who’s got game.

Updated Bracket ➡️ Our 1on1 Tournament presented by @Sprite starts tomorrow on truTV 🍿Make sure you head over to our website and fill out your bracket. pic.twitter.com/2Ec3HKYH09
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) February 11, 2026

Here’s everything you need to know—key storylines, players to watch, what’s at stake, last year’s highlights, what’s changed, the rules and how to watch—before the action starts.

What are the best storylines of the tournament?

Paige Bueckers and Chelsea Gray are neck and neck in the Unrivaled MVP race, and the bracket sets up a potential quarterfinals clash between them. Bueckers starts off with a first-round matchup against Breeze teammate Kate Martin. (Martin’s reaction to the bracket below needs no explanation.) If she wins, she’ll either face Wings teammate Arike Ogunbowale or lockdown defender Brittney Sykes in the second round. Gray will first have to fend off Natasha Cloud and then either Jackie Young or Aziaha James to make a Bueckers-Gray bout a reality.

Elsewhere, Pod C might be the most competitive group in the bracket. From seed No. 1 through No. 8, each player can create their own shot and has the requisite length to disrupt their opponent. Pod D also pits forwards (Breanna Stewart, Laeticia Amihere, Dearica Hamby and Aaliyah Edwards) against centers (Li Yueru, Aliyah Boston, Shakira Austin and Dominique Malonga) and features plenty of strength and skill.

One bonus storyline: It’s a long shot, but the StudBudz (Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams) could play each other in the quarterfinals if they survive their matchups in Pod A.

Who are the players to watch heading in?

There’s no player not worth watching when 32 of the world’s best are competing, but there are a few players who’ll bring a little extra oomph to the event. That starts with Chelsea Gray. The Point Gawd’s domain is Unrivaled. She ranks second in the league in points per game (25.1) and she’s the only player to score 30-plus points in four games this season. Facing a group of guards should let her talents be featured further in the tournament.

It was Shakira Austin who knocked out Gray in last year’s first round, but she wasn’t the only giant slayer. Aaliyah Edwards shut out Stewart in the opening round. Both Austin and Edwards are among the most efficient bigs in Unrivaled and have made sizable leaps in the league’s second year.

Enough about the players who competed last year, though. Kelsey Plum will be making her 1-on-1 tournament debut, and her blend of “dawg” mentality and skill seems custom-built for the event. Paige Bueckers and her handles will be on full display, and neither Saniya Rivers nor Dominique Malonga should be written off. Both players have atypical wingspans, which can make life difficult for their opponents.

As for who the top scorers have been? The following table ranks Unrivaled players with at least 100 possessions by points per possession (PPP):

Player	PPP
Paige Bueckers	1.15
Chelsea Gray	1.14
Dearica Hamby	1.12
Kelsey Plum	1.12
Kelsey Mitchell	1.11
Aliyah Boston	1.11
Kahleah Copper	1.09
Tiffany Hayes	1.07
Allisha Gray	1.06
Brittany Sykes	1.04

What happened last year?

Speaking of Edwards—she was the tournament’s major surprise. The 6’ 3” forward defeated Stewart in the first round, advanced on a bye in the second round, took down Allisha Gray in the quarterfinals and trounced Ogunbowale in the semifinals. Edwards won the first game of the finals, but Napheesa Collier came back and won the next two games to secure the event’s inaugural crown.

Outside of Edwards and Collier, Lexie Hull nearly fought all the way back from 8–0 against Rhyne Howard but couldn’t pull off the upset, and Austin made quick work of Chelsea Gray. The tournament—complete with walkout songs before each matchup—delivered. And the players were gassed after their games ended.

What’s changed?

The tournament’s pod structure has been revamped. Last season, 30 participating players were placed into four pods without regard to player archetype. (That resulted in some wonky first-round matchups, like Gray vs. Austin and Kahleah Copper vs. Aliyah Boston.) This year, the league split players into four position-based groups: Pod A and Pod B feature guards, while Pod C has wing types and Pod D has bigs.

Unrivaled also increased the player pool to 32. (Seven players missed last year’s event, causing one first-round matchup to be scrapped completely and six byes. Four players will receive first-round byes this year.) The winning score in the finals has also been dropped from eight to seven points.

What are the rules?

All games end either when one player hits the winning score (11 points in non-finals rounds) or 10 minutes have elapsed. There’s a seven-second shot clock and the clock doesn’t stop during games. Possession operates on make it, take it rules: If a player scores, they regain possession.

There are fouls. Shooting fouls result in one free throw for the same value as the shot attempt. While players have unlimited fouls to give, consecutive non-shooting fouls give one point and possession to the other player.

How can you watch?

Every matchup is broadcast on truTV and streamed on HBO Max. The first round kicks off with 16 games on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. ET. The second round and quarterfinals pick back up on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then the semifinals and finals take place on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 6:00 p.m. ET. (There’s no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.)