Jozef Chen of B-Team has been riding a growing wave of success for quite some time, but he turned still more heads this past weekend at the ADCC European Trials, where Chen defeated three ADCC veterans in the 77kg division, including longtime favorites Oliver Taza and Tommy Langaker.
In addition to a couple of submission victories early in his Trials run, B-Team’s rising star also earned a decision victory over Mateusz SzczeciÅ„ski, who is perhaps best known for defeating William Tackett with a brutal belly-down ankle lock back at ADCC 2022. Chen went on to defeat another ADCC 2022 veteran, Tommy Langaker of Norway, by points at a dominant final score of 9-0.
Chen cemented his victory in the finals against New Wave star Oliver Taza. Chen’s war against Taza took both men into overtime, where Chen ultimately triumphed in a crowd-pleasing scramble to earn and maintain back control.
Chen is among the first five men to earn their spots at ADCC Worlds 2024, alongside fellow European Trials champions Luke Griffith, Owen Jones, Santeri Lilius, and Heikki Jussila.
