2018 Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Challenge

World Team Trials Betting Odds

World Team Trials Betting Odds

Wrestling odds have been posted for the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament.

May 15, 2018 by Willie Saylor
World Team Trials Betting Odds
The U.S. Open was a revelation.

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The U.S. Open was a revelation.

Youngsters such as Daton Fix, Hayden Hidlay, and Gable Steveson proved they can hang on the senior level. Old dogs such as Jake Varner and Jason Chamberlain still got it. And recent world teamers Logan Stieber and Frank Molinaro showed a little vulnerability. 

For wrestling fans, the storylines and pecking order is set for the most robust senior-level freestyle season in United States history. From the Open in Las Vegas, we go to Rochester, Minnesota, where the next phase awaits at this weekend'ts World Team Trials.

Who will rebound? Who will make adjustments? And who, like Adam Coon and Austin Schafer, will continue to continue to plant their flag in the ground?

I'll go weight-by-weight and look at the odds offered by BetDSI and tell you what I think are the best plays.

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57kg

Sitting in the Finals: Tony Ramos (-$200)

Daton Fix ($160)

Zach Sanders ($700)

The Field ($1,200)

Seeds & Situation: One of the major questions in forecasting seeds—where will Spencer Lee be placed—is kaput. Lee is out and that simplifies a lot, as seeds at this weight seem to be clear. Tony sits. Daton will be the #1 in the challenge bracket. His path will be the Zane Richards/TimLambert winner followed by a semi with Fleetwood-Terao.

Sanders, who briefly gave T-Ram a scare at the Open, will be the #2 down below with a first-round match against Skyler Petry before getting Perrelli-Klimara.

Although the name "Zane Richards" is scary, he's been inconsistent. Richards was the top American at Farrell but then 0-2 (to JRod and Assad) at the Open. I have Daton to the finals.

Down below, I'm a Perrelli fan. He lost at the Open in the first round to Petry and then reeled off five straight wins before losing in the 3/4 match to Sanders. I could see a world in which he gets to the finals, but I can't pick it. 

It's Daton-Tony, and this time in a best of three. As we saw in the Open, it's razor close. Two clutch performers. I can't say with any confidence who comes out on top. What I do know is that Ramos is probably scouting for one guy, whereas Daton will have to wrestle through the mini-tournament. Perhaps that doesn't mean anything, but, gun to my head...

The Play: Ramos -$200


61kg

Sitting in the Finals: No One

Nahshon Garrett (-$170)

Nico Megaludis ($275)

Seth Gross ($500)

The Field ($450)

Seeds & Situation: The curveball to seeds here is Farrell champ Jon Morrison, who lost to Gross and defaulted out of the Open. The seeding committee will most likely ignore the default to Jens Lantz and put him behind Gross, making Morrison the sixth seed with a first-round matchup against Graff.

For both Garrett and Nico, their only loss at the Open came to Colon, and both were tense bouts.

Nahshon will be up top against the winner of Seth Gross and Brandon Wright, who could not be more different stylistically. Gross defaulted to Wright in the 5/6 match after having a wild one with Nahshon which was tied at 10 at the break.

Nico tore through the back side and teched Graff 10-0 with four takedowns. I like him to come out of this side.

Here's my thing: Yeah, I know, Nahshon is a matchup nightmare for Nico. But I think Gross has a real shot to beat him. In other words, I like Nico's chances to get to the finals more than Nahshon. Gimme the plus money.

The Play: Nico $275


65kg

Sitting in the Finals: No One

Logan Stieber (-$210)

Jaydin Eierman ($175)

Evan Henderson ($700)

The Field ($1,500)

Seeds & Situation: The only qualifier not at the Open was Futrell, who was dealing with an injury. He was ranked one spot behind Logie in the pre-Open rankings, which probably still holds.

With Eierman's win over Logan (and finals appearance) at the Open, he'll likely get the top seed. Logan will be the two, with Futrell or Dardanes the 3/4.

Let's cut to the chase though: Eierman's win over Logan wasn't a fluke, but it's tough to replicate. Logan is really tough to figure out right now. He didn't look good against Japan at the World Cup, then comes back to beat Haji Aliev (who was incredible in winning Euros). He didn't look good against Tobier at Pan Ams, trailing 9-0, but came back to win.

Oh, why do you do this to us, Logie?

Here's the rub though—after his loss to Eierman, Logan smoked everyone on the back side. He's gonna make the finals against Eierman. Are you gonna take Eierman to beat Logan two of three? Me neither.

The Play: Logan -$210


70kg

Sitting in the Finals: Jason Chamberlain (-$190)

Frank Molinaro ($150)

Hayden Hidlay ($600)

The Field ($900)

Seeds & Situation: This one is so incredibly tough. 1) Jason Chamberlain looked as good as ever 2), Frank didn't look quite right, 3) we didn't see Kyle Ruschell at the Open, and 4) Frank defaulted out and seeds aren't clear.

If I'm the seeding committee I forgive the default considering that Frank's resume dwarfs all others. He gets the two seed with Hayden, who made the finals via the other side, getting the one.

So Hayden is up top with Ness and Deakin. Frank is down below with Pantaleo, who took third, losing only a great semi with Hayden. 

Guys, I know you're gonna do it. I know you're going to take Frank, at what looks like an awesome price. But these matches are gonna be so close. And even if Frank does get through the mini, he has to beat Chamberlain twice.

Can he do it, sure. The guy won a bracket with Zain, Metcalf, Pico, Logan, James Green, and JO. But this just seems too cloudy for me.

I know, I know. I'm giving Logan a mulligan for Eierman and not one to Frank for Chambo. How rude of me? 

The Play: Stay Away


74kg

Sitting in the Finals: Isaiah Martinez (-$235)

Nazar Kulchytskyy ($190)

Tommy Gantt ($600)

The Field ($2,000)

Seeds & Situation: I get paid by the word now, so I'm gonna write a bunch of stuff here to pad the stats.

Just kidding. I don't get paid by the word. 

IMAR sits in the finals and there's not much to break down. Nazar, Gantt, maybe, would give IMAR an interesting series. Maybe. -$235 is probably too low. If you're comfortable laying that, it's the only play here.

The Play: IMAR -$235


79kg

Sitting in the Finals: No One

Alex Dieringer (-$375)

Zahid Valencia ($320)

The Field ($800)

Seeds & Situation: Another quick one. If it ain't Ringer (it's probably Ringer), it's Zahid.

It's a matchup we haven't seen before, and the price is super tasty. I'm not playing it, but if the price makes you frisky, go for it.

The Play: Stay Away


86kg 

Sitting in the Finals: No One

Richard Perry (-$280)

Joe Rau ($240)

Nick Reenan ($750)

The Field ($1,300)

Seeds & Situation: Perry has been knocking on the door for a while now and is the well-deserved favorite here. Although he's not immune to an upset, Joe Rau will have to do it twice.

Perry was the runner-up to DT at the Open. Rau wasn't there. Reenan quietly had an outstanding tournament beating Pat Downey and teching NCAA finalist Tim Dudley after having the misfortune of losing a respectable 6-2 decision to Perry in Round 1—an awesome run to third for the first-year senior.

Rau teched Reenan at Farrell en route to the title.

Unless Bo Nickal enters (and I don't expect him to), these are your three top dogs. Perry will be up top, Rau the two, and Reenan the two.

The Play: Perry -$280

(Read Nomad's 86kg Preview Here)


92kg

Sitting in the Finals: No One

Nick Heflin (-$160)

Hayden Zillmer ($125)

Deron Winn ($1,200)

The Field ($1,000)

Seeds & Situation: Heading into the Open, Heflin was ranked second at 92 with Zillmer third at 97. Heflin didn't wrestle at the Open as he won the Schultz. Zillmer finished runner-up to J'den.

That is to say—it's unclear who will get the #1 seed between the two. 

Deron, who wrestled J'den close and was also runner-up at 97 at Farrell, is a nice long-shot play. Though he lost to Enock Francois in the 3/4 match at the Open.

With Heflin at a manageable line, he's a decent play. I'm staying away, but if I did play this weight I'd go plus money.

The Play: Zillmer $125


97kg

Sitting in the Finals: Austin Schafer (-$170)

Kyven Gadson ($140)

Ty Walz ($500)

The Field ($1,200)

Seeds & Situation: What a situation it is. Austin Schafer might have been the biggest surprise U.S. Open winner in a decade. And he did it all himself (as opposed to taking advantage of another's upset). Schafer beat top seed and heavy favorite Gadson between wins over #7 Cabell and #4 Walz.

Like 65kg (with Logan) and 70kg (with Frank), you have to ask yourself if it was a one-match blip for Kyven or if, in fact, they've been passed.

It should be interesting to see who they select as the #1 seed in the mini-tournament. Walz was second and Kyven was third, without a head-to-head and with Kyven holding the higher ranking before the Open. I'd seed Kyven at the one, and I think the committee will too.

In that scenario, he is up top with Honis and Larson who shouldn't cause much concern for him.

Walz would be down below and looking at his 100th meeting with Burak, whom he beat 4-3 in Vegas.

Frankly, I'm staying far away from this one. Kyven has long been a notch above these guys but perhaps not any longer. Walz beat Schafer 10-3 in March before Schafer looked like he was in total control of Walz in April. Too much inconsistency for me to have any confidence.

The Play: Stay Away


125kg

Sitting in the Finals: Adam Coon (-$200)

Jake Varner ($275)

Dom Bradley ($450)

Gable Steveson ($500)

The Field ($2,250)

Seeds & Situation: What a weight! Coon was off the international circuit over a year before he made his presence felt in the biggest of ways - by winning the Open.

Varner, the 2012 Olympic champ at 96kg, was a late entry and reached the finals.

Although, as is often the case at heavyweight, the matches are very coin-flippish, the seeds are clear and we've seen a lot of these matchups in Vegas.

Coon will sit. Jake will be the #1 and await the Nelson-Tanner Hall winner. Nelson beat Hall in the 5/6 match after he lost to Jake in the quarters, 5-1. This is an easy selection of Varner to the challenge tournament finals.

Down below, Bradley beat Steveson on a late step out in the third-place match. They will be the #2 and #3 seeds in a projected semi. 

Ultimately, Varner has the cleanest path to get to the best of three. Sure Bradley could. Sure Gable could. But the road for Bradley and Steveson are incredibly more difficult.

The advantage, even at -200, is with Coon. He won the Open not long after the folk season. Another month of rest and freestyle-only training only helps his cause. Bet it with confidence.

The Play: Coon -$200