Final 4 confirmed at UTS Los Angeles as “The Mountain” Shelton comes back from the brink against Monfils
The final round robin match of UTS Los Angeles has concluded, with Group B going down to the wire late on Day 2
(c) Thierry Breton / Panoramic
Ben “The Mountain” Shelton executed a superb comeback under the lights on Saturday night, defeating Gael “La Monf” Monfils in sudden death to top Group B at UTS Los Angeles.
The result means that Shelton will play Yibing “The Great Wall” Wu in the Final 4 on Sunday, while Monfils comes up against Taylor “The Hotshot” Fritz.
Heading into this match, La Monf already knew that a spot was reserved for him in the Final 4 tomorrow – and it brought out the showman in him.
“I love him, but I’ll whip his ass tonight.”
The 36-year-old was at his entertaining peak, dancing around the court, chasing down countless dropshots and taunting Shelton at every opportunity. His antics resulted in a dominant 2-0 quarter lead, with La Monf making true on his mid-match promise to The Mountain: “I love him, this kid’s going to be top 10, but I’ll whip his ass tonight.”
Shelton, needing to win at least one quarter to qualify for the Final 4 himself, was unphased, simply responding to his opponent: “Can I get a translation, please? I can’t really understand.”
And he can’t have understood, because The Mountain did what isn’t supposed to be done in UTS: came back from 2-0 down to win the match in sudden death and top Group B. From almost being eliminated, to ending up on top, it was Shelton who had the last laugh as the final round-robin match concluded at UTS Los Angeles.
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