And just like that, the first three invites to the 2019 CrossFit Games have been extended. Mat Fraser and Sam Briggs secured their spot to compete in Madison, Wisconsin, under the new Games format. On the team side, Lauren Fisher, Regan Huckaby, Rasmus Anderson and Tommy Vinas qualified as CrossFit Invictus.
The Dubai CrossFit Championship was the first CrossFit “Sanctional” following the major changes to the qualification process. In total, 32 men, 34 women and 10 teams competed for the chance to qualify for the 2019 CrossFit Games this August. Of those competing, 25 individuals were veterans of the CrossFit Games. The team competition featured several teams that had competed at the CrossFit Games, including CrossFit Invictus X (Sam Dancer, Jenn Dancer, Holden Rethwill and Kaitlyn Kassis), as well as some individual Games veterans who joined forces to compete together.
The payouts at the Dubai CrossFit Championship have increased significantly over the old regional payouts. Last year, the winner of each regional walked away with $5,000. This year, Mat Fraser took home $100,000 after the $50,000 grand prize, $3,000 for each of his first 6 event wins, another $2,000 for a 2nd place finish and $30,000 for winning the final event.
Yes, you read that right! The winners of the final event for individuals and teams walked away with $30,000.
Briggs also took home big money. Briggs earned $92,000 with the $50,000 1st place prize, $30,000 for winning the final event, and $12,000 for the rest of her event finishes.
On the team side, CrossFit Invictus took home $20,000 for winning the competition along with another $11,500 for their event finishes. The 2nd place team, Team Omnicide, actually earned more money after winning the final event. The team of Travis Williams, Chandler Smith, Taylor Williamson and Andrea Nisler won the final for $30,000 along with $10,000 for 2nd place and another $6,000 for other event finishes for a total of $46,000.
Here are the podium finishers:
Men
1. Mat Fraser (935)
2. Bjorgvin Gudmundsson (823)
3. Willy Georges (798)
Women
1. Sam Briggs (817)
2. Jamie Greene (811)
3. Sara Sigmundsdottir (805)
Team
1. CrossFit Invictus (993)
2. Team Omnicide (946)
3. Cassidy, Jen, Adrian, Lukas (946)
