Unrivaled’s second annual 1-on-1 tournament will tip off Wednesday night, with 28 WNBA stars set to battle for their share of a $300,000 prize pool. Last year’s inaugural event was a major success, filled with intense action and a number of upsets. This year’s edition figures to be no different.
The 28 players have been separated by position into four, eight-player pods to create the bracket — though due to last-minute withdrawals, two of the guard pods only have six players. They will compete in single-elimination matchups all the way until Saturday night’s championship, which will be a best-of-three series. All games through the semifinals will be played to 11 points, by 2s and 3s, or to 10 minutes, whichever comes first. The championship series games will be played to eight points, by 2s and 3s, or 10 minutes, whichever comes first. All games are make-it, take-it, with a seven-second shot clock.
The winner will take home $200,000, the runner-up will receive $50,000 and the two semifinalists who are eliminated in that round will get $25,000.
Napheesa Collier, who co-founded Unrivaled with Breanna Stewart, won last year’s tournament, but she is unable to defend her crown after undergoing surgery on both ankles last month.
2026 Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament: Bracket, rules, schedule, first-round matchups, prize money
Jack Maloney
Ahead of Wednesday, CBS Sports spoke with Stewart and Kelsey Plum about the highly-anticipated event. (Note: The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)
CBS Sports: Can you take me back to the initial conversations you had to put this together and convince players to participate?
Breanna Stewart: The initial conversations were that at Unrivaled we’re doing things that haven’t been done before, obviously, with the format of the game. And we wanted to bring 1-on-1 into that so that you can really showcase your skills and go against all the other best players here and have a monetary prize behind it. I think that’s something that’s motivating for everyone. Once you step on that court, everyone’s going after it.
CBS Sports: How pleased are you that the event is back for a second year?
Stewart: I’m really happy. Shoutout to our partners, shoutout to Sprite for being back with us and making that pot money $300,000. I think that’s eye-popping for everybody and everybody really wants to go and get it. I think it will be cool this time because all the games will be at night for the first round, so that buzz and that hype will grow as the night goes on.
CBS Sports: Kelsey, you didn’t play in Unrivaled last year, so this is your first time participating, and Breanna, things obviously didn’t go to plan for you last year. (Stewart was stunned in the first round, 11-0, by Aaliyah Edwards.) How are you feeling going into the tournament?
Kelsey Plum: I’m excited, I’m just gonna have fun with it. I have a great first-round matchup. [Natisha] Hiedeman’s a great competitor, we’re buddies, so we’re just gonna have a great time. I haven’t really looked past anything but that. [Ed. note: Due to withdrawals, Plum and Hiedeman are getting a bye to the second round; they will face off on Friday night. The same goes for Allisha Gray and Saniya Rivers.]
Stewart: I’m feeling good. I’m happy to be healthy and really playing the way that I know that I can. I’m just gonna enjoy it. I have small goals. My first goal is to score a basket and then from there it’s taking it step-by-step. That’s the thing about this. Listen, it can be anyone’s game. Whoever gets hot and can score 11 points is the winner and I’m literally gonna take it step-by-step.
CBS Sports: How are you preparing for the tournament? Are you scouting your first-round opponent? Working on anything specific?
Plum: I play off of instinct, so kinda really just reading and reacting. At the end of the day, it’s basketball. You’ve been doing it your whole life, so gotta trust your instincts and just go hoop.
Stewart: I’m just gonna go and just play. Not think too much about it and just try to give [Li Yueru] tough shots. I don’t want her to get underneath the basket.
CBS Sports: Did you learn anything from watching and participating last year?
Stewart: I think the thing you learn is you gotta make your first shot and try to separate yourself as quickly as possible because you never know when somebody’s gonna go on a spree and knock down a bunch of shots.
Plum: If you watched last year’s, you probably picked up some little cues here and there, just like, schematically, what’s the best way to go about it. But honestly, at the end of the day you gotta make shots. That’s probably the biggest thing that I’ve taken away is you gotta score.
CBS Sports: This tournament, and Unrivaled in general, is such a unique experience. You might end up facing a WNBA or Unrivaled teammate, or a good friend. What’s the mood down in Miami? Is there trash-talking going on, are people keeping to themselves?
Stewart: I think it’s gonna be competitive. It’s like, we’ll be supporting each other but also not. Everybody’s gonna be frenemies over here. I also think 1-on-1 is about respect. You know that you’re going at it on the court, but you’re still trying to play basketball the right way, and if someone scores a tough basketball on you, you give them props for that.
Plum: Everyone understands what’s at stake. It’s a lot of money and everyone is super cool and friendly, but I’m sure when the lights come on – very similar to the games we have here – it gets very intense, very aggressive, very competitive. I don’t expect that to be any different.
CBS Sports: What do you think of arranging the pods by position? Would you have rather faced a center or a guard?
Plum: Well hey, don’t kill me, I could face [a center] in the Finals. But I think the pods are great. I think to be honest, it’s better just in terms of the fluidity. I think last year got a little bit clunky sometimes with certain matchups. Eventually, though, you’re gonna have to run into somebody. But I think they did a great job this year.
Stewart: I think it’s smart just because the matchups might be a little bit better. When there is such a wide range of positions and heights and you just do one giant 1-on-1 tournament, it can be tough, especially for the guards, like it was last year.
CBS Sports: Kelsey, I was reading an article in The Athletic a few months ago about the CLA (Constraints-Led Approach) method that you were quoted in. It seems like the 1-on-1 tournament almost fits in with that approach. Would you agree with that?
Plum: That’s a great point. I think definitely, there’s restraints on it. The shot clock, there’s a level of physicality that’s allowed that in traditional basketball maybe wouldn’t be, there’s people you can pass to on the sides, so it’s very interesting. I think it’s gonna be fun. I’ve never done it before, so I’m excited. It’s something that engages the fans and grows the game, so I’m up for anything that does that.
CBS Sports: Is growing the game something you were thinking about when putting this together?
Stewart: When you do something new or 1-on-1, it puts you in a vulnerable state automatically and forces you to walk the walk and have that confidence. But it’s also a way for the next generation to see how we’re playing. While you see traditional 5-on-5, you now see 3-on-3 in Unrivaled and 1-on-1, so there’s many ways to play the sport. You have to find the one you love the best.
