The anonymous backer who originally promised to reward New Wave Jiu-Jitsu with a million dollars after CJI 2 has now backtracked on that promise.

The reversal means five New Wave athletes will miss out on a potential $200,000 each – money they believed was theirs in the wake of the event’s disputed ending.

Although New Wave didn’t officially win the tournament – B-Team Jiu-Jitsu was declared champion live on air – the final was razor-close.
After five matches, all three judges scored the overall team battle 47–47.

Under the rules applied on the broadcast, the final individual match served as the tiebreaker, and Nicky Rodriguez’s victory secured the championship for B-Team.

New Wave athletes were visibly upset, not only because they lost but because they believed the decision itself was wrong.
Gordon Ryan publicly accused CJI of bias, and the controversy spilled across social media, with many fans echoing the frustration.

When the written rules surfaced, the debate intensified: one section suggested New Wave should have won by tallying the most match victories, while another outlined the tiebreaker system that was actually enforced.

This contradiction prompted the event’s investor to initially side with New Wave, declaring that he believed they were the rightful winners and pledging to pay them the million-dollar prize.
The move temporarily appeared to smooth things over.

In the days that followed, however, new details shifted the narrative. B-Team coach Damien Anderson released footage from the pre-event rules meeting, where CJI judge Miha Perhavec clearly explained the tiebreaker system and when it would come into play.

Both Perhavec and Craig Jones later walked through the scoring that led to the 47–47 tie and the use of the tiebreaker, reinforcing that the broadcast ruling was consistent with the agreed framework.

Which is why the anonymous donor backed out, as can be read on the following Reddit post.

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