It’s just been announced that the entire New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team has pulled out from the Quintet 4 tournament.
Kazushi Sakuraba confirmed that he received the news from John Danaher:
Hello, this is Sakuraba. I’ve got an announcement to make.
I just got word from John Danaher about New Wave; Team New Wave told us they can’t make it to the event.To all the fans that were looking forward to seeing them, I offer my sincere apologies.
It’s not rare that a competitor pulls out from a tournament.
However, it’s quite uncommon for a whole team to do so.
Sakuraba’s colleague, Stewart Fulton, confirmed that the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu did pull out because of a single member, though:
John Danaher tells us Team New Wave can’t participate, or one of their members can’t.
Yeah, it’s five people but one of their team couldn’t make it so the whole team is out.
However, it is said that Sakuraba will find a replacement team in as little as one day:
So, within 24 hours, we’ll choose the [replacement] team and announce it live.
And, wouldn’t you know it – it appears that the majority of fans are rooting for B-Team to be Sakuraba’s choice…
Which would make for an even more exciting Quintet 4 tournament.
