Bracket Challenge #2 Recap: PPA Asia Hanoi Cup
April 2026
Our second-ever Bracket Challenge is in the books, and the Hanoi Cup delivered. More players, more picks, more upsets, and one result that destroyed almost all brackets.
A huge thank you to Six Zero for sponsoring the Bracket Challenge. Use code PCKLWAVE10 at checkout to get 10% off your order through the end of May.
By the Numbers
- 71 unique users submitted brackets
- 320 total bracket entries across 5 categories
- 7,690 individual picks made
- 123 matches played across the tournament
- 61 of 71 users (86%) filled out all 5 categories
The Leaderboard
Combined scores across all five categories (Men's Singles, Men's Doubles, Women's Singles, Women's Doubles, Mixed Doubles):
| Rank | Player | Combined Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Gelvar | 1,084 |
| 2 | David Zou | 1,056 |
| 3 | Tyler Foust | 1,052 |
| 4 | PickleWave (ELO Picks) | 1,036 |
| 5 | Ricky Griffin | 1,024 |
| 6 | Yair | 1,012 |
| 7 | Chris Cali | 1,000 |
| 8 | Freddie Hetzel | 992 |
| 9 | Gary Forsythe | 984 |
| 10 | Camila's Husband Brian | 984 |
Jake Gelvar takes the crown with a 28-point margin over second place. The top 3 were separated by just 32 points out of a possible 1,580.
How Jake Won It
Jake didn't dominate any single category but he won by being consistently strong everywhere:
| Category | Points | Accuracy | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Doubles | 308 | 87.5% | 6th |
| Mixed Doubles | 288 | 85.7% | 3rd |
| Men's Doubles | 236 | 75.0% | 15th |
| Women's Singles | 168 | 75.0% | 9th |
| Men's Singles | 84 | 43.5% | 15th |
His best category was Women's Doubles (87.5% accuracy), and Mixed Doubles was where he picked up serious ground with a 3rd place finish. Men's Singles was the bracket buster for everyone, Jake included.
Bracket Upsets
Men's Singles: The Hoang Ly's Gold Medal Upset
This was the story of the tournament. Hoang Ly won the Men's Singles title, and zero people picked him to win it all out of 61 brackets.
Only 1 person even had him advancing past Round 16. In the Finals, 86.9% of brackets had Federico Staksrud winning the title, with Christian Alshon getting the other 13.1% and neither of them made the final.
Hoang Ly's path through the bracket was an upset gauntlet:
- Round 32: 52.5% of pickers had him (roughly a coin flip)
- Round 16: Beat Christian Alshon, 98.4% had picked Alshon
- Quarter Finals: Another upset, 91.8% against him
- Finals: Beat Hien Truong 2-0 for the title
Men's Singles had the lowest overall pick accuracy at 39.2%, the only category below 50%. Will we see a similar trend at PPA Sacramento?
Women's Singles Semi-Final: Favorite Fahey Eliminated
Brooke Buckner knocked out Kate Fahey in the Semi-Finals when 95.3% of brackets had Fahey advancing. Only 2 out of 64 pickers called it. Buckner ultimately fell to Kaitlyn Christian, who took the Women's Singles title.
Category Champions
| Category | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Singles | Hoang Ly | 2-0 over Hien Truong |
| Men's Doubles | Ben Johns / Gabriel Tardio | 2-1 over Staksrud / Patriquin |
| Women's Singles | Kaitlyn Christian | 2-1 over Brooke Buckner |
| Women's Doubles | Anna Waters / Anna Bright | 2-0 over Parenteau / Hurricane Black |
| Mixed Doubles | Anna Waters / Ben Johns | 2-0 over Alshon / Christian |
Category Bracket Winners
| Category | Winner | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Singles | Tyler Foust | 124 |
| Men's Doubles | Jim Bolko / Yair / Ricky Griffin (3-way tie) | 296 |
| Women's Singles | JimmyYu | 232 |
| Women's Doubles | Joshua Golden / Christopher Lk / PickleWave (3-way tie) | 316 |
| Mixed Doubles | Gary Forsythe | 296 |
Pick Accuracy by Category
The crowd was sharpest on Women's Doubles and struggled most with Men's Singles:
| Category | Accuracy |
|---|---|
| Women's Doubles | 79.6% |
| Women's Singles | 62.9% |
| Mixed Doubles | 61.7% |
| Men's Doubles | 61.0% |
| Men's Singles | 39.2% |
Overall accuracy across all picks: 61.7% (4,745 correct out of 7,690).
Fun Stats
- David Zou went 22-for-22 on Women's Doubles picks, a perfect bracket in that category
- 316 points was the highest single-category score (Women's Doubles, achieved by 3 users)
- The average user got 66.8 picks right out of 108.3 total
- The first bracket was locked in on March 26th, nearly a full week early
- Points scale by round: 4 (R32), 8 (R16), 16 (QF), 32 (SF), 64 (Finals). Later rounds are worth exponentially more, which is why the Men's Singles chaos was so costly.
What's Next
Be sure to catch us at PPA Sacramento for the next Bracket Challenge!
Thanks again to Six Zero for sponsoring. Don't forget: code PCKLWAVE10 for 10% off through the end of May.
Bracket Challenge is available on PickleWave for select events. Create your bracket, lock it in before the first match, and see how you stack up.