The East vs West organization has confirmed some exciting matches for the EVW 28 Vegas card that is going to take place on 19 December 2026.
Turcan Tiberius (Moldova) vs. Joseph Meranto (USA) 70 kg RH
Tiberius is also recognized as the “Flash Arm” due to his lightning fast sideways surges. The Moldovan is a multiple times European champion and a 4-time World Championship Silver Medalist.
On the other hand there is the calm, composed American Armwrestler Joseph Meranto who has been dominating the featherweight division in East vs West and KOTT.
Although Tiberius doesn’t have the same international supermatch experience as Meranto does, he is also a battle-tested athlete with remarkable tournament experience.
For me Meranto is the favorite to win with a 4-0 record on EVW and KOTT but I accept the fact we haven’t seen much from the Moldovan prodigy yet.
Tim Tallmadge (USA) vs. Craig Tullier (USA) 85 kg RH
Tim is coming from a dominant victory over Vala Ichqiti in East vs West 25 where he finished the final round with great heart and made his mark in the Armwrestling world.
Craig might be coming off a loss against “the Jedi” Yanis Amolins he has proved his worth by beating the English Tom Holland and John Therrien.
The match looks even as both Tim and Craig have the raw power to finish the match inside.
Bob Brown (USA) vs Ray Liepiņš (Latvia) 85 kg RH
Bob’s recent victory over Isaiah Jones showed the Armwrestling world the capability of the veteran. The way he manhandled Jones with his open arm toproll was a great display of his strength and table IQ.
However the one he’d be facing has one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport with his unbelievable endurance and top-notch technical adjustments. The guy has a super heavyweight hand which helps him control one of the best pronators in the division. I’m talking about Raymond Liepiņš.
Bob’s open arm toproll would most likely crack Ray’s hand but the Latvian is a jack of all trades he can toproll really well by securing a great cup and combine this with his insane ability to press I see Raymond Liepiņš as the favourite to win this match.
Kevin Berberich (Germany) vs. Isaiah Jones (USA) 77 kg RH
Kevin Berberich is another interesting addition to the 77 kg division. The Ukrainian brings his own experience and technical abilities to the table, making this a matchup worth watching.
On the other hand, Isaiah Jones is coming off a 0-3 defeat against Bob Brown at East vs West 24. However, one loss doesn’t take away from his abilities as a competitive armwrestler.
Jones will have something to prove after that defeat, while Berberich will have an opportunity to make his mark against an established American opponent.
For me, this is a difficult match to call without knowing more about Berberich’s recent performances and seeing how both athletes match up stylistically. Isaiah’s experience on the EVW stage could play a role, but Berberich shouldn’t be underestimated.
Devon Larratt (Canada) vs Kamil Jablonski (Poland) 115 kg LH
This is arguably one of the most interesting matchups on the EVW 28 card, especially considering what happened the last time these two met.
At Arm Wars: The Gathering II in Las Vegas in January 2024, Kamil Jablonski handed Devon Larratt a dominant 5-1 defeat on the left arm. Kamil’s shoulder-driven flop press proved too much for Devon, who failed to stop the Polish giant from bringing his shoulder behind his arm and driving sideways.
Devon managed to take one round (on fouls), but Kamil controlled the contest and exposed a serious problem in Devon’s left-arm game.
However, things have changed since then.
Devon has continued developing his left arm and recently defeated Ivan Matyushenko 4-0 at East vs West 26. More importantly, reports from October 28 indicate that Devon was offered a left-arm rematch with Kamil in Las Vegas and plans to work specifically on his hook and press. I believe Dadikyan’s victory over Kamil might have given Devon a clue to get through Kamil’s flop.
Kamil’s flop press allows him to sacrifice wrist position and bring his shoulder behind his arm to generate tremendous sideways pressure. This makes traditional hand-control approaches difficult because an opponent can take his wrist and still have to deal with the incoming shoulder.
Devon will need to prevent Kamil from establishing that shoulder connection in the first place. Winning the hand, maintaining pronation and using his cup to turn Kamil’s palm upward could be important. We recently saw Vitaly Laletin use aggressive hand control to disrupt Kamil’s press in their right-arm match at EVW 27, although applying the same approach on the left arm is a different challenge.
Devon’s reported decision to work on his hook and press is particularly interesting. Developing a stronger inside game could give him another way to challenge Kamil instead of relying entirely on stopping the press from an outside position.
For me, Kamil still has the advantage coming into this matchup because he has already demonstrated that his left-arm press can overwhelm Devon.
What do you think of these interesting supermatches let us know in the comments.
