Ten things to know from what happened in the world of sport. May 18-24, 2021. European Rugby and Football, Monaco GP, LoL...
- Stade Toulousain. Toulouse (FRA) beat Stade Rochelais (FRA) 22-17 to win the European Rugby Champions Cup for a record fifth time (1996, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2021), a record in the Heineken Cup.
- Salut to the Champions! Lille pulled the upset in the French Ligue 1, edging out Paris Saint-Germain to win the title by just on point. PSG at least won the Coupe de France by beating Monaco 2-0. In Spain, Atlético de Madrid (ESP) also pulled an exciting Championship, coming from behind to beat Valladolid 2-1 and secure La Liga, two points ahead of Real Madrid. Manchester City (ENG), Inter Milan (ITA) and Bayern München (DEU) had already been crowned ahead of time in other European leagues.
- Max Max! Max Verstappen (NED, Red Bull) won the Monaco Grand Prix, which he dominated, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP, Ferrari) and Lando Norris (ENG, McLaren). Teammate Sergio Pérez (MEX) finished fourth, helping their team take the Constructor’s Championship lead. Valtteri Bottas (FIN, Mercedes) retired when he could have been second, while Lewis Hamilton (ENG, Mercedes) was just 7th. The biggest heartbreak was for Charles Leclerc (MCO, Ferrari). He crashed while being first during the qualifying, securing him a home pole position but also damaging his car deeming it not good to race, as Ferrari would discover shortly before the race start.
- eSports All Stars. Chinese team Royal Never Give Up pulled the upset and beat South Korea’s DAMWON Gaming to win League of Legend’s Mid-Season Invitational, a tournament which invites the Champions from the major local and regional tournaments. This was one of the first major events to be held offline. It took place in Iceland. In Call of Duty, Atlanta FaZe’s Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris (USA), 2019 World Champion, was the superstar of the All-Star Weekend, by winning both events: the 1v1 Skills Challenge and the 4v4 competition.
- Terunofuji’s comeback. Terunofuji (JPN) won his second Sumo Grand Tournament in a row, by beating Takakeisho (JPN) in a playoff bout. Trunofuji was in the second-lowest jonidan division back in 2019. This comeback is unprecedented in Sumo.
- Unified Champion. Josh Taylor became the first boxer to ever unify all four major World Title belts (plus the Ring Magazine belt) in the Super Lightweight Division. He is just the fifth man and seventh boxer of all time to achieve this. He reached this goal by beating José Carlos Ramírez (USA/MEX) in via unanimous decision.
- Disc Golf domination. Pierce absolutely dominated the United States Women’s Disc Golf Championships. She won by a brutal 13-point difference proving she is clearly the bet in the world. This win was her 16th Major title and made her the first woman to ever win the USWDGC for a fourth time.
- Rea reaches 100 wins. Jonathan Rea (NIR) keeps on extending his records at the World Superbike Championship. This last weekend the World Champion won two of the three races in the opening round of the season, which were numbers 100 and 101 in his illustrious career at WSBK. He finished second in the other race, as Scott Redding (ENG) took the gutsy decision of running slick tires in a humid Aragón (ESP) track.
- Mickelson wins at 50. Phil Mickelson (USA) became the oldest golfer to win the PGA Championship, by taking it at age 50. He will now focus on the elusive US Open, which is in a few weeks.
- Anna van der Breggen wins again. Anna van der Breggen (NED) won again in might be her last year competing. She now won the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas, a month after taking the La Flèche Wallonne. Meanwhile Egan Bernal (COL) leads the Giro D’Italia with a week to go, after taking Stage 16’s ascent at Cortina d’Ampezzo.
