Asa Ware’s record-breaking jump and Atlanta’s roster additions deliver Anaheim upset.

For the first time all season, Miami Metal didn’t win the match.

Dallas Drive secured their first official victory Friday night at the Anaheim Convention Center, just passing Miami 12-11 in the Pro Cheer League’s most competitive bracket race yet and tightening the championship standings to just two points.

Anaheim delivered what Atlanta couldn’t and Houston avoided: a new match winner.

For the first time in the founding season, all four teams earned at least one quarter win—a reflection of the league’s growing depth and the strategic adjustments teams have made since the season opener.

Miami Metal still leads the overall standings with 49 points, but Dallas Drive sits at 47 after their $15,000 match victory. With the championship round worth double points, the inaugural PCL title is too close to call.

Written By Chelsie Hollencamp — documenting the Pro Cheer League’s inaugural season. Image via Varsity.

THE CURRENT STANDINGS

1. Miami Metal: 49 points
2. Dallas Drive: 47 points (2 points back)
3. Golden State Grit: 32 points
4. Atlanta Air: 31 points

See the League Table here.

QUARTER 1: CREATIVE ROUTINES

Dallas Drive opened strong with what Judge Denise Dicharry called “a comprehensive performance with non-stop dynamics from the front of the mat to the back.”

All four teams delivered upgraded, competitive routines in the most balanced opening quarter of the season, but Dallas narrowly took the win.

Miami Metal finished second, followed by Golden State Grit in third and Atlanta Air in fourth.

Quarter 1 Scores:

• Drive: 4 points
• Metal: 3 points
• Grit: 2 points
• Air: 1 point

QUARTER 2: BATTLE GAMES

The second quarter opened with Hangtime as the seeding game.

Dallas Drive Team Captain Maddie Hayes continued her dominance, soaring above the arena rafters to remain unbeaten in the event all season. Miami Metal’s Hailey D’Lynn advanced through her bracket with a replay decision over Atlanta Air, setting up the quarter’s marquee matchup.

Dallas and Miami faced off in All Girl Endurance.

Miami’s Julia Romero matched the league record with 46 tick tocks, setting the tone early and putting pressure on Dallas before an early fall in their half of the round secured four points for the Metal.

In the losers’ bracket, Atlanta Air and Golden State Grit competed in All Girl Big Trick. With similar tricks, issues, and a nearly split decision, Atlanta was awarded the win. Judges noted adding an extra transition set them above, drawing a strong reaction from the pro-Golden State hometown crowd.

Quarter 2 Scores:

• Metal: 4 points
• Drive: 3 points
• Air: 2 points
• Grit: 1 point

QUARTER 3: BATTLE GAMES

The quarter opened with Bullseye, where three athletes from each team competed a tumbling pass before attempting to land on a floor target.

Miami Metal’s Kory Little delivered the most memorable moment of the match, landing the first perfect bullseye in league history—hitting the exact center of the target.

“That was probably luck,” Little joked in a mid-quarter interview. “But I came here both to show out for my Stumble family watching and to make sure everyone knows we’re hungry for the title.”

Little, who appeared in the first season of NBC’s Stumble, celebrated with castmates in attendance.

But the quarter’s biggest upset came in Coed Big Trick.

Atlanta Air’s new roster additions—Sam Ditta (the league’s youngest member at 18) and Tyson Carter—defeated Miami’s Hailey D’Lynn Smith and Josh Hill, who had set the standard for the event all season.

“The team made it really easy to walk into practice and start preparing,” said Ditta. “Coed Big Trick felt like stunting with Tyson back home, so I was excited and felt like we had nothing to lose going against Hailey and Josh. It all happened fast, but we had spent a lot of time preparing, so we had fun and made sure we left it all out there.”

Atlanta claimed 4 points in the third quarter—their strongest performance of the season.

In the losers bracket, judges awarded Dallas the win in Last Pass, highlighted by a standout tumbling pass from Kobe Williams.

Miami Metal won the fan favorite vote with almost 50% of the vote, keeping the title belt in their possession for the third consecutive match.

Quarter 3 Scores:

• Air: 4 points
• Metal: 3 points
• Drive: 2 points
• Grit: 1 point

QUARTER 4: BATTLE GAMES

This was the moment that decided everything.

For the first time since the season opener, Highest Tumbler returned to determine seeding—and with Dallas and Miami on the same side of the bracket, a Dallas win would guarantee the Drive a first-place finish based on the final tiebreaker rule.

To close the game, Dallas’s Asa Ware, just 19 years old, cleared 7 feet 9 inches.

The arena erupted.

Ware had never successfully cleared that height before in competition. In Indianapolis earlier this season, he had taken the bar down with him twice attempting similar heights.

In Anaheim, the moment flipped.

He didn’t just clear it—he cleared it decisively, setting a new record and clinching Dallas’s first win of the season.

“We’ve been so close time after time, so it feels rewarding to finally celebrate a win,” said Dallas Drive Coach Tucker Hunter. “There were a lot of moments in this match with upsets and crazy wins, including highest tumbler. We hadn’t dedicated a ton of time training that game, so we told them not to put too much pressure on themselves, and they delivered such a special moment.”

On the other side of the bracket, Golden State advanced without drama. Kenzie Carrothers—the only female athlete competing in Highest Tumbler—cleared the opening bar easily. Atlanta struggled and couldn’t clear any attempts. The result: Golden State secured the win before their second athlete, Cameron Bonton (just back from injury), even had to tumble.

While Dallas had clinched the match, they faced Golden State in Coed Endurance with additional season points on the line.

Golden State’s Oscar Perez and Gillian Rupert showed steady strength with 45 popovers to open the round, putting pressure on Dallas, who ultimately dropped after 8—giving the full four points to the Grit.

In the other bracket, Atlanta and Miami competed in Flash Pyramid, a best-of-five game where each team quickly competes to see who can first build a pre-determined pyramid.

Miami had excelled at this game all season, while Atlanta had struggled.

But their new additions once again showed this match was different.

Sam Ditta took the top of the Swedish pyramid in the deciding formation as Miami fell, securing third place for quarter four.

With their first official win secured, Dallas flooded the stage as the event came to a celebratory close. “We are so used to being the underdogs in any situation,” said Dallas Drive athlete Anuhea Keene. “People think we bring the entertainment and that’s it, but the best thing Dallas does is make it work when the lights and music are on. Expect even more in Nashville.”

Quarter 4 Scores:

• Grit: 4 points
• Drive: 3 points
• Air: 2 points
• Metal: 1 point

STANDOUT MOMENTS

• Asa Ware’s Redemption – After failing to clear the bar twice in Indianapolis, the 19-year-old Dallas athlete delivered under championship pressure, setting a league record and clinching the match. The arena erupted as he landed cleanly, and Dallas knew they had secured their first win of the season.
• Atlanta’s Roster Additions Pay Off – Sam Ditta and Tyson Carter, added mid-season, upset Miami twice (Coed Big Trick, Flash Pyramid), proving strategic roster moves can shift outcomes. Ditta, the league’s youngest athlete at 18, showed composure beyond his years.
• Kory Little’s Perfect Bullseye – The first in league history, delivered in front of his Stumble castmates in a hometown moment that brought the arena to its feet.
• Julia Romero Matches the Record – Miami’s Julia Romero tied the league record with 46 tick tocks in All Girl Endurance, maintaining Miami’s dominance in the event even as the match slipped away.
• Maddie Hayes Stays Perfect – Dallas Drive’s captain remained undefeated in Hangtime all season, continuing to own the arena rafters.
• Dallas’s First Win – After three straight losses, the Drive finally celebrated a match trophy in their strongest all-around performance of the season.

WHY THIS MATCH MATTERED

If Indianapolis was proof of concept, Atlanta was refinement, and Houston was resistance, Anaheim was confirmation.

The Pro Cheer League has competitive balance.

For the first time, Miami didn’t win. For the first time, all four teams earned a quarter win. For the first time, strategic roster additions (Atlanta’s Ditta and Carter) directly shifted outcomes.

Dallas Drive proved they can execute when it matters most. Atlanta Air proved depth can be built. Golden State Grit proved records can be set by anyone. And Miami Metal—still leading the standings—proved they’re not invincible.

The founding season is no longer about whether the league can work.

It’s about who will win it.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Pro Cheer League’s inaugural “Championship” heads to Nashville on March 27 (8pm ET on ION), where every quarter will be worth double points.

Miami Metal leads by two.
Dallas Drive has momentum.
Atlanta Air and Golden State Grit have proven they’re dangerous.

And for the first time this season, the championship feels genuinely open.

Anaheim proved something important: this founding season has built a league, not a coronation.

But until the final pyramid builds in Nashville, nobody has won anything yet.

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Chelsie Hollencamp is documenting the Pro Cheer League’s inaugural season with embedded athlete access and nearly a decade of competitive cheerleading expertise. Follow Founding Season’s coverage of professional cheerleading’s first year at foundingseasonpcl.substack.com for in-depth athlete profiles, technical analysis, and honest reporting on what it means to be a founding professional cheerleader.

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