Bassett rallies past Magomedov 14-13, reaches World final
A pin in 1:13, a 12-0 tech, a 14-13 shootout and a semifinal tech fall in his first Senior Worlds.
Bo Bassett is a Senior World finalist in freestyle. He beat Russia's Abasgadzhi Magomedov 14-13 in the quarterfinals after trailing 10-3 at the break, then teched his semifinal opponent to reach the final, per @cpyles8. It is his first Senior World Championships.
The run to the quarters was quick work. Bassett pinned No. 3 seed Biabani of Canada in 1:13 and tech'd Sticker of France 12-0, according to @justinjbasch, who also reported the Magomedov scoreline.
The comeback
The quarterfinal is the one people will rewatch. @globalwresorder called it a possible match of the year and said Bassett was a point away from being teched himself before turning it into a 14-13 shootout, describing the defense he showed on the way back as savvy rather than lucky.
Magomedov is a World champion, per @globalwresorder, which is the context that makes a seven point hole in the first period a problem and not a speed bump. Bassett is a U20 World champion. He is now wrestling for a Senior World title in the same calendar year that he reached the U20 top of the podium.
What it means
The US gets a finalist out of a bracket that included a returning World champion, and Bassett did it without a single close call going his way early. Nobody has to argue about whether the jump from age group to Senior level translates for him anymore, because he beat the highest ranked name in his quarter after being one point from a tech loss.
Watch for the final itself, with the opponent not yet named in the reporting available here. @justinjbasch had the semifinals scheduled for roughly 7:30am ET.
Bassett was 1 point away from being teched, but kept attacking and actually displayed very savvy defense to get himself back in the match - eventually winning a 14-13 shoot out.
Down 10-3 at the break, Bo does what Bo does.
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