The International Swimming League’s Grand Finale produced the closest match of the inaugural season, with Energy Standard, London Roar and the Cali Condors all in the mix to win the title heading into the match-ending skins.
For the third time in four matches, Energy Standard pulled off a comeback in the skins to win, overtaking London in the final moments to become the first-ever ISL champions and finish the season undefeated with a perfect 4-0 record.
The Roar, who fell to Energy Standard by 9.0 points at the European-derby, finished 9.5 back this time around to place second.
The Cali Condors had their best performance of the season to place third, topping rival LA Current who had beaten them at the US-derby in November.
ISL FINAL STANDINGS
| Rank | Club | Final Points |
| 1 | Energy Standard | 453.5 |
| 2 | London Roar | 444.0 |
| 3 | Cali Condors | 415.5 |
| 4 | LA Current | 318.0 |
Cali Condor male captain Caeleb Dressel ran away with his third match MVP title in as many appearances, winning five individual events including the men’s skins which are worth triple points.
The points in the Vegas Finale were worth double what they were during the regular season, so Dressel finished with a massive total of 121.0. His previous highest, set at the US-derby in College Park, was 61.5.
Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom, who won the women’s skins, was the clear runner-up with 92 points, 29 back of Dressel.
MVP Table
| Rank | Athlete | Club | Points |
| 1 | Caeleb Dressel | Cali Condors | 121.0 |
| 2 | Sarah Sjostrom | Energy Standard | 92.0 |
| 3 | Emma McKeon | London Roar | 67.0 |
| T-4 | Duncan Scott | London Roar | 65.0 |
| T-4 | Florent Manaudou | Energy Standard | 65.0 |
| 6 | Lilly King | Cali Condors | 63.0 |
| 7 | Cate Campbell | London Roar | 61.0 |
| 8 | Chad Le Clos | Energy Standard | 59.0 |
| 9 | Olivia Smoliga | Cali Condors | 57.0 |
| 10 | Daiya Seto | Energy Standard | 56.0 |
One of the keys for Energy Standard coming away with the win was that their men outscored London by a wider margin (21.5) than the Roar’s women outscored theirs (14.0).
The difference maker for Energy Standard’s men was Daiya Seto, who was making his ISL debut. The Japanese superstar won three individual events to score 56 points.
Matching up the two American clubs up head-to-head, the Condors far outperformed the Current relative to what happened at the US-derby. Their virtually men matched LA after being outscored by 43 points in College Park, while their women put 90 more points on the board relative to just 35.5 more at the derby.
Scoring Breakdown By Gender
| Club | Female Pts | Male Pts | Mixed Pts | Total |
| Energy Standard | 206.0 | 221.5 | 26.0 | 453.5 |
| London Roar | 220.0 | 200.0 | 24.0 | 444.0 |
| Cali Condors | 219.5 | 180.0 | 16.0 | 415.5 |
| LA Current | 129.5 | 180.5 | 8.0 | 318.0 |
Similar to the point-standings, the prize money totals were also much higher than they were during the regular season. Swimmers were awarded $1,000 per point in the final compared to $300 in the other matches.
Dressel set the pace with a mind-boggling $55,500 total, which includes the $10K bonus for winning match MVP (also double the regular season number). This mark surpasses his previous single-match total from College Park by over $35K ($19,700).
The 23-year-old’s haul was highlighted by his $24K from four individual victories, and an added $18K for claiming the skins.
Sjostrom raked in $36K, which doesn’t factor in her $50K bonus for winning ISL Season MVP. She edged out Dressel in that race by just 3.5 points.
In addition to their individual earnings, each swimmer in the final earned an added bonus based on where their team finished. Each Energy Standard swimmer who raced in finals receives $10K for the match win, followed by London Roar ($5K), Cali Condors ($3K) and LA Current ($1K).
Each athlete on a club that qualified for the final (and raced in the final) also wins an extra $1,000 for every regular season match they attended.
Prize Money Rankings (USD) – Las Vegas Grand Finale
| Rank | Athlete | Club | Prize Money |
| 1 | Caeleb Dressel | Cali Condors | $55,500 |
| 2 | Sarah Sjostrom | Energy Standard | $36,000 |
| 3 | Florent Manaudou | Energy Standard | $22,000 |
| 4 | Cate Campbell | London Roar | $22,000 |
| 5 | Lilly King | Cali Condors | $21,000 |
| 6 | Daiya Seto | Energy Standard | $18,000 |
| 7 | Emma McKeon | London Roar | $17,000 |
| 8 | Duncan Scott | London Roar | $16,000 |
| 9 | Nic Fink | Cali Condors | $14,500 |
| T-10 | Guilherme Guido | London Roar | $14,000 |
| T-10 | Olivia Smoliga | Cali Condors | $14,000 |
About the ISL: The International Swimming League is a global professional swimming competition launching in 2019 with teams in both Europe (Italy-based Aqua Centurions, France-based Energy Standard, Hungary-based Iron, and London Roar) and the United States (Cali Condors, DC Trident, LA Current, NY Breakers). The inaugural season will include matches in Indianapolis IN, Naples ITA, Lewisville TX, Budapest HUN, College Park MD, London GBR, and the championship finale at the 3,800-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The ISL aims to create groundbreaking projects, in both form and content, exploring the full potential of competitive swimming while securing sustainable commercial growth in the sport.
Key Dates:
5-6 October 2019 – IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, USA
12-13 October 2019 – Aquatic Swimming Complex, Naples, Italy
19-20 October 2019 – The LISD Westside Aquatic Center, Lewisville, Texas, USA
26-27 October 2019 – Duna Area, Budapest, Hungary
16-17 November 2019 – Natatorium at the Eppley Recreation Center, Maryland, USA
23-24 November 2019 – London Aquatic Centre, Great Britain
20-21 December 2019 – Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, USA
ISL SOCIAL: Keep up with all the latest ISL news by following @iswimleague on Instagram and Twitter and @internationalswimmingleague on Facebook. Visit https://isl.global
Media Contact: James Mulligan ([email protected])
International Swimming League Ltd
Alfred-Escher-Strasse 17, 8002 Zurich, Switzerland
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