Published August 13, 2026
Matt Mask can make Leonidas Arkona look one step late. He has to finish before Arkona closes his hand and makes the round physical.
East vs West 26 has added the right-hand best-of-five match for September 12 in Jiaxing, China. Recent results make the pairing look close. Mask beat Davit Arabuli 3-0 on the right at East vs West 22. Arkona followed by beating Brian Shaw 3-2 at East vs West 23.
Those scores came through very different routes. Mask wants three sudden starts. Arkona wants one real stop.
That first stop decides where this match goes.
Mask Needs the Top Before Arkona Sets His Hand
Mask’s best work comes from angle and motion. His rise pressures the fingers at the go. Back pressure pulls the elbow angle open, then his side drive has somewhere clean to travel.
That sequence attacks Arkona before all that hand strength becomes useful. If Mask takes the top of the grip and turns Arkona’s palm, the round can disappear fast. Three clean starts are enough in this format.
Speed also leaves little room for a correction. A hit that runs past Mask’s own hand can expose his wrist. Arkona then gets time to cup and keep the fight near center. That placement suits an East vs West matchmaking model built around style pressure rather than a simple strength order.
Mask needs to keep moving through the hand. A stationary pull favors the thicker connection across from him.
Arkona Needs One Stop
Arkona’s 3-2 win over Brian Shaw supplied useful evidence. Shaw brought absurd general strength. Arkona looked more comfortable once the match reached referee’s grip, straps, and compromised positions. Our breakdown of Shaw’s loss explained why that connection mattered more than famous grip numbers.
Mask attacks earlier and higher than Shaw did. Arkona’s job begins with keeping his knuckles from opening on that first surge. If he contains the fingers and draws Mask toward his cup, the stop forces Mask to create a second hit from worse leverage.
A slip can bring the strap into play. Arkona has another chance there to contain Mask’s hand and keep force moving through his arm. Mask still owns speed, but he loses some of the open-hand escape that makes a free-grip hit so sharp.
One stopped round also gives Arkona timing information. He can feel how high Mask posts and where the back pressure arrives. A best-of-five moves quickly, yet one adjustment can still flip three rounds.
The Short Format Gives Mask the First Edge
Three explosive starts are enough. That makes Mask the narrow favorite and keeps him away from the longer exchange that best suits Arkona.
The prediction is Mask 3-1. It rests on Mask attacking the fingers before Arkona sets his cup. If the first round settles near center, that margin shrinks immediately. Arkona then gets to pull with structure, and every later start asks Mask for more.
I was born in the 1980s, so like a lot of fans, Over the Top was my first introduction to pro arm wrestling. Years later, Devon Larratt’s YouTube channel pulled me back in, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Rewatching classic matches, following the modern supermatch hype, and keeping up with the personalities, rivalries, and culture that make arm wrestling so addictive.