The CrossFit Games season is here and there’s no better way to kick off the 2015 Open than pitting two giants of the sport against each other after the first workout is announced. The 

showdown takes place Thursday in Canton, Mass., at Reebok CrossFit One, between four-time Games' champion Rich Froning Jr. and 2014 second-place finisher, Mat Fraser.

 

“Mat Fraser - get used to the name,” said Rory McKernan, Games analyst in a Games Update posted on Feb. 18. “He’s going to step into the shoes. … He deserves the hype because of all of the work he’s put in over the past year. He’s got it all.”

 

Since the start of 2015, Fraser has made headlines with his first-place finish at the Kill Cliff East Coast Championships. He also caught fans’ attention in early February with the announcement that he would join Olympic weightlifter Dmitry Klokov as part of the Baltimore Anthem lineup for the second season of Grid.

 

“What I like most about this kid is the way he plays the game,” McKernan said. “He’s very Froning-esque. He’s got awareness on the court. He’s looking up and down the court and he knows who he needs to beat.”

 

With Froning retiring from the individual competition this year, officials say a new era in the sport will soon begin, opening the door for both veteran and new male athletes.

 

“This is only good news if you’re a male athlete at CrossFit Games with hopes of getting that medal around your neck,” said Pat Sherwood, Games analyst. But before that new dawn comes, Froning will compete as an individual in WOD 1 of the Open in what has already been a much anticipated match-up.

 

Although athletes and fans won’t learn what 2015 holds in store for WOD 1 until Thursday’s announcement, historically, week one of the Open has featured some combination of snatches and double-unders or burpees, with the exception of 2012, which dropped the snatches and featured a 7-minute hell of straight burpees.

 

In 2011, athletes completed a 10-minute AMRAP of 30 double unders and 15 power snatches (75/55 pounds). Two years ago, athletes tackled a 17-minute AMRAP that featured a ladder of snatches increasing in weight and a descending sequence of burpees; and last year athletes repeated the 2011 AMRAP.

 

If 2015 stays true to the past, Fraser will have his work cut out for him. In 2013, Froning placed 2nd among male athletes in week one with 197 repetitions. Fraser finished just ten reps behind Froning, but with such a tight field he claimed the 79th spot overall. Last year, Froning took fourth in week one with 444 reps, and Fraser climbed to 28th with 415 reps.

 

Of course, this analysis may all be for naught if Games' Director Dave Castro decides to throw one of his infamous curve balls and feature movements completely different from past week-one workouts.

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