Marcus’s rollercoaster career over the last decade or so comes with a long list of near misses and dips in form, but he has without question matured into an exceptional athlete. A key moment in that process was winning at this tournament in 2022 in Santiago, which paved the way for eleven months as world number one in 2023.
Still, it’s been a tricky year by his standards, with three indifferent individual performances at the World Cups in Puebla, Shanghai, and Antalya – after booking a win last year in Antalya at his ninth attempt in the city.
“Today when I woke up, I said, ‘It doesn’t matter who is next to me, I am going to do my job,’ and I know my level is very high, so I knew I could win,” he said.
In Tlaxcala, he narrowly beat Brady Ellison in a shoot-off, taking only his second win over Brady in six attempts dating back to 2014, then put on a crushing 6-0 display against the surprise semi-finalist Eric Peters.
More than the scoreline or the result; it showed D’Almeida as a different competitor, less rattled by a shot wandering, more clinical and clearly with far more trust in himself. It was a joy to watch, and perhaps will catalyse another big run of form for the Brazilian, with LA28 starting to loom.
Much of Marcus‘ career seems to have been trying to fulfil spectacular early promise, and never quite making it. The 2026 Marcus looks like there’s plenty left in the tank.
