Gatha Anandrao Khadake and Andrea Becerra powered Prithviraj Yodhas past Chero Archers in the first knockout match of Archery Premier League season 2 at People’s Plaza in Hyderabad on Saturday.

With the race for the playoffs going down to the wire, Yodhas beat defending champion Rajputana Royals 6-0 in their final league match and made it back-to-back wins with a 5-1 verdict against Archers in Eliminator 1.

Yodhas and Archers split the first set 75-75. Gatha Anadrao Khadake started with an eight before recovering well. Atanu Das struggled with his rhythm and an eight from him proved costly. He started the second set with a seven, and that again cost Archers dear.

Gatha shot an impressive 56 out of 60 while Andrea Becerra shot a perfect 60. Gatha had also shot 56 in the must-win clash against Royals. Becerra, across both matches, finished the day with a remarkable 120 out of 120.

Earlier, Archers edged Chola Chiefs in a thrilling shootoff after the match was tied 4-4. Compound World No. 1 Mathias Fullerton was the only one to hit the inner yellow ring.

In what was a dress rehearsal for its Qualifier 1 clash on Sunday, Kakatiya Knights capped a memorable round-robin campaign with a 6-0 win against Mighty Marathas.

Nico Wiener and Jyothi Surekha Vennam were flawless, shooting 60 out of 60 despite the gusty conditions. Marathas, who opted to rest Neeraj Chauhan and Dhiraj Bommadevara, never found their rhythm.

While the winner of the Knights-Marathas clash will reach the final, the loser will face Yodhas in Q2.

The scores: Kakatiya Knights bt Mighty Marathas 6-0 (77-69, 72-64, 78-74); Chero Archers tied with Chola Chiefs 4-4 (70-74, 73-68, 74-69, 73-76). Archers won 1-0 in shootoff; Prithviraj Yodhas bt Rajputana Royals 6-0 (76-73, 74-72, 78-73).

Eliminator 1: Yodhas bt Archers 5-1 (75-75, 77-74, 79-75).