Hans Niemann bounced back quickly after a difficult finish at the U.S. Championship. Two days following his loss to Jeffery Xiong, which dropped him from the 2700 rating club according to Chess.com, Niemann claimed victory in Freestyle Friday. He finished tied on points with Sina Movahed at 9/11 but secured first place on tiebreaks with a score of 73.5 to Movahed's 61.5.

The victory marked Niemann's third Freestyle Friday title and his first during the event's Championship era. Movahed, who had won the previous week, fell short of a repeat. Parham Maghsoodloo took third place with 8.5 points, while Reza Mahdavi and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan tied for fourth. The first-place prize was $400, with $250 going to Movahed and $150 to Maghsoodloo.

Niemann's path to victory included an uneven start with an early loss to Mahdavi after missing a counter-trick. He then streaked to five consecutive wins, including a victory over Faustino Oro. In round ten, Niemann defeated Movahed directly, a game Chess.com identified as decisive to the tournament's outcome.

The title-deciding final round against Chithambaram tested Niemann's composure. Chithambaram sacrificed a piece and created chaos on the board, leaving two of Niemann's pieces stranded on g1 and h1. Despite the disorder, Niemann held the draw to secure the tournament. IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham won the women's prize.