Canada's best gathered in Edmonton to crown three champions - by comfortable margins - and decide bids to the 2026 WUCC
August 22, 2025 by Kelsey Hayden in Recap
With WUCC bids on the line, the country’s top 14 players absent due a scheduling conflict with the World Games in China, and uncomfortably windy and cold conditions most of the weekend, this year’s Canadian Ultimate Championships was ripe with opportunity for exciting upsets. While the favorites came out on top in all three divisions in the end, the road to get to the final wasn’t easy, and many perennial contenders fell short along the way.
For an in-depth look at the major stories from CUCs, check out the latest Huckin’ Eh episode.
Open Division
By the end of Day 1, it was already clear that the open division could be won by at least five different teams. While the top seed in three of the four pools dominated their competition as expected, Pool J had the first taste of an upset when Winnipeg General Strike beat Vancouver Furious George in a 15-14 nail biter on Thursday afternoon.
Friday morning, in even colder temperatures and gustier winds, teams moved into power pools to fight for a spot in quarterfinals.
The Winnipeg contingent continued to strike, and bested Toronto GOAT by breaking them four times in a 13-12 victory. This, coupled with their previous win over Furious George, secured Winnipeg the top spot headed into Saturday.
This power pool also featured one of the most classic CUC rivalries – albeit a bit earlier than they often meet – between Furious and GOAT, with Furious taking the win 11-8. While the losses didn’t stop Toronto from a bid to quarters without a crossover (as everyone in the power pool beat Vancouver Blackfish), it did slot Toronto into the 5-8 portion of the bracket, a more challenging road ahead than they likely hoped for.
In the other power pool, Montreal Mephisto overtook the no.2 seed for quarters from Ottawa Phoenix, and as a result of GOAT’s losses, this set up Phoenix for a regional rematch against their Toronto foes in quarterfinals. Alberta AFC Rumble topped Halifax Red Circus, who struggled with a smaller squad due to injuries. Red Circus were forcing into a crossover later in the day, where they were bested by Quebec Manic – an underdog story for sure, given Manic started in the 13-16 pot for seeding. At the same time, Durham Houndd overtook Vancouver Blackfish for the final quarterfinal spot.
With only eight teams left in the title mix, Saturday morning’s quarterfinals saw no nail biters. All games were won in comfortable fashion, setting up a semifinal rematch between GOAT and General Strike, and an east versus west match between Furious George and Mephisto. GOAT and Strike went to universe again, but this time it was Toronto who came out on top, delivering General Strike their first loss of the weekend.
On the other side of the bracket however, not only did Montreal Mephisto beat the overall no.1 seed Furious George, they did so in unbelievably commanding fashion, winning 15-5. Furious scored just two goals in the first half, and could simply never dig themselves out of the hole in which Mephisto buried them.
The final set, and the sun finally shining, Toronto GOAT faced off against Montreal Mephisto for the title. While the road to get there wasn’t easy, Toronto seemed to bring all the pieces together just in time to win the trophy. They got their first break early, and continued to chip away at Montreal through the remainder of the game. Montreal was never able to gain a break back, and GOAT locked up the gold with a 15-10 win.
Though Canada currently has just two WUCC bids in the open division, those belong to the finalists. But more bids could always become available, giving increased meaning to the third place beyond earning bronze. Furious George were able to get their revenge and earn a podium finish with a 15-12 win over General Strike, a heartbreaking end to an otherwise stellar tournament by Winnipeg.
Statistical Leaders
- Rowan Jameison (Houndd) – 35 points (18A/17G)
- Stephen Crew (General Strike) – 30 point (18A/12G)
- Victor Curodeau (Quake) – 29 points (10A/19G)
Women’s Division
The first day of competition in the women’s division saw all top four seeds win out to hold their spots. While there were no huge upsets to start the tournament, a few teams did shake things up in their pool. Toronto Tiff’s Team – a new team but on that certainly does not lack experience – were originally seeded in the 13-16 pot due to an underwhelming performance at Ontario Regionals, but overtook both middle seeds in their pool to secure a berth into power pools alongside Halifax Salty. And while Quebec Iris were technically expected to beat Ottawa Stella given they were the top seed in the pool, no one expected it to be such a commanding victory: 14-3.
Power pools on day 2 featured particularly challenging conditions in the form of gusty wind, cold temps, and intermittent rain. Amidst the elements, the top two teams – Vancouver Traffic and Toronto 6ixers – showed their true dominance. By Friday’s end they were both 5-0 on the weekend, with no tight matches to their name.
Below them however, battles were being fought for the remaining quarterfinal spots. The new young kids on the scene, Vancouver Sea Cows, got the job done in a commanding fashion against Halifax Salty and then squeaked out a win against Tiff’s Team to earn their spot in the top 8, while Alberta Remix did just enough in their 9-7 win over Ottawa Stella to avoid the crossover and lock up a spot in quarters Saturday morning. Both Tiff’s Team and Stella played their crossovers late on Friday and managed to hold onto their right to fight for the gold, beating Newfoundland Tempest and Winnipeg Fusion, respectively, who were no doubt hoping to turn some heads and cross up.
Saturday morning quarterfinals featured two blowouts, with Traffic handing it to Stella 14-6 and Iris besting Salty 15-4. On the other side of the bracket however, things were a little spicier, with Tiff’s Team – a team nearly full of former Toronto 6ixers – facing off against their former squad, though 6ixers comfortably took the W 14-9. Lastly, Vancouver Sea Cows continued to show that what they lacked in age they make up for in skill and tenacity, beating Alberta Remix in a tight 10-9 victory.
With the semifinals set, the biggest question remaining was if anyone could break through and finally stop what felt like an inevitable Traffic v 6ixers final once again. While 6ixers comfortably held off the young Sea Cows squad to earn another final appearance, Quebec Iris did what they hadn’t been able to do in the past: beat Traffic, coming back from a 12-11 deficit to finish with a hold and two breaks to secure the 14-12 win.
Similar to the open final, the women’s final saw a Toronto – Quebec matchup, with Toronto a perennial favorite and Quebec looking to slay the giant for gold. But the match also played out nearly identically to the open divisions; the 6ixers got a break early and slowly added more breaks to the tally through the game. Iris were never able to get a break back, and after an admirable performance through the weekend, lost to Toronto 15-10.
With Canada’s two provisional bids allotted for WUCC 2026 belonging to the finalists, the two Vancouver teams in Sea Cows and Traffic were essentially fighting for an outside shot at a third bid, should one become available. In a shocking victory – especially considering just the day before Sea Cows lost to Traffic 13-5 – the youngins’ beat the vets 13-12, earning Sea Cows the bronze in their inaugural season.
Statistical Leaders
- Millie Wright (Fusion) – 35 points (25A/10G)
- Ryley Belanger (OZ) – 30 points (17A/13G)
- Daisy Lin (Traffic) – 28 points (20A/8G)
Mixed Division
The mixed division featured 20 teams – four more than the single gender divisions – and teams were fighting for the chance to earn one of three WUCC bids, making a podium finish even more valuable.
In another contrast to the single gender divisions, the mixed division had two days of regular pool play before a single round of crossovers late Friday afternoon, then the bracket on Saturday. All four top seeds – Montreal Odyssée, Surrey Super Dumplings, Quebec City Quest, and Toronto Union – got through their four pool play games unscathed. Few of the matches were close, except for when Winnipeg PBHG gave Odyssée a scare and played within one on Day 1, and Vancouver T.T pushing Quest to earn the W by just one point as well on Day 2.
With the top half of the bracket set by mid-day Friday, it was time for crossover play between the next eight to try to earn the those last four quarterfinals spots. PBHG faced off against Quebec Harfang in a textbook game of runs – Winnipeg went up 4-0 to start, Harfang rattled off a hold and five breaks to make it 6-4, then PBHG went on enough of a run at the end to win the low scoring game, 8-7. Kamloops Parched bested Crank despite a valiant late-game effort by Ottawa to bring the score from 12-7 to 12-10, but unfortunately the clock was on Kamloops’ side in the end. T.T and Richmond Royals comfortably won their quarters against Fredericton Spawn and Cambridge Koda, respectively.
Saturday’s quarters saw two blowouts – Odyssée walked past Parched giving up only one break, and T.T only put up six points against Toronto Union. But the other two quarters were exciting enough to make up for the more lackluster: PBHG had to muster some late-game heroics to come back from an 11-9 deficit to beat Super Dumplings 12-11 and secure their berth in semis, while Royals barely held on as Quest made a final push to nearly tie the game before the clock expired.
Unlike the single gender divisions, the mixed division had to play the entire bracket in one day, meaning the job was far from done on Saturday for the four teams remaining. Odyssée and Royals both won their semis without too much trouble, and shortly thereafter needed to suit up for their final on Saturday evening.
Odyssée quickly dismantled the Royals’ game plan and took an early 5-2 lead. While Royals were able to power back to make it close at times, they simply could never recover and overtake Montreal. Quentin Bonnaud could not be contained in the end zone for Odyssée, putting up seven goals in the final for the 15-11 win.
In the bronze medal game, with another WUCC bid on the line, PBHG lost in a one point heartbreaker to Union despite the valiant efforts of Tom Boyle and Matthew Page.
Statistical Leaders
- Duncan Schulz (Parched) – 38 points (32A/6G)
- Joshua Beasant (Zen Black) – 31 points (26A/5G)
- A three way tie for third with 26 points:
- Jonny Murray (Spawn), Rvee Brillantes (Royals), Peter Galbraith (Local 61)
