Taking a hard look at what has made each of the Pro Champs finalists so successful.
September 1, 2025 by Edward Stephens in Recap
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Sunday at Pro Champs was every bit as thrilling as Saturday had led us to hope for. Five of the six games on the slate were decided by two points or fewer, and changes of lead or momentum were frequent. There was no guarantee that #1 San Francisco Revolver and #14 Chicago Machine, who went undefeated in pool play, would survive to reach the Labor Day finale. Both endured quarterfinal universe point scares (to #3 Washington DC Truck Stop and #5 Portland Rhino Slam!, respectively) and weathered the very best their semifinal opponents (#2 Boston DiG and #4 New York PoNY, again respectively) had to throw at them. The upshot is that the two teams who have looked the best this weekend will meet in the final for the unofficial status of championship favorites.
They are quite different clubs, however, and it’s worth examining what it is about them that has helped them each fill up the win column with five W’s this weekend. With that in mind, let’s do a little inquiry into the character of each of these remarkable clubs.
Revolver: The Clutch Gene
Getting breaks is a tall ask at the elite level. Not only do you have to get the disc to begin with, you then have to gather your wits and lower your heartrate for what is nearly always a slog of a counter.
Elevating your play late into a game is tricky, too. You have to keep your energy high, roll with the opposing teams adjustments, and stay focused for the end of a ninety minute stretch — all while both remembering and forgetting the mounting recent history of that parts of the game that have already been played, taking the scouting lessons and forgetting the unhelpful mistakes.
So how is it that Revolver’s D-line are so good in late-and-close situations? They have won their last three elimination games (dating back to the US Open final) on late-game breaks to win by skinny margins. What makes them so very clutch?
Pro Championships 2025: Machine and Revolver, a Character Study (Men’s Div. Day Two Recap) is only available to Ultiworld Subscribers
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