The best players in the mixed division in 2025!
November 7, 2025 by Benjamin Rees in Awards
With the EUCS now in its second year with the revamped structure, teams and players had some more familiarity with the shape of the season, allowing units to better tweak their plans and assert their dominance on the field. Who rose above the pack and stood out this season? Here are your winners in the 2025 European Player of the Year awards.
Player of the Year
Jakob Dunshirn (Mosquitos)
Coming into this season, Mosquitos were a dark horse as a potential EUCF champion. Their results were trending upwards, and a universe point loss to last year’s runners up Tiefseetaucher at Elite Invite underlined their status as a title contender. Having said that, their performance at EUCF still caught some by surprise, with a dominant display en route to their first crown1. None of that is possible without Jakob Dunshirn. Their leadership both on and off the field was obvious, keeping the team level in pressure situations and leaning on their championship experience with GRUT to steer the team through tough moments, like the quarter-final victory over Tartu Turbulence2. Dunshirn piled on the pressure defensively, drove the disc downfield on the turn, and crossed over to steady the ship when the offense got stuck in a rut. The heartbeat of an outstanding Austrian outfit, Dunshirn led from the front in all aspects, earning their place at the top of the division.
First Runner-Up
Johanna Roy (Mosquitos)
As Mosquitos mowed down all challengers at the season finale, there were few players who caught the eye more than Johanna Roy. Roy proved to be one of the toughest covers at the tournament, with teams unable to shut her out of the gameplan, and struggling to find matchups that could contain her. A driving force downfield, she could always be relied upon to draw top defenders and still get the job done as Mosquitos finished atop the pile at the end of the season.
Second Runner-Up
Denis Holzer (Tiefseetaucher)
Tiefseetaucher’s season followed a similar trajectory to last year, figuring as the team to beat with victories over the other two title contenders at Elite Invite and Summer Tour. While they couldn’t maintain that pace at EUCF, finishing in third3, Denis Holzer’s importance and exploits throughout the course of the season were clear to anyone who cast even a brief eye over the Germans. On a roster full of elite talent, Holzer’s star shone brighter than any other, even as he continues to shoulder a heavy load offensively.
Woman-Matching Offensive Player of the Year
Johanna Roy (Mosquitos)
Whether it was initiating in the cutting lanes, drawing double coverage to open acres of space for teammates, or leaning on a killer finishing instinct, Roy’s impact was clear all over the field, as her 4A/13G performance at EUCF shows. Unless opponents can figure out a scheme in the offseason to slow her down, expect Roy to be a matchup nightmare in the mixed division for seasons to come, as opponents face the classic ‘pick your poison’ dilemma of how to defend her.
Runner-Up
Ruth Golightly (Deep Space)
While Deep Space’s season finished on a sour note4, that shouldn’t diminish Ruth Golightly’s importance as the anchor of an offense that for much of the season looked on course for the fabled three-peat. Metronomic with disc in hand, her shrewd decision making and ability to keep things ticking allowed her teammates to flourish downfield. Accompanied by an improved scoring prowess this season, her 8A/6G statline at EUCF illustrates her reliability and versatility whenever she was on the pitch.
Man-Matching Offensive Player of the Year
Denis Holzer (Tiefseetaucher)
Denis Holzer is an old school offensive workhorse, happy to collect every other pass as he dictates the offensive tempo. Although Holzer is perhaps more easily pigeonholed into a handling role5, he performs that part like no other player in the division, providing the most reliable reset around and relying on a well-worn box of tricks to get Tiefseetaucher out of any offensive jams. The fact that Holzer finished with nearly three times as many assists as his closest teammate underlines that he really is the fulcrum that Tiefseetaucher operate around.
Runner-Up
Markus Hammerl (Mosquitos)
Mosquitos thrived on generating offense in big chunks, and Markus Hammerl was the hybrid that helped make much of that possible. Hammerl was able to use his large frame downfield to box out on deep shots, as well as claim open underneath spaces before utilising his wingspan to break the mark and air it out himself. Given the license to shoot when he saw fit, Hammerl did misfire at times, but when he found his range his ability to carve open defenses was almost unmatched.
Woman-Matching Defensive Player of the Year
Joana Erdmann (Disconnection)
Fresh off a World Games campaign with Germany this summer, Joana Erdmann continued to put the mixed division on notice at EUCF. Disconnection consistently tasked her with isolating and minimizing their opponents’ number one option, and time and again she stepped up to force teams to go to plan B. Erdmann found ways to constantly make a nuisance of herself with her limpet-like coverage, as her star continues to rise.
Runner-Up
Leni Meister (Mosquitos)
Leni Meister was one of a number of Mosquitos who took big strides forward this season as they romped to gold, and it was her defensive ability that really caught the eye of any observer6. Used as a Swiss Army Knife, Meister was happy to fluster handlers, battle receivers on long shots, and everything in between and beyond.
Man-Matching Defensive Player of the Year
Ian Tait (Deep Space)
Ian Tait has often made a promise to his Deep Space teammates – get him a good night’s sleep, and he’ll get you layout blocks. This season, he did all that and more. Tait’s size and length make him a natural option to stop deep threats, but his ability to stop things at source with a stifling mark was noticeable. That’s to say nothing of his excellent field awareness to peel off and find ways to provide a roadblock for opponents, or his voracious appetite for hunting block opportunities. Tait was monstrous in Deep Space’s two biggest games of the season, and his play demanded you appreciate it in all its long-limbed glory.
Runner-Up
Moritz Hinkel (Mosquitos)
Unsurprisingly for the new champions, the end of season awards are littered with Mosquitos, with Moritz Hinkel another player making the leap this year. Hinkel was tasked with being an aggressive block hunter, hassling and harrying opponents, before driving the D-line for breaks after the turn, roles he performed to destructive effect.
Woman-Matching Breakout Player of the Year
Carmelle Ellis (Deep Space)
Last season’s champions had an eyebrow-raising roster turnover coming into the season, casting their net wider to recruit talent from compatriots Leamington Lemmings. Of that contingent, Carmelle Ellis might have been the least heralded, yet she may well have been the most impactful. Normally clad in some signature sunglasses, Ellis had a swagger about her play that belied her lack of familiarity with her new team. When situations got sticky, Ellis was a spark plug, doggedly hunting blocks and breaking out a stylish arsenal of throws on the turn.
Runner-Up
Pia Bankwitz (Disconnection)
After catching the eye for Germany Women at U24s in Nottingham in 2023 as a natural finisher, Pia Bankwitz has gone from strength to strength by diversifying her game. Bankwitz notched her best season yet for Disconnection as an offensive hybrid, providing goalscoring prowess when required but also bring more comfortable dropping back into the handler space, especially against the mixed division’s variety of zone defenses – her 6A/6G statline at EUCF shows how her role shift has helped to maximize some of her evident potential.
Man-Matching Breakout Player of the Year
Michael Schütz (Tiefseetaucher)
It’s never easy playing in the shadow of a sibling. It’s even harder when they played at the World Games, as Lisa Schütz did this summer for Germany. For Michael Schütz to step out from behind his sister and become a key piece for Tiefseetaucher shows that he’s mentally ready to become a fixture at the elite level. At times, he looked like the best player on the field, taking on tough throws, demanding the disc after cutting with conviction, and not wilting under the pressure of the big moment. At just 19 years old, his performance this season, alongside big sister’s exploits, has let everyone know the Schütz siblings are here to stay.
Runner-Up
Constantin Angetter (Mosquitos)
It’s never easy playing in the shadow of a sibling7. It was impossible to watch Mosquitos this season without seeing the Angetter brothers tearing it up offensively. While Christoph, the elder of the two, can flex around the field, Constantin shouldered the offense from a central handling role that fits him to a T. Using a variety of release points to flummox his marks8, and a sprinkling of creativity with his throwing range, Constantin might well be the division’s best handler at just 20 years old. The only thing that stopped him taking the award this year was that his performances for Austria’s youth sides meant there might have already been too much awareness of his abilities.
No opponent came closer than a 15-11 scoreline. ↩
The Estonians knocked Mosquitos out at the same stage of last year’s EUCF. ↩
One place behind last year’s silver medal finish. ↩
A 15-10 loss to Mosquitos in the EUCF final with an error-strewn performance. ↩
Holzer finished EUCF with 26 assists and 2 goals. ↩
Not those observers. This is Europe, after all. ↩
As a wise scribe once wrote… ↩
Alongside the inherent left-handed advantage, of course. ↩
