Buzzer Beater: Atlanta Knabs A Double Overtime Win [UFA Week 4, 2026]

Double overtime in Atlanta and a major mishap in Montreal lead the headlines this week.

May 18, 2026 by Alex Rubin in Rankings, Recap

If you have questions about the UFA, you can also write in to [email protected], and some weeks I will feature a reader question in this column. Subscribers can also DM me in the Ultiworld Discord or post questions in the UFA channel so others can chime in.

A Three Game Series Begins

The Atlanta Hustle took down the Carolina Flyers in double overtime thriller this week. While there were many highlight plays throughout the game, the key moment was Hayden Austin-Knab’s diving point block in the sudden death period that allowed Atlanta to get the disc back and hold on for a 23-22 win.

Atlanta has a penchant for playing close games. They lost to the Austin Sol in double overtime back in week one, and fell last week by a single goal to the San Diego Growlers. Now with a one goal win over Carolina, Atlanta has demonstrated a clear ability to hang in games against tough competition without separating themselves from the rest of the pack. The South Division is shaping up to be the most exciting division race in the league with four teams playing playoff caliber ultimate and just three playoff spots available. Last season Atlanta broke through to Championship Weekend for the first time ever, but they will have to fight to retain their place as division favorites.

Adding intrigue into this week’s game is that it is the first of essentially a three game series between Carolina and Atlanta. They play again each of the next two weeks, a schedule so rare that I cannot remember it happening.¹ Adjustments that might typically take months to play out will now be tested in a matter of weeks; the chess match between the coaching staffs of each franchise will provide unique insight into their respective approaches.

One other element to pay attention to is the impact of college-aged players. Carolina’s Tobias Brooks, Zeke Thoreson, and Josh Singleton are all scheduled to play next week at the D-I College Championships, but they could see the field for the final matchup of this series. Likewise, it is possible that Adam Miller and Brett Hulsmeyer will be out for Atlanta, as those two also coach Georgia Tech in addition to their playing duties. While the coaches will have their weeks full making strategic adjustments, they will also need to do so while relying on more depth than they might in a typical week.

In other sports like basketball, baseball, or hockey, two teams playing a series of games against each other is common. Such schedules are not typically made in any form of ultimate, so this is a really unique opportunity to see what that looks like – perhaps it becomes a new schedule feature rather than an oddity if the teams and players like it.

How this series plays out will certainly affect the playoff picture. In such a competitive division, no team can afford to write off a given week just because a star player or two is missing. It will be very fun to see these two teams go toe-to-toe with everything they have over the next fortnight. I’ll certainly be watching and we’ll keep you updated here, of course, as well.

News and Notes

• The Boston Glory escaped a scare from the Montreal Royal, holding on for a 21-19 win in overtime. Ryan Dinger’s stunning turnover (it looked like he argued that it should have been called a throwing foul) with about nine seconds left in regulation allowed Montreal a chance to tie the game, and Malik Auger-Semmar (he of five assists and four goals) forcefully ripped the disc out of the air as the buzzer sounded to give fans five more free minutes of Frisbee. In overtime, the Glory broke twice to clinch the win and retain their position atop the division standings.
• The Minnesota Wind Chill completed a weekend road trip sweep, taking down the Indianapolis AlleyCats 21-13 before a 20-15 win against the Chicago Union. St. Olaf alums Will Brandt (3A/3G against Indy) and Gordon Larson (6A against Chicago) led the way as their former college team scored a major upset down the road in Waukegan at the D-III College Championships.
• Behind six assists from Nico Ranabhat, the Madison Radicals took down the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds 21-17. Pieran Robert added four blocks and four goals as the Radicals continue their so-far undefeated season.
• In this week’s Friday Night Frisbee game, the DC Breeze routed the Colorado Apex 32-16. DC completed all 11 of its hucks and Sean Mott led the game with seven assists. As a team, DC earned a whopping 17 blocks to Colorado’s four. One bright spot for Colorado: they went 100% converting their break chances, completing both counterattack opportunities they got during the game.
• The Apex did not fair any better against the New York Empire, falling 31-14. John Randolph led the way for New York with five assists, three goals and two blocks from the D-line, and New York also went 100% on hucks.
• The Houston Havoc earned their first win of the season, holding on for a 15-13 victory against the Vegas Bighorns. Mark Turner was at the center of the action with three goals and three assists.
• In the second game of the Bighorns’s trip, the Austin Sol crushed Vegas by a 25-8 scoreline. Austin’s O-line gave up just a single break chance (which was not converted) as the Sol flexed their dominance over a tired and inferior opponent.
• The Seattle Cascades continued their march towards a playoff spot with a solid 18-12 win over the Oregon Steel.
• The Oakland Spiders continued their undefeated season, earning their fifth straight win by at least ten goals 25-15 over the San Diego Growlers. Daniel Ritthaler has been a revelation for the Spiders this season and showed off in this game to the tune of four assists and four goals. Carter Lankford added four blocks to his league-leading count. Assuming we count Oakland’s three games against Colorado as wins, the Spiders have basically already clinched a playoff spot.

UFA Power Rankings

• The Toronto-Montreal collective moves ahead of Chicago
• Colorado falls after their -30 point diff weekend
• Atlanta rises after a key win over Carolina, though their losses to San Diego and Austin keep them from eclipsing the Flyers given that the two teams played to double overtime.

1. Though to provide full disclosure, I have not checked historical schedules to see if this is true ↩