One of the tournament's first notable upsets as group stage action continues.
July 12, 2026 by Rhea Patney in Recap
Thirty-two games across three divisions continued pool play at the World Junior Ultimate Championships in Logroño, Spain on Sunday. The day was highlighted by Austria’s mixed team pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, while Ireland and Czech Republic earned hard-fought wins in the Open division. The USA Women and Mixed teams made their first appearance of the tournament, cruising through their opening matchups.
Women’s Division
The was another day of all chalk in the Women’s Division, with none of the games particularly close. In the first round, Belgium defeated Singapore 13-5, Canada beat Sweden 13-2, and New Zealand topped Colombia 11-6. The USA Women took the field for the first time this tournament in the second round, cruising past Sweden 13-2. Canada also rolled past Germany 13-0, while Japan defeated Singapore 13-2.
Louisa Shernoff shined for the United States, posting three assists and two goals. The U.S. also spread the wealth offensively, with nine different players recording assists and 10 finding the end zone. For Belgium, Maiwenn Le Duc finished with four goals and one assist, while Ilah Callebaut and Pita D’Hespeel each recorded three assists.
For Canada, the Bell duo could not be stopped across their two games. Tessa Bell totaled four assists and four goals, while Daphne Bell added four assists and two goals. Like the United States, Canada distributed the disc throughout its roster, with 12 different players recording assists and 16 scoring goals. New Zealand was led by Carenza Elley (three assists) and Casey Hurley (three goals), while Japan‘s leaders included Hana Kaneshita (three assists) and Ai Imamoto and Yuna Tsugane (two goals apiece).
Pool play continues tomorrow with four more rounds of women’s games. Keep an eye on No. 12 Great Britain vs. No. 13 Spain and No. 10 Singapore vs. No. 11 Germany as two matchups with the potential to be the closest of the day.
Mixed Division
The first round of mixed featured a huge upset, with No. 12 Austria taking down No. 4 Singapore 10-7. After opening with holds, Austria earned the first break to go up 3-2 around the 30-minute mark. Singapore broke back before halftime, but Austria came out of the half firing on offense, holding once before rattling off four straight breaks. Johannes Krull and Jonas Sammer led the charge as Austria held onto that separation for the rest of the game.
No. 10 China also pushed No. 9 France to universe, but France escaped with a 9-8 win. France earned the opening break of the game and the deciding break on universe, with Eva Payet finding Soline Baron in the end zone for the winner. Elsewhere, Hungary, Canada, Colombia, and the USA cruised through their opening-round matchups.
The second round of mixed featured several more lopsided results, with the USA, Spain, and Canada all winning by large margins. Austria followed up its upset with a 13-7 win over Hong Kong after jumping out to a 4-1 lead that Hong Kong couldn’t overcome. Hungary defeated Australia 11-7 after the game was tied 6-6, rattling off five straight scores to close it out.
The closest game of the round was Singapore vs. Switzerland, with Singapore earning an 11-8 victory. Switzerland stormed out to a 3-0 lead, but Singapore remained composed. After battling back, Singapore finished the game with four straight breaks to seal the comeback win.
Tomorrow will feature fewer mixed pool play games, but there are still some close seed matchups worth tracking. No. 8 Australia takes on No. 9 Mexico in the first round, while No. 10 China faces No. 12 Austria in the third round. After their victory over Singapore, Austria will have another exciting opportunity to spring an upset.
Open Division
There were 14 open pool play games today. In the first round, Ireland took down Spain on universe, 12-11. Ireland jumped out to an 11-7 lead, but Spain answered with a hold and four straight breaks to tie the game at 11-11. Ireland then held on universe to secure the win.
Ireland was led by Conor Foley (four assists) and Matthew Clarke (three goals). For Spain, Hugo Rodriguez Betancort led the way with four goals and one assist, while Diego Rodríguez Vega added two assists and one goal and Amán Rodríguez Vega contributed two goals and one assist. The trio powered Spain’s break train and nearly completed the comeback.
March Madness bracket enthusiasts know about the dreaded No.8 seed vs. No.9 seed matchup, and the latter prevailed today. In the second round, Czech Republic defeated New Zealand 12-10. Matěj Žiška (six assists) and Matěj Záluský (five goals, two assists) have been dominant for Czech Republic, and the duo connected to seal the game-winning break.
In the third round, No. 6 France upset No. 4 Germany in a low-scoring battle, winning 10-5. The first point was a messy hold for France, and the second point lasted nearly 14 minutes before France finally earned the break. The highlight play came from France’s Marin Perez at 28:30, who recorded a callahan hold. A German player attempted an airbounce backhand out of the end zone, but the throw bounced off the receiver’s hands and Perez secured the score.
The closest game of the fourth round was Czech Republic’s 10-7 victory over Sweden. Monday will bring another busy day of open pool play, with 7 games streaming on Ultiworld.
