Teams were officially eliminated from title contention in the open division, while comebacks reigned supreme in the women's division, and Austria nearly stunned the mixed division -- again -- on day 3!
July 13, 2026 by Aidan Thomas in Recap
Monday brought the third day of action at WJUC, which meant the continuation of pool play in the mixed and women’s divisions, and conclusion of the initial pool play in the open division. The open competition now shifts into power pools, with the first few teams eliminated from title contention. While some teams will shift their attention to consolation brackets, the rest still have their eye on the prize as games continue to heat up in Logroño, Spain.
Mixed Division
Day three marked the halfway point of pool play, but brought no upsets by seed despite some tight battles.
In Pool A, top-seeded USA got their best challenge to date from France on stream, leading just 7-6 after the French squad held out of halftime. However, they ended on a 6-1 run to take care of business and move to 3-0 in pool play. The USA flashed their depth, with only two USA players scoring twice during that run against the French, Jonah Yang and Bodhi Weston. They bookended the onslaught, Weston finding Yang in rhythm to hold for 8-6, and Yang flipping a backhand to Weston for the game-winning break.
No.12 Austria nearly brought home another upset, completing over 40 passes to secure a hold and the late 11-10 advantage against China’s zone. But they couldn’t replicate the feat on their next offensive point, turning a low swing, and China quickly marched down the field for the break to retake the lead, 12-11. Receiving on universe, China held cleanly for their first win of the tournament.
Switzerland handled Hong Kong with ease in the other pool game. With the top four teams advancing out of Pool A, five teams currently sit with 2+ wins. This should set up some intriguing battles down the stretch, after Austria’s upset of no.4 Singapore threw the pool into disarray on Sunday.
In Pool B, it’s continued to go to seed. Hungary blanked Ireland, 13-0, Colombia handled Spain, 13-7, and Australia won the tightest game in the pool, 11-9 over an upset-minded Mexico team. It’s devastating for Mexico, who now likely need to beat no.3 Hungary to advance to the championship bracket. Aidan Haire notched four assists to keep Australia in the driver’s seat for a berth in the quarterfinals. The Australian offense was broken just once, ending the game with eight successful holds to claim victory.
China’s Huaiqian Hu continues to be the star of the division with 16 assists to lead the field. Switzerland’s Nino Stauffer leads in goals per game with eight over three contests.
Women’s Division
Monday brought the first upsets of the division, though whether they have major bracket implications remains to be seen. In Pool A, no.12 Great Britain started the day holding serve with a 13-5 win over lower-ranked Spain, and rolled that momentum into a win over no.9 Colombia, 12-7. That gives Britain life, but they likely still need to upset no.7 Czech Republic to make the championship bracket.
France had the win of the day on stream, coming back from being down 11-7 to notch four straight breaks and go up 12-11 on Czech Republic. The teams exchanged holds and third-seeded France avoided a massive upset. Gaétane Le Pézennec had a stunning five-assist, three-goal effort to lift the French. Down 11-7, she collected the goal for the initial hold, later delivered the assist on the game-tying break, and scored the fourth break of the surge to take the lead. Fittingly, she was on the receiving end of a dish from Ella Maillard to secure the victory on double game point.
The Czechs, for their part, recovered well and mowed down Spain 13-7, and the top-ranked Italians handled New Zealand and Colombia by the same scorelines.
In Pool B, no.11 Germany pulled the mini-upset, 12-11 over no.10 Singapore. It was the second universe-point clash for the Germans, who earlier held off no.14 Sweden. Impressively, Germany broke to win in both games. Against Sweden, they broke three straight times as part of a comeback from a 12-9 deficit. Then, after giving up a 10-6 lead to go down 11-10 versus Singapore, Germany stemmed the bleeding with a hold and got one more break to earn the victory. Isabel Frances Kuersten was the main star with five goals and five assists across the two games, including seven total scores in the comeback versus Sweden. Germany likely need one more upset over no.8 Belgium to get into the championship bracket.
Elsewhere, Canada beat Belgium 13-9, before Belgium took advantage of a reeling Sweden squad and earned a 13-4 win. USA thoroughly took down Singapore 13-3 and survived Japan 13-9. In that game, there were no breaks until the USA managed to break for half and go up 7-5. The USA’s O-line was perfect and earned two more second-half breaks to seal the victory. Fifteen players were involved in at least one score for the Americans.
After her huge game, Le Pézennec moved into the division lead for total goal contributions and the solo lead in goals per game. Alena Čechová of Czech Republic and Ella Maillard of France are each averaging three assists per game to lead the division.
Open Division
The Open Division has a different format from women’s and mixed, with initial pool play consisting of just three or four games that eliminate seven of the 19 total teams from bracket contention. The other 12 teams move into Power Pools E and F that will determine the eight quarterfinalists.
In Pool A, things went perfectly to seed for the third straight day. USA thrashed Finland 13-1, officially eliminating the Finnish squad. Japan handled Singapore 13-4 to claim second in the pool, but both teams advanced into Power Pool E.
In Pool B, Israel’s day 1 upset over Great Britain proved to be key, as they advanced into the last slot in Power Pools E. Great Britain did win their first game, 13-7 over South Africa, but both teams were eliminated from title contention. Belgium, meanwhile, pulled off a stunner on stream as the no.7 seed upset second-seeded Italy on universe point to claim the top seed in the pool. There were eight total breaks in the game, but it was tense hold of over five minutes that clinched the result for the Belgians. Belgium’s Pierjan Deforce was a force, scoring three goals and two assists in the victory to lead the division in scores and assists per game. Both nations are now slotted into Power Pool F, and Italy will need to hope the upset doesn’t ruin their championship bracket chances.
Pool C was more chalk, as Canada handled Czech Republic 13-2 and Sweden 13-5.1 New Zealand toppled the Swedes 13-10 in a wire-to-wire victory and Netherlands 13-7. Sweden and Netherlands are out and into consolation, while the other three nations move on to Power Pool E.
In Pool D, Ireland lost by 13-1 scorelines to both Germany and France, while the French side beat Spain by the same score. Germany beat Colombia 11-8. Spain and Ireland head to consolation, while Germany, Colombia and France’s title chances are still alive.
The Power Pools will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the top four seeds in each six-team pool advancing to the championship bracket.
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