The old guard stays put with new reserves
August 1, 2026 by Graham Gerhart in Recap
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 club ultimate season is presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author(s). Find out how Spin can get you, and your team, looking your best this season.
Quick, off the top of your head: Since 2012 when it was first announced, when was the last time a team that wasn’t Fury, Brute Squad, or Scandal won the US Open? If you said never, you’re wrong. Revolution won in 2017. Unfortunately, this season doesn’t have a team like Revolution to shake up the tournament, and after day one, it looks like we’re headed to the inevitable conclusion of those same teams playing each other for the title once more. And yet are these really the same teams they’ve always been in the past? Is all we’ve learned from day one that history repeats itself?
Somehow no. There was plenty of action in Aurora Sports Park on day one. Friday lived up to the promise of great ultimate and maliciously hot weather. While the top teams are still the toast of the tournament, they aren’t the same teams from US Opens of yore. It might not be a Brave New World in Colorado, but it’s still worth diving into as we unpack the events of the day.
Same Dynasties, New Talent
The stability of the top tier of women’s ultimate is oft met with resignation from those around the division and its fans. San Francisco Fury, Boston Brute Squad, and D.C. Scandal have weathered the storm time and again, and have proven their staying power as the best teams in the nation. Even as other programs rise and fall, these three seem to remain as immovable as ever from their position in the rankings.
On the surface, Friday did little to change that assumption. All three teams won their pools with a point difference of +7 or more, and they all comfortably slotted into a quarters bye. Even Brute Squad, the sole member of the trio who lost a game on Friday, only did so to Scandal in the crossover round, and it did little to dissuade fans watching at home that they weren’t entirely capable of turning it all around on a whim. By all accounts, the dynasty programs seem even more dialed in than last year, when we had upsets from both Riot and BENT to turn Friday into a heater.
Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find that the comparison to previous programs might be a little overblown.
US Open 2026: What’s Old and What’s New from Day One (Women’s Div.) is only available to Ultiworld Subscribers
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