The teams, games, and stars to watch as elimination play hits fill tilt.
August 19, 2026 by Aidan Thomas in Recap
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships 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.
Mixed Division
The 32-team bracket is set in the Mixed Division, and now, with all the possible permutations cast to the side, we can look at the path to glory presented to our top contenders, and the potential spoilers that lurk in their way.
Bracket Draw Winners
No.1 Ann Arbor Hybrid
The clear favorite heading into the tournament was Ann Arbor Hybrid, and they’ve made no mistake, with a +50 point differential in their five pool play games. They likely didn’t really care too much about who stood in their way in the bracket, but landing on the opposite of the bracket of the other American teams is quite nice. For No.14 Academia, No.19 Freakshow, and No.17 Union, they’ll be dismayed to draw the American powerhouse in their quadrant of the bracket, as a quarterfinal run looks nearly impossible for those three sides.
No.5 Deep Space
Meanwhile, unbeaten Deep Space (+24 point differential) has a straightforward path to a quarterfinal, as they draw No.25 CUS Padova Rangərs in the first round and would await the winner of No.12 BFD Redshot and No.24 33 Tours in the Round of 16. If they take advantage of the path given to them, they may be more well rested for a quarterfinal with (likely) one of Manly Mosh or Mosquitos. In the one portion of the bracket that doesn’t require beating an American team to reach semifinals, Deep Space has the best draw.
No.6 New York XIST
XIST should feel quite comfortable with their path to the semifinals. Their highest-ranked opponent before that stage would, at best, be No.16 Savage Ultimate. A variety of upsets leave a sprinkling of Cinderella stories in XIST’s way, and they’ll be more than happy to make sure the shoe doesn’t fit any of our spunky underdogs. The New Yorkers should be able to roll into a semifinal with a decent amount of rest after posting the third-best point differential (+37) in Pool Play.
Bracket Draw Losers
No.4 Mosquitos Klosterneuburg
Mosquitos Klosterneuburg (5-0, +33), should have been thrilled to land in this Amercian-less quarter of the bracket, but the path to semifinals is not without obstacles. Should they dispatch the upset kids, No.48 Aethers Warsaw, the Austrian troup’s quarterfinal would potentially be No.3 Manly Mosh, whose pool play upset at the hands of No.17 Union dropped them into this corner of the bracket. A top-5 clash looms in the Round of 16.
No.17 Toronto Union
The second-place finisher in Pool C would have found their way into that aforementioned section of the bracket requiring no wins over USA teams before the semifinals. Instead, Union, who upset No.3 Manly Mosh, was the loser of a three-way tiebreak between 4-1 teams in Pool C. That dropped them to third place, and their reward is a tough Round of 32 game vs. No.19 Freakshow, and a near-hopeless Round of 16 draw with Hybrid.
No. 11 JANDLUX
This one is entirely their own fault, but No.11 JANDLUX needed a win over No.41 Chili Heat to earn a Round of 32 clash with No.39 SuperNova. Instead, they lost that game, and are now faced with an opening round battle with No. 10 Royals, with No.7 shame. and their +45 point differential looming in the Round of 16.
Darkhorses to Watch
No.10 Royals
They become Canada’s best hope in the Mixed Division, given Union’s draw. After a 4-1 showing in pool play with a strong +29 point differential, the Royals will probably be the toughest Round of 16 draw for an American team, with shame. their likely Round of 16 opponent.
No.33 Zamperl
Despite their loss to Manly Mosh, Zamperl still won Pool C and is rewarded with a soft bracket draw, with No.16 Savage Ultimate their biggest obstacle to the quarterfinals. They’ll have to play two solid games, but they could certainly make some noise and reach the quarterfinals, a very notable accomplishment.
No.13 Tartu Turbulence
Powered by the hefty contributions of Tannor Johnson-Go (12 Assists, 7 Goals) and Marin Raba (15 Goals), Turbulence has the starpower to make a run. Although No.3 Manly Mosh and No.4 Mosquitos sit in their way, they land in the portion of the bracket without an American team, so they certainly could spring a couple upsets and find their way into the later stages of this bracket.
Players to Watch in Bracket Play
Guillaume Espitia (Monkey): 22 Assists, 2 Goals
Ross Bentley (Chilli Heat): 1 Assist, 19 Goals
Jakub Kaczmarek (Savage Ultimate): 1 Assist, 17 Goals
Ocean Hines (Meclao): 11 Assists, 8 Goals
Nicholas Lin (Huwa): 16 Assists, 5 Goals
Kevin Quinlan (Odyssée): 12 Assists, 7 Goals
Johanna Roy (Mosquitos Klosterneuburg): 9 Assists, 10 Goals
Ian Tait (Deep Space): 3 Assists, 12 Goals
Axel Agami Contreras (XIST): 10 Assists, 6 Goals
Tom Blasman (Tiefseetaucher): 13 Assists, 7 Goals
Open Division
After five pool play rounds, featuring dominance at the top, an absolutely berserk Pool F that was in doubt down to the final point, and some surprising qualifiers (looking at you, No. 44 FrankN), we’ve got our bracket, and there’s plenty to break down.
The Path For The Top 5 + PoNY
The top five seeds all went unbeaten.
No.1 Revolver: Revolver faced their toughest test of pool play in No.15 GRUT and won 15-6, which, in fairness, was tied for their narrowest margin of victory thus far in Ireland. They’re probably not too nervous about anyone in their path to the final. No.12 BFD La Fotta (Pool H winners with a +39 point differential) figure to be their first potential challenge, and that would come in quarterfinals. No.13 Osaka Spirits, No.9 Sunder and No.10 Mephisto could all find their way to this matchup, but none have shown the bite to stick with a top team his week.
No.2 Machine: It’s a fairly cut and dry path for Machine, who hasn’t played a game closer than 15-8 and beat No.14 Euphoria in pool play. Their opening two opponents in bracket play will be No.19 Bad Skid and the winner of No.15 GRUT and No.17 Technicolor, all of whom have lost in blowout fashions to top seeds already at this tournament. Machine’s first major test is likely to be quarterfinals, where, barring upsets, they’ll see No.7 PoNY for the first clash between USA teams in the open division.
No.3 Mooncatchers: Mooncatchers have looked the part as a tournament favorite so far, winning every game by at least eight points. While no other top 10 seed is in their path to the semifinals, there are some tripping hazards for the Belgians. No.20 Bristol Open will probably be a fairly soft opener, but a potential battle with No.17 Cotarica Grandes in the Round of 16 could get interesting. Additionally, a potential battle of the Belgians awaits in the quarterfinals as the wildly underseeded No.28 Gentle lurk as a possible opponent, but No.11 Chevron Action Flash will try to spoil that tasty rivalry matchup possibility before it happens.
No.4 Wall City: The Germans should feel fantastic about their path to the semifinals. The three teams that could get in their way before quarterfinals are seeded No. 31, No. 33 and No. 35, and all have taken at least two losses in the tournament. They should be able to roll through into a titanic quarterfinal clash, likely with Clapham Ultimate, with ease.
No.5 Clapham Ultimate: They face a trickier path, although the seeding may indicate a different story. No.24 Tchac is a very formidable Round of 16 opponent who has rounded into form after an opening loss and will certainly try to pull a shocker over Clapham. At the very least, Clapham figures to be a little more exhausted if they get through, which could prove devastating in a potential matchup with Wall City.
No.7 PoNY: PoNY has played a few closer games then their American counterparts (or Mooncatchers, for that matter) but they’re still 5-0 with a +40 differential. However, they face a pretty tricky path to reach a quarterfinal clash with Machine. Their road starts with an underperforming but dangerous No.6 Nomadic Tribe, the only top 10 clash in the Round of 32. If they win that, they have the potential of running into No.8 GOAT, who is eager to be the top Canadian squad at this event, but also to prove their mettle against a very familiar club contender on the American circuit. Neither game will be easy, and that precedes a potential quarterfinal against Machine, so a berth in the semifinals would be well-earned, to say the least, by New York.
Darkhorse Contenders
Many have already been mentioned, but No.16 Cotarica Grandes dropped a two-point decision to title contenders Wall City in their only loss of the tournament thus far. If they get past Quijotes in the Round of 32, Mooncatchers await in the Round of 16, but Cotarica have proven they can stick with teams of that caliber.
No.28 Gentle ran roughshod in their pool before falling 15-11 to Clapham, and the starpower of Tobe Decraene, Orion Cable, Alex Atkins, Pierjan Deforce, Aidan Downey, Staf Decraene and more will make the Belgian side a tough out in bracket plays. Their road to the semifinals doesn’t involve one of the three American teams, but Chevron Action Flash, a dark horse in their own right, and Mooncatchers will be far from easy matchups if they happen.
No.12 BFD la Fotta may be annoyed they’re not included in the favorites category after a dominating 5-0 showing in pool play, but while Bravo import Quinn Finer has starred, a potential quarterfinal battle with Revolver likely caps their ceiling. However, a quarterfinals appearance would still be breaking seed, and a strong showing for the Italian side.
Top Players In Bracket Play
Keita Sasaki (Nomadic Tribe): 23 Assists, 5 Goals
Jelte Derks (GRUT): 11 Assists, 12 Goals
Tadhg Deevy (Ranelagh): 8 Assists, 22 Goals
Tobe Decraene (Gentle): 22 Assists, 2 Goals
Mac Hecht (Revolver): 7 Assists, 5 Goals
Elliot Hawkins (Machine): 14 Assists, 3 Goals
Daan De Marrée (Mooncatchers): 11 Assists, 11 Goals
Conrad Schloer (Wall City): 6 Assists, 7 Goals
Justin Foord (Clapham): 13 Assists, 7 Goals
John Randolph (PoNY): 5 Assists, 9 Goals
Quinn Finer (BFD la Fotta): 7 Assists, 7 Goals
Women’s Division
The upsets came fast and furious on Tuesday morning in the Women’s Division, and it all sets up for a scintillating four days of bracket play remaining, as we are down to the final 16 teams.
To start the day off, we had the first round of crossovers. The top half of the crossovers were between the top two finishers across all the pools, with winners headed to the Round of 16, and losers headed to a play-in game. Not all favorites were conquered, as American sides No.2 Brute Squad, No.3 Fury, and No.7 Scandal all improved to 5-0 on the week, becoming three of the first teams to be inked in to the Round of 16. No.8 6ixers also won as favorites to advance. Joining them were No.19 GRUT, No.5 Tokyo Mavericks, No.14 Seacows, and No. 2 Mooncup, who all delivered upset wins to avoid having to play an elimination clash on Tuesday afternoon.
Bracket Breakdown
As noted before the tournament, this is a heavily lopsided bracket, as the three American teams, all title contenders, are lumped on one side of the bracket, meaning there is a path to the title that doesn’t involve facing Scandal, Brute Squad, or Fury. In addition, the top two seeded non-American teams also fell into this side of the bracket, with four of those squads in one quadrant of the bracket, so there is a very lopsided feel to this bracket setup.
The story of the Round of 16, however, undoubtedly belongs to the shocking clash between No.1 Macana and No.2 Brute Squad. Brute Squad’s path to a final could potentially feature the top-ranked team in the field, defending U.S. Open Champion Scandal, and San Francisco Fury. Woof.
Scandal won’t have it much easier, as they draw No.4 Ellipsis in another star-studded Round of 16 game. Whoever emerges from that Scandal/Ellipsis/Brute Squad/Macana quadrant will limp into a semifinal where Fury is the expected opponent. Fury will have to deal with YAKA, followed by the winner of No.14 Seacows and No.11 Tequila Boom Boom in quarterfinals.
The other major storyline will be who can take advantage of the American-less top half of the bracket. GRUT, 5-0 on the weekend with an upset of Macana to their name, will like their odds, despite being the lowest-seeded team remaining in the field. However, the betting favorite may be Tokyo Mavericks. Mavericks are 5-0; their +35 point differential in pool play was third-best in the field, and they led the whole second half against Macana in crossovers to reach the top half of the bracket.
6ixers is the other unbeaten squad on this half of the bracket, and the Canadian side has been similarly strong, boasting a +32 point differential across their five wins. Alongside those three favorites are No.9 Rogue (4-2), No.10 SWAMPYBARG (4-2), No.6 MUD (4-2), No.12 Mooncup (4-1), and No.18 BFD Shout (4-2), all of whom have flashed enough potential to make a run through the weaker top half of the bracket.
Players to Watch in the Round of 16
- Valeria Cardenas (Macana): 19 Assists, 15 Goals
- Manuela Cardenas (Macana): 23 Assists, 9 Goals
- Julia Mas (Yaka): 4 Assists, 20 Goals
- Lola Dam (GRUT): 4 assists, 17 Goals
- Mika Kurahashi (Seacows): 12 Assists, 10 Goals
- Kaede Yoshida (TOKYO Mavericks): 5 Assists, 14 Goals
- Levke Walczak (Brute Squad): 7 Assists, 8 Goals
- Georgia Egan-Griffiths (Ellipsis): 16 Assists, 6 Goals
- Alyssa Mason (6ixers): 10 Assists, 7 Goals
- Kirstin Johnson (Fury): 11 Assists, 4 Goals
- Kami Groom (Scandal): 9 Assists, 5 Goals
