In most of the semifinals, the favorites won by large margins - emphasis on most.
August 22, 2026 by Aidan Thomas, Rhea Patney and Nate Knowles 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
XIST vs. shame.
In setting up the expected title clash, New York XIST seemingly wasted little time in putting the match away, as they scored the game’s first five points to set Fort Collins shame. behind the 8-ball and expanded the lead to 9-3 after breaking to start the second half. XIST actually didn’t do a ton to force the turnovers – shame. largely conceded possession on their own miscues, with a drop, a handler/cutter miscommunication, a throw straight into a poach, and two throws behind their intended target creating five break chances for the New Yorkers. To XIST’s credit, they were magnificent with their opportunity, converting four of those five chances for a 5-0 lead. They did not give up a point until almost 16 minutes had elapsed in the game.
Although shame. stabilized, XIST’s offense looked comfortable and smooth, hardly like a unit that would let this game get interesting at any point.
XIST’s O-line did not turn the disc in their first five hold opportunities, going up 10-4. However, a near-turnover on that fifth hold was a sign of things to come, as Axel Agami Contreras rescued a huck that had been blocked, catching the deflection to save a turnover and score a goal.
Maybe sensing the momentum, some weak point in the XIST barricade, shame. ratcheted up the pressure and XIST’s flow slowed down. XIST moved a little too fast for their own good once they got some upfield velocity, and a leading pass was too far in front. Carter Hawkins fired a dot to Alex Daniels on the counter, and shame. began to come to life. Over the next seven points, the game was turned on its head. XIST converted just two holds, both messy, multi-turn affairs, with the second being another block-turned-goal as Ben Katz went flying in for the second-chance goal. Outside of that, shame. held quickly and cleanly twice, and broke three times. By the end of that surge, shame. had forced nine turnovers from the XIST O-line in just six possessions, after creating zero in the first half.
Unfortunately, maybe those garbage-collector second-chance goals by the XIST O-line were a sign that fortune was just ever so slightly with the New York squad today. A foot block by shame. gave them a downwind break opportunity to tie the score at 12-12. However, Agami Contreras took advantage of a lazy throw and earned a run-through catch block, and XIST held shortly after.
Without the wind in their sails, shame. reverted to their early-game form. A cutter miscommunication led to a second-throw turn, and Matthias Ling earned the block and the goal for a crucial break to go up 14-11. On the next point, shame. turned their first throw on a late-stall effort from the brick mark, got the disc back, and turned their first throw again. XIST made no mistake this time, and they converted their seventh break of the game to put this one on ice.
Hybrid vs. Mosquitos
After Ann Arbor Hybrid showed signs of mortality in yesterday’s windy quarterfinal, there were flitting thoughts that the high-flying, quick-trigger Mosquitos offense might sniff an upset. However, it would have required their hucks to be far more precise, and – perhaps a taller task – Hybrid to be a little less athletic in the air. As it was, Mosquitos was fairly imprecise, coughing up break chances on their first four offensive possessions, and getting broken three times. And the Hybrid D-line was just too dominant in winning in the deep space, converting six of nine break chances in the first half en route to an 8-2 halftime advantage, cruising into the finals with a 15-7 win.
It was a full team effort for Hybrid, as five different players notched three scores, and another five were involved with at least two goals. Markus Hammerl led Mosquitos with two assists and a goal.
The first point was a harbinger in some ways. Mosquitos worked their way down the field and eventually uncorked a mid-range huck to a receiver with steps. However, it had too much juice and fell harmlessly to the grass with no need for a block.
About 40 seconds later, Hybrid put up a big huck and while they didn’t catch this one cleanly, three different receivers got themselves in position and, after two tips, a bidding Lili Hobday collected the disc. One throw later, Hybrid was in for their first break.
After the teams exchanged holds, it was a series of largely unforced errors for the Austrian champions. A dropped huck on their third offensive possession led to a Kai Creed goal for Hybrid. On the next point, Mosquitos overshot a fairly open upline look, got the disc back, overshot another huck, and then succumbed to a third Hybrid break, this one via a Sara Nitz to Ian McNamara connection. That made things 4-1, and the game was never in doubt from that point forward.
Mosquitos notched one second-half break, and Hybrid immediately responded with a hold and two breaks to polish off the dominant victory. Fittingly, Mosquitos turned it twice more on the game’s final point on overthrows, and Hybrid cashed in the second via an accurate huck of their own, with Robert Coffin delivering the final stroke of the knife, finding Charlie Vukovic for the win.
Consolation Notes
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- In the third-place game, shame. ensured it would be an American sweep of the podium, breaking three straight times to end the game and win 15-12. Sam Goldstein had three goals to finish off an outstanding tournament with 17 assists and 16 goals.
- No. 33 Zamperl finished an impressive tournament with a victory in the fifth-place bracket, 15-13 over Tiefseetaucher. Vincent Wagner totaled seven assists in the game and Zamperl finished 8-2 on the week.
- No. 13 Tartu Turbulence swept the ninth-place bracket, as Tanner Johnson-Go racked up 34 assists, and Marin Raba scored 31 times in Limerick.
- No. 40 PELT, representing the host country, ended the tournament on a strong note, sweeping the 33rd-place bracket, led by 40 assists from Cristy McAllister.
Open Division
PoNY vs. Mooncatchers
Spectators flooded the surrounding hills of the showcase field just to catch a glimpse of the heavyweight matchup between New York PoNY and Brussels Mooncatchers, a hotly anticipated slugfest. As the other Open Division semifinal came to a close, the crowd wrapped itself around the field, boasting cheers and boos alike, fans of each team trying to drown out the opposition. With one point deciding a 100-minute contest, energy buzzed through the air, and fans prepared to celebrate their chosen team. Before the most back-and-forth high stakes game of Worlds could reach such a point, PoNY had to mount a comeback and face the overwhelming odds, while Mooncatchers desperately attempted to hold onto a lead they earned early.
The game started off with Mooncatchers’ Arvids Karklins attempting an early huck to Daan De Marrée going out of bounds shortly after release, never to return. PoNY attempted to convert in the short field, quickly failing as De Marrée stole away the first pass. A mere tease as to what was to come, failed break attempts would be the story of PoNY’s first half, and Reph Jonkers found Jérôme Deridder on a pressured huck to score the first point of the contest.
PoNY’s first point saw a failed deep shot to John Randolph become a Brussels score when it was sent the opposite direction for Alexander Spahlholz, bringing Mooncatchers to a 2-0 lead. For the next few points, PoNY’s offense stabilized, notably running a dominator set featuring Ben Dameron, Anders Juengst, and John Randolph alongside Declan Miller, who was a breath of fresh air after missing the start of the tournament. That isn’t to say there weren’t highlights in between, notably a double sky by a defending Dameron.
Trading holds through 6-4, Miller (2A), Reph Jonkers (2A), Ben Jonkers (1A, 1G), and Dameron (2G) remained heavily involved until there was a miscommunication resulting in a PoNY turnover. Working methodically through their endzone set, Mooncatchers punched in their second break of the game after throwing more than a dozen passes, ending with Spahlholz catching his second break of the game to make the score 7-4. PoNY, realizing the situation ahead, attempted to quickly hold, resulting in an early turfed pass. Randolph took matters into his own hands, denying the around with a flying layout block before emphatically slamming the disc to the turf on the second attempt.
Smoothly operating, Miller found the end zone soon after to prevent the Moon break for half, instead bringing the score to 7-5. Fueled by the defensive intensity of Randolph’s layout, Ben Jagt opted to make an effort of equal difficulty, denying the hammer for half. PoNY moved surgically, logged their first break of the half, with Scott Heyman reeling in the goal. Holding the hungry PoNY defensive unit at bay, De Marrée shot deep to Karklins to finish the half.
A topic of much discussion throughout the weekend has been whether PoNY’s offensive contingent would struggle with consistency, especially without Calvin Brown; not much was done to steady these fears out of half. A slight overshot on a huck gave Moon the disc, and De Marrée found Thomas Edmonds, a longtime thorn in the side of PoNY, to break once more, 9-6.
After a heated discussion over an apparent attempt to trip Miller, Dameron found the end zone once more and righted the ship of PoNY’s offense. An impressive hammer between the Jonkers showed Mooncatchers craftiness; Miller replied with his own, and a series of holds followed, leading to a score of 12-9.
Working confidently down the field after opening with a side-stack play, PoNY lodged a hold, still down by three breaks. An overshot created a rare break chance for PoNY, but they quickly squandered it with an overthrown huck to match. The sidelines dampened, realizing that New York may well not get enough chances throughout the rest of the game to overcome the deficit before them. A collective breath was taken as yet another huck flew too far, exhaled as Heyman guided it to the turf; PoNY had life, but there were still 70 yards before them.
Carving upfield, PoNY worked between almost everyone on their line before Isaac Kaplan found Heyman on the break side past a bidding defender, 12-11. The pressure was on Mooncatchers, and PoNY crossed over Miller and Randolph for a powerful defensive line, prepared to keep the momentum flowing. Matt LaBar embraced the level of contact established through the first 23 points of the game and earned a block (despite a lengthy discussion), before quickly giving the opportunity back to Reph Jonkers, repaying the favor with a handblock. LaBar attempted a second block in quick succession, before ultimately being decided as a foul.
As the stall rose, a high-pressure shot was taken to the end zone, with Miller swiping the disc away from both De Marrée and Karklins, a feat not many can claim. Sensing that the action as it was simply wasn’t enough, the skies opened above, and rain began to fall as Randolph dished a goal for Jagt, tying up the score, 12-12. The air was filled with excitement and umbrellas, as the crowd roared for a tied score that had been a three-goal difference moments before.
Yet another huck sailed too far allowed PoNY their first chance at taking the lead, and they capitalized, Randolph driving the squad down the field. Miller found Kaplan free during a blown coverage, and PoNY had done the impossible, overcoming a three-goal deficit on the back-to-back European champions.
With the other semifinal completed, the field was buzzing, fans from around the world coming together to cheer for an incredible contest. The stage was set as cap went off: it would be a game to 14, the winner facing San Francisco Revolver for a World Club title.
In the only appropriate fashion to take the crowd to universe point, Mooncatchers worked their way about halfway downfield before Reph Jonkers threw a hammer to Karklins, 13-13. The throw looked scarily similar to the throw Jagt had denied just before half, but came with a different outcome.
The game was coming down to the very topic of discussion about PoNY that had been widespread earlier: could their offensive line handle the pressure? A choice some may consider bold, Coach Cody Mills set the line as the regular PoNY offensive line: Dameron, Mickle, Randolph, Chris Kocher, Miller, Jacob Cowan, and Anders Juengst. Daan De Marrée riled up the crowd just before sending a massive pull afloat over the roars.
PoNY’s offensive line set to work, with the dominator set that had brought them to this point. Methodically choosing shorter, easily completed passes and resets when an upfield option was not available, New York chipped away at the defense. Unable to pressure the challenging speed of Miller, Dameron, and Randolph, an attempt to assist on defense led to Randolph hitting an open Kocher just outside the front cone. In a moment perfectly bringing Jimmy Mickle’s career full circle, he caught the game-winning goal, thrown by his longtime teammate, Chris Kocher.
Words cannot encapsulate the moment of absolute hysteria around the field when PoNY stole the moon and headed to the final of the World Ultimate Club Championship.
Revolver vs. Clapham
Clapham cleared the low bar of being Revolver’s toughest test to date in Limerick, as the San Francisco juggernaut had yet to give up more than six points in a game. Clapham notched 10, but ultimately, this one was never in doubt. Revolver collected three first-half breaks, added two more in the second half, and waltzed into the final as 15-10 winners over the English side.
Revolver was ruthlessly efficient, going 5-for-8 on break chances and turning the disc just twice on offense, as Clapham broke once early but never forced another O-line turnover. Mac Hecht, as he so often does, played a starring role with two assists and three goals, powering the Revolver offense upfield again and again, providing the finishing touch on half of the offense’s scores.
Clapham did not play perfectly, and perfection is virtually required to beat the Revolver side, which has lost just two times with Mac Hecht in the lineup (and three times overall) since the start of 2025. Of Revolver’s three breaks in the first half, Clapham gift-wrapped two of them with turnovers in their own half of the field, providing easy counterflow for Revolver to break. The second was a particularly difficult gut punch, as it came after Clapham broke to get to 4-4. Revolver held cleanly, and then Clapham dropped a short backhand blade, and the San Francisco D-line punched home their third break.
But, even without those short-field turns, Revolver were, to put it simply, too good. Even when Clapham seemingly played perfectly, Revolver had an answer. Sometimes it was a ridiculous bid, like Daniel Ritthaler showcased after Clapham’s O-line played strong and stingy defense on Revolver’s first break of the game.
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Sometimes, it was Hecht dropping a dime after Clapham spent much of the first half denying the deep option for Revolver.
And sometimes, it was just pure full-team brilliance engineered by Hecht, such as here, where Revolver drove 75 yards in the span of about 18 seconds, with Hecht’s throwing brilliance and relentless motor serving as the catalyst.
All that to say, Clapham may have been able to play perfectly and to their highest standard, and it still may not have been enough. Revolver has assembled a roster of world-class talent who can create breathtaking individual moments but, more importantly, can be ruthlessly and relentlessly boring, marching down the field and making nary a mistake. Some teams crumble to the tune of massive blowout defeats, other quality sides, like Clapham on Friday, see the life squeezed out of them by the frisbee python that is San Francisco Revolver.
Women’s Division
GRUT vs. Mavericks
No. 19 GRUT continued its improbable run to the final with a 15-10 win over No. 5 TOKYO MAVERICKS. The first point took more than eight minutes to finish, with Kaede Yoshida laying out to save the Mavericks’ possession before firing an inside flick to Rio Inoue for the score. There were eight turnovers in the opening two points, perhaps some nerves from two teams playing in their first-ever semifinal, before Lola Dam reeled in a dirty hold for GRUT’s first score.
The game settled into a stretch of holds, though very few of them were clean. GRUT got its first break when a Mavericks turn at the goal line, aided by a GRUT pull that landed in the back of the end zone, gave GRUT a short field. Kristyna Tlustа found Elise Bos for the break. From there, GRUT gradually started to get more comfortable against the Mavericks’ zone, finding ways to chunk up the field. Jette Bardoel came up with an incredible run-through block on a Mavericks swing, setting up GRUT’s second break and a 5-3 lead. GRUT followed with another break, as Bos found Niké te Brinke on a cross-field flick huck to make it 6-3.
Mavericks finally got their first break after another GRUT hold, with their deep-deep coming up with a run-through block and the offense working cleanly through the breakside flow. Yoshida found Miwa Tajima to bring Tokyo within two, but GRUT responded with a four-score run that completely shifted the game. This included Vendela Wictorson’s high-stall scoober across the end zone, which was hauled in by Janne Jansen while toeing the line, letting GRUT take half. The run ultimately resulted in a 10-5 lead.
The Mavericks never fully recovered, and GRUT closed out the 15-10 victory to reach the final. Yoshida continued her excellent tournament with three assists and two goals, while GRUT once again found an excellent performance from Lola Dam (three assists, four goals).
Scandal vs. Fury
Washington DC Scandal came out on top against San Francisco Fury, 13-11, in a semifinal that was tight for most of the game before Scandal’s defense created the separation it needed in the second half. The opening four points felt almost like déjà vu, with Claire Trop pulling down Scandal’s first score and Kanari Imanishi finding Dena Elimelech on a deep flick huck for Fury’s response. Trop then skied another trust ball for Scandal, before Rachel Chang found Elimelech deep with another flick huck.
The offenses were firing through the first half, with both teams trading holds through 5-4. Scandal finally got the first break of the game when Mary Rippe blocked a Fury scoober in the end zone. Margaret Walker sent a big backhand to Ashleigh Jentilet through contact, and Jentilet flipped it to Marika Korpinen, who found Kami Groom for the score.
Fury answered right back after Scandal patiently worked through the zone for 49 passes, only for Tyler Smith’s 50th throw toward the end zone to be picked off by Dawn Culton. Sonja Johanson then found Anna Thompson after Elimelech launched another deep flick huck, bringing Fury back to 6-6.
The game stayed close into halftime, but Scandal’s defense really took over coming out of the break. A Fury bobble gave Scandal another short field, and Walker found Murphy, who skied a pile to keep possession alive. After the foul call was retracted, Malisa Dang found Walker for the break and a 9-7 lead. Another Fury bobble gave Scandal another opportunity, and Groom quickly found Jentilet to stretch the lead to 10-7.
Fury did manage to claw back within one at 11-10, with Sharon Lin making a layout block and then finishing the bookends after Magon Liu found her deep. Scandal answered with a break of its own, though, and held on from there. Fury nearly got a chance to make things interesting at 13-11, when Kirstin Johnson came up with a handblock to give Fury a short field, but they couldn’t capitalize. Scandal held on to claim a spot in the gold medal match.
Erica Birdsong also deserves a shoutout for the work she did underneath. She didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but she was almost a guarantee to get open in the middle of the field, giving Scandal another reliable option against Fury’s defense. Scandal will now face GRUT with a gold medal on the line.
Consolation Notes
- Fury took the bronze medal with a 15-10 win over TOKYO MAVERICKS. It was a trademark balanced Fury performance, with 13 different players recording goals and nobody scoring more than two. Anna Thompson led the team with three assists, while many others contributed to that category as well. Kaede Yoshida led the Mavericks with five goals and one assist.
- No. 12 Mooncup defeated No. 2 Brute Squad, 15-14, in a universe-point finish to take fifth place, with Brute Squad finishing sixth. Eva Bornot (4 assists, 3 goals) and Maïwenn Le Duc (2 assists, 4 goals) led Mooncup, while Laura Ospina Gómez had three assists and one goal for Brute Squad.
- No. 4 Ellipsis won the ninth-place game, beating No. 10 SWAMPYBARG, 14-13, in another close one. No. 1 Macana finished 13th, beating No. 9 Rogue, 15-12, in its final game of the tournament.
