August 25, 2026 by 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
Mixed Final
No. 1 Ann Arbor Hybrid defeated No. 6 New York XIST 15-9 to win its first WUCC mixed title, adding a world championship to the résumé of a team that has dominated the American mixed division for years.
XIST landed the first big punch. After the teams traded holds to open, a Hybrid handler miscue near the end zone gave XIST its first break at 3-1. XIST made the most of the opportunity, with Matthias Ling catching an upline pass from Ryan Drost to convert the break cleanly.
They say breaks often come in twos and that’s exactly what happened for Hybrid. Lili Hobday caught the score on back-to-back breaks, adding some offensive production to the relentless defense she had shown all tournament. On the second, Hobday kept driving the offense through a string of low, difficult throws that Hybrid players repeatedly dug out of the ground, and Rachel Mast eventually found her for the score to make it 5-4.
XIST responded immediately with a hold and break of its own, with Ben Simmons launching a flick huck to Elias Levey-Swain to put XIST ahead and back on serve, 6-5. Hybrid answered with another break before the teams traded holds, sending Hybrid into halftime with an 8-7 lead.
Simmons to Levey-Swain Break Huck
Coming out of half, Hybrid began to pull away. Another hold was followed by back-to-back breaks, the second coming after an XIST handler fumbled while trying to throw a strike cut. Mark Whitton fired a flick to Jesse Johnson in the back of the end zone to make it 11-8.
Then Eileen Bequette had a massive run-through block, and Hobday finished the ensuing break from Jeffrey Weis for her third score of the game.
XIST kept fighting. Theresa Yu made a toe-in grab in the end zone to complete a hold and bring the score to 13-9, but XIST couldn’t find another break. Hybrid converted its final two opportunities, closing out the 15-9 victory.
Hobday was at the center of Hybrid’s decisive run. She caught the scores on both of Hybrid’s back-to-back breaks in the first half, added a third score after halftime, and then laid out to save a possession before throwing a nice backhand for the final score to Annalise Meilink. Mast added three goals and an assist, as well, while Jack Williams stacked up four assists and a goal. XIST stars Jolie Krebs and Sadie Jezierski combined for one goal and four assists with zero turnovers.
PS. This game had three beautiful layout blocks that ultimately didn’t result in a score on the possession. But they need to be appreciated:
- Massive layout block from Eileen Bequette for Hybrid
- Audrey Parrott layout block for XIST
- Ben Simmons for XIST
Open Division
Open Final
San Francisco Revolver and New York PoNY faced off in the World Ultimate Club Championships Open Division final, with Revolver completing its dominant run through the bracket, winning 15-12.
Despite both being title favorites for the last two seasons of USAU Club, the teams had not met since the final of US Open 2025, a universe point thriller. Revolver came into the challenge relatively untested, breezing their way through the bracket, their closest match being a 15-10 scrubbing of Clapham in the semifinals. New York, on the other hand, faced what may be the hardest possible bracket, besting Toronto GOAT, Chicago Machine, and Brussels Mooncatchers, all available to watch exclusively on Ultiworld.
A shocking start to the contest saw PoNY break after an athletic defensive play by Vinay Valsaraj sent their defensive unit off to the races. PoNY did not manage to break again, their D-line completing a mere 19 passes throughout the game. The teams traded holds, with only one turn, until 2-2, where Robin Vickers Batzdorf denied an upline with a flying layout block before catching Revolver’s first break of the game, putting the game back on serve at 3-2. A series of holds followed, and as before, Revolver capitalized on more PoNY turns, taking half 8-5.
Coming out of halftime, a sense of desperation overcame New York, but nothing PoNY threw at Revolver could stop the offensive prowess of the reigning U.S. champions, distributing goals and assists evenly across their even-keeled unit. The game ended without another break, clean offenses being the name of the game. In a relatively quiet second half, there were still memorable plays: Ben Jagt denying Brett Hulsmeyer for what would have been a skying break, Simon Higgins elevating above the crowd, and of course, Eli Kerns’ knifing blade to Walker Frankenberg to seal the game.
For Revolver, this was icing on the cake for a dominant run over the past year, winning every major tournament they have attended, earning the triple crown, and of course, winning USA Club Nationals. However, the run isn’t over yet, as Revolver will attempt to repeat their successes in October, with major contributors from today’s game such as Walker Frankenberg (3G, 3A), Mac Hecht (4A), Alex Nelson (3G), and Eli Kerns (3A).
New York will get their chance for revenge at the same tournament, and after being denied back-to-back World Club Championships, will attempt to deny Revolver from becoming back-to-back USA National Champions. With crucial parts of leadership, Clark Cofer and Cameron Wariner moving on, young stars John Randolph (2A, 3G), Ben Dameron (5A), and Declan Miller (2A, 1G) will be headlining their return to the United States of America.
San Francisco Revolver claimed their fourth WUCC title, following up a legacy of gold in 2010, 2014, and 2018.
Women’s Division
No. 7 Washington DC Scandal defeated No. 19 Amsterdam GRUT 15-13 in the WUCC Women’s Division final, denying the Dutch side its first-ever world championship in its first appearance in the final. GRUT was the first European women’s finalist since 1999, making the matchup a significant moment for Dutch ultimate regardless of the result. The result also sealed a United States’ sweep of the gold medals at WUCC.
Scandal had the better of the early exchanges. GRUT failed to convert a short-field turnover to open the game, and Scandal turned the mistake into a hold before breaking on the next point, with Maddy Boyle laying out for a block to set up the opportunity.
GRUT settled in from there. Kristyna Tlustá barely dug a disc out of the ground before finding Sarah Eklund across the end zone for GRUT’s first hold, and the teams began trading flick hucks. Allie Wallace ripped one to Verena Woloson for a clean Scandal hold, while Floor Keulartz later found Lola Dam deep. Dam caught the huck in traffic and flipped it to Tlustá for the score.
The teams traded holds to 6-4 before Scandal found another break after a long point, with Kami Groom flipping a pass to Marika Korpinen to put the Americans back in control. Scandal eventually stretched the lead to 11-7 as GRUT repeatedly generated turnovers without being able to turn them into breaks.
The deep game was a major feature on both sides. Scandal and GRUT repeatedly opened space with curving flick hucks, while both defenses showed enough closing speed to take away some of the opportunities. Amanda Murphy provided one of the best examples of that deep defensive pressure midway through the game.
GRUT finally found its breakthrough late. It started with an explosive layout score for the hold from Dam. Then, a run-through block on the centering pass gave GRUT the turnover, and Aurora Lesnik found Tlustá for the score to bring the game to 11-9.
But Scandal continued to hold its composure, working the unders and finding inside shots as GRUT tightened the pressure. GRUT eventually clawed all the way back to 14-13 when Erica Birdsong couldn’t bring down a bailout huck, giving Dam the chance to fire to Tlustá for a contested end zone grab.
Scandal answered with one final hold: Tyler Smith found Murphy for the game-winning score, sealing the 15-13 victory.
Dam led GRUT with three goals and four assists. Sami Smalling recorded four assists and a goal for Scandal, while Kat McGuire added three goals and Smith contributed two assists and two goals.
