We have some great looking finals ahead!
September 7, 2026 by Alex Rubin, Aidan Thomas and Zack Davis 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.
After two days of competition, only two teams per division remain in contention to win the tournament. But unlike many other matchups, the action in consolation might be even more consequential as teams, representing their regions, get one last chance to try to shift the bid picture in their favor.
Women’s Recap | Mixed Recap | Men’s Recap
Women’s Division
If you’re a fan of close games without the anxiety inducing nature of universe point then today was exactly your speed. Three of the four streamed games looked like they could fall either way into the second half when the winner pulled away with a string of points. #6 Seattle Riot managed the feat twice, first over #13 Pittsburgh Parcha, the again over #3 Denver Molly Brown to make the final, and #8 New York BENT was trailing #21 Raleigh Phoenix 9-6 before they rattled off a 9-1 run to end things 15-10.
Enough for Parcha
Though Parcha weren’t able to pull off the upset, they did notch another quality loss. They took Riot to 15-12, and though there’s still consolation games to be played, the chairs seem to be well north of the cut line in terms of bids. Now all that remains in terms of obstacles is taking care of business at Sectionals and avoiding an upset at the hands of Grit and Agency at Regionals, two teams they’ve beaten this weekend. Particularly impressive for Parcha were Miya Liang and Linn Bjanes. The latter was a headache to guard on undercuts and then made it worse by being exacting with her throws. The former was omnipresent, exemplified by a showtime catch over two defenders before flipping the assist to Bjanes for a goal against Riot.
More for Riot
Riot ultimately won their quarterfinal and then went on to win their next bracket game. Much like Saturday, Riot ran through Ismail, Goddu, and Hakimi, but Nor Luloff had a big day for Riot. Their back and forth game against Denver Molly Brown was a game of attrition from the jump, but Riot was equal to the task.
Molly Brown’s bread and butter is the give and go. Any positive yardage is yardage worth taking and holding the disc for more than a few seconds is antithetical to Molly Brown’s ideal playstyle, particularly when they get behind the defense. Riot seemed ok with that in the first half willing to play in a shoot out against the Denver team. That isn’t to say that Riot wasn’t playing defense – quite the opposite, they were pouring on the pressure – just that they were unwilling to change their playstyle. Molly’s offensive success hinges on their ability to out-athlete the other team. They’ll draw defenses in with a scrappy dink and dunk that’s frustrating to play against. When you overcommit, they’ll bomb the disc deep and score, when you unde-commit they’ll make some questionable throws, but because the defense is waiting on the deep shot and every player on Molly Brown is capable and more than willing to make a circus catch they can get away with it. Then suddenly they’re on the goal line and can dump swing until they win a race to the cone.
It’s a really effective strategy, made possible by not just the ridiculously talented play of the Cárdenas sisters, Claire Chastain, Ronnie Eder, Lisa Pitcaithley, Fiona Cashin, Aurora Lesnik – whew, that’s a lot – Alyssa Perez, Meg Henderson, Liana Bradley, you get it… but also through the chemistry they’ve built through hundreds and hundreds of points together. No-looks, break throws to vanishing windows, off-hands, worm burners, high releases; it doesn’t matter how deep in the bag they need to go, they’re willing to go there. What’s more is that when they do make a mistake, and they often do, they’ll just play outstanding defence and either get a block or force a turn. Molly will play like this, draw teams into their vortex, drag them down beneath the current and then, because they’re unsinkable, come out on top.
Not this time for Riot. The best way to overcome the Molly Brown style is discipline, and Riot showed discipline in spades. Molly Brown is going to score. They’re going to force turnovers and get blocks, they’re going to do something absolutely unbelievable. Riot accepted that, refused to get drawn in, picked their spots, and outlasted. Riot too made some great plays, you have to in order to beat a team like Molly Brown, such as a crisp deep shot from Kate Lanier to Emily Decker and then a great turn around grab from Kelly Tam.
It wasn’t just big reel-ins that made the difference, Riot went toe-to-toe with Molly’s best game and won. Watch their minute long goal line stand that ended in a block from Lauren Page. Immaculate marking, tight person to person defending, when the around break does get off to reset the stall there’s immediate containment, and when needed the defenders are switching to not get beat to the open space. It almost feels rehearsed. This is usually where Molly wins points, but the break chance was denied and instead of being tied at 10-10, Riot scored to go up two. The game wasn’t over after this point, but it certainly swung heavily in Riot’s favor after this.
The World for Scandal
#1 Washington DC Scandal is the best team in the world, and looked every part of it today. They delivered another clinical 15-8 performance by them in their semifinal match against BENT after a 15-2 routing over Grit in quarters. It’s almost like they can just decide to score and that’s that. When BENT got a rare break chance, Kira Flores baited an around that was a bit too floaty and then secured the bookends with some elite acceleration to create instant separation.
Doesn’t hurt that Tyler Smith has great placement, either. Jordan Sorensen also had a great performance today, flying around the field on both sides of the disc and throwing a spanner in the works for the opposing team.
Around the Complex
Phoenix had a great showing before their collapse in their quarterfinal. They showed clear signs of improvement between yesterday and today, namely in their ability to consistently move the disc and force turns. Hard to tell through the screen what exactly led to their breakdown, but it’s hard not to attribute it to a lack of mental toughness from what’s essentially a new roster. If Phoenix can keep this core together they will be alright in coming years. Ellen Yu, and Naomi Anderson looked particularly confident with the disc in their hands today. Emily Pryzkucki had the celly of the year (and the skill to back it up).
Mixed Division
One Expected Finalist…And A New Challenger
#1 Ann Arbor Hybrid continued their undefeated tournament, clinically dispatching Arizona Lawless 15-7 and #4 Fort Collins shame. by a 15-10 scoreline. The Hybrid counterattack once again proved difficult to slow down. Powered by Lili Hobday and Chase Cunningham, Hybrid can overpower opponents once they get a turnover. Against shame. Hybrid’s handler pressure proved too much for shame. to deal with. Kai Creed, Jean Huang, and Ellie Jose each had standout moments as Hybrid cruised to the final, despite their double-game-point matchup with shame. during Saturday’s pool play.
On the other side of the bracket, #10 Austin Disco Club comfortably beat #18 Durham Toro and #12 Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust to advance to Monday’s final. Disco Club’s most impressive trait is the pace at which their offense moves. Myles Armstrong and Jaime Estes bounce back and forth across the field, finding openings within a few seconds of the stall count to keep defenses on their heels and constantly needing to reposition. Caroline Stone, Lo Guerin, Sean Brady, and Carly Atwell all stood out for their quick decision making and thoughtful spacing on both sides of the disc. Disco Club plays a very effective two-way game; they have set lines, but are comfortable switching between O- and D- assignments. With such versatility, Disco Club can withstand break runs in both directions. They have a full second O-line ready to head out and stop the bleeding after they get broken and can also pile on a second D-line of capable starters to pour on more defensive pressure when the situation calls for it. The chance to see how they fare against Hybrid ahead of Nationals will be exciting for the team and for fans.
Hybrid has won all four meetings between these two teams dating back to 2024 Nationals, but they’ve always been within three goals. After ADC turned around their US Open defeat to Toro into a bracket win at Pro Champs, perhaps Disco Club have an even bigger revenge plot to follow through with on Monday.
Games to Go Back To
Early bracket games are easily looked over. With semifinals quickly taking on the winners from the quarterfinal round, and now everyone’s attention split between the tournament final and the final bid battle in the Fifth Place game, it is worth taking a moment to appreciate the excellent quarterfinal round.
If you want to see #11 Boston Sprocket nearing their peak, their gameplan and execution against shame. showed why they are a Nationals-quality team, no matter how the bid situation shakes down. Without doing anything too fancy tactically, Sprocket manages to apply defensive pressure no matter who is on the field and can turn a standard D-point into a war of attrition. shame. are used to having their way on offense, but Sprocket forced them to go backwards and look at second and third options more than most opponents.
The big personnel switch Sprocket made this season is paying off. By switching Wilhelmina Graff (from D-line to O-) and Zach Singer (from O- to D-), Sprocket added more balance on their offense and more firepower to their counterattack.
In their quarterfinal, Sprocket took half 8-7 and built a 13-11 lead through perseverance. While the first half was quite clean, the second half turned into a back-and-forth affair with strong defensive pressure from both teams preventing easy holds. A shame. hold as the soft cap horn sounded then gave Sprocket a golden opportunity: up 13-12 receiving in a game to 14. An untimely drop from Graff gave shame. a chance to stay alive, and a healthy dose of Simon Montague, crossing over from his typically role on offense, helped shame. force double game point.
On universe, Singer lined up a huck for Tannor Johnson-Go, but Matty Russell ate it up.
From there, Rory Veldman launched a huck that hung in the air long enough for Sam Goldstein to race in a snag it, though he was not the intended target. While shame. held on, this game was an excellent showcase of Sprocket’s ability to play up to higher ranked competition and is worth a rewatch if you missed it. And for shame., it was a lesson in personnel as well. Frequently, the 2023 champions needed Montague, Russell, or Goldstein to cross over in order to convert their break chances. The extra miles on those legs add up, and probably contributed to a more-lopsided-than-expected loss against Hybrid during the next round.
Bidwatch During Consolation
After Sunday’s games, Sprocket is sitting outside the bid picture, per Ultiworld’s Projected Rankings. Like shame., their tired play on Sunday afternoon did not match their projected result based on the rankings. Sprocket’s 15-14 win over Lawless actually lost the team about 24 rankings points because Lawless is ranked so much lower than Sprocket. Those lost points dropped Sprocket from the 15th position in the rankings (where they were holding a strength bid for the Northeast) down to 17th and out of strength bid range. For now, #13 Bay Area Mischief is the lucky recipient of the extra bid, potentially bringing a fifth bid to the Southwest! Sprocket plays #3 Boston Slow tomorrow in the Fifth Place game. During Saturday’s pool play, Sprocket beat Slow and earned about 28 rankings points from that result. If they’re able to pull off another upset, they may save their bid and significantly increase their chances of making Nationals in October. If they aren’t able to beat Slow tomorrow, it seems like they might have to plan to do so at Regionals instead if they’d like their season to continue afterwards.
Men’s Division
In the men’s division, the quarterfinal round went as expected when it came to results, but there was certainly some drama in getting to that conclusion. #10 Philadelphia Pacmen and #11 Atlanta Chain Lightning had little trouble with their assignments, as Pacmen dismantled #23 Virginia Vault, 15-10, and Chain Lightning cruised past Florida Untied 15-10. For Vault and Untied, earning a bid was never really on the table this weekend, and their focus shifted to continuing to play spoiler in the fifth place bracket.
#17 Montreal Mephisto certainly had incentive to pull an upset after going 0-3 on Saturday, and they pushed #8 Washington D.C. Truck Stop in a 15-12 defeat, but ultimately, Mephisto fell to 0-4 on the tournament, with two consolation games left to salvage enough points for their bid. However, things are a little less dire for the Montreal side, as one of the teams set to replace them in earning a bid is #24 Portland Red Tide, which would keep a third bid in the Northeast.
Ring Breaks Doublewide Hearts on Universe Point
#16 Austin Doublewide does not have the luxury that Mephisto enjoys, as losing their bid does not come with the reassurance that someone in their region will pick up the slack. As such, they entered their quarterfinal with an extra edge of desperation, and an upset win over #9 Raleigh Ring of Fire provided a recipe for sneaking back into the back end of the bid-earning picture.
They didn’t play that way early, going down 3-0 off the rip on a hold and two Ring breaks, as the Raleigh D-Line offense converted both break chances with composure, forcing a Doublewide timeout.
Doublewide got one break in the first half, but Ring prevented too much bleeding, and their O-line stabilized. Operating without Tobias Brooks, Raleigh largely was content to play a lot of small ball, but their O-line wasn’t without their shot-takers. Josh Singleton’s visionary lefty flick huck led college teammate Matthew Barcellos perfectly into the end zone for a 7-5 Ring lead. One point later, Singleton’s assist to another college teammate in Fried sent Ring to halftime with an 8-6 lead.
The Texans received out of half and got things rolling in their favor. First, they took advantage of a bad pull that gave them the disc at the opposite brick mark. Mark Henke hit ‘em with the old ‘run out of bounds and then back to the front cone’ cut, and Doublewide held to keep things close. After an exchange of holds, Doublewide got two breaks over the course of three Raleigh O-line possessions. First, after a give-and-go went awry for Ring, Jackson Potts lofted a perfect flick huck on the counter to even things up, 9-9. Shortly after, Doublewide got a short field break chance and executed perfectly, working the disc from right to left before finding an arcing cross-field flick to the back right cone into acres of space for an 11-10 lead, their first of the game.
Doublewide kept that advantage all the way until the (almost) very end. Up 14-13, they actually had two chances to break for the win, including one where they worked the disc up to the attacking brick mark. But both opportunities ended in drops, and the game went to universe. With a 14-14 scoreline, and a bid maybe hanging in the balance, Doublewide received the disc with the fate in their offense’s hands.
They had the disc for all of two throws – centering pass and small under-cut gainer to the right side. There, Andrew Li set an active mark that forced multiple pivots and a late-stall swing. Li called stall, which seemed quick, but the late-stall pass was blocked by Dylan Hawkins anyways, so it didn’t really matter. After an end zone set, Li found Trevor Lynch for the game-sealing break, punctuating a heartbreaking result for Doublewide. Matthew Gouchoe-Hanas starred for Ring of Fire with five assists and two goals, while Fried had four goals. Hawkins, whose late game block wasn’t an official stat due to the stall being called, was another centerpiece of the offense with four goal contributions, alongside Singleton, who had three assists.
Drama-less Semifinals Set Stage for Championship Monday
In the semifinals, there was no such double-game-point drama unfolding. Riding the energy from their unexpectedly tight quarterfinal, Ring came out hot against Pacmen. After an early exchange of breaks, Justin-Cooper Williams produced outstanding bookends with a layout block and goal on the ensuing huck to give Ring a 5-3 lead. Henri Lessard collected another goal, giving Ring a three-point halftime advantage, and Raleigh cruised from there, putting the game away with three second-half breaks to stomp Pacmen, 15-10.
In the other semifinal, Truck Stop started things early, as AJ Merriman and Isaac Lee went every other with the disc on their first counter opportunity, collecting the early break, with Merriman hitting Lee for the goal. However, Chain punched back with consecutive breaks of their own, the latter on a nice skying grab by Stefan McCall, and the Atlanta squad took a 5-3 lead.
That was as good as it got for Atlanta. After they underthrew a huck on a third straight break chance, Truck held and then immediately broke back twice, with Lee facilitating the second one yet again, this time by way of a nifty scoober that led David Bloodgood into the end zone on a leap.
Chain took a timeout, but it was to no avail: Truck was off and running. They punched in a third straight break after the timeout, this one featuring a whole bunch of Moussa Dia running the offense, before Jasper Tom and Micah Wagner connected for the goal. Atlanta dropped the ensuing pull, Lee hit Merriman, and the game was 8-5 at half and turning into a runaway. Truck Stop never let things get closer than two goals in the second half, answering Chain’s lone remaining break with one of their own and seeing out a 15-11 victory.
Truck Stop and Ring of Fire now meet in the final that could have Nationals seeding implications. Both squads enter the game with 5-0 marks in the tournament and looking to punctuate their regular season with a statement tournament victory.
Fifth Place Bracket
Austin Doublewide was so close to forging into the semifinals and earning two more chances at higher-ranked opponents in order to earn their bid. Instead, they faltered and fell to the fifth place bracket, where the pressure was on to deliver big wins to stay in the bid-earning picture. They did just that in the fifth place semifinal, absolutely blasting an outmatched Virginia Vault side. Doublewide reversed their quarterfinal start, holding and breaking to go up 2-0. Then, Noah Powell went flying for a block (or at least a heavily pressured drop), and, on the counter, he broke away from his mark into the deep space for an easy goal.
Directly after Vault called timeout, Doublewide earned another break chance and converted a huck for a 4-0 advantage. The teams exchanged holds into half, and then Doublewide broke three more times to start the second half, extending the advantage to 11-4 and eventually won 15-6.
Mephisto, for their part, also got an authoritative win, as they used a mid-game run to pull away from Florida Untied, turning a 6-5 game into a 10-5 laugher in a run that spanned a piece of both halves. They triumphed 15-8 for their first win of the weekend.
Monday’s Action
Truck will get Ring in the final, while Chain Lightning and Pacmen battle it out in a rematch of the Elite Select Challenge Final, with the winner taking third place. Beyond the opportunity to win or to podium in a TCT event, the motivation here largely lies in Nationals seeding, as all of these teams figure to be clumped closely together in the end of year rankings, and head to head results could play a big role in national tournament seeding.
Mephisto and Doublewide will duke things out in the fifth place game. As mentioned earlier, for bid-earning purposes, it’s probably more dire stakes for Doublewide to earn a bid, with Red Tide currently sitting on a third bid for the Northeast. However, a win for Mephisto could snatch an unexpected fourth bid for the region.
Vault and Untied, co-owners of the Saturday Spoiler moniker, head to the seventh place as expected after their blowout losses. That game has little to no implications as both teams sit well outside the bid picture.
