The first bids to Nationals were decided this weekend, with plenty of upsets and drama long the way!
September 29, 2026 by Theo Wan in Preview, Recap
Ultiworld’s coverage of the 2026 club 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.
Throughout the summer, starting with Pro-Elite Challenge East, we’ll publishing a bite-sized weekly recap of the action across the club season. This will serve as a supplement to our standard tournament reporting and offer a high-level look at the latest happenings and the biggest stories of the week.
The postseason continues with the regional championships, where teams compete for bids to the National Championships that are earned during the regular season. Teams that lose in the regional game-to-go earn Top Select Flight status and are joined by the next three highest-finishing teams from the region in the Select Flight. Select Flight teams earn invitations to Triple Crown Tour Series events, joining squads who make Nationals, who end up in the Pro and Elite Flights.
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Women’s Division
The women’s division saw excitement from top to bottom as three teams earned their first-ever appearances at the USUA Club Championships: #9 Philadelphia Flight, #17 Northampton Starling, and #22 Dallas Dimes.
Great Lakes
- #7 Toronto 6ixers won the region with a commanding 15-4 victory over #16 Chicago Nemesis, marking the second consecutive year Toronto has won the region since last year’s redraw. Finishing with a total score differential of 90-18, 6ixers never gave up more than five points in a game all weekend.
- In addition to Nemesis, Indy Rogue, Lake Erie Walleyes, and Cincinnati Sureshot all qualified for the Select Flight, with Sureshot taking down Columbus Solstice 14-11 in the fifth-place game.
Mid-Atlantic
- #1 Washington DC Scandal prevailed through Nor’easter conditions in Delaware to capture the region for the fifth-straight year1 with a 15-3 win over #9 Philadelphia Flight in the final. Impressively, Scandal bageled one team and held teams to one point in four of the six games they played. Flight put up the most points on Scandal and qualified for Nationals for the first time by making the final with a 15-10 victory over #3 Pittsburgh Parcha.
- Parcha claimed the last spot to Nationals with a 13-10 decision over Washington DC Grit, who claim the region’s Top Select spot.
- Washington DC Agency, New Brunswick Pine Baroness, and Philadelphia Zephyr earned Select Flight spots, with Zephyr beating Washington DC Dissent 11-7 in the seventh-place game.
North Central
- Avenging their loss in the final last year, #14 Minneapolis Pop bested #23 Madison Heist on universe 14-13 to qualify for Nationals.
- Kansas City Wicked, St. Louis Stellar, and Minneapolis Compact Disc qualified for Select Flight along with Heist, with Compact Disc taking down Milwaukee Medusa by one in the fifth-place match.
Northeast
- #3 Boston Brute Squad defeated #8 New York BENT 15-4 in the regional final, completing a weekend where they bageled two teams and gave up no more than five points in a game.
- Despite the loss, BENT had already earned their spot at Nationals by virtee of making the championship game with a comeback victory over #12 Quebec Iris in semis.
- Iris then went on to fall to fellow Canadian team #18 Ottawa Stella in a third-place semifinal 12-9, meaning another team would steal the bid Iris earned. The beneficiary was #17 Northampton Starling, who qualified for Nationals for the first time with a 15-10 win over Stella.
- Joining Stella in the Select Flight will be Iris, Cambridge Vice, and Boston Siege, who beat Brooklyn Book Club 14-9 for seventh.
- Ultiworld was on site for live coverage of Regionals Super Sunday! You can watch footage from Northeast Regionals in our Video Library.
Northwest
- Earning their revenge from last season, #5 Seattle Riot defeated #10 Portland Schwa 15-12 in the final to re-secure the regional title. Schwa bounced back with a 13-12 universe point victory over #20 Vancouver Traffic to secure the second and last bid to Nationals. Traffic bested another Vancouver team, Komodos, 15-5 in the second-place semifinal to get to the game-to-go.
- Other Select Flight qualifiers include Vancouver Drift, Utah Dark Sky, and Seattle ditto, who beat fellow Seattlites Dogfish 13-11 in the seventh-place game.
South Central
- For the 12th consecutive time, #6 Denver Molly Brown finished on top of the region as they bested #22 Dallas Dimes 15-8 in the final. Dimes earned a bid and qualified for their their first Nationals after a thrilling 11-10 victory over #15 Colorado Kelp in the game-to-go. Kelp got past #24 Austin Vengeance 14-11 to get there.
- The other Select Flight teams will be Fort Collins Trainwreck and Houston Crush City. Trainwreck, the no.8 seed, upset no.5 seed San Antonio Problems on universe in pool play to earn their way to Select Flight status, and then took down no.6 seed Crush City to finish fifth overall.
Southeast
- #21 Raleigh Phoenix defeated #25 Atlanta Ozone in the regional final for the seventh straight year to qualify for Nationals. Ozone fell to Phoenix 15-6 and got to the championship match despite dropping two pool play games, first to Charlotte Takedown then Tampa Calypso. The Atlanta squad avenged their 14-13 loss to Calypso by defeating them 15-8 in the semifinal round.
- Calypso earned third and are joined in the Select Flight by Takedown and Durham Shiver, who got past Marietta Magma 10-7 for fifth.
Southwest
- #2 San Francisco Fury have claimed every Southwest Regional title since the redraw in 2012, and haven’t lost a game at a regional tournament since 2010. This streak continued in 2026 as Fury took down #11 San Diego Flipside 15-8 in the championship clash. Flipside had already earned a bid to Nationals with a narrow 15-14 upset win over #4 San Francisco Nightlock in a semifinal, but Nightlock had to fight for the last bid with a 15-12 victory over #18 Oakland LOL in the game-to-go.
- LOL are joined by San Diego Wildfire, Bay Area FAB, and Sacramento Delta in the Select Flight, with Delta claiming the final spot with a 15-10 win over Sunnyvale Void Cat Rewind in the seventh-place game.
- You can watch footage from Southwest Regionals in our Video Library.
Looking Ahead
The Nationals field is now set. Stay tuned for previews and video coverage plans for the biggest club event of the year, which runs from Oct. 22-25.
Men’s Division
On the men’s side of things, Nationals bids mostly went to chalk with just a single bid stealer: the Northeast Region’s Montreal Mephisto. While placements may have shifted from the original rankings, Portland Red Tide are the only team not to claim the bid they earned.
Great Lakes
- It’s been 10 years since #5 Chicago Machine last ceded the Great Lakes region. They took down #12 Toronto GOAT 15-10 in the championship match to continue their streak. GOAT left no doubt in the second-place game, defeating Columbus Flying Dutchmen 15-2 to earn the last spot to Nationals.
- Alongside Flying Dutchmen, Indianapolis I-69, #18 Chicago Haymaker, and East Lansing ELDL all made the Select Flight. It was an early exit for Haymaker, who were power ranked throughout the year, as they fell first to Flying Dutchmen in semis, then to I-69 two rounds before the game-to-go.
Mid-Atlantic
- In a potential changing of the guard, #11 Philadelphia Pacmen got by #6 Washington DC Truck Stop 15-12 in the final, marking the first time Truck Stop have not taken the region since 2011. The Washington DC side beat Virginia Vault 15-9 in the game-to-go to keep their Nationals streak alive. Vault snuck past first Arlington Oak Grove Boys then Pittsburgh Temper 12-11 to get to the second-place final.
- Joining those three teams in the Select Flight are Philadelphia UPDOG, who upset Oak Grove Boys on universe to make semis only to fall to Temper on universe in the backdoor bracket.
Northeast
- After falling in the Regional final the last two years, #4 New York PoNY got back on top of the Northeast mountain with a 15-11 victory over #7 Boston DiG. With three bids in the region, DiG defeated #24 Portland Red Tide 15-8 in semis the round prior to claim their spot to Nationals.
- Red Tide’s run as a bid earner came to an end in the third-place semifinal when #20 Montreal Mephisto beat them on universe 14-13. Mephisto then earned a bid to Nationals for the first time in program history with a 12-7 victory over #25 Amherst Sprout in what was a call-filled game-to-go.
- Amherst Sprout, Red Tide, New York Blueprint, and Connecticut Colt grabbed spots in the Select Flight as Colt defeated New York Shade 8-5 in the seventh-place game.
- You can watch footage from Northeast Regionals in our Video Library.
Northwest
- #2 Portland Rhino Slam! redeemed last year’s regional final loss to #3 Seattle Sockeye with a 15-10 win in the 2026 championship game. Both teams qualified for Nationals by making the final, with Sockeye besting #15 Vancouver Furious George and Rhino Slam! taking down #14 Eugene Dark Star in the semifinal round.
- Furious George kept the bid they earned during the regular season with a 15-11 victory over Dark Star in the third-place game.
- Dark Star did get the better of a Canadian team in Victoria Surf 15-12 in the third-place semifinal. Along with Dark Star and Surf, Seattle SOUF and Portland TremOR earned their tickets to the Select Flight, with TremOR defeating Seattle AVE 15-10 in the seventh-place game.
- You can watch footage from Northwest Regionals in our Video Library.
South Central
- #13 Denver Johnny Bravo won their third consecutive regional title as they defeated #16 Austin Doublewide once again. The two have met in the South Central final every season since 2017, and this year’s edition saw Bravo win 15-11.
- Doublewide bounced back with a convincing 15-6 win in the game-to-go over Denver Fungi, who bested Texas City H.I.P 15-10 the round prior.
- The three other teams making the Select Flight are Denver ISO Atmo, Dallas ZOO, and Texas BBQ, who beat Boulder Dingles in the seventh-place matchup.
Southeast
- #10 Atlanta Chain Lightning upset their regional rivals #9 Raleigh Ring of Fire 13-11 in the championship game, changing their fortunes from a year ago.
- Ring of Fire then bested Charlotte baNC 15-8 in the second-place game to claim the last spot to Nationals. baNC battled through a 15-13 victory over #23 Florida Untied to get to the game-to-go.
- Expected bid battlers Raleigh Durham-United fell to Untied in second-place quarters on universe, Untied’s second universe game in a row after a narrow victory over a pickup team riddled with former Ring of Fire players, The Expendables.
- Joining baNC, Untied, and Raleigh-Durham United in the Select Flight are Tennessee Tanasi.
Southwest
- In what was a much closer final than many expected, #1 San Francisco Revolver held off what would’ve been one of the most shocking upsets of the weekend with a 15-13 victory over SoCal Condors in the championship game.
- Condors, San Francisco Zodiac, Phoenix Nighthawk, and Santa Cruz Wavestorms qualified for Select Flight, with Wavestorms beating San Diego Skipjack 14-11 in the fifth-place game.
- You can watch footage from Southwest Regionals in our Video Library.
Looking Ahead
Regionals continue for one more week as North Central Regionals will take place this coming weekend. Then, stay tuned for Nationals previews and video coverage plans for the biggest club event of the year, which runs from Oct. 22-25.
Mixed Division
Competing for the most thrilling division on Super Sunday was the Mixed Division, which saw five teams qualify for Nationals for the first time: #14 San Diego California Burrito, #15 Los Angeles Lotus, #17 Oregon Scorch, #19 Pittsburgh Port Authority, and #20 Toronto Union. Meanwhile, a top 10 power ranked team in #7 Seattle BFG failed to keep their bid, falling to #22 Seattle Mixtape in the Northwest’s game-to-go for the second straight year.
Great Lakes
- Since 2021, #1 Ann Arbor Hybrid have owned the Great Lakes Region and that continued in 2026 as they defeated #20 Toronto Union 15-8 in the final.
- Union, the second bid earner in the region, held off an early first-half upset bid by Indianapolis Sepctre by beating them 12-9 in the game-to-go. This marks the first time the Toronto team has made Nationals. They previously competed in the Northeast Region before the redraw last year.
- Spectre are joined by Chicago RAMP, who they beat in the second-place semifinal 15-12, Cincinnati Steamboat, and Chicago Parlay in the Select Flight.
Mid-Atlantic
- For the first time in program history, #19 Pittsburgh Port Authority made Nationals. They accomplished the feat by defeating the bid-earning #5 Philadelphia AMP 13-12 in the first-place game.
- AMP kept their bid by getting past #11 Washington DC Rally 14-11 in the game-to-go. Rally earned a bid during the regular season, but fell to Port Authority 12-8 in the semifinal before getting to the second-place matchup. In what was ultimately a telling precursor, Rally had previously lost to both teams just a month ago at Elite-Select Challenge.
- Charlottesville Spice, Baltimore Anthem, and Richmond Revival also made the Select Flight.
Northeast
- Down as many as four in the first half, #2 New York XIST came back to claim the region for the third straight season with a 14-12 win over #10 Boston Slow.
- Slow then turned their attention to the game-to-go where they matched up with #9 Boston Sprocket. This matchup lived up to the hype as the two played their third universe point game of the season, with Slow coming out on top for the first time and punching their ticket to Nationals in a 15-14 victory.
- Sprocket, Mansfield Darkwing, Burlington Big Rig, and Brooklyn Grand Army all qualified for the Select Flight.
- You can watch footage from Northeast Regionals in our Video Library.
Northwest
- In one of the most exciting results of Super Sunday, #17 Oregon Scorch earned a spot to Nationals for the first time with a win over #22 Seattle Mixtape in the Northwest Regional final.
- Mixtape defeated #7 Seattle BFG 14-13 in a semifinal and repeated that performance in the game-to-go with a 14-11 victory, marking the second straight year Mixtape knocked out a bid-earning BFG team.
- Montana MOONDOG took the fourth spot in the region and a spot in the Select Flight by claiming a shocking 12-10 victory over #18 Salt Lake City Sego in the second round of the second-place bracket. Seeded second at the tournament, Sego earned the final strength bid to Nationals in the regular season and saw their Nationals hopes end much earlier than predicted.
- Joining BFG and MOONDOG in the Select Flight are Seattle Lights Out and Vancouver Victors.
- You can watch footage from Northwest Regionals in our Video Library.
South Central
- #12 Fort Collins shame. and #3 Austin Disco Club got into an intense final, which saw shame. pick up the 14-13 victory to take the regional title over Disco Club for the second straight season. Disco Club then took down Denver Mile High Trash 15-9 in the second-place game-to-go.
- Joining Mile High Trash in the Select Flight are Denver Space Ghosts, Wichita Impact, and Denver Green Chiles. Space Ghosts upset Austin Moontower to make the backdoor bracket based on point differential and continued with an upset of Impact to break seed and finish fourth.
Southeast
- #16 Durham Toro claimed the Southeast crown for the second consecutive year and the region’s lone bid to Nationals with a 13-12 win over Atlanta Roma Ultima in a turnover-filled universe point. Roma Ultima upset #24 Nashville ‘Shine 15-11 in a semifinal to get there, while Toro beat #21 Huntsville Space Force.
- Space Force join Roma Ultima and ‘Shine in the Select Flight, along with Asheville Parliament, who took down two higher seeds in Athens Murmur and Columbia Bar None to claim fifth.
Southwest
- In what is always an exciting multi-bid region, #4 Sacramento Tower held on to their top seed and claimed the region for the second year in a row with a 15-8 win over #14 San Diego California Burrito in the final. Burrito qualified for Nationals for the first time with a 15-13 victory over #6 San Francisco Polar Bears in a semifinal, and repeated that result with a 12-11 decision in the second-place rematch for seeding.
- Polar Bears likewise earned their spot to Nationals with a 15-12 win over #13 San Francisco Mischief in the second-place semifinal. Mischief’s backdoor bracket woes continued, falling in the game-to-go by #15 Los Angeles Lotus 15-7, marking the first time Lotus have qualified. It’s heartbreak again for Mischief, who missed out on the last strength bid by three rating points after having their bid stolen last year.
- Mischief, Arizona Lawless, and South Bay LIT Ultimate made the Select Flight and are joined by San Francisco Classy, who earned the last spot with a 13-8 victory over Santa Barbara Landsharks.
- You can watch footage from Southwest Regionals in our Video Library.
Looking Ahead
Regionals continue for one more week as North Central Regionals will take place this coming weekend. Then, stay tuned for previews and video coverage plans for the biggest club event of the year, the Club Championships, which runs from Oct. 22-25!
Scandal did not play the Series in 2021 ↩
