August 5, 2025
By Evan Lepler
Technically, Championship Weekend is still two and a half weeks away. But the UFA postseason almost always delivers its greatest drama during the four-game division championship slate, and we’re just three days away from a glorious, riveting, and suspenseful 27 hours of elimination ultimate.
It all starts Friday night in Atlanta, where the Hustle will either exorcise their playoff demons or perhaps consider folding the franchise. No doubt the San Diego Growlers—a feisty group of undeterred underdogs—would love nothing more than to help shut the door on Atlanta’s title hopes. I’m already nervous contemplating the pressure that the hometown favorites will feel, particularly if the game’s still tight in the fourth.
And one day later, the Saturday schedule sparkles like a brilliant constellation, with all the stars aligning perfectly. The East gets rolling at 5:00 PM/ET, the Central action commences at 7:00 PM/ET, and the West wraps up the tremendous WatchUFA.tv tripleheader at 9:00 PM/ET, delivering three dramatic championship contests, each layered with juicy storylines and fascinating subplots.
As a fan of high-stakes frisbee, I could not be more excited for this upcoming weekend. If all four home teams win, we’d have a Championship Weekend featuring a group of contenders that are all hunting their first UFA titles. That would certainly create an incredible spectacle at Breese Stevens Field in a couple weeks, but my hunch is that things won’t be quite that straightforward.
One thing I’m very confident about is that we will not see another slate of postseason blowouts. On paper, the four matchups are all deeply compelling in their own way, and historically, the UFA’s Divisional Championship round has been characterized by super tight margins.
Over the past four years, in fact, 15 of the 16 division title games have been decided by five goals or fewer, and 11 of them have had margins of three or less. Last year, we witnessed two astonishing one-goal stunners—both with the road team prevailing.
Furthermore, in every single UFA playoffs dating back to 2015, we have enjoyed at least one postseason game decided by a single score. Hopefully, that streak will continue for a 10th consecutive season this coming weekend.
As the anticipation grows, I am truly ready for anything. Sure, I’ve got plenty of pregame thoughts about all four matchups, but I’m also prepared for the pressure and intensity to transform many rational predictions into truly mind-bending outcomes.
Without further ado, here’s a look at just some of the details, narratives, and expectations that are spinning like a floating frisbee soaring into this massively important weekend.
The Full Field Layout
No one in Atlanta needs a reminder about the team’s past playoff failures. With three excruciating one-goal losses over the past four postseasons, nearly every Hustle player has endured the sting.
In each of the past two offseasons, following their agonizing single-goal setbacks on their home-field with a berth to Championship Weekend on the line, Atlanta Coach Tuba Benson-Jaja made his players relive the trauma together. The Hustle Coach rented out space in a community center, brought everyone together over pizza, and they all rewatched the painful playoff games, confronting the failures directly rather than trying to avoid and forget them.
The goal was to learn how to lose better, extracting lessons from past misfortunes no matter how excruciating the process might be. In the solemn, at times tearful environment, Benson-Jaja sought to create a safe space where anything could be said, where feelings could be unleashed, and where real development would occur.
“It’s put us in a place where it’s not carrying as much weight, and we’re able to take the good from those things and move forward,” explained Benson-Jaja.
For the Hustle, it’s truly been years of emotional build-up leading into Friday’s South Division Championship Game. Ironically, the opponent is a team that just joined the South Division this past offseason.
The San Diego Growlers have been to Championship Weekend twice before, winning the West in 2019 and 2021, but they’re also a team that had missed the playoffs each of the past two years. Despite their 7-17 record in 2023 and 2024, the Growlers still felt like they were moving in the right direction.
“The last two seasons were difficult,” said Growlers Coach Kevin Stuart. “We lost a lot of veteran leaders, and it took us time to develop the younger talent on our roster. Last season, we weren’t getting the wins, but we were seeing glimpses of how good we could be. To start this season, we added experienced players to a fairly young core, and the experienced players we added all had championship experience. This is how we were able to get back to the playoffs and back into a divisional championship game.”
Among the 20 individuals who are expected to be in the lineup for the Growlers this Friday night, nine different guys have Championship Weekend experience. It’s quite the contrast to the Hustle’s anticipated roster, which only has two players—former AlleyCat Cam Brock and former Shred Sean Connole—who’ve previously played at the UFA’s marquee event.
Consequently, the Growlers should arrive into Atlanta with a decent amount of confidence. They played the Hustle super tough in both of their regular season matchups, falling 20-19 at the buzzer on May 9 in San Diego and losing 23-19 in the rematch 15 days later. The second contest came on the second day of the Growlers’ southeast doubleheader—one night after a double overtime victory at Carolina—and the Hustle only had eight turnovers, three of which came on the very last point of the night.
One key X-factor for the Growlers will be their 22-year-old defender, Max Gibson, who stands 6’5” and has produced 13 blocks in his last six games, three of which came in the May 24 matchup against Atlanta. In the opening round playoff game, Gibson was a force against the Sol, registering two blocks, three assists, and producing a season-high 280 receiving yards.
“I loved seeing Max get aggressive [against Austin],” said Travis Dunn, the veteran San Diego star who leads the team with 45 assists. “He has a very high ceiling, so when we can get that kind of performance from him, it definitely gives us an advantage. I’m looking forward to more of the same in Atlanta.”
Khalif El-Salaam will also be a critically important playmaker against the Hustle. It’s easy to watch the Growlers and immediately notice El-Salaam’s significant impact, with his unique blend of speed, skill, and swagger capable of changing the tone of a game with a single spectacular sky. Plus, he’s got a history with the Hustle—somewhat forgettably, he played three games for Atlanta in 2022—and he helped orchestrate a major upset on this same weekend last year, when his Seattle Cascades stunned the Shred in Salt Lake.
Of course, the Hustle won’t be surprised by any of San Diego’s weapons, and Atlanta has plenty of firepower of their own. From a size standpoint, defenders like Michael Fairley, Frankie Fernandez, and “Mr. Buzzer Beater” Dean Ramsey are all ready to seriously challenge the Growlers’ dynamic cutting core. It’s also huge that Lukas McClamrock, who was injured and unavailable for the Hustle’s playoff game last year, is currently listed as active for this coming Friday.
And offensively, the Hustle have been historically strong in 2025, averaging a UFA-record low 11.6 turnovers per game. Austin Taylor and Adam Miller have both been phenomenal and reliable, Brett Hulsmeyer and Hayden Austin-Knab are a magical pair of playmakers who could start for any team in the league. Beyond their big four, the Hustle’s core of striking receivers is a pretty incredible assortment of accomplished excellence, from Cameron Brock and Alec Wilson Holliday to Karl Ekwurtzel and Sean Connole. There’s also the ultimate glue guy, Christian Olsen, the last remaining member of the original 2015 Hustle team, who does so many little things to make Atlanta better when he’s on the field. (Everyone on the Hustle understands that the team is 7-0 this season when Olsen’s been healthy and available.)
I truly believe that the Growlers are really good, very well-coached, and capable of capitalizing on Atlanta nerves to potentially shock the UFA world this Friday night. But I also think that the Hustle have had the right balance of hunger and humility throughout the season, taking their lumps and steadily growing toward this exact moment.
I expect San Diego to hang tough, but ultimately I think Atlanta will find a way to win.
The Pick: Hustle 21 Growlers 17
*****
Shifting to Saturday, DC and Boston will square off for the fourth time this season. The Glory grabbed the first win, a low-scoring 14-11 triumph in DC on May 11, but the Breeze have prevailed in each of the last two meetings, a narrow 17-16 victory in Boston on July 6 and a more convincing 20-16 tally six days later back in the District. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the Glory clinched the top spot in the East the night before the Breeze’s four-goal win, so Boston was resting several starters and not exactly motivated to the fullest in that Week 12 tussle.
Obviously, this Saturday will feel like an entirely different affair, with two teams both respecting their opponent fully while also carrying immense confidence in their full-strength squads to get the job done.
The Boston Glory also have some major tactical decisions to make. Two-time reigning MVP Jeff Babbitt, who averaged over 18 O-points played per game in his first 16 games with the Glory, has only had eight total O-points in the UFA over the past two months. Part of this, certainly, was utilizing his immense abilities on defense, and he’s produced a remarkable 16 blocks in just five games primarily on the D-line. But it was also evident that Babbitt was banged up in the middle of the season, unable to play offense at the highest level.
By the time Saturday arrives, however, it will have been four full weeks since Babbitt’s last UFA game. The dynamic 31-year-old difference-maker has healed up, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll stay on D, switch back to O, or—what I’d guess is most likely—do a combination of both.
Entering the 2025 season, Babbitt had slimmed down his playing weight, looking to become both faster, more explosive, and more durable. The in-season injury aside, he believes he has the cardio to make a positive impact on almost every point. Consequently, it will be very interesting to see how much the Glory coaching staff lets him play in this must-win game.
Meanwhile, the Glory are far from a one-man team. Tobe Decraene and Tannor Johnson-Go are legitimate candidates for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, Ben Sadok and Tyler Chan are hugely important playmakers for their lines, and every single player that takes the field wearing a Boston jersey has the potential to deliver a season-defining highlight. The Glory are truly deeper than they have ever been, with a bunch of gamers who are bought in and seemingly ready for this moment.
Of course, many of the same things could be said about the Breeze, who are coming off an absolutely devastating evisceration of the Empire in the opening round. DC will be without Thomas Edmonds, and Jasper Tom is questionable, but the Breeze are expecting Cole Jurek to return to the lineup for the first time since late-June. Pairing him with Christian Boxley and Rowan McDonnell as dynamic initiating cutters—along with the tantalizing possibility of Miles Grovic playing a little bit more offense too—gives the Breeze a foundational and scary downfield group to complement the small-ball, handler-driven attack. Defensively, DC has no shortage of weapons either, from Alexandre Fall’s electric athleticism to David Bloodgood’s big-game demeanor.
Trusting that both teams will be ready to play something close to their A-game, this battle will hinge on one big thing: consistent execution.
“The biggest keys to any matchup is leaning into how we replicate excellence where we have significant control—on offense—and forcing chaos where we have limited control—on defense,” said Breeze Coach Lauren Boyle. “Strong teams like Boston will find success. How we organize the field to put them in positions where their success is lower will be key. And then from there, capitalize on our opportunities—playing catch with our system in mind. Do it again and again until the time expires.”
The other big thing on my mind this Saturday will be how the teams fare in the pressure-packed end-of-quarter sequences. No doubt there’s a little luck built into these climactic moments, but there’s also plenty of strategy and crunch-time decision-making involved too.
If Boston’s tied or within one in the game’s pivotal moments down the stretch, you have to like the Glory’s chances. Between Babbitt, Decraene, Orion Cable, and Johnson-Go, the Glory have the exact cast of characters that any team would want in a desperation jump-ball situation.
If DC can build a two or three-goal lead midway through the fourth, however, I believe the Breeze can patiently find a way to hold, completing passes against the relentless Boston pressure. League-wide, only Atlanta has a better season-long completion percentage than DC, and the Breeze finished the regular season with over 4,000 completions, over 500 more than the next highest team total. Although they had the fewest hucks, they also showed they could efficiently launch deep shots in the last round against the Empire.
Consequently, I find myself leaning toward the Breeze ever so slightly. The Glory deserve to be considered the favorites at home, but DC knows it can win in Boston, and the Breeze still have unfinished business at Championship Weekend.
The Pick: Breeze 18 Glory 16
*****
Chicago walloped Minnesota twice in the regular season, outscoring the Wind Chill 41-26 in two lopsided games that forced the reigning champions to completely re-evaluate their offensive structure. On Saturday, we shall see whether or not that matters.
After all, the world’s greatest geniuses could all collaborate with the most powerful artificial intelligence, scheming for centuries to craft the perfect underdog game plan. The Wind Chill, unbound by any constraints of time or resources, could add Einstein, Aristotle, and Hawking, bring in John Wooden and Bill Belichick, and then integrate Napoleon and Genghis Khan into the team’s leadership too.
No matter what the game plan might be, it still will come down to who’s actually on the field, competing in between the white lines. Over the course of eight quarters, Chicago has looked far superior on the talent front, though Minnesota continues to cling to the belief that their best form can match the Union’s mettle.
We shall certainly see.
“We’re functionally basically a different team than we were when we played Chicago last,” said Minnesota’s Justin Burnett, after the Wind Chill’s first round win over Madison. “Everyone likes to say that you’re a different team whenever you play, but I feel like we have really grown since then. Our offense has really grown in leaps and bounds, and our defense knows now what to hunt in Chicago, and we’ll be at full force. So I’m looking forward to a really good game, and I think we have a great chance of making it back to Champ Weekend.”
Call me crazy, but a significant part of me agrees with most of Burnett’s message. The Wind Chill reshaped their offense after the Fourth of July fiasco and looked the best they have all season 10 days ago against the Radicals. Defensively, Minnesota can create problems and get hot for quarters at a time.
Of course, that can all be true, and the Union just might be better. Daan De Marree has been historically dominant down the stretch of the regular season, and with Paul Arters, Nate Goff, and Ben Preiss also playing at high levels, the Chicago offense should be a relatively stable holding machine. Defensively, the Union are scary, especially after a turn when Xavier Payne and Pawel Janas can orchestrate the counter-attack. Chicago set new historical marks in break-rate during the regular season, scoring on 48.7 percent of their defensive points, becoming the most prolific defensive unit in UFA history.
Is that number inflated due to seven games against Detroit, Indy, and Pittsburgh? Absolutely.
But the Union defense still produced a break-rate of 44 percent or better in three of their five games against teams with winning records. So while there are certainly some empty calories mixed in, the Chicago defense definitely packs plenty of protein too.
My biggest concern for the Union, in one word, is overconfidence. If they don’t show up prepared to play a good game against an elite opponent, they can absolutely lose. Minnesota has made significant strides, and Chicago’s perfect season could come crashing down quickly if the team doesn’t take the field with the right mindset.
Historically, teams that have gone undefeated during the UFA’s regular season have always advanced to Championship Weekend. While I expect the Wind Chill to challenge Chicago and be far more competitive than they were last month, I cannot find the guts to fully go against the unbeaten Union.
The Pick: Union 21 Wind Chill 16
*****
Last, but certainly not least, the West Division Championship pits the Oakland Spiders and the Salt Lake Shred, two teams that, in my opinion, are significantly more dangerous than some other recent West Division champs.
The Shred have won 11 straight games, looked really sharp in their lone loss—all the way back in April—and have found meaningful ways to improve their team as the season has progressed. Kimball Pew and Alex Forsberg, two relatively unknown names before this year, have evolved into huge D-line weapons. Nate De Morgan, the 19-year-old who just finished his freshman year at Carleton, has also added versatility and explosiveness, capable of positively impacting any line he joins. Salt Lake also has three healthy Yorgasons, not to mention a determined Jordan Kerr and a fearless Will Selfridge. Collectively, the Shred have a bunch of options to mix and match lineups, crossing top guys over, and generally having seven dangerous dudes on the field all the time.
“We’re all about playing to each other’s strengths,” said Selfridge, via the team’s Instagram story. “We’re all seven different players that have different strengths, and when we utilize each of our strengths, we’re able to play really efficiently.”
Statistically, Salt Lake ranks number two in both O-line conversion rate and O-line hold-rate—only behind Atlanta in each category—and leads the league in D-line conversion rate, cashing in better than 59 percent of their break chances after creating a turn.
But the Spiders are number three in the league in both O-line conversion and hold-rate, just narrowly trailing the Shred in those two departments. And while Oakland’s D-line efficiency doesn’t match Salt Lake’s, the Spiders did generate 24 more blocks than the Shred during the regular season.
Oakland’s also coming off a 17-block barrage against Colorado, a game where the Spiders offense was broken only once. It will be mighty tough to replicate either of those numbers this Saturday, but it’s easy to envision Oakland generating maybe nine blocks and getting broken just four times. If the Spiders can follow a formula something like that, they could definitely find a way to win.
“Going into the Shred game, I know that [our] O-line has learned to lean into the physicality Salt Lake will bring and make sure we maintain our tempo and spacing to control the pace of the game,” said Oakland’s Leo Gordon. “Defensively, we’ve been growing our ability to play team defense, trusting our marks and downfield to coordinate what spaces we’re taking away. Fundamentals are the name of the game.”
The Shred, despite trailing 23-21 with 54 seconds left, incredibly prevailed 25-24 in overtime at Oakland on June 6, when the Spiders poorly mismanaged the final minute in regulation. In the rematch three weeks later, Oakland also built an early lead, but then was outscored 9-4 in the second quarter, as the Shred seized control. Salt Lake’s D-line converted eight breaks in 11 chances, punishing the Spiders for almost every mistake.
“We have lost to the Shred twice now, both with brutal collapses at different junctions in the game,” said Spiders Coach Caleb Merriam. “Putting four complete quarters together has been a challenge all year until last Saturday [vs. Colorado], but the team got a taste of it and is going to be doing everything in their powers to do it again.”
To me, this game comes down to the ceiling of Oakland’s O-line efficiency. How close to perfect can Evan Magsig, Walker Frankenberg, Leo Gordon, and Adam Rees be?
In the Colorado game, that quartet went 141-for-141 with 11 assists and 10 goals. In the two losses to Salt Lake, however, Magsig had 10 throwaways himself. Collectively, the aforementioned foursome had 19 total turns in two games against the Shred.
Perfection is not realistic over four quarters against Salt Lake’s physical pressure, but each hiccup carries a cost. If the Spiders’ most important distributors can manage just one or two errors, they will have a real chance.
Like the Hustle, the Shred have lived a full year with the pain of losing a division title game at home. For Salt Lake, the agony of last August’s one-goal loss against surprising Seattle also meant that the Shred missed the chance to host a semifinal at Championship Weekend.
Entering the 2025 season, Shred Coach Bryce Merrill remained uncertain about exactly how good his team would be, but after going 11-1 record and seeing steady growth from many UFA rookies, Salt Lake has seemingly hit every checkmark over the course of the last three and a half months. In contrast to last year, when something just seemed off, the vibes surrounding this year’s Shred feel nearly immaculate.
That alone doesn’t guarantee victory, but their late-game success against the Spiders definitely bodes well. I expect this game to be super close, and at the final buzzer, I think the Shred will narrowly prevail.
The Pick: Shred 22 Spiders 21
The Hammer
For the sixth consecutive season, I have the incredible honor and privilege of broadcasting two of the four division title games. It’s a responsibility that I do not ever take for granted.
On Friday night, I’ll be alongside Ian Toner in Atlanta for a special playoff edition of "Friday Night Frisbee". The South Division final will be free for everyone to watch on UFA YouTube.
And on Saturday, Toner and I will both be in Boston for the East Division drama, where the second spot in Championship Weekend will be secured by either the Glory or the Breeze sometime around 7:00 PM/ET.
Sadly, supersonic travel hasn’t yet been invented to enable me to make it to Chicago and Salt Lake too, but I’ll definitely be excited to tune in the last two division title games on WatchUFA.tv.
It really should be a remarkable roller-coaster ride of a weekend, and I hope you enjoy it too. It’s going to be emotional, powerful, exciting, and—for some—genuinely euphoric. For others, inevitably heartbreaking.
That’s the beauty and power of sports, along with the gift of caring. Victory wouldn’t be so sweet if losing didn’t hurt so much.
The anticipation is intense in itself, and Friday night cannot get here fast enough.
Whatever unfolds—buzzer beaters, redemption, chaos, or Callahans—I’m ready for anything.
Hope you are too.
