Day one of the Elite Invite is done, two to go!
Plenty more action over the next two days before we see which teams qualify for EUCF
Yesterday was a full day of frisbee in Bern as 24 of the best teams in Europe have been fighting for places in this year’s European Ultimate Championships Finals. Eight teams in each division are competing for two spots to EUCF in Wroclaw, and day one has been an intriguing set up for the rest of the event.
In the mixed division, GRUT are on track for a great result with two dominant wins on day one. In the other pool there’s a bit more intrigue though; Strasbourg’s Sesquidistus have two wins (one coming on universe point against Disconnection) and both Disconnection and Reading are 1-1. Reading against the French team this morning will likely decide who comes out on top in that pool, with Disconnection looming if the British team can snatch a win. With one more round to go, the bracket isn’t yet set but it looks like GRUT are still the team that everyone else will be aiming to topple.
The open division has also seen some chaos in pool B. The games are all done, and no team has emerged with a perfect record. BFD La Fotta lost to Clapham but came back with a huge 15-13 win over Mooncatchers to get to 2-1, a record matched by the other two teams. The Italians topped the pool on goal difference with Clapham coming out third in the pool. The other side of the draw saw another three-way tie, with Czech team 3SB winning all three games and the other three teams all finishing 1-2. It all means that we have quarter finals set with 3SB playing currently winless Wall City, Ranelagh and Mooncatchers recreating their EUCF 2022 quarter, Clapham playing familiar foes Chevron and La Fotta matching up with Heidees.
There’s one more round left in women’s as well, but BFD Shout look to be on track to continue their dominance against other clubs so far. The Italians are reigning European champs, already won Spring Invite and were only stopped at Tom’s by a national team in the final. They’ve dominated both games so far and play winless 3SB this morning. It looks so far like the tournament is a collision course between Shout their opponent in the semi at Tom’s - jinX. The Germans are also 2-0 with a crushing win over FAB and a tight, universe win over 2021 European champions YAKA. One more round and we’ll have the quarters set here too, so stay tuned for the big games here.
Every big game will be LIVE on the Ulti.TV YouTube page, obviously, and that means two more days of outstanding ultimate from Switzerland. You can watch it all here, including yesterday’s games:
Who’s going to be in the running when we get to the business end of the tournament? Will anyone be supporting an opposition team like the Spring Invite finalists will be supporting their conquerors? (If Disconnection, Shout or 3SB get to the final, that will mean Lemmings, East Block and CUS Padova respectively will qualify for EUCF.) Will the excitement be too much for any of the commentators, or will that be sunstroke? Find out for yourself and tune in over the long weekend!
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Semis in open and women’s are coming today, while mixed will see both semis on Monday alongside all three finals. The games are sure to be amazing, so don’t miss out!