Author: Jamie Truong

The third day of WBUCC was littered with huge upsets and tight-knit games. In a complete 180° turn from yesterday’s weather, the skies were calm and the sun was shining. The only thunderous rumble to be heard were the growls and cheers from a slate of unbelievable games.

Open Division

Quijotes (ES):

The Quijotes are THEM. Throughout WBUCC 2024, they’ve been quietly dominating the competition, streaking through the bumpy sands with ease and playing with red-hot intensity. Leading up to their final match of the day against tournament favorite Humiliswag (US), Quijotes had been undefeated throughout the tournament, beating out the likes of St. Laurent (CA), CUS Padova Barbastreji (IT), and FT Würzburg (DE).

Quijotes’s game against the Americans lived up to the hype, with Humiliswag starting the match with an easy break score. However, spirits for the Spaniards remained high as they responded in appropriate fashion with an offensive hold and a pair of break scores to show the Americans they were there to play. The game was nothing short of intense as physical play and defensive stops kept tensions at a tournament high. With the score tied 4-4 after an exchange of break scores, Quijotes continued to pressure Humiliswag with their pinpoint disc movement. In a thrilling finish, Quijotes completed the upset with a 10-7 victory, empowered by #1 Claudio Gagliardi Valbuena, who stood out as one of the keys to their offense with 2 assists and 3 goals.

Quijotes head into Day 4 of WBUCC 2024 undefeated and leave Humiliswag 6-1.

Salaspils Wild Things (LV):

With the morning game on their breakfast plate, the Salaspils had themselves a beautiful game against Belgium’s Jetset Open. The wind was nearly non-existent and that meant one thing for both teams: send the big man deep and give him that disc. It was an incredible sight as both teams glided the disc so effortlessly across the pitch. Each throw, whether short or long, was precise and perfectly caught in the bread basket. While Jetset gave the Salaspils a run for their money, it wasn’t until a break score after halftime that gave the Latvians the breathing room needed to take home the victory, 13-11. Standout performances came from #99 Arvīds Žanis Kārkliņš, who effortlessly tallied 5 assists and 1 goal, alongside his running mate #9 Benjamin Oort, who put in 1 assist and 4 goals.

In their second game of the day against Sweden’s Viksjöfors, Salaspils’s patience in the end zone was key as they meticulously worked the disc through Vijkjöfors’s defense. The Latvian’s force-middle defense strategy kept Vijkjöfors’ offense in check, securing them their 7^th well-earned victory, 13-8.

Salaspils Wild Things continue their undefeated streak on Day 4 of WBUCC 2024, 7-0.

CUS Padova Barbastreji (IT):

In Padova’s square-off against St. Laurent (CA), the Italians were faced with a torrent of blows from the Canadians. St. Laurent’s physical and ice-cold defense disrupted all of Padova’s rhythm, giving them a huge 5-2 early lead. However, a perfectly timed timeout by Padova’s veterans was able to calm down their young and energetic roster. From that point on, the flip was switched and Padova began playing their game, discarding the errant deep throws for a more controlled short game. Their resilience paid off as they quickly snagged halftime and ultimately finished with an impressive 11-7 comeback victory.

CUS Padova Barbastreji closed out their third day and are 4-3 for the tournament.

Mixed Division

Guayota (ES):

The Spanish team hailing from Tenerife in the Canary Islands remains unstoppable. In their three games of the day, they handled RFO (FR), CUS Padova Rangers (IT), and Margarita Mix’d (IE). In all three games, they were in the driver’s seat, never relinquishing the lead and providing no room for errors for their opponents. Their exceptional disc movement in the short to midfield has been their calling card.

Let’s see if the Canarians can continue their dominance as they face the top competition heading into Day 4 of WBUCC 2024.

UFA (PT):

Portugal’s own UFA also continues to prove why they’re deserving of their fourth seed in the tournament. With their three scheduled games on the day, UFA dismantled the competition with ease. In their energetic matchup with Zamperl (DE), it was huge defensive layouts from #7 Inês Bringel and crisp high-release flicks from #27 Julia Akramova that helped UFA secure the win, 12-6.

Opposing teams have to keep an eye on UFA as they continue their strategic march towards the WBUCC 2024 crown.

SoCal (US):

The American powerhouse SoCal finishes their Day 3 with an astonishing 51-point differential. In their three games of the day, they never trailed on the scoreboard. Their larger-than-life defensive intensity paired with a calm disc movement has been a sight to behold. The way they utilized the field’s deep space in changing wind conditions was nothing short of inspiring. Even with such a large roster, they’ve successfully enlisted the help of every single player, proving their depth to be a problem for any opposing team.

Women’s Division:

Torrijas (BE):

The 22^nd seed from Belgium has been silently moving through the tournament while handing out Ls to top tournament contenders. In an upset victory against the 12th-seeded team from Czechia, the ladies from Torrijas handled 3SB in convincing fashion, 11-7. Belgium’s #91, Pita D’Hespeel was dealing assists on a platter to her teammates with 5 assists.

In similar fashion, Torrijas continued their trend of upsetting the apple cart by taking down Spain’s Cassalletes, 10-6. After a tense 4-4 tie, the Belgians went on a break score spree with D’Hespeel putting up another 5 assists, bringing her assist total to 10 for the day.

If competitors want to stop Torrijas, they need to look no further than slowing down D’Hespeel’s pinpoint passes and beautiful movement.

Cassalletes (ES):

In their morning game, the Valencians fought tooth and nail against all their competitors, but none more notable than their heated contest against the top-seeded LAMP (US). The matchup was a tale of two halves with the two teams exchanging breaks. But, after an incredible defensive effort from Cassalletes and the use of great switch defense, LAMP was left scrambling and unable to get easy inside cuts. While the Americans fought back amicably with consecutive break scores, Cassalletes had a firm grasp on the win condition and completed the upset victory.

Cassalletes finished Day 3 of WBUCC 2024 2-1, defeating MUC Munich (DE), 10-5, and dropping their game against Torrijas, 6-10.

Valkyria (SE):

After taking an early loss from Torrijas on Day 1, the Swedish women have been sensational. They put on a clinic against the familiar faces on Yaka (FR), leading the matchup early and refusing to trail at any point. #14 Oda Homlong caught fire during the match, emphatically scoring 5 goals and dishing 1 assist, bringing her total to 7 points on the day. Through sharp execution and high-energy defense, the Valkyries are without a doubt, top contenders heading into Day 4.

Looking Ahead

As we head into Day 4, the tournament’s powerhouses are firmly establishing themselves, but the road to WBUCC 2024 champion is far from certain. Undefeated teams like Guayota, UFA, and SoCal will face their toughest challenges yet, while surprise contenders like Torrijas and Quijotes aim to keep their winning momentum rolling. With only three days left, every game will be pivotal as teams push for the top. As the winds continue to keep the sand shifting in Portugal, more and more will be revealed.

To follow the schedule, standings, results, and stats of every game, head on over to https://live.wbucc.org. You can also participate in the games by voting for who you think will win in key matchups! For continued coverage of WBUCC 2024, visit Ulti.TV’s YouTube channel HERE.