Disclaimer:
The post you're about to read is about the World Games 2025 happening in Chengdu, China.
I'm providing you with alternative written coverage of what happened, what's happening and what will happen in the future - part of which is (or will be) also available at ulti.tv’s blog.
All of the opinions presented are my opinions created mostly for entertainment purposes.
Please be mindful that the coverage includes results of the games, which inevitably result in some spoilers.
For some introduction, I highly recommend you to watch ulti.tv’s 2-part series “Meet the World Games” available at their YouTube channel (see the playlist).
You can also read my Day 1 wrap up, but really, just watch the games instead.
I also decided to include the AI hot takes, as it takes me no effort to prepare at all and is a funny addition - as a prompt I gave it my description of what happened during the match and also told it to speculate on its own from its knowledge.
GAME SUMMARIES
USA - GERMANY
Don't read it, just watch it.
WHAT. A. GAME.
After yesterday' games rather disappointing in terms of tightness, we've got a real banger right now.
I'm being pretty serious - if you can, give yourself a treat and go watch it instead of reading about it on the blog.
It didn't begin very well for Germany giving up 2 breaks in the starting points here in Chengdu. They tried to force the long game and just threw the disc away.
After that they took a very reasonable time-out and then followed it with a clean hold being able to steady their game.
USA’s Claire Trop had to come off the field with an injury sub (she came back later with some compression on her left leg and was one of the best players for the US) after misreading the disc which resulted in Germany scoring a fast break back.
With the amount of inaccuracies and unforced errors we get, I'm wondering if teams actually warm-up their throws prior to the game.
Claire Chastain and Raphy Hayes both probably didn't do that, being involved in numerous completely unforced turnovers.
Not taking away from Germany, it was this duo that got them back into the game.
Chastain’s overthrown huck for Hayes allowed the Germans to tie the game and then during a galaxy point a literal forehand into the ground gave them the lead.
After the half taken 7-6 by team Germany, both outlooks traded rather clean offenses with USA focusing on taking the open options and playing fast (kudos to Dylan Freechild and Claire Trop for this one) and Germany still looking for the long game.
I must say - if Levke Walczak was as good a thrower as she is a cutter, I could see her being one of the most complete players out there. Unfortunately for the Germans, she still plays like she is the main star of the roster, taking unnecessary risks and much more responsibility than needed. The main characteristic of the World Games is that you play with the best players in the world - and in your country.
Every single one of them could do the potential job. Levke’s expansive throws - while often being field-opening - resulted in 3 turnovers. When we consider her earlier misread we get 4 turns which is a lot too much for a player of her caliber.
Thanks to Levke, the USA was able to regain the lead with 11-11 and an offense in hand.
In the next point though Germany earned the disc back through some brilliant defending - their physicality, as expected, being their main strength.
Dylan Freechild didn't see the poach and through the disc right into it - what Germany quickly converted to go 12-11 up.
After the point we could've seen Freechild being absolutely devastated - he was one of the best players of the US side throughout the whole match, motoring their offense with his quick handler distribution (and he is still the best at it).
USA got their next hold comfortably and so we went for a universe.
With Germany's offense being all so reliable in the second half, I think everyone was kind of getting ready for an upset.
Well, let me tell you something.
You don't get a better (and quicker) redemption story than this of Dylan Freechild.
It's really hard to describe in words but the ability to step up for your team just a moment after such a devastating mistake is so frickin impressive.
That's exactly what Dylan did.
I can't really blame David Metzger for not seeing Freechild in the space, because he wasn't really there yet - a layout poach block which is more of a defensive effort than an offensive mistake is not something we see everyday.
After getting the block, Freechild quickly picked up and passed to Dawn Culton for a score, closing the scoreboard at 13-12 for USA.
Both teams showed us in this game that they are medal contenders.
And although it ended with a win for the US, it wasn't a very convincing one.
We see the skill gap between the USA and the rest of the world closing up.
I could easily see them missing out on the final (or even potentially a medal) if the things don't go their way.
Of course they are still amazing players - with Anna Thompson and the Ing brothers being the most reliable of the pack - but they showed us that they are vulnerable and, as I said yesterday, very beatable.
For Germany on the other hand it was a show of their expected physicality with Conrad Schloer shining especially brightly.
Charlotte Schall and Nici Prien also put up an amazing performance, dominating the cutting space in the Germany's offense.
David Metzger, despite being involved in the last of the turns, was looking really good throughout the whole game, getting himself numerous scores and being a vocal point of the offensive side.
To wrap things up for this game - the US secured first place in Pool A (with the only game left being the one against China) and Germany still having to fight for the 1-4 bracket - tomorrow against Japan.
final score: 13-12 for the USA
hot take: it's good to warm up your throws before the game
AI hot take: “Dylan Freechild isn’t just Team USA’s MVP—he’s also Germany’s sleeper agent of chaos, strategically deploying turnovers before heroics to maintain America’s 'vulnerable but still winning' brand.”
AUSTRALIA - COLOMBIA
Quick in every aspect
Both teams came into the game with a loss from yesterday's battles, both wanting to prove that we shouldn't cross them out of the competition just now and only one of them managed to do so.
There isn't that much to say about this game, really.
Colombia was absolutely clinical in everything they did - they improved in literally every area they could.
They showed us some very quick-paced, chaotic, but also balanced offense, being able to smoothly go through Aussie's defense that opted for lots of poaching, cross-gender switches, looking a little bit zony at times.
Whatever the idea behind this defence was, it didn't work, as Colombia had no problem beating it at all.
The talks after yesterday’s results must have happened in both dressing rooms, as both teams came into the game with a clear plan.
While Colombia returned to what they are known for, Australia opted for a handler driven offense with a stack (either horizontal or side/split) being pretty far down the field, leaving more space for the handlers to dominate.
Although there is a clear idea there, I'm not sure why the Aussies have decided to go there.
The offensive style they presented us with was heavily reliant on reset handlers 1v1’s, isolating them to be able to take those matchups, what proved to be quite a challenge against a very dynamic and agile Colombian side. Some throwing mistakes were also made and the Colombians capitalized rather quickly.
What seemed to work once or twice for Australia, was using the height advantage - I could really see them testing the Colombian women vertically a little bit more, as there was a rather obvious (or maybe not) advantage here.
Colombians, on the other hand, were happy to play their game. It kind of seemed like both teams played to the South American’s advantage and despite a small slip up at the beginning, gifting Australia with an easy break, team Colombia was able to confidently march through and finish the game with a convincing 13-7 result.
I'm also quite happy, because Colombia resolved the main issue that we saw yesterday, being an over reliance on their FMPs - the game looked much more balanced today and although we could still see some players taking more responsibility, like Valeria (not ‘Valerie’, dear commentator) Cárdenas and Yina Cartagena, they utilized each and every one of the players on the team (with Andrés Ramírez finishing most of the points).
On the Australian side, I’ve got to note an impressive performance from Kya Wiya - with everyone putting in their efforts, she was a definite standout.
final score: 13-7 for Colombia
hot take: Colombia's offense was the best from all we could see so far at this tournament
AI hot take: “Australia spent all morning designing a 'handler isolation offense' just for Colombia to treat it like a free sample booth at Costco – grabbing all the easy turnovers and leaving Kya Wiya as the only Aussie not stuck in the existential dread express lane."
FRANCE - CANADA
Finding the rhythm
A battle between two francophone countries of the tournament provided us with some really great action.
In this one, the wind proved to be quite a factor, unlike in the previous matches.
The game started with France conceding a break upwind, followed by a couple very messy points - some of them were a spectacle on their own.
From what we've seen so far, all of the teams are rather slow starters, coming into the games not really warmed up with the throws and decisions, which proved to be the case in this one as well.
With the first half accumulating a total of 21 turnovers, compared to only 6 in the second one, we start to see a pattern emerging (which was always kind of the case? but at the World Games level you'd think it would be thought of).
Nevertheless, it was a marvelous showdown, as we saw some real drama, like Mika Kurahasi skying Sacha Poitte-Sokolsky (WHO HAD THE POSSITION, WHAT ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT???), Quinn Snider emoting “too little” after a successful sky battle and then losing one to Gaël Ancelin (in the same point) or Molly Wedge getting herself a Callahan (first in the tournament).
Throughout the game we could see France trying to find a sweet spot in balancing their strategy - mostly looking for some FMP-received hucks if possible (often wasn't).
Canada's defence did a good job at taking away the cuts from the Frenchmen, who seemed a little unorganized and needed to bring on some individual spark to make the points happen (which wasn't the case for Colombia - they did a wonderful job playing through their system).
They often found it in the likes of Gaël Ancelin, Paul Benvegnen and Elliot Bonnet, who proves to be (in my opinion) the best offensive player in the world at the moment.
Canadians, compared to yesterday, shifted their offense more towards FMP-driven action, with Brittney dos Santos distributing and Anouchka Beaudry mainly on the receiving end, getting a few scores to her name. With an amazing performance of Mika Kurahasi and Sarah Jacobsohn (despite having a couple of turns), the Canadian FMPs were able to outshine their French opponents (who had a lot of pressure drops).
Quinn Snider and Malik Auger-Semmar, still being the big targets they usually are, and Marty Gallant, despite being young, showing a really mature decision-making, also helped Canada to clinch the victory and secure themselves a first place in Pool B.
Tomorrow France will face off Colombia in a game to go to the semis - hopefully they will be able to shake off their mistakes and prove to us that they do in fact belong in the 1-4 bracket.
final score: 13-11 for Canada
hot take: we need more banter in ultimate
AI hot take: “France invented the 'FMP huck' philosophy but forgot to patent it – letting Canada to steal the recipe, add maple syrup, and serve it back to them with a side of Molly Wedge Callahan tips"
CHINA - JAPAN
The one-sided battle of Asia
A game definitely full of emotions, both positive and negative, coming from both sides.
Knowing the rivalry and the history of the two, it was kind of expected, but unfortunately resulted in some spirit issues with hearing the opponent’s perspective (or acknowledging it) during the calls, although it improved a little through the course of the match.
Play-wise - we could see Japan recognizing well the main strengths of team China, those being Yu Zeng on the throwing and Yingyi Xu on the receiving end. Having neutralized them, there really wasn't much the Chinese could do - Japanese did their homework well and Shumpei Makiyama got every tool ready to close down a tall Xu.
Offensively, the Japanese opted for some quick hucks, probably with the goal of making the game as short as possible, to avoid the fatigue for tomorrow’s game against Germany.
It worked pretty well and they were able to capitalize quickly on China’s numerous mistakes.
In the end, team China was able to rally some more points (and even get a late break) with what seemed like a little bit of a lazy Japanese defense.
Chinese players also got very physical and, what's interesting, the Japanese basically started surrendering the calls, even when they were reasonable, to avoid the heated, prolonged discussions (they were already on a comfortable lead) seemingly in an attempt to shorten the game even more. Not sure if that was the case, but it definitely improved the overall atmosphere.
So a comfortable win for Japan leaves them with a game for all the marbles tomorrow against Germany.
China on the other hand will take on the USA.
final score: 13-8 for Japan
hot take: there should be more usage of tactics for teams to rest their players when they are winning the matches
AI hot take: “Japan treated China’s physicality like an optional video game boss – skipping the cutscenes, surrendering reasonable calls, and speedrunning to the ‘rest mode’ level before tomorrow’s German finale”
SOME THOUGHTS
Game advisors finally seem to do their job correctly, by actually providing players with some perspective and not getting in the way of effective communication.
I didn't like having them at all at WU24, but some of the games showed us they can be useful
The commentary is still funny, with even the main commentator pointing out it's his first time seeing the sport.
He's doing better and better with every game, you love to see it.
If France can stop their seemingly unforced (there is always defensive pressure, conditions, etc. but some of them were easily avoidable and also tied to decision making) execution errors, they might be able to upset the US - unless they play a perfect game.
Germany is looking very good and steady compared to yesterday, lucky for them their first match was against China and they were able to “warm up” a little before the important ones - I really do see them beating Canada in the semi on Friday (of course they first need to beat Japan, but I'm 100% positive they will).
Both USA and Canada have the 1st place in their Pool guaranteed - it's interesting to see how they'll approach their last game in the group stage tomorrow.
OF TODAY
the most exciting game: USA - GER
the best game: USA - GER
the sickest play: Dylan Freechild’s redemption layout poach block
the biggest disappointment: the amount of unforced errors, especially in the early stages of the games
the biggest surprise: Mika Kurahasi’s sky over Sacha Poitte-Sokolsky
standout players (MMP):
Dylan Freechild (USA)
Conrad Schloer (GER)
Marty Gallant (CAN)
Elliott Bonnet (FRA)
Andrés Ramírez (COL)
Shumpei Makiyama (JAP)
standout players (FMP):
Nici Prien (GER)
Claire Trop (USA)
Kya Wiya (AUS)
Brittney dos Santos (CAN)
Anouchka Beaudry (CAN)
Valeria Cárdenas (COL)
FOR TOMORROW (Thu. 13/08)
Local Time: 10:00
Teams: AUS vs CAN
Pool: B
CET Time: 04:00
WHY WATCH?
No idea, too early (4am????) and both teams have their place in the pool figured out already - although it might be an interesting clash of teams with a somewhat similar level of physicality
Local Time: 12:00
Teams: GER vs JPN
Pool: A
CET Time: 06:00
WHY WATCH?
THIS. WILL. BE. ELECTRIC.
Do yourself a favor and watch this match live - both teams will fight for their ticket to the semis and that's their only chance - they are not going to give it up easily.
Local Time: 15:30
Teams: USA vs CHN
Pool: A
CET Time: 09:30
WHY WATCH?
Idk, take a nap or something…
Local Time: 17:30
Teams: COL vs FRA
Pool: B
CET Time: 11:30
WHY WATCH?
…TO GET READY FOR THIS BANGER OF A GAME!!!
Both teams with a fairly different playing style will clash for the place in the upper bracket. Will France find the answer for the seemingly unstoppable Colombian offense? How will Colombia take on the French MMPs? Will the French FMPs find their rhythm? There are so many questions to be asked (cheers Liam) - with answers available tomorrow from 11:30 CET.
PREDICTIONS:
AUS 8-13 CAN
GER 13-11 JPN
USA 13-2 CHN
COL 12-13 FRA
Tune in for the games at:
If you spot any mistakes or have any suggestions let me know!
I hope you liked the content and see you tomorrow!
Chris