August 28, 2026
By Ryan Baker
After handling business against the New York Empire in the league semifinals, the Oakland Spiders took that dominating win and rolled it straight into the championship against the Minnesota Wind Chill, claiming the 2026 UFA title by a score of 21-16. Oakland improved to 6-0 all-time at Championship Weekend, and become just the second franchise in league history to win three league titles, tying New York.
“It feels amazing,” said Spiders Head Coach Liam Kreiss in a postgame interview. “I'm so proud of this team. They did an amazing job. Everything was almost how we scripted it, and I'm just so proud of these guys. All credit to this team. They were amazing. The coaches were amazing. This is a dream season.”
Through relentless pressure and poised possessions, the offense was one of the calmest units when the lights were brightest, and they took advantage of Minnesota’s mistakes and lesser stamina repeatedly.
The Spiders continued their season-long theme of playing the full field, sideline to sideline, and even the Wind Chill’s stellar defense had no answer. Oakland converted their holds at 89 percent compared to 61 percent for the Wind Chill. Additionally, the Wind Chill scored just two breaks to Oakland’s five.
Adding to the blow of Minnesota’s Will Brandt injuring his knee in the semifinal, the Wind Chill saw Nate De Morgan go down in warmups with a hip injury. Those two alone changed the entire landscape of Minnesota’s offense, so missing both put them at a severe disadvantage from the start.
The game started with one of those two breaks from Minnesota after a Cameron Lacy block set himself up for a huck to Thomas Shope. After the Spiders’ O-line held the next point, Minnesota never saw that lead again for the remainder of the game.
It was clear that the lineup changes for the Wind Chill, like Paul Krenik and Micah Davis playing offense and Kristian Johnson and Gabe Jagt being slotted in for the injured Brandt and De Morgan, disrupted them consistently. Combine that with Oakland's unbelievable synergy, and it was the Spiders' game to lose.
Oakland took advantage of those missing pieces by playing a poachy defense that troubled the Wind Chill offense. Minnesota’s Noah Hanson threw a huck that turned over immediately, leading to Oakland’s Adam Rees throwing the break score to Robin Vickers Batzdorf.
On the next point, Noah Coolman overshot Krenik in the end zone and Oakland’s Stefan McCall cashed in on a huck to Evan Magsig. McCall continued with his playoff success, totaling two assists and four goals on the night.
Mistakes kept coming for the Wind Chill at the end of the quarter when Davis tried to pull back his throw, but it fell out of his hand just outside the goal line, leading to an easy break for Oakland. By the end of the first quarter, the Spiders led 6-3.
Minnesota was able to get within one quickly into the second quarter after Blake Krapfl hand-blocked Walker Frankenburg. Johnson proceeded to pick up the disc and launch a hammer to Jagt, who endured major contact on the score.
A poach block by Oakland’s Carter Lankford gave him the bookends on an Anton Orme assist, pushing the Spiders’ lead back to three. Oakland consistently won end-of-quarter situations, stifling Minnesota’s offense and taking a three-point lead into halftime.
To open the second half, Minnesota’s Dylan DeClerck snatched a layout block, but Frankenburg recovered the disc and set up a score from Chander Boyd-Fliegel to go up by four. DeClerck had a defensive clinic with four blocks, but the Wind Chill’s transition offense lost possession a few throws later each time.
The Spiders kept Minnesota at bay for the rest of the third quarter in a relatively clean 12 minutes of play, taking a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was much the same.
“We think Minnesota's one of the best teams in the league,” said Kreiss. “We knew we would have to give it our all. A couple things went our way this time, and we came out on top. They're amazing, so much respect to them and their coach Ben Feldman.
No breaks occurred in the fourth quarter, and time became a problem for the Wind Chill. A four-minute point took too much time off the clock for Minnesota to mount a comeback.
“It feels great,” Dan Ritthaler said about winning the championship. “I’m so proud of the group. We've been getting better year after year, and I’m just so happy for all the guys that have been here longer than me. I’m happy for the guys that haven't won.”
Top to bottom, the Spiders showed out. Rookie Max Zwerin grabbed three blocks, while defensive menace Lankford matched that total. On offense, Frankenburg had four assists and three goals, and earned Championship Weekend MVP honors.
Ritthaler had 40 completions and just one turnover, making layout catch after layout catch to save possessions. His energy was unmatched and infectious throughout the team.
“There's no room to shy away from the moment in games like these,” said Ritthaler. “Personally, a lot of the reason that I play is to get to play under the lights and play in these big moments. It's one of the reasons I love ultimate so much. At the start of the year I told the coaches I wanted to play offense, because I wanted to be a guy that would come back to the disc, even when things felt scary, or there was pressure.”
Finally, Dexter Clyburn posted one of the calmest and most collected performances, going 36/36 through double teams and major pressure, adding on four assists to his stat line.
“It feels great,” Clyburn said. “I’m happy to be here with the guys, with my team. This team is amazing. I love the Spiders. I’m surrounded by great players that I look up to. I'm surrounded by guys I trust, and I know that when the guys aren't there, I'm there to have their back, and vice versa. We have each other's back.”
This 2026 Oakland Spiders put on one of the most impressive and collective performances in UFA history at Championship Weekend and rival some of the best teams in the history of the league itself. Congratulations to your 2026 UFA Champions, the Oakland Spiders.
