EMUCC 2026 Preview
EMUCC 2024 Vienna © European Ultimate Federation / Magdalena Reichenfelser
The Road to Nottingham Begins
As the European spring hits its peak, the eyes turn to Heilbronn, Germany. From May 8th to 10th, the European Masters Ultimate Club Championships (EMUCC) 2026 will take place on the fields in Heilbronn, Germany. In addition to the competition for the European Title, this tournament serves as the definitive preparation event for most teams ahead of the World Masters Ultimate Club Championships, which will take place later this year in Nottingham.
The tournament features 39 teams from 13 nations competing across four divisions. We are expecting three days of high-level action as Europe’s veterans establish the pecking order before taking on the world stage.
Streaming
We will stream 4 fields over the three-day competition. Ranging from Manual production to Handheld devices and AI coverage. Be sure to select the coverage you want to see - we will highlight the quality in the Thumbnail of each video.
Get your tournament pass here → live.ultimatefederation.eu/subscriptions
Masters Mixed Division
The Masters Mixed division is the largest of the tournament. Following a late dropout, the field consists of 15 teams. This division features a blend of established "staples" and several new contenders and international collaborations.
Format
Competition begins with pools of four in a round-robin format, followed by crossovers to determine seeding for the bracket play, culminating in the finals on Sunday.
Full schedule here: emucc-schedule.ultimatefederation.eu
Team information
Zoo: Zoo is a mixed team from London, UK. We are thrilled to be back at EMUCC this year en route to WMUCC! While we bring some fresh faces, we hope to display the same attitude that won us spirit in 2024!
HEPU: HEPU is the only master's club team in Finland at the moment. The players have a history of playing with club teams such as Otso, Atletico, Piru and Helsinki Ultimate.
We haven't had too much preparation for the tournament as the outdoor season in Finland started at the beginning of April, enjoying just a few degrees above zero at the time. We're hoping to grab some wins and get some hard-fought international games, as it's harder for our community to join the European series every year.
Our goal is to play solid offence and hard defence, and see how far that will lead us. Players to watch: you can drop the regular names of Tomi Sandberg, Maija Leino and Erkka Niini... or maybe change the record and watch out for Anni Jokinen's flying defence and Lauri Saksa's (Saksa=Germany) lock-down guarding.
Mainzelrentner: It’s the first time Mainz is fielding a team in the Masters division. We formed the team last year and immediately won the German Mixed Masters nationals and the WMUCC qualification tournament. The team has been playing together for a long time under the Mainzelrenner banner in the Mixed division. We’ve won German championships and played EUCF for many years. The last big tournament was WUCC 2022. Most of the WUCC team was already Master’s eligible. The core of the team has stayed the same, and many have been playing together for 10-15 years or even longer. We also pride ourselves on being a full-on club team with no outside pickups for this world’s campaign. We didn’t set any specific goals for EMUCC or WMUCC. We’re just happy to still be playing together after all those years, and we will see how we stack up against the elite Masters teams of Europe and the world.
FlyHigh: The FlyHigh team will be playing in the WMUCC this summer, and EMUCC is the first step in their preparation. The team is a mix of young olds and old youngs eager to relive their youth on the field. Sport, and high-level Frisbee in a great atmosphere: what more could you ask for!
Rheindivers Hohenems: Rheindivers, based in Vorarlberg, Austria, was founded around 2003 by a group of enthusiastic players. They quickly developed into a team known for fair play and commitment. A key achievement in their history is winning the 2025 Masters national championship title. This success highlighted their experience and long-term dedication to ultimate frisbee. The club also benefits from training in the beautiful region of Vorarlberg, which is surrounded by mountains and offers fresh air. Today, the Rheindivers represent Hohenems with pride and continue to promote the sport.
Disconnection: After the successful qualification for the WMUCC in autumn 2025 we have started to plan the season and team for a WMUCC Campaign to compete for the first on the international stage with Disconnection. The team consists primarily of the broad Disconnection Masters base, which claimed the national title in 2024. When we learned that the EMUCC would take place in Heilbronn, we were delighted to play it so close to home. It is a great opportunity to use that event as a high-level preparation tournament for Worlds. It would be a good opportunity to assess our level and status and identify where we need to practise and improve. We have already won the Skybow Tournament in Winterthur and aim for well-spirited games and a good placement at the EMUCC. After the EMUCC, we will play at nationals as final preparation before heading to Worlds in Nottingham at the end of June.
Korene: We, Korene, are a small team from Slovakia that is very excited about these European Championships. We are a bunch of friends who, more or less frequently, play against or with each other in various Slovak tournaments. We are based in quite a few different Slovak clubs, but we unite to compete in the highest level of European "our age" Ultimate. Unfortunately, a couple of us haven't made it to the final tournament, but we are prepared to fight here for them, too! We play in the "youngest" Mixed division. This team has existed for quite a few years, but its members change each year. Mostly depends on who is available during the final tournament and a couple of training or preparation tournaments. We take this tournament seriously, but we still don't forget where our roots are (roots means "korene" in Slovak) and why we started playing this awesome sport. So we definitely want to have fun on and off the field, and we believe our competitors will enjoy games against us even though they will lose some of them...hopefully:) We are really looking forward to these championships and to all ultimate players everywhere!
Masters Open Division
The Masters Open division brings together 12 teams, featuring several European powerhouses and the return of the defending champions.
Format
The 12 teams will start in a pool stage, followed by crossover matches and bracket play, with high intensity expected throughout the weekend.
Full schedule here: emucc-schedule.ultimatefederation.eu
Team Information
Gones: Following our 2024 EMUCC qualification and a bronze medal at the French Nationals, we set our sights on Worlds.
A difficult half-time during the quarters against Marseille ended that run, but we didn't give up. We fought for the best ranking possible to earn a backup spot for EMUCC.
We are thrilled to be back, proud to represent France, and committed to growing the Masters division.
Bonnsai: We are Bonnsai Open Masters, now in our third season, bringing together players from Bonn and neighbouring cities. Over the years, we’ve developed a team that values the challenge and teamwork of competitive play.
Just two weeks ago, we placed 3rd at the German Masters Championship, and we are now on the road preparing for WMUCC, and EMUCC being an important step along the way.
For us, EMUCC is an opportunity to develop further as a team, challenge ourselves against the best teams of Europe, and enjoy playing within the spirit of the game.
Hardfisch: Hardfisch Masters are back. Four years ago in Wroclaw, they stood on top of Europe. Two years later in Vienna, they stepped onto the podium again — bronze, but hungry for more. Now, at the EMUCC 2026 in Heilbronn, Hamburg returns to the biggest club stage the continent has to offer. This squad is built on experience and fire. Veterans who know what it takes to win a European title are lining up alongside a new wave of young Masters — fresh legs, fresh hunger, the same Hamburg DNA. A team with history. A team with something to prove. Eleven opponents. One trophy. The Fische are coming.
Masters Women’s Division
The Masters Women’s division is the smallest field at this year's championships. Following the unfortunate dropout of other strong contenders, four teams remain to battle for the crown.
Format
The winner will be determined through a classic round-robin format played over Saturday and Sunday.
Full schedule here: emucc-schedule.ultimatefederation.eu
Team information
Bonsai (Germany): The Bonnsai Women Masters team is in its first year, bringing together talented players from Bonn and the surrounding area. This tournament marks the team’s first international experience. The focus is on developing as a cohesive unit while gaining valuable experience and exposure. Over the coming years, the team plans to continue growing and establishing a strong Women Masters presence on the international stage.
Luv Me Gently (Belgium): In 2025 the first (to our knowledge) Belgian women's master championship took place. The two participating teams were Gentle women from Ghent and Jetset LUV from Leuven. In order to have a big enough team for EMUCC and WMUCC, we decided to join forces under the name Luv Me Gently. Participation to EMUCC and WMUCC still did not seem realistic, so the master women from Freespect in Mechelen (the Spekkies) joined as well. Therefore, our team is now representing three cities from the Flemish region of Belgium: Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen. We have not yet played any tournaments together, but we have been meeting once per month to train together, rotating between the different cities. We are very excited to play together as a team and to be able to send a women's master team from Belgium to EMUCC and WMUCC.
Throwback (Great Britain): Throwback are a Grand Masters women's team from all over the UK. The team was formed by Nicole Cozens to compete at WMUCC in Nottingham later this year. For EMUCC we have a few "young masters" pickups joining us so hopefully we will be able to capitalise on their relative youth! Some of our players are returning to competition after a break so we will be aiming to shake off the cobwebs, form new connections and run through our playbook this weekend.
Grandmaster Open Division
The oldest division at the tournament features eight teams of seasoned veterans bringing decades of experience to Heilbronn.
Format
The eight teams will compete in an initial stage followed by crossovers and bracket play to determine the EMUCC 2026 winner.
Full schedule here: https://emucc-schedule.ultimatefederation.eu
Team information
OIDA: Oida is a GMO team based in Vienna, made up mainly of Austrian players from Vienna and the surrounding areas.
Their first appearance on the international stage was at WMUCC 2022 in Limerick, where they finished 11th in the GMO division and were the 3rd-best European Team.
Their success story continued in 2024, where they finished 4th at the EMUCC in Vienna.
The core players of 2024 are all back on the pitch for a new challenge at the EMUCC 2026, strengthened by some new young grand masters additions, hoping to be able to repeat or even top the performance of the previous EMUCC.
Mooncatchers GMO: Mooncatchers is a Brussels-based team created in 1999. We have a Master's degree from 2018 (Bronze in EMUCC 2019). More recently, we have been gathering with the old ones once a month for a chill, festive training session. That's where we decided to call some former teammates/friends to start our journey to Heilbronn. Our Grand Master team, also called "Moonwalkers", is made of old-timer players from Brussels and Wallonia. That's why we had our training in Brussels, as well as in Namur, Nivelles, and Limal. Our goal is to reach the semis but firstly stayin alive. To cover our expenses, we made the moon beer with a local brewery, and we'll bring some to share with our lucky opponents.
Eulchtimate: Making their first-ever appearance at EMUCC, Eulchtimate joins the Grandmaster Open division as part of their preparation for WMUCC in Nottingham. While the team is new to this competition, they arrive with a wealth of high-level experience; several players have represented GM France over the last five years at championships in Los Angeles and Bologna (2023), Portimão and Lund (2025), as well as Limerick (2022) and Vienna (2024). Hailing from Lille, France, the team has a long-standing tradition of competing in neighboring Belgium for all championship levels, from U11 through to the Masters divisions. You can spot them on the fields in Heilbronn playing in their signature yellow and blue kit.
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