NATS 2026 NEW YORK MAJOR PREVIEW
Written by Drew Ryder & Sammy Barklow. NATS is sponsored by Spikeball.
This weekend is a huge one on the North American Tour Series! Our third and final major of the season is underway, and it comes at an intense time in the calendar. It’s the final event before the championship, and also the final event before our top athletes in North America travel abroad to represent their respective countries at the World Championships. While the title is New York City, it’s Long Island east of the big apple where the athletes will be duking it out. The Long Island community deserves major props, no pun intended, for the back end work they’ve taken on to keep things smooth for the long trip out east. We’ll take a deep dive into the Women’s Bronze+ along with Open Gold+, both divisions being exclusive to the major level.
No Clear Favorites in Open! (finally)
Between a combination of injury trouble, partner reshuffling, and any other real life shenanigans our athletes may have, the field in Open looks promising as far as parity is concerned. Several of the North American top 20 won’t be in attendance, including Fever, who sit at 1 and 2 on the rankings and have not dropped a game since March. For a better look at the teams who are playing, we’ll highlight those on podium watch by way of power rankings! Below is my top 10 amongst the 24 teams in Gold+.
Gold+ Power Rankings
10) Savage/Wallach: 1878 Combined ELO
This duo may not be on your radar just yet, but they should be. Pairing up for the first time just 2 months ago in Boston, their 6th place finish puts them on the map for this upcoming major. While Ben has been floating around the pro level for a little bit now, Matt Wallach has had a herculean rise since getting premier as recently as last June. His lefty cut is wide, fast and consistent. Their rally play is similar between the two of them: breaks will be difficult to get with how good their setting and receiving is. The ability to win those big points where some X-factor is needed will define their day.
9) Algorithm (Berry/Moscoso): 1945 Combined ELO
The west coast pairing make it onto the power rankings with their impressive 4th place finish in Vancouver. Solomon and Juan have been paired up since the beginning of the season, and have been steadily improving results wise since then. You may have heard about the tricky serves this team has, but it was their hold ability that looked good in Vancouver. Receiving the likes of Nathan Robertt is no small task, and they did it well in a super close 3 games for third. An interesting element to Algorithm’s day this weekend will be the unfamiliarity. These two are well known commodities on the west coast, but getting it done in a highly competitive east region will be a test worth keeping an eye on.
8) TLMG (Dery/St. Martin): 2023 Combined ELO
At the 7 spot, it’s two Canadian National Team regulars in Anthony St. Martin and Thomas Dery. This team has been a scary one for over two years now, and if you've played premier in the states before with these guys signed up, you know how tricky it would be to get them as an underseeded team in pool play. Now that ELO determines seeding though, they’re properly placed as the 8th seed on combined ELO. TLMG is one of those teams where you do not want points to open up and be out of system. They’re athletes who can dive well, recovery-set well, and hit well even when retrieving balls near the boundary. The longer a point goes, the more momentum it brings to the team that wins it. This phenomenon can make them hard to beat given how good their rally play is. Capitalizing on easy hold opportunities will be crucial for anyone who plays them this Saturday. They are tentatively a 2 seed in Pool B.
7) LL MKUltra (Garrett/Finocchi): 2027 Combined ELO
The New Jersey pairing of Mike Garrett and Gabe Finnochi are a tough out for anyone, but they find their stock a tad lower than it may have been early on in the season. There is no arguing with the resume Gabe has, but you can beg the question of how much time at the top level he has left. His best result of late is the fourth he earned with Max Model in Toronto, but you have to go back to last June to find a podium at tour level on his player page. For a guy who was very often in the conversation of best in the world, this is somewhat of a new position for Gabe stock wise. Mike Garrett has become pretty well known for his elite serving and rally play when cleanliness is needed. However, he too lacks a big result on tour. So while it wouldn’t come as a shock if this talented team did well on Saturday, they have a point to prove regarding where they hold up for 2026.
6) EMPIRE (Hamilton/LeVeque): 2072 Combined ELO
Thomas and Cliff ernter New York off what they would consider a disappointing quarterfinal exit on midwest home turf in Columbus. Although it was to the eventual champions, these guys are known to be hungry and wouldn’t expect to lose 21-15, 21-15 to anyone. With that said, it’s well known at this point that Hamilton is on the back end of his roundnet career. It’s hard to be super high on a player when you are aware their competitive cycle is coming to an end. The opposite could be said about Cliff, who has had a travelsome 2026. He’s appearing to be peaking with his serves, and he’s already one of the most athletic guys around. It’s hard to say exactly what version of this team will show up, but their result, whichever way it may go, will not be related to poor mental. Expect them to be a mile a minute energy wise from the word go.
5) The Diamond Dogs (Bennett/Anderson): 2024 Combined ELO
The dogs are back in pursuit of that illusive 2026 podium finish after coming close last weekend in Columbus. The game for third, however, was not so close. Although they picked up some good wins along the way, Reid and Bennett lost 21-14 and 21-11 in their third place game to Zach Snover and Jake Woolley. These are the kinds of teams you need to beat to enter that top tier of pro level, but this weekend could be their opportunity. The 1 seed in their pool is projected to be Zach Snover who they just played, but this time he’ll be alongside Will Picone. It will be interesting to see how this pool play encounter goes, and how they respond to the size of the moment overall this Saturday.
4) The Eddy Cramp Prevention Squad (Leung/Fowler): 2122 Combined ELO
Eddy Leung and Kyle Fowler will both be in Paris for Worlds later this month, but are mashing up here in New York before becoming rivals on an even bigger stage. While the Kyle Fowler stock hasn’t taken significant damage at all this year, one could argue it was higher at the beginning of the season than it is now. He has made finals 3 times at tour level this year, but took an underwhelming quarterfinals exit in Seattle, the most recent major on the NA tour. He also got quartered in Columbus with a mashup, so he’s in need of a big result to get back on the saddle. Eddy, however, is on an ascent results wise. He made finals in Vancouver last month, and got third at the Seattle Major. This guy is everywhere on defense, quick on serve receive, and brings an energy to the net that can be imposing if you tilt easily. I’d expect these two to be right in the mix later in bracket, but will have to remain focused and composed for that to happen. Also, since the name mentions it, hopefully health does not become an issue for this team.
3) SnowCone (Snover/Picone): 2157 Combined ELO
Two regulars to the pro scene now that we’re in late 2026, Zach and Will would like to establish themselves as more than just pro level players I’m sure. With Fever out, Summers out, Ryan Marino out, they have a great opportunity to do so. Even if you’ve received Snover before, you still might not be ready for the serves. Percentages from him will be paramount to the duo’s success this weekend. On the contrary, Will is a guy who will constantly find the net at high percentages. There’s no glaring holes in his game, making for a tough out anytime he’s signed up. That consistency from Will is why it’s so important for Snover to turn up, his floor and ceiling are further apart than some of his peers at this level. Expect these two to have some big wins with Zach firing on serve, the pressure he brings there gives them the ability to beat anyone.
2) Foolish (Gu/Pruett): 2111 Combined ELO
A household team at this point, Sunny Gu and Lucas Pruett are not only talented, but fun to watch also. Defense is the name of the game for both of these guys, and there are few who do it better. Sunny should be feeling confident about his game, he got the USA call up along with his third career pitcher. Although Lucas does not have the flashy results this year, him and Sunny have long/time chemistry that make me value individual resumes less and the team reputation more. They pass the eye test if you’ve seen them play, and a big result feels more possible this Saturday than it has in awhile for Foolish.
1) Carnivorous Herbivores (Fragiacomo/Woolley): 2268 Combined ELO
Jake and Josh appear to have paired up just in time for a season run. Both earning the call up to Team USA, these two enter New York in red hot form. They got second at the Seattle major together, and this result contributed to what is now a 5 tournament podium streak for Woolley. Getting to this point skill wise has looked quite different between the duo: Josh has been playing for over a decade and has been a pro regular for about that long, but Jake is rather new to the top of the sport. He first put himself on the map in 2024 as season team FTR Frontier, a pairing that would miss out on pro while still picking up glassware. Fast forward to now, and I don’t think anyone in the gold division is looking forward to playing him. If you’ve read any previous comments I had for him in these previews, then you know how good his reverse cut is. Keeping percentages high on that serve is crucial for these two because if it’s landing, no team is safe. Josh and Jake come in as the top seeded team, but their 2 seed match with TLMG will be no small task.
Women’s Bronze+ Division Overview
Almost a Frog (Tiff Ding/Ally Chou) - 2254 Combined ELO: This mash-up will certainly be a fun team to watch throughout the weekend. These two are capable of upsetting major teams and making some fun plays. With Tiff’s setting and Ally’s crafty hitting, it’ll be interesting to see what these two have in the chamber for this weekend.
big dawg town (Cailley Biagini/Hannah Radell) - 2110 Combined ELO: With these two set to play the World Championships together on Team USA’s alternate team, these two will be firing on all cylinders. With these two finding great success as individuals this season, it will be great to see what they can accomplish together this weekend, and in Paris.
don’t give a gaf (Joanna Gould/Kathleen Phan) - 2872 Combined ELO: The last time we’ve seen this duo together was at the 2025 USAR National Championship where they came in 2nd place. With both of these ladies still at the top of North American women’s scene and playing for Team USA at Worlds, this is surely the team to watch this weekend. With high serving pressure and efficient hitting, these two ladies have what it takes to see the top of the podium.
FUEGO (Daphnée Dorval/Kellie Forand) - 2368 Combined ELO: Both of these women will be representing Team Canada soon at the World Championships and this will be a tough team to beat. These two can get touches and end rallies with a clean, smart put away. They will be putting the other teams in this division on notice.
KarAbby Patty (Karah Hui/Abby Lamontagne) - 2870 Combined ELO: This pair is a knockout duo. This duo will be playing together on Team USA’s B-Line at World’s, allowing them to get in the best reps before Paris. After finding several podiums throughout the season individually, these two are bound for a shot at finals. Pairing Abby’s athleticism and Karah’s versatility, this team can put the ball away against any team.
NOISE COMPLAINT (Tess Dolan/Sammy Barklow) - 2444 Combined ELO: Another team we’ll be seeing play together in Paris, these two will be representing Team USA’s E-Line at World’s. True to their name, this team will surely be the loudest, most energetic team on the field. With Tess’ game able to adapt to every kind of partner she’s with and Sammy being able to put any kind of ball away, this duo will be the most fun to watch (and listen to) this weekend.
