NATS 2026 SEATTLE MAJOR PREVIEW
Written by Drew Ryder. NATS is sponsored by Spikeball.
Happy major tournament weekend! The North American Tour Series is back after a three week hiatus for the second major of the year in Seattle, WA. While the size of the field may appear somewhat small, the top talent in open and women’s have made the trip to the Emerald City in attempt to gain some momentum entering the business end of the season (including half of TeamUSA, and surely a healthy portion of the TBA Team Canada). We’ll tell you everything you need to know about Open Gold+ and Women’s Bronze+, along with an inside look at the Seattle community’s preparation for hosting a major in their area.
Heavy Hitters in Open Gold+
Open Gold+ this weekend features 18 teams with a mix of mashups and established pro teams. As things stand right now, this division will feature 3 pools of 6 with Fever leading the way as the top seed with a combined ELO of 2315.
Having established themselves as the best team in roundnet right now, Connor and Kieran are looking to extend their tournament victory streak as a team to 3 in a row. When you aren’t getting broken often AND breaks come easy with the ball in hand, it’s no surprise that Fever are seeming to run into little trouble making it to 21 first. En route to their first place in Toronto, the duo didn’t drop a single game. Their most eye opening result came in the semifinals against Je Gagnon and Etienne Cote where they won 21-9 and 21-5. In their final vs Paradox that same weekend, they looked super strong in system, with Connor setting particularly well. The serve was a talking point from Connor also, whose trigger time and serve selection make receiving him a tall order for anyone. Here in Seattle, their pool appears comfortable on paper. With expectations rising every tournament for this team, conquering the mental and avoiding complacency will be paramount, with teams inevitably looking to give them their best game.
Paq and Kyle of Paradox are fourth overall on combined ELO, and with 3 pools being the likely setup, one of the champion contenders is now a 2 seed. They are part of what has to be considered the most stacked pool in the tournament. Check out the projected top 4 in Pool C:
Abrams/Cote: 2210 combined ELO
Paradox (Clifford/Fowler): 2155 combined ELO
NEM Phantom (Cummings/Fernandez): 2022 combined ELO
Dinomite (Wish/Camarena): 1981 combined ELO
Paradox enters Seattle with two second places in a row as a team. In the Boston final they lost last month, their mentality seemed off the mark. A few setting and hitting errors led to momentous breaks for their opponents who had the backing of the Boston crowd (Marino/Gu). With that said, this team has shown an ability to serve their way out of trouble against even the best of receivers. While a tournament win would come as no surprise, getting their intensity level right as a team will be the deciding factor for Kyle and Paq this Saturday.
Making their North American Tour Series debut, Jake Woolley and Josh Fragiacomo of Carnivorous Herbivores are projected to be the top seed of their pool. While we’ve seen plenty of these two separately on tour, this team is particularly interesting to keep an eye on because they’ve never played a sanctioned tournament before. However, they possess enough firepower to reduce team chemistry risks. Jake Wooley’s reverse cut is one of the most talked about serves in North America right now, and not for no reason. The low flight path creates a fast skid off the net rather than a deep bounce, making reaction time even more challenging for the receiver. Add the fact that he’s swinging full power with a lot of spin, it should come as no surprise that lots of the community is high on him. Likely the most experienced player at the pro level right now, Josh Fragiacomo is pairing up with Jake in pursuit of his tenth, yes tenth, pro division qualification. Josh is still more than physically up to the level, with defense and diving being commonplace for him. His righty cut is fast and brings more spin than a receiver might expect. If Carnivorous Herbivores can keep their percentages high from 7ft and have in system execution under control, the sky’s the limit for these two this weekend.
Overwhelming Favorites in Women’s Bronze+
In Women’s Bronze+, there are three standout household names in the division: Karah, Joanna, and Elle. Karah enters alongside Maddy Morehouse, who is continuing her return to major competition after navigating a season-ending injury at the 2024 Vancouver Sectional. She didn’t find the podium in Toronto, but assuming she's returned to full strength, this partnership has the potential to give the rest of the field a difficult test. Joanna and Elle come into this tournament as heavy favorites for obvious reasons. Simply put: Joanna hasn’t missed a podium in over a year, and Elle is on 4-tournament winning streak. Winning is a habit you can learn, and these two definitely have exhibited their knowledge year-round. Joanna is a top server, so breaks will not be an issue. Look out for them in the finals if they can stay clean around the net.
Outside of those expected title contenders, the remaining four WR Bronze teams appear to be fighting over the final podium position, unless someone can produce a significant upset and break into the top two. Even so, the gap isn't overwhelming. Among those challengers, Ally Kula and Ally Chou form one of the division's most compelling new pairings. Traveling from Minnesota and California, respectively, both have maintained busy tournament schedules over the past several seasons and continue to trend upward. A team with considerable long-term upside, both are taking the right steps to being at the top of the sport. Chou has several hitting options in the bag due to her diving ability around the no hit zone.
Community Spotlight
To get a better idea of the bigger picture, Seattle local Dallin James provided the scoop on the Seattle Community and their preparation for this event. Despite having one of the country's largest and most concentrated roundnet communities, the Seattle area has historically struggled to host major tournaments. Securing field space has long been the biggest obstacle, with the city's permitting process making quality venues exceptionally difficult to reserve. As a result, previous Tour Stops have often been pushed more than an hour outside the city. That changed this season through a closer partnership with the University of Washington's Husky Roundnet club. By leveraging the club's ability to reserve campus fields, local organizers have finally established a more reliable path to hosting high-level events in Seattle. While this Major is being directed by NATS, the event has been a collaborative effort with significant support from Husky Roundnet and local community leaders in the area. Seattle's dense player base has also produced one of the country's most interconnected local scenes. This weekend, several players from all over Seattle make up the majority of the playerbase in Contender and both Bronze+ divisions, highlighted by Algorithm (Moscoso/Berry), representing Seattle in Gold+.
To stay up to date with all things roundnet in North America, follow North American Tour Series and USA Roundnet on instagram. To track the results in real time this Saturday, follow the event results here.
