NATS 2026 VANCOUVER SECTIONAL PREVIEW
Written by Drew Ryder. NATS is sponsored by Spikeball.
Vancouver Sectional Preview
It’s almost August already! The North American Tour Series is spending its last July weekend in Vancouver for another sectional. This event will feature 19 teams in Bronze+ and 7 teams in Women’s advanced. The average ELO ratings are lower than some other events on tour this year, meaning the points up for grabs are especially critical for bubble teams in the hunt for the year-end Pro Divisions. We’ll cover everything you need to know about both divisions this weekend, and look ahead to some marquee happenings on the tour later this year.
One Horse Race in Bronze+
One team stands as very heavy favorites in Bronze+. The top seed, Connor Nelson and Jake Woolley, both find themselves in the top 5 on series points. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard just how good these two are at roundnet. There isn’t a ton to go over for this team, they can win in whichever way the match requires. They’re both entering the tournament in good form having played each other in the Seattle major finals a couple weeks ago. While there are other top players competing, the inevitable reality is that this team rightfully expects to not drop a game.
Etienne Cote and Nathan Robertt are mashing up as the 2 seed. While Etienne is a household name in the roundnet community, his tournament volume is lower than it’s been in previous years. It’s obvious he’s still got it defensively, his touches on close net defense are particularly impressive. Nathan is a more modern player. His righty cut is one of the best in the business when it’s landing. Owning into the skills they know best, along with finding some mental fortitude to play above their weight in big moments will be the deciding factors for this team. Although there are multiple pieces of glassware between the two players, anything less than their best tournament all season will not be enough for the pitcher here in Vancouver
A Team Canada partnership of Eddy Leung and Nick Wideman is the 3 seed. Although each of these guys are inside the North American top 30, Eddy holds their only tour level podium after getting third in Seattle with Nathan Robertt. Not only is this team super athletic, but they also have the type of cleanliness you only get through multiple years of competing. There’s no doubting this team’s floor, it will be their ability to raise the ceiling that matters most for Vancouver. A result here would provide great momentum to the Canadians, who will be entering worlds next month with more questions than answers about their roster. Expect Eddy and Nick to look particularly dialed in as they aim to defend their home turf with performance implications on the line.
Anyone’s Game in Women’s Advanced
This weekend in women’s, the most notable storyline might be who isn’t at this event. Featuring a 7 team division, teams will play a full round robin before the bracket. This means we’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect in the bracket before it starts. Leading the way as the top seed is Wu/Morehouse. This former Team USA x current Team Canada mashup has below average competition volume yet above average results. This will be the second tournament Kayla has played this year, while her counterpart Maddy has played three. Expect them to take care of business in pool play but really hit their stride in bracket, having gotten the chance to face the entire field in the morning. The second-seed partnership is Stacy Yu and Hathaway Bush, both find themselves inside the North American top 50. Hathaway is coming off of a tournament win in Seattle, albeit in advanced/intermediate. Stacy, member of Team Canada, has played 3 events so far this year. One would assume there’s no jitters to fend off here. When it comes to upset victories, constantly holding serve is key. If the receive and hitting are dialed in from the first point to the last, just a couple breaks throughout can be enough. Also representing Team Canada this weekend in Vancouver is Ruby Tang, she’ll be playing alongside Rachel Cheung.
Looking Ahead
There are just a couple more tournaments left before the championship! After Vancouver, only a Columbus Sectional and New York City Major (on Long Island!) are the two remaining stops. Particularly for New York City, there are so many variables set to make this tournament incredible. The venue for this event is state of the art, the newly built turf fields are consistent and easy on the joints when diving. The timing is ideal for top talent in pursuit of a Worlds tune–up. It’s also the final opportunity to pick up series points for the Championship, which should lead to some highly competitive matchups for those in pursuit of the remaining pro spots. Remember, teams seeded 13–20 in Open Pro points will have a play–in on Friday night. Must–win roundnet under the lights will make for an event I would not recommend missing.
To keep up with the results in Vancouver, click here. To keep up with all things USA Roundnet and Roundnet Canada, click here and here.
