Play-in bracket kicks off, New Orleans wins first MLQ Championship game since 2016

Detroit Innovators beater Ryan Hsu sings the U.S. national anthem at MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex.

The play-in bracket kicked off early Saturday morning in West Des Moines, Iowa with two all-important matchups: the New Orleans Curse and the Detroit Innovators indoors on Pitch One and the Minneapolis Monarchs and the Charlotte Aviators outside on Pitch Two. In a back-and-forth thriller, New Orleans earned its first win at an MLQ Championship since 2016 by a final score of 140-100. At the same time, Minneapolis also earned its first-ever win at an MLQ Championship with a more comfortable 185-100 victory over Charlotte, as seeker Mike Devine secured the flag pull.

On Pitch One, the veteran New Orleans Curse squad came out strong, as starting beater pair Josh Mansfield and Alex Pucciarelli fended off exchanges with Detroit Innovators beater pair Ryan Hsu and Rei Brodeur. But momentum starting to swing as Hsu and Brodeur established themselves in the beater game and Detroit went on a dominant 50-0 run.

With his team searching for answers, New Orleans head coach Ben Mertens called a timeout to talk things over. Beginning with a quick-hitting alley-oop from keeper P.J. Mitchell to chaser Carson Running, the experienced Curse responded with a 40-10 stretch before the 20-minute mark. They took control of the game and never looked back, reaching the set score without catching flag runner Mat Isanove. Chasers Charlton Tramel and Dylan DeLee were especially big contributors in the quadball game.

The Curse will advance to play the Boston Forge at 9:45 am on Pitch One and the Monarchs will stay on Pitch Two to take on the Kansas City Stampede in a matchup of the two closest teams to the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex.