Chicago Machine will mount up and head east to the birthplace of aviation this weekend, for the 2018 USAU Elite-Select Challenge in Columbus, OH.
Tournament Details: https://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Elite-Select-Challenge-2018/
Machine's pool features a Madison Club team fresh off an AUDL championship (playing under their alter-alias the Madison Radicals). The pool also includes Montreal’s Mockingbird and Kansas City’s Prairie Fire (the latter of which features former Machine legend, Trent Kuhl). The winner of the pool will advance straight to Sunday's quarters, meanwhile the second and third place finishers will advance to a Saturday afternoon pre-quarter, and the fourth place finisher will be relegated to lower bracket round robin.
Full Schedule: https://play.usaultimate.org/events/TCT-Elite-Select-Challenge-2018/schedule/Men/Club-Men/
Ultiworld will be on site to film games as part of their online video subscription package. Machine is not scheduled to be recorded, but could end up being filmed dependent on bracket play outcomes.
Machine will be sending a roster of 20 active players, missing 3 O-line cutters due to pre-existing conflicts (Jack Shanahan, Michael Pardo, Ross Barker), and 3 D-line cutters due to injuries sustained in battle (Alex Evangelides/ Ankle, Nate Goff/ Hamstring, Kevin Kelly/ Shoulder). The team will also be without coach Andy Neilsen, who will be representing the red white and blue as a member of USA U20 coaching staff, as they compete at World’s in Waterloo, CA.
For live updates over the weekend: http://twitter.com/machineultimate
Check back after the tournament for a recap, highlight video, and much more throughout the season.
ICYMI - Highlights from our previous tournament, the 2018 US Open - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoHHMS8RTtI