POSITIVE MINDS, POSITIVE RESULTS.
EUCS Summer 2026
3rd place at AIM's first-ever EUCS Summer tournament. Finished #22 in EUCS Open rankings!
TOURNAMENTS
Richard Szabo
7/26/20262 min read
The Herd was finally at full plumpness as it came into its first-ever EUCS Summer tournament. Sharpened horns, multiple full stomachs, and freshly trimmed hooves were all on full display. The goal? Frighten the top teams and cause some upsets against close, higher seeded ones.
First game of the weekend was a classic rivalry rematch against local rivals Outsiterz. Outsiterz used their more experienced and gelled roster to make The Herd's life difficult and come out to an early lead. Coming into the final stages of the game, a few key defensive adjustments by Head Coach Richard Szabo and Defensive Coach Pablo Calderon made the difference to earn a break and win a tight game.
The second and final game on Saturday was against a high-spirited and determined UFO team from the Netherlands. A very close game going into half, the D-Line sharpened up in the second half to earn a string of break points to crack the game open.
AIM finished 2-0 on the day, and were ready for the Sunday matchups.
Saturday
Sunday
3 games, all against tough opponents, 2 of which were ranked above The Herd in the EUCS rankings.
First up was a rematch The Herd was very excited for from the Seven winter tournament against Echo. Echo was ranked only 1 place below AIM in the EUCS Open rankings, promising a tight game from start to finish. Despite a handful of dangerous plays and words exchanged, the game stayed extremely competitive and tactical throughout. Thanks to key adjustments by Offensive Coach Christie Lawry, AIM was able to get ahead by converting important offensive points to earn a hard-fought win at time cap.
Next was 3SB, the top-dog at the tournament and firing on all cylinders this season. Blessed by some early mistakes, The Herd capitalized and was able to keep the match very close at the beginning. Then 3SB shifted into 3rd gear and was able to earn a string of breaks in a row. AIM's coaches put their heads together, and Christie was able to devise a plan to break the string of 3SB points to regain momentum. From there, The Herd stayed competitive, but ultimately the writing was on the wall for a loss.
The Herd earned a great opportunity to play for 3rd place against a strong, but very small, KFK team ranked above AIM in the EUCS Open rankings. Despite being exhausted, KFK proved their fangs were still razor sharp by completing several hucks to their big men for striking goals. Ultimately though, The Herd's extra legs and defensive adjustments were too much for KFK's short roster to handle and AIM went home with a tasty bronze medal, while also pushing The Herd into 22nd place in Europe.
Shoutout and Photo Credit to @zizosportphoto!
See photos below!
