Fast Takes with FastBreak: Charlotte vs Cleveland
By: Christian Barnes and Emma Meo
This upcoming weekend will be the second matchup in the Gateway Division. The Cleveland Riff will be traveling south to face off against the Charlotte Aviators for their first series of the 2026 season. The Aviators are fresh off of a decisive sweep of the Detroit Innovators and have the opportunity to win the division outright with a victory over Cleveland.
Besides playing against each other in the 2025 MLQ Play-In Bracket, this will be the first time in these teams' history that they will be playing against each other in a regular season series, thanks to the redivision of MLQ. Will the Aviators secure the first-ever Gateway Division title with a decisive victory, or will the Riff pull off the upset to shake up the conversation?
Melodies All The Way Down
This will be Cleveland’s debut series, featuring a new and improved roster. With over half of the Riff being from college programs, one might be curious on how this new team plays together. An important combination we might see on the pitch is in MLQ rookie Chaser/Keeper Titus Chan and 2025 scoring MVP Joe Lombardi. With Lombardi proving their prowess with the Riff last season and Chan having a big USQ season with breakout team CWRUcio, this scoring duo could be the difference that elevates Cleveland to a series win.
Along with these two, the Riff boasts other strong chasers such as Jackson Neofes, Delaney Lindberg and the return of Vivian Cox, who all contribute as great passing options. There are also new players such as Christian Marinescu and Varun Krishna, who will provide the drive energy needed to secure that win.
But scoring aside, the Riff must play different chords in order to achieve the melody they need to win. One chord is the seeking game. At Charlotte’s last series against Detroit, Austin Cruz caught the flag runner twice, which gave the Aviators a crucial score advantage to help them defeat the Innovators. During the 2025 season, the Riff did not catch a single time. To stay competitive, Cleveland needs to improve their seeking game, and all eyes will be on yellow headbands come Saturday.This can happen in a couple of ways, one; Cleveland decides that not letting Austin Cruz catch is much more important than catching themselves, so they’ll have a defensive seeker. Two; Cleveland decides to go for the catch, and put up their best beaters on the attack so they’ll have the best chance of catching.
Speaking of which, we will also see a pretty intense beater game in this matchup. While Rae Barnes will be absent for this series, we will see the return of Adam Thompson, Kevin Oh, Jen Conard and Emma Meo. Cleveland will also give rise to newcomers Ashley Chow, Adrian Cheng and Marin Neill. These beaters might be the ones to help with seeker play. With a strong beater line from Charlotte, such as Celine Richard, who is MLQ’s Player of the Week who also has over 6 stops so far in the league. The Riff must match their intensity to keep the games close.
Clear Skies in the Forecast, but Turbulence on the Horizon
Saturday's looking to be perfect weather for flying as the Aviators compete to clinch what could be the first division title of the 2026 MLQ season. This matchup won't give the Aviators any chance to take their foot off the levers, as it serves as a runway at home to their toughest fight this season: a conference match against Boston or New York in early August. A win now and in August could propel Charlotte to the greatest heights of their franchise's history: the chance for their crew to finally sleep in Day 1 of the Benepe Cup!*
A win this weekend launches the Aviators to at least 3rd in the conference and that could pay dividends come Benepe Cup, so all eyes will be on the trajectory they take in their games this Saturday. While facing theRiff finishes out their division matches for the season, it’s also a pivotal point in their journey to MLQ Championship. After Cleveland, the Aviators are set to face off against teams they have remained unable to stand against. The winner of the New York/Boston match up in July is set to face them as the Atlantic division 1 seed and losing against one could pit them against another.
Dogfight Down South
Expect Charlotte to have all pieces available for their home competition, meaning a push in the beater advantage they have over the Riff. Viewers can also expect Tony Bonadio and Celine Richard to keep topping the charts in stops while maintaining average dodgeballs, either on pitch at the same time or with any of the other beaters on roster. While the dodgeball game skews in the Aviators direction, they’ll be contending with the lead scorer in MLQ on Cleveland in Joe Lombardi, and need to make sure they stack points on the board. Looking at the roster for this weekend, Charlotte continues their ability to score in the drive and dish game
*Gameplay format has not yet been released for the Benepe Cup, and it is unknown whether having a 1-3 seed will guarantee the opportunity to sleep in.
