Minneapolis turns tables, beats Boston to earn spot in quarterfinals

The Minneapolis Monarchs celebrate after seeker Mike Devine caught the flag runner against the Boston Forge to win the game.

In a thrilling rematch of the 2021 MLQ Championship quarterfinals, when the Boston Forge swept the Minneapolis Monarchs, Minneapolis turned the tables and knocked off Boston, one of the most successful franchises in league history, to earn a spot in the championship bracket. The Monarchs claimed a triumphant 165-100 victory, with a third consecutive flag runner catch by seeker Mike Devine.

After a low-scoring start to the game, Minneapolis began to challenge the Boston hoops defense with several relentless drives while the storied Forge beater pair of Max Havlin and Lulu Xu aimed to put heavy pressure on the Monarchs around the midline. With a strong shift from beater Meredith McDowell and a couple timely press breaks, Minneapolis handled the pressure well though, a sign of how far they have come since the 2021 season.

Boston chaser Zach Doyle caused a key turnover at the start of flag runner on pitch and Forge beater Leeanne Dillman created huge windows in the seeker game but the three-time champions were unable to capitalize. The Forge were forced to bring their dodgeballs back into the quadball game as Minneapolis ran up the score and Devine seized the opportunity around the flag runner, cementing his status as the hottest seeker at the tournament.

Minneapolis will await the results in the play-in bracket to learn its opponent in quarterfinals: the New York Titans or the Austin Outlaws. Boston will play one of the four remaining play-in bracket teams in the second play-in game at 2:30 pm.