Top 5 Moments From the 2026 MVP Open
Maple Hill once again brought the Disc Golf Pro Tour back to where it all started in 2016, serving as the final DGPT Playoff stop before the Powerball Cup. Severe weather forced the cancellation of Round 3, turning the event into a three-round battle, but the field pushed through the rain on Championship Sunday to close out the Playoffs in true Maple Hill fashion. With the fall scenery in full view and plenty on the line, the 2026 MVP Open × OTB gave fans another unforgettable chapter at one of disc golf’s most storied venues.
Here are some of our top moments from the 2026 MVP Open…
1) Sintija Klezberga Claims Her First Tour Victory
For Sintija Klezberga, the wait is finally over. Known as the Latvian Laser, the RÄ«ga, Latvia native captured the first Disc Golf Pro Tour victory of her career at the MVP Open at Maple Hill. After beginning her disc golf journey in 2022 and making her Tour debut in 2024, Klezberga earned her breakthrough victory in just her 29th Tour event.
Klezberga entered the weekend without a Tour podium to her name. Her previous best finish was fourth at the 2025 Turku Open, and she had collected seven top-10 finishes across her first 28 events. Six of those top-10s came during her breakout 2026 season, including sixth-place finishes at both the Champions Cup and European Open, two PDGA Pro Major events. The MVP Open marked her 15th Tour event of the season.
The road to victory was not straightforward. Following the cancellation of Round 3, Klezberga entered the final round three strokes behind the leaders at -4, but she remained on the lead card. In difficult rain throughout the final round, she maintained control of her game with a combination of birdies and important par saves. By Hole 14, she had built a five-stroke lead with four holes remaining, and she carried a six-stroke advantage into Hole 18. That cushion was enough to withstand even a double bogey on the final hole, allowing Klezberga to finish at -1 for the round and secure the victory with a final score of -5.
Klezberga’s consistency was a defining part of her performance. She recorded the fewest bogeys in the field and led all players in strokes gained from tee-to-green at 19.09. Her steady play became particularly valuable as the weather deteriorated, allowing her to protect the lead while the rest of the field tried to close the gap.
The victory also secured something much bigger than a first Tour title. Klezberga entered the MVP Open sitting 15th in the DGPT Powerball World Standings after moving up one spot with a 10th-place finish at the Green Mountain Championship the previous week. With only the top 18 FPO players qualifying for the Powerball Cup and fewer than 100 Tour points separating Klezberga from each of the four players immediately behind her, there was significant pressure surrounding the final event before the cutoff. Her MVP Open victory guaranteed her place in the season finale.
Klezberga’s rise is a significant jump from where she finished the 2025 season, when she ranked 44th in the DGPT Powerball World Standings. Now, she enters the Powerball Cup as a Tour champion. She also becomes the first Latvian player to win a Tour event, adding a historic achievement for her home country to the biggest victory of her career.
2) Wysocki Returns to the Top at Maple Hill
Ricky Wysocki returned to the top of the podium at Maple Hill, capturing the 2026 MVP Open x OTB for his fourth Tour victory of the season. The win marks a significant turnaround from 2025, when Wysocki went without a Tour victory, and gives him his most wins in a single season since 2022. His career single-season record is six victories, meaning wins at USDGC and the Powerball Cup would give him a chance to match that mark.
This was also Wysocki’s third MVP Open victory and his third time winning at Maple Hill, with his first coming in 2015 when the event was known as the Vibram Open. He immediately established himself as the player to beat this weekend, opening with the hot round of the tournament at -8 on the modified Maple Hill layout.
Wysocki continued to build his advantage with a -5 second round, which tied several other MPO players for the hot round of the day. With Round 3 ultimately cancelled due to severe weather, the tournament was shortened from four rounds to three, leaving Wysocki with a four-stroke lead over Jesse Nieminen and the rest of the field heading into Championship Sunday.
The final round began with the rain making an immediate impact. Wysocki went two over par through the first seven holes, allowing Nieminen to cut the deficit to one stroke by Hole 8. Another major swing appeared to be coming on Hole 9 when Wysocki went out of bounds and faced a potential double bogey, his first of the tournament. Nieminen had an opportunity to capitalize, but he also carded a double bogey, leaving the gap unchanged.
From there, Wysocki took control. He rattled off five consecutive birdies on Holes 11 through 15 and had rebuilt a five-stroke lead over Nieminen by Hole 17. A bogey on 17 brought Nieminen back within four, and the final hole provided one last test. Wysocki’s first upshot to the Hole 18 island green failed to cross the green and went out of bounds, while Nieminen parked his next attempt to set up a drop-in birdie.
That left Wysocki with a daunting C1 putt for the win. A make would secure the title, while a miss would send the two players to a playoff. Wysocki stepped up and drained the putt, closing out the victory at one of the most demanding holes on the Maple Hill course.
His statistics reflected the consistency that put him in position to survive the final-round drama. Wysocki led the field in birdie percentage at 44%, reaching C1 in regulation at 41%, and strokes gained from C1X putting at 5.66. He also converted 96% of his C1 putts, going 52-for-54.
The victory also locked Wysocki into second place in the DGPT Powerball World Standings heading into the season finale. He will enter the Powerball Cup with a six-stroke starting advantage, one stroke behind Gannon Buhr, who holds the top spot and will begin the finale with seven strokes.
3) Ringbom & Tõugjas-Männiste Punch Their Tickets
The MVP Open marked the final opportunity for players to qualify for the Powerball Cup through the DGPT Powerball World Standings, but the event also provided one last path into the season finale for players who finished outside the standings cutline. The top two FPO finishers outside the top 18, respectively, earned wild card spots into the Powerball Cup. Players who win an Elite Series or Major are also automatically added to the Powerball Cup in the rare event that they finish outside the normal qualification paths, but those players continue competing for points throughout the season.
In FPO, those two wild card spots went to Matilda Ringbom and Anneli Tõugjas-Männiste. Ringbom entered Maple Hill all the way down in 43rd place in the standings, meaning she needed a strong finish to make the season finale. After playing just five Tour events in 2026, she delivered exactly that, finishing solo 10th for her third top-10 finish at Maple Hill. It was also her third top-10 in four career Tour events this season, with her best result being a third-place finish at the Swedish Open. Her final two events both ended in 10th place, first at the Green Mountain Championship and then at the MVP Open.
One of the biggest highlights of Ringbom’s weekend came in the opening round when she became the only FPO player in the field to record an eagle. She accomplished the feat on Hole 17 at Maple Hill, providing a valuable boost during the round and helping set the stage for her eventual qualification.
Tõugjas-Männiste entered the MVP Open in 21st place, also outside the top-18 cutline, and needed a strong finish of her own. Her tie for 12th place earned her the second and final FPO wild card. Importantly, that finish alone would not have provided enough points to move her into the top 18, making the wild card essential to her qualification.
Matilda Ringbom delivers the crucial approach on Hole 18! đź’Ą pic.twitter.com/IrTe4w064o
— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) September 27, 2026
The final moments of Tõugjas-Männiste’s weekend came down to her last putt. A make on Hole 18 would secure her place in the Powerball Cup, while a miss would have forced her into a playoff to determine the final spot. She converted the putt to lock in her place in the season finale. The qualification caps a late-season push for Tõugjas-Männiste, who played 14 Tour events in 2026 and collected four top-10 finishes, including three consecutive top-10s heading into Maple Hill.
Tõugjas-Männiste will now head to Rock Hill, South Carolina, for the Throw Pink Women’s Championship at Winthrop, where she finished second last season. The event gives her another opportunity to continue building on the momentum that carried her into the Powerball Cup.
4) Four MPO Wild Cards Awarded at Maple Hill
The final MPO spots in the Powerball Cup came down to the wire at the MVP Open. With the top 28 players in the DGPT Powerball World Standings qualifying for the season finale, the four highest finishers at Maple Hill who remained outside the cutline also earned wild card spots. As with the FPO division, players who win an Elite Series or Major are automatically added to the Powerball Cup if they finish outside the normal qualification paths, although they continue competing for points throughout the season.
The four MPO wild cards went to Ezra Aderhold, Mason Ford, Zach Arlinghaus and Fritiof Fagergren. For Aderhold, the qualification provides a significant bright spot in an otherwise difficult 2026 season. The former Tour winner entered Maple Hill having played 20 Tour events without a top-10 finish, and his tie for 12th at the MVP Open became his best result of the season. He entered the event 49th in the DGPT Powerball World Standings and moved up five spots to 44th, but his finish was enough to earn the wild card and keep his season alive in the Powerball Cup.
Ford also needed a strong showing after entering Maple Hill in 43rd place in the standings. He delivered with a tie for seventh, his first and only top-10 finish of the 2026 season. The result moved him up to 41st in the standings and secured one of the four wild card positions.
Arlinghaus and Fagergren both finished tied for 12th, with each earning a career-season boost from their Maple Hill performances. Arlinghaus entered the event in 46th and moved up three spots to 43rd, while the result became his best finish of the season. Fagergren’s qualification was an even larger jump. The Swedish player entered the MVP Open in 77th place, the lowest standing among the four wild card recipients, and climbed 13 spots to 64th after finishing tied for 12th. His best Tour finish of the season remains his third-place performance at the Heinola Open, but the Maple Hill result ultimately gave him a path into the Powerball Cup.
5) The Road to the Powerball Cup Narrows
With the MVP Open complete, the DGPT Powerball World Standings are now set for the Powerball Cup, with only a handful of players able to change their position around the qualifying cutlines. In FPO, the top 18 remained relatively stable, with Eliezra Midtlyng, Paige Pierce and Hanna Huynh holding onto their qualifying positions. Taylor Chocek, Rebecca Cox, Lisa Fajkus, Anniken Kristiansen Steen and others were unable to make the jump into the season finale.
The final FPO field also features several players who did not qualify for the 2025 Tour Championship, including Rebecca Don, Heidi Laine, Emily Weatherman, Sintija Klezberga and Midtlyng. On the other side, Sofia Donnecke, Cadence Burge and Raven Klein qualified for last year’s Tour Championship but will not return to the season finale this year.
The MPO standings saw a little more movement around the cutline. Corey Ellis was the only player to move into the top 28 through his MVP Open performance, climbing five spots to 27th after finishing ninth at Maple Hill. Evan Smith also moved up 10 spots, but his place in the Powerball Cup was already secured through his victory at the Discmania Challenge.
Albert Tamm experienced the biggest change on the wrong side of the cut. He entered the MVP Open in 28th, holding the final qualifying position, but dropped two spots to 30th and fell outside the field. Bradley Williams also slipped out of the top 28, although he added another championship to his season by winning the 2026 PDGA Masters Disc Golf World Championships in MP40.
Corey Ellis saves par from the drop zone, and The 8 Holes are LOVING it! đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/jo861LR9JZ
— Disc Golf Pro Tour (@DiscGolfProTour) September 24, 2026
Several other notable MPO players were unable to make the necessary move, including Jake Hebenheimer, Paul Krans, Mauri Villmann, Kyle Klein, Paul McBeth, Matty Orum and Simon Lizotte. The standings cut is now set, but there is still one final path into the Powerball Cup. A victory at USDGC will earn an automatic spot in the season finale, giving the players who missed the cut one last opportunity to extend their seasons.
Editor’s Note: Tour events include DGPT Elite Series, DGPT+, DGPT Playoff, and PDGA Pro Major events.
