Lamberti’s top takeaways from first weekend of 2026 Championship Series

New York is led by a blossoming superstar while California’s offense has many. Carolina is in must-win territory, and Denver is searching for a bounce-back after a historic scoring outburst one night and going ice-cold the next.

Two games down for each team at the 2026 Lexus Championship Series. One round-robin game to go. My takeaways on each team after opening weekend:

New York Atlas: Matt Traynor is a Sixes superstar

I’m still kicking myself for not including Matt Traynor on my shortlist of candidates for the 2026 PLL Golden Stick Award, instead opting for teammate Bryan Costabile.

Well, now Traynor’s leading the Golden Stick race with 15 scoring points.

I thought he would excel in the Sixes format with his fluid dodging and knack for getting to the cage, but he’s been even better than expected. Why? He’s the ultimate Sixes player with his ability to shoot from the outside, dodge in tight spaces, move off-ball and bury his chances.

Just how dominant was Traynor this weekend? Romar Dennis holds the record for scoring points in a single Championship Series with 34 over five games in 2023. Traynor is on pace to break that with 15 scoring points through two games.

California Redwoods: Well-rounded offense making the difference

Every team in the Lexus Championship Series has dangerous options offensively, but the Redwoods separate themselves with their attacking diversity.

Dennis looks back to his usual Sixes self with his two-point shooting prowess. He canned the game-deciding two in overtime Sunday against Carolina.

Aidan Danenza has burst onto the scene with 12 scoring points in two games, tied for second in the Golden Stick Award race.

“He made some huge plays for us in the stretch of the summer,” head coach Anthony Kelly said of Danenza. “It was a no-brainer having him here at this event. I think he’s a young man that every time he hits the field, he’s getting more confident.”

Andrew McAdorey’s speed and quickness pose a problem for defenses. He went from goal-scorer in the first game against Denver to feeder in the second game against Carolina. McAdorey tallied four assists against the Chaos, multiple of which were created with his speed to draw a slide or hedge and then find an open player.

Complementing all the finesse offensively is Dylan Molloy’s physical dodging; he will literally run through you on his way to the net.

From shooting to speed to physicality, this Redwoods offense has every skill set you would need in Sixes.

They’re 2-0, lead the tournament in score differential (plus-14) and have already clinched a spot in the knockout round due to their dynamic offense.

Carolina Chaos: Individual efforts will only take them so far

The Chaos are 0-2, but they haven’t played poorly by any means.

Carolina has the pieces offensively and has gotten strong goalie play from Austin Kaut, but it hasn’t been able to pull out either game.

One of the reasons? A lack of assisted goals.

The Chaos have undoubtedly talented dodgers like Shane Knobloch, but they only have 13 assists over two games, the fewest in the tournament. Their reliance on winning 1-v-1 matchups has specifically hurt them late in games; they shot 29.4% in the fourth quarter against New York and 33.3% in the last frame and overtime vs. California.

It’s no secret that assisted goals have a higher shooting percentage than unassisted ones, so a big focus for the Chaos should be generating more looks for their teammates, especially late in games when players are tired and legs are heavy.

Thursday’s battle with Denver is a must-win for Carolina to have a shot at advancing to the playoffs.

Denver Outlaws: Shot selection a problem in second game

The Outlaws started off the tournament with a bang, putting away 32 scores — the second-most in Championship Series history — in a blowout win over the Atlas.

The second game was a much different story. Playing on back-to-back days, Denver tallied just 14 scores against California, including only six in the second half.

What changed from game to game? Shot selection.

It felt like Denver was tired on Saturday, settling for outside shots and low-angle shots instead of working to get the best possible look. Even when they did get good looks, the Outlaws found goalie Matt Knote’s stick more often than the net.

Going from shooting 48.1% against New York to shooting 28.6% against California isn’t a coincidence; it’s shot selection.

My hunch is that after a few days of rest, the Outlaws should improve those numbers with fresh legs hunting gold-medal shots in front of the cage rather than settling for silver- or bronze-medal shots.