With the wildcard round of the S22 NSFL playoffs in the books, we now have four teams remaining in contention for the Ultimus trophy – the Yellowknife Wraiths, Colorado Yeti, Orange County Otters and Austin Copperheads. After a 22 point loss to the Yeti to open the season, the Wraiths only lost one game the rest of the season, a 2 point loss to New Orleans. The Wraiths are arguable the hottest team in the league, winning 5 straight games all by 13 points or more. Another thing the Wraiths have going for them is the recent struggles their opponent, the Yeti, have faced as of late. After starting 5-0, Colorado went 3-5 the rest of the way. On top of that, they do not have a single win against a team with a winning record since that week 1 home win over Yellowknife. It’s hard to imagine a situation where the Wraiths lose this game. In the ASFC, we should have a much more competitive championship game. The Otters looked like the best team in the league for much of the season, however late season losses to Austin and San Jose allowed the Wraiths to finish with a better record. The Copperheads took a very different path to get here, and after starting the season 1-4-1, it looked like their season was all but over given the strength of the ASFC. Instead, the Copperheads found their game and caught fire, winning their final 7 games of the season (plus their wildcard game against NOLA), and giving themselves a chance to compete for an Ultimus. This game really could go either way, as the teams split the season series, with the road team winning each game. Whoever wins this one will definitely give the Wraiths a fight, and could even find themselves favoured to win it all. At the end of the day, the Wraiths clear path to the finals makes it too hard to pick against them. I think they end their 4 season Ultimus losing streak and finally capture their second title.