WG Horseshoes · 2026 Postseason
The regular season is closed and the board is frozen. What's left is four teams, a hat that broke up every champion it touched, and three games apiece to settle it.
Sherman finished the season at #1 and he gets to keep it — the league board closed on August 17 and nothing that happens now will move it. So this is for something else entirely. Four teams, drawn out of a hat, and not one of these pairs has ever lined up against the pair across from it — though the men inside them have been throwing at each other all summer, just never in these combinations. The 145 league games that got everyone here are on the record. None of them count for anything from this point on.
Which is exactly why this matters to one man more than the rest. Sherman has been the best horseshoe player in this league for a while now and he has nothing on the shelf to prove it. The last three championships and the last three Father's Day Cups went to six other men, and one of them is the #10 seed he has to get past first. Cody, seeded dead last in this bracket, has more recent hardware than the man seeded first.
Breivogel and Cody have already done the hard part once, taking down Heiss and Hamilton 21-16 in the play-in to claim the last spot. Heiss threw a six-pack in that game and still went home — a Father's Day Cup winner, gone in one night. Their reward is Sherman and Ouellette, a partnership that has gone 22-5 together over four seasons. Somewhere in the other half of the draw, the two men who won this thing in 2025 are staring at each other from opposite corners.
The Draw
Heiss threw a six-pack in the loss.
Semifinal One
On paper this is the widest gap in the bracket, and the numbers do not soften it. These two pairs have never met as pairs, but their men have crossed six times in league play this season — a Sherman or an Ouellette on one side, a Breivogel or a Cody on the other, always with other partners — and the favorites won all six. Sherman went 18-5 with five six-packs in only 23 games, the most efficient season anyone put together. Ouellette threw 2.24 ringers a game, second-best in the entire field, and banked nine wins over top-four finishers.
Here is what makes it interesting anyway. Cody is the most decorated man left in this bracket and he is seeded last in it. He owns a 2025 league title and he is the reigning Father's Day Cup winner, and after starting the season 6-12 he went 8-2 down the stretch. Breivogel opened 0-4, finished 5-1, and cleared the ten-game minimum on the nose — the last man onto the board and the only one here who had to win a game just to get a seat.
So the trophy case runs backwards here. The #10 seed has two pieces of hardware in two years; the #1 seed has none, and has watched three championships and three Cups go elsewhere. Sherman has spent those years being the best player in the league and the answer to a trivia question. This is the closest he has been to fixing that.
Man vs man counts every 2026 league game in which one of these two faced one of those two, whoever they were partnered with at the time. Record as a pair is that duo's own history together, all seasons. These two pairs have never played each other.
We like
Sherman & Ouellette, 2-0
A single game is where an upset lives, and Breivogel and Cody just proved they can win one. Three games is a different question, and everything that decides a long series — shot quality, the record together, the head-to-head — points the same direction. If the underdogs are going to steal it, it has to be early, and it has to be off the iron.
Semifinal Two
This is the real one. The seeds say McCullam and Tarby; the head-to-head says the opposite. In the 18 league games this season where one of these two ran into Dos Santos or Long, they came out 8-10. Inside that number is the matchup Tarby would least like to see: he is 3-6 against Long, the worst individual head-to-head anyone still alive is carrying.
What McCullam has is form, and a lot of it. He went 17-8 in the first half of the season and 8-1 in the second, and he closed the year by winning his last five league games in a row. Nobody in this bracket is playing better. Tarby brings the best shot-making in the field — 2.51 ringers a game and seven six-packs, both tops among the eight men left — even though his results never quite matched what he was throwing.
Dos Santos is the question mark. He finished 13-7 in only 20 games and took down seven top-four finishers along the way, which is a genuinely strong season. He also lost four of his last five. Long is the counterweight and the workhorse: 45 games, 30 wins, 95 ringers, nine wins over the top four. He has thrown more iron this season than anyone.
Man vs man counts every 2026 league game in which one of these two faced one of those two, whoever they were partnered with at the time. Record as a pair is that duo's own history together, all seasons. These two pairs have never played each other.
We like
McCullam & Tarby, 2-1
Taking the hot hand over the history, and not comfortably. McCullam has won five straight and lost once in his last nine, and Dos Santos arrives having dropped four of five. The way this flips is Long, who has owned Tarby all year and has the volume to keep doing it over three games. Expect it to go the distance.
Pull the last two title teams apart and you have most of this bracket. Cody and Long won it in 2025 and are 26-15 together across four seasons — they went 10-8 as partners as recently as this year. The draw put them in opposite halves, so the only way they meet again is in the final, as opponents.
McCullam and Hamilton won it in 2024, and they got split too. McCullam is alive in Semifinal Two. Hamilton went out in the play-in — beaten by Cody, the man he had just gone 6-0 with on the final day of the season. And the last three Father's Day Cups are all in this field: Ouellette in 2024, Heiss in 2025, Cody in 2026. Heiss is already gone, and he threw a six-pack on the way out.
Six pieces of hardware over three years, shared among six different men — and the one who has finished on top of the board is not among them. Sherman has won nothing in the stretch where he has been the best player in the pit. Every other favorite in this bracket is defending something. He is chasing his first.
Team Dossiers
Sherman got here by being ruthless in a short season — 18-5 across 23 games, fewer starts than anyone above #5, and five six-packs to show for it. He also got here having won nothing in years, which is the part he would like to change. Ouellette got here the slower way, 9-7 through the first half and 6-3 after, climbing on shot-making, and he already knows what a trophy feels like. They have played 27 games together over the years and lost five. Their one league loss as a pair this season came on July 25, and it was ugly: 9-21 to Heiss and McCullam.
McCullam had the biggest climb in the league. He opened the season carrying a career win rate barely above even and finished #2, going 8-1 down the stretch with five straight to close. Tarby's route was stranger — he threw the best iron in the field all year, 2.51 ringers a game and seven six-packs, and still ended up with the thinnest points-per-game of anyone in the top six. He was better than his record all season.
Long simply outworked the league: 45 games, more than anyone left, 30 wins, 95 ringers, and nine scalps taken off the top four. Dos Santos did the opposite and got to nearly the same place, going 13-7 in 20 games with seven top-four wins of his own. They are 2-0 as partners and have never lost a game together — a sample of two, which is either a good omen or nothing at all.
The only team here that had to earn its place twice. Breivogel started 0-4, finished 5-1, and hit the ten-game minimum exactly — one game short and he is not in this bracket at all. Cody spent the first half at 6-12 before turning it around to 8-2, closing the season 6-0 alongside Hamilton. Then they beat Heiss and Hamilton 21-16 in the play-in, riding out a Heiss six-pack to do it. Nobody left has been tested more recently, and nobody left is carrying more silverware.
Eight Men Left
Finished the season on top and never really looked threatened. His best result was beating Long and Swenson 21-16 with Ford, and the only real dent was that 9-21 loss alongside Ouellette. Seven of his league games came with Long as a partner and they won all seven. The one line missing from his record is the important one: no championship, no Cup, not for years. Everything else he has already proved.
The story of the season. He came in with a history barely above .500 and finished #2 on the board, playing his best horseshoes in the last month. His signature win is the one everyone in the bracket should be looking at: 21-9 over Sherman and Ouellette, with Heiss, on July 25.
The most-played, most-productive season in the league — nobody threw more iron or won more games. He beat Tarby and Swenson 21-5 with Flavin for his best night, and he has handled Tarby all year. He also has a title from 2025, won with the man he may have to beat in the final.
The best pure shot-maker left, and it is not close — 2.51 ringers a game and seven six-packs, both field highs. He beat McCullam and Cody 21-9 with Flavin at his peak. The knock is consistency: for all that shot quality he finished with the smallest points margin in the top six. If he finds a rhythm here, he is the most dangerous man in the bracket.
Efficient rather than prolific — the fewest games of anyone in the top six and a .650 record to go with them, including a 21-12 win over McCullam and Hamilton. He faced the toughest average opposition of anyone in the field. The concern is timing: he lost four of his last five and is walking in cold.
Second-best ringer rate in the field and nine wins over top-four finishers, tied with Long for the most. He got stronger as the year went on, 9-7 early and 6-3 late. His best result of the season came against the man he is now partnered with — he and Ford beat Sherman and Swenson 21-17.
Nobody's season swung harder. He lost his first four league games and won five of his last six, hitting the ten-game minimum exactly — one fewer and he would be watching this. His best night was a 21-4 demolition of Tarby and Swenson with Trotte, which is worth remembering given who is waiting in the other half.
Seeded last, decorated first. A 2025 league title and the current Father's Day Cup sit on his shelf, and he backed it up with an 8-2 finish after a 6-12 start — including a 6-0 sweep with Hamilton on the last day of the season. He beat Heiss and Tarby 21-19 with Trotte at his best. He has won a playoff game more recently than anyone here.
The Pick
Sherman and Ouellette are the team to beat and the bracket did them a favor. They should be in the final without much trouble, and the pairing that meets them there will arrive off three hard games. Twenty-two wins in twenty-seven tries together is the kind of history that holds up over a series.
It is also the best chance Sherman has had. He has finished on top of this league and walked away empty more than once, while six other men collected the last three championships and the last three Cups between them. He has the strongest partner record in the bracket, the softest road to the final, and a season that ended 18-5. If it does not happen this time, it is fair to start asking when it will.
But there is one number that keeps this from being a formality, and McCullam owns it. On July 25 he beat Sherman and Ouellette 21-9 — the only loss that pairing took together in league play all season, and the most lopsided result anyone hung on them. If he gets past Long and Dos Santos, he walks into the final as the one man in this bracket who has already proved it can be done.
2026 League Champions
Sherman & Ouellette
Over McCullam and Tarby in three, and the best player in the league finally gets to put something on the shelf. The caveat stands: every pairing in this bracket is a first meeting, and none of them have any idea yet how they actually fit together. That is what makes it worth showing up for.
The Board At The Close
| Player | Rating | W-L | GP | Ringers/G | Six-packs | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman | +38.1 | 18-5 | 23 | 1.87 | 5 | Semifinal |
| McCullam | +29.9 | 25-9 | 34 | 1.65 | 2 | Semifinal |
| Long | +24.8 | 30-15 | 45 | 2.11 | 4 | Semifinal |
| Tarby | +24.0 | 24-13 | 37 | 2.51 | 7 | Semifinal |
| Dos Santos | +22.4 | 13-7 | 20 | 1.45 | 2 | Semifinal |
| Ouellette | +19.3 | 15-10 | 25 | 2.24 | 4 | Semifinal |
| Heiss | +9.3 | 21-14 | 35 | 1.43 | 1 | Play-in |
| Hamilton | +4.2 | 20-13 | 33 | 0.91 | 1 | Play-in |
| Breivogel | -6.9 | 5-5 | 10 | 1.50 | 0 | Semifinal |
| Cody | -7.8 | 14-14 | 28 | 1.07 | 0 | Semifinal |