The UFL playoffs begin Sunday with two semifinal games that will decide the field for the United Bowl on June 13: the DC Defenders meet the Orlando Storm at 3:00 p.m. ET, and the Louisville Kings play the St. Louis Battlehawks later the same day.
Orlando arrives as the top seed after an 8-2 regular season and enters the weekend as the futures favorite at +185 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Storm have already beaten the Defenders twice in as many weeks — a 27-19 win at home in Week 9 and a 29-23 road victory in Week 10 — giving them clear momentum going into the semifinal.
Stat lines underline why Orlando is the betting choice: Jack Plummer led the league with 2,188 passing yards, throwing 17 touchdowns and one interception while adding 189 rushing yards and two scores; Chris Rowland paced the league with 53 catches for 529 yards and five touchdowns and led all players in All-Purpose Yards. Plummer is among four finalists for the 2026 UFL Most Valuable Player, a distinction that highlights how central he has been to the postseason picture.
There is an unusual wrinkle to the matchup: although Orlando is the higher seed, it will not play at Inter&Co Stadium. The Storm’s playoff home game was moved first to Columbus and then reassigned to Daytona Stadium in Daytona Beach because Inter&Co was unavailable due to prior commitments tied to hosting an international soccer match. The relocation reshuffles the practical home-field advantages Orlando earned over the season and complicates ticket access for local fans.
DC’s most acute problem is roster stability at quarterback. Jordan Ta'amu was injured in Week 8, and the Defenders turned to Spencer Sanders in Week 9 and Jason Bean in Week 10; both were unable to solve Orlando’s defense in those meetings. The club has not confirmed its starter for Sunday, leaving a decisive selection — and the team’s game plan — unresolved heading into kickoff.
The second semifinal pairs Louisville and St. Louis, a winner-take-all game that feeds directly into the June 13 United Bowl. The Kings and Battlehawks both arrive with identical stakes: a single victory separates them from the championship and the short offseason questions that follow. For readers tracking the UFL schedule, this is the weekend that produces the title matchup.
Practical details: the DC–Orlando game kicks off at 3:00 p.m. ET at Daytona Stadium in Daytona Beach; the Kings–Battlehawks game follows later Sunday. The winners of both semifinals will meet at the United Bowl on June 13 to decide the league champion.
What to watch when the games begin: whether Orlando’s recent two wins over DC translate into a third straight victory on neutral ground, and whether the Defenders settle on a quarterback who can move the ball consistently against a Storm defense that has already forced turnovers and stalled both Sanders and Bean. Jack Plummer’s efficiency and Chris Rowland’s playmaking will be decisive variables for whichever team the Storm field, while the Louisville–St. Louis result will come down to which roster executes under single-elimination pressure.
The concrete next date is the United Bowl on June 13; the more immediate unknown is who will take the first snap for DC on Sunday and whether Orlando’s relocated “home” will feel like one. That decision — and the performance it produces — will determine which two teams meet for the league title.
