INDIANAPOLIS – It all comes down to Saturday.
A weekend that has already seen some of the most closely-contested DCI World Championships competition amongst title contenders in recent memory got even more intriguing at Friday’s DCI World Championship Semifinals.
Bluecoats, the second-place finisher in Thursday’s Prelims event, flipped the script, moving ahead of Boston Crusaders for the Semifinals top position and inching closer to a second-consecutive World Championship title.
“Our goal is honestly to have the best performance of the night, and if we happened to get this and we happened to win another one, it’s just another amazing chapter of Bluecoats history put into the books,” said Bluecoats drum major Tony Gamez. “For us to be out here and to perform with everybody like this, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
View the complete recap of scores from the DCI World Championship Semifinals
1. Bluecoats » 97.763
2. Boston Crusaders » 97.575
3. Santa Clara Vanguard » 96.063
4. Blue Devils » 95.400
After trailing by 0.175 points Thursday, Bluecoats gained a lead of 0.188 points Friday, and earned top marks in General Effect.
Boston Crusaders, of course, were right there in the race for gold — what would be the corps’ first gold — and earned first place, in Color Guard, Brass, Percussion and Music Analysis.
“This year has been a really special year; we’ve had fun performing all season, and this year would be no different,” said Boston Crusaders drum major Wes Booker. “I think performing last night was really special, and going tomorrow – whatever time we go at – is going to be the most special thing I’ve done probably in my entire life.”
Santa Clara Vanguard opened up breathing room in third place, increasing its margin of victory over Blue Devils 0.287 Thursday to 0.663 Friday. Vanguard also placed second in Percussion, while Blue Devils, who remain close in the race for medalist positions, took second in Visual Analysis.
“I think this season we’re the corps that fought all the way,” said Blue Devils drum major Connor Carbonell. “I remember back in early July talking to the corps members about how, ‘You have to want this more than anything,’ and I think they’ve really proven themselves the past couple days by ignoring all the noise, fighting, and giving every last thing they have. We’ll see how everything goes tomorrow, but I know, no matter what happens, everybody will be able to walk away knowing they gave it their all.”
5. Carolina Crown » 94.238
6. Phantom Regiment » 93.950
7. Mandarins » 92.525
8. The Cavaliers » 90.500
9. Blue Stars » 90.375
10. Troopers » 90.063
The distance between Carolina Crown and Phantom Regiment — which was more than a point in Thursday’s Prelims — got significantly tighter in Friday’s event, with just 0.288 separating the two.
Ultimately, while Crown’s Music scores made a major difference, Phantom Regiment’s strong Visual scores kept things close heading into Finals.
“We’ve been working for this every day of the summer; finals tomorrow is laying it all out there on the field and knowing, no matter what, we did absolutely everything we could,” said Phantom Regiment drum major Jonathan Dominguez. “We just gotta keep doing our thing. Our biggest priority is giving the audience a show they’re going to remember and they’re going to love forever, and that’s the main priority for us.”
Mandarins – which placed seventh at Semifinals with a score of 92.525 – continued the corps’ strong 2025 run with nearly/more than two points of breathing room between itself and eighth-place Cavaliers.
“Finals tomorrow is my last performance ever as a member, and that’s literally giving all I have, not just for myself, but for the people who have made Mandarins my family over the past four years,” said Mandarins drum major Maya McBrayer. “The vibe is consistency and trying to get our reps consistent. You pull a rep out of the jar and see, ‘Is it a good one? Is it a bad one?’ We’re trying to get as many good reps in as we can before tomorrow.”
Less than half a point separated The Cavaliers, Blue Stars, and Troopers — three corps who have been neck-and-neck with one another throughout the season and especially in recent weeks.
Each corps remained in its same position from Prelims, with the Rosemont, Illinois corps maintaining eighth place thanks especially to its strong Visual scores. Blue Stars, however, were right on The Cavaliers’ heels, trailing by just .125 points and outscoring the Green Machine in Brass and Color Guard.
“Over the course of the summer we’ve been continuing to push and keep our eyes set on what the end is,” said Blue Stars drum major Mattie Kleespies. “We put so much effort together, and so much family comes together over the course of the summer, so getting to put it all on the field one more time is so meaningful to us.”
In 10th place, Troopers were immediately in the rearview mirror of both The Cavaliers and Blue Stars, and outscored both in Brass, Percussion, as well as Visual Analysis. The corps’ percussion section notched fifth place.
11. Colts » 88.525
12. Blue Knights » 88.275
13. Spirit of Atlanta » 86.800
14. Madison Scouts » 85.350
15. Pacific Crest » 84.825
Colts — who returned to the Top 12 in 2022 after a 15-year absence — continued their streak of four Finals appearances by landing in 11th place Friday night. The corps clung to a slim lead over Blue Knights, outscoring the Denver corps by just 0.255 points.
Blue Knights impressed in the Music and General Effect captions, but the Iowa corps kept its advantage on the wings of its Visual outputs.
“It’s been very exciting to reach the end of our season in Indianapolis, there’s been a lot of moments, of this show specifically, that are designed to be in this stadium,” said Colts drum major Carissa Blumka. “It’s really incredible to see the colors of our show popping on the field, to hear the music in this space, and we’re excited to continue our journey tomorrow.”
As for Blue Knights, the corps finish in Friday’s event signals its return to the DCI World Championship Finals after missing out on the coveted event last season.
“The season has meant a lot to the whole corps and to know we have a chance at Finals,” said Blue Knights drum major Adisyn Livingston. “Last year was a really tough year for everyone, and this year, the mindset has just been ‘Hey, we have a shot, and we’re gonna do everything in our power to actually take the shot.”
Spirit of Atlanta, despite coming up just shy of a Top 12 position, completed its most successful competitive season since 2019, and its highest final score in nearly 40 years. The Georgia corps also placed impressively high in Music captions, including an 10th-place standing in Brass.
“The season has been incredible,” Spirit drum major Peyton Brillhart said. “I’m so thankful that I have spent my past three years at Spirit of Atlanta; I wouldn’t want to call anywhere else home.”
Madison Scouts broke 85 points for the second season in a row, and paced ahead of Spirit in Visual Analysis.
Pacific Crest landed in 15th, and extended a streak of three consecutive years of Top 15 finishes — a feat the corps had achieved just once prior to 2022. The Southern California corps wowed in Color Guard, earning a standout 12th place.
16. Music City » 83.838
17. The Academy » 83.313
18. Spartans » 82.275
19. Crossmen » 82.225
20. Gold » 79.900
Music City capped its strongest competitive season ever with a 16th-place finish and score of 83.838 — both of which were all-time bests for the Tennessee corps.
“Today’s show was phenomenal; we left everything out on the field, no regrets, and we’re all walking off feeling great and so happy with all the work we’ve done this season,” said Music City drum major Hailey Westfall. “This is our end goal, to get to Indy and show what we worked for, so being here means everything.”
The Academy landed just behind Music City, improving upon its 18th-place finishes in each of the last two years.
By a narrow margin of just 0.05 points, Spartans ranked ahead of Crossmen at season’s end for the first time ever and earned an all-time highest placement in 18th. Spartans impressively ranked 15th in Color Guard.
“We love coming to Indy; it’s a really big part of our experience,” said Spartans drum major Ana Silva. “We get to stay and watch other corps, we get to feel inspired to continue in drum corps. People get to feel inspired to come back and think about the future, so the corps is excited to get to be in Indy and wrap things up in such a good way.”
Gold, which returned to the Top 20 after finishing 21st a year ago, improved upon its 2024 final score by more than two points.
21. The Battalion » 79.125
22. Genesis » 77.700
23. Seattle Cascades » 77.050
24. The Stampede » 75.250
25. Columbians » 74.500
26. River City Rhythm » 73.125
The Battalion made a notable leap in 2025 compared to 2024, as the Utah corps climbed up three spots to 21st in 2025 compared to its 24th-place finish at 2024’s Semifinals.
Austin, Texas’ Genesis and Washington’s Seattle Cascades also duplicated their 2024 Semifinals placements – Cascades’ final tally of 77.050 also served as the corps’ highest since 2007 — as both groups finished out their 2025 tours on a high note.
“The vibes have been great,” said Genesis drum major Ari Calili. “Everyone has really developed a family here at Genesis, so this being our last week together has really shown people just how special this activity is and how much we all mean to each other, so it’s been so good to be able to create these bonds with them.”
The sole representative at Semifinals from DCI’s International Class, Calgary, Alberta’s Stampede made an impressive Semifinals debut on Friday. The last time Stampede performed in Indianapolis, the corps finished in 26th place.
“We all came off yesterday’s performance super excited, and then learning that we got to perform again on Friday was unreal,” said Stampede drum major Ariel Frank. “We were not expecting that when we came down here, so getting that bonus opportunity to show what we’ve got means so much to us.”
Another corps out of the state of Washington, Columbians made its return to Semifinals after missing out on the competition in 2024. The Washington corps landed ahead of Stampede in General Effect and Percussion.
Rounding out the competition, River City Rhythm made its first-ever Semifinals appearance on Friday, earning an all-time best score and placement and scoring an impressive 23rd in Percussion.
With Friday’s events in the books, the Top 12 corps will advance to the 2025 DCI Tour’s finale, the DCI World Championship Finals, slated for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium. Additional Saturday morning and afternoon events include the SoundSport International Music & Food Festival presented by Jazz Wealth and the DCI All-Age World Championship Finals.
