Hugo Jiang wins tight 10-fencer Candy Clash 2026 longsword bracket
Hugo Jiang edged Andrew Loyola to win Candy Clash's 10-fencer longsword bracket, while San Diego Swordfighters placed four fencers in the top six.
Hugo Jiang of San Diego Sword School won the Candy Clash 2026 steel longsword bracket, edging Andrew Loyola of SoCal Swords in a 10-fencer field where every bout mattered. Victoria Perez of San Diego Swordfighters took third and Ant Cono of San Diego Swordfighters finished fourth, giving the podium a sharp Southern California split between three clubs.
The depth of the San Diego Swordfighters roster stood out just as much as the winner did. Suriel Cruz and Thomas Robles, both representing the club, placed fifth and sixth, meaning San Diego Swordfighters filled four of the top six spots in a field with little margin for error. That kind of clustering matters in a compact bracket: one clean loss or one slow start can change the whole order, and Jiang’s route to the title had to hold up against that pressure all the way through.
The tournament itself was built for action. Candy Clash was scheduled for Saturday, June 27, and the San Diego Swordfighters page listed steel longsword, boffer or foam longsword, steel saber, and padded or boffer saber on the card. The same page said the event was designed to maximize the number of bouts for all participants, and it also advertised mini-classes in longsword and saber for first-timers and less experienced fencers, reinforcing that the day was meant to mix competition with on-ramp opportunities.
The rest of the longsword standings showed how broad the regional draw was even in a small bracket. Segal Ismael of Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts finished seventh, Majoumi Medley of Kron Martial Arts took eighth, Jakob Beck of Scholars of Alcala was ninth, and Scott Boyle of Kron Martial Arts closed the list in tenth. Together with the top four, that spread shows why Candy Clash mattered as a Southern California HEMA test: a tight bracket can compress talent, but it also makes the ordering brutally revealing. In this format, Jiang did not just win a title, he survived a structure that punished every mistake.
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