New Jersey Beats St. Louis In A Battle Of Heavyweights For The Major League Pickleball Regular Season Title In Orlando

The full New Jersey squad celebrates its Orlando win.

MLP

Major League Pickleball (MLP), presented by DoorDash, vanished disconnected its 9-week regular play slate pinch a scintillating arena successful Orlando, a awesome venue pinch packed houses and nationalist TV connected Sunday. The convention vanished its regular play slate, and the playoff positioning was filled pinch drama, astonishing matches, and awesome drama.

Key links for search the arena this weekend, which characteristic livestreams from the superior courts astatine the installation connected MLP’s YouTube channel and connected PickleballTV.com. I besides person data-centric links astatine the bottommost of this recap.

• MLP Orlando Week 4 Event location page
• League Standings and Team/Player Stats
• MLP 2026 Schedule on pinch Rosters for the 20 Premier League Teams

Premier League Group Stage Match Recap

Day 1 Observations

• Brooklyn and Phoenix kicked disconnected the weekend, and Brooklyn is continuing their "load management" strategy. Rohrabacher is not playing astatine each connected Friday, and Newman is only playing men’s doubles. Nonetheless, their skipper Alshon led the measurement pinch 2 ascendant doubles wins to lead Brooklyn to a 3-1 opener.
• We sewage our first look astatine LA’s caller lineup pinch Garnett; Freeman will proceed pinch Ben successful Men’s, but Connor replaces Freeman successful Mixed pinch Parenteau. Will this beryllium the crippled changer? In their first test, they passed pinch flying colors, arsenic Garnett/Parenteau won 11-1 connected the measurement to a 4-0 expanse complete Chicago.
• We besides sewage our first look astatine really NJ is deploying their recently acquired players: Staksrud replaces Khlif successful Men's Doubles, and replaces Howells successful Mixed pinch Jorja Johnson. Interesting. Howells and Fed struggled successful their first crippled together, getting stretched to 11-8 by Carolina's DJ Young/Wyatt Stone, but NJ different dominated the bottommost dwelling Hogs for the sweep.
• Chicago’s Hendershot and Wei shocked Palm Beach’s Pisnik & Sewing, who were 22-4 together entering this event, to group the tone. Wei and Goins teamed up to triumph Mixed-2 to nonstop the lucifer to a DB, wherever they had lucifer constituent connected their paddles earlier falling 22-20. This was 1 that sewage distant from Chicago, and could person astir sewn up a playoff spot. More play was to travel pinch Chicago.

Day 2 Observations

• STL kicked disconnected Friday’s action pinch a "we’re not messing around" beat-down of Phoenix, giving up 11 full points successful 4 games and a 4-0 sweep
• Good lord, LA came to play coming against Palm Beach. CP and Jade destroyed Sewing & Pisnik 11-3, past Ben/Max put an 11-1 beatdown connected Tyson & Dekel. A straightforward mixed-1 triumph for Ben & Jade sealed the triumph earlier losing the meaningless final.
• You cognize who other came to play this weekend? Las Vegas, successful jeopardy of missing retired connected a playoff spot. They took it to Brooklyn and had aggregate lucifer points successful crippled 4 earlier Riley Newman’s defense forced a DB. There however, LV’s superior DB lineup jumped retired to a large early lead and made it stick, getting the immense upset complete Brooklyn and virtually guaranteeing themselves a 2nd spot group showing and playoff pickleball
• In the marquee matchup of the group and 1 of the astir anticipated of the weekend, 2 title contenders successful St. Louis and Brooklyn met for the first clip this season. They were announced WWE style to the court, wherever Brooklyn’s still not 100% lineup was instantly put to the trial pinch chair subordinate Hannah Blatt marching retired to spell against the ascendant Bright/Fahey squad (record entering this match: 25-3). It didn’t spell well, pinch Blatt & Jackie losing 11-4. Luckily the Brooklyn men were location to prime up the pieces, blasting the top-ranked STL squad 11-4 to moreover the match. Rohrabacher showed backmost up pinch Alshon successful Mixed-1 and put a uncommon nonaccomplishment connected Bright & Hayden, meaning STL had to triumph to survive. Win they did; successful Mixed-2 Gabe & Kate blanked Riley & Jackie 11-0 to unit the DB. The singles specialists came retired astatine this point, mostly cancelling each different retired arsenic the DB went backmost and distant to astir 13-13. The quality shaper was Bright successful her 2nd move going 4-0 against Kawamoto to springiness STL an unassailable lead. They triumph 21-15 to fundamentally clinch the group and unafraid a spot successful the large arena last Sunday.

Day 3 Observations

• Miami kicked disconnected Saturday pinch a important triumph complete Las Vegas for its playoff hopes. Miami dominated some mixed matches to triumph 3-1 and springiness itself a coagulated changeable astatine making it to 12th place. It would not be, arsenic we’ll soon see.
• LA was not troubled against Ben Johns’ erstwhile squad Carolina now definite to decorativeness dormant past this season.
• In possibly the lucifer of the season, California and Chicago squared disconnected successful what was fundamentally a winner-take-all lucifer for the playoffs. Many predicted this business erstwhile projecting this event, and it came to pass. California’s revamped gender teams cruised to triumph to return a 2-0 lead and person Chicago federation worried, but immoderate spirited play from Chicago led to a ascendant triumph successful Mixed-1, past a coagulated showing from John Lucian Goins and Jamie Wei to triumph Mixed-2 to unit the DreamBreaker. In the DB, Chicago looked to beryllium good successful power pinch 2 4-0 turns, including a gut-punch 4-0 Weil complete Hendershot to springiness California an 18-14 lead. It wasn’t complete though, pinch JLG making a mates of circus shots against Tellez to get the crippled to 17-19, past Navratil (who had gotten spanked 4-0 earlier against Frazier) had a 3-1 tally to necktie the crippled astatine 20-20. The adjacent move of ladies went 2-2, past amazingly 13-yr aged Elsie Hendershot, who had gotten outclassed 4-0 earlier, put successful a 3-1 move against Zoey Weil to clinch the lucifer 25-23. One of the champion matches successful MLP history
• The large showdown for the Group title was yet here, betwixt the 2 teams that made the biggest Trade deadline moves successful New Jersey and Los Angeles. NJ went pinch Fed/Howells successful doubles but they couldn't do thing pinch a spirited Ben Johns and the teams divided gender. Heading into Mixed, the 2 teams' caller acquisitions met up successful Mixed-2 and Staksrud sewage the amended of Garnett, arsenic NJ swept mixed to declare the group and setup a title-winning lucifer connected Sunday pinch STL.

Group Stage Results

At the extremity of the group stages, present were the standings, which thrust the last day’s competition.

• Group A: STL, Brooklyn, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix
• Group B: NJ, LA, PB, Chicago, California, Carolina

Three teams vanished 3-2 successful Group A: Brooklyn, Vegas, and Miami. It came down to Game Differentials, and pinch the worst GD, Miami drops from a imaginable 2nd spot decorativeness to a distant 4th, sinking their playoff hopes.

Event Standings Results

Here’s a reappraisal of the last matches.

• Event 1st Place match: St. Louis versus New Jersey, for each the marbles. This is the lucifer we were each hoping for, rescheduled to beryllium connected nationalist broadcast FS1. In women’s, Fahey/Bright couldn't repetition their isolation strategy from a fewer weeks backmost and mislaid easy 11-5 to ALW & Jorja, but the Tardio/Patriquin squad came roaring backmost to necktie it. That put it each connected Mixed-1, which turned into a fantastic, backmost and for the lucifer that highlighted the champion that MLP has to offer. After jumping retired to a immense 7-0 lead, STL gave it each backmost pinch 10 unanswered points. They saved aggregate lucifer points, tied up the game, past the 2 pairs went backmost and distant for different 10 minutes earlier NJ won 15-13. The tide had turned; Mixed-2 was an 11-2 blowout and New Jersey takes the arena title and the Regular Season title complete their biggest rivals.
• Event 3rd Place match: With apparently thing to play for (LA had secured 3rd spot irrespective of the consequence of this match), LA sat some Johns and Parenteau for the 3rd spot lucifer against Brooklyn. Not to beryllium outdone, Brooklyn sat each 4 of their starters, pulling successful 2 on-site subs to spell pinch their chair to play this lucifer and commencement pinch constituent penalties. LA won 3-2, but the convention surely has to beryllium concerned astir this behaviour erstwhile they person paying customers who whitethorn person wanted to see, successful particular, Ben Johns play connected Sunday.
• Event 5th Place match: Palm Beach made accelerated activity of Las Vegas 3-0 to unafraid the jump complete Texas and a 7th spot regular play finish. Las Vegas was assured capable points to suffice for the playoffs triumph aliases lose, truthful the lucifer vanished quickly arsenic 1 would expect.
• Event 7th Place match: In a move of events from yesterday, Chicago jumped retired to a 2-0 lead, past mislaid some Mixed matches to spell to the tiebreaker. Another day, different ascendant DreamBreaker capacity from JLG, who went 10-2 complete Delgado to powerfulness Chicago to a DB triumph and to unafraid a playoff spot. Had Miami won this, California could person qualified alternatively of Chicago still, truthful this still had awesome playoff implications.
• 9th & 10th spot goes to Orlando and California, who gain 1 constituent a piece. 11th and 12th spot goes to Phoenix and Carolina, who vanished past successful their groups pinch 6 teams. They person 0 arena opinionated points, and decorativeness 19th and 20th successful the convention for the season. They some ended up going 2-21 this year.

2026 Final Regular Season Standings

Here’s the last Regular Season Standings. Teams successful Yellow were progressive successful Orlando, and ranks successful Yellow bespeak important standings changes.

• With their win, NJ breaks the necktie it held pinch STL for the No. 1 seed successful the playoffs. LA held service to enactment successful 3rd spot supra Columbus.
• Palm Beach did capable to support 7th place. Despite being idle, the events pushed Atlanta up 1 spot; they decorativeness successful 9th place.
• Las Vegas moved from 13th to 11th to unafraid playoff pickleball.
• The large disappointment connected the play was California, who entered the arena successful 9th spot but who were pushed down to 13th, conscionable retired of playoff positioning, arsenic Chicago did conscionable capable to support its 12th spot.
• To nary surprise, Orlando’s gutted lineup couldn’t muster capable to get itself into moreover the 7th spot match, which could person put them successful position to possibly situation for 12th spot arsenic well, and their play is finished.

Player Stats Analysis for the Weekend

Here’s a speedy look astatine the players who played champion (and worst) this weekend.

• To nary surprise, recently crowned MVP Anna Leigh Waters went 12-0 connected the weekend, but it was her doubles partner Jorja Johnson who led the points percent astatine 72%. That’s why NJ is reliable to beat.
• Ben Johns put successful a bully weekend, going 9-1 and winning 68% of his points arsenic he really lit it up pinch partner Freeman.
• Casey Diamond had a coagulated weekend: 5-1 and 62% points won. Not bad for a waiver claim.
• Carolina won conscionable 3 games this weekend, and Wyatt Stone was connected the tribunal for each of them. Most of the remainder of Carolina’s lineup went 0-fer.

What did we study this weekend?

What were our apical 3 Takeaways from the title this weekend?

1. The Chicago-California lucifer was the champion lucifer I’ve ever seen, and each owed in installments to a 13-yr aged Hendershot who maintained her composure successful a measurement that nary young teen should ever person to, successful bid to unafraid that triumph for her team. I afloat expected her to get swept and suffer the lucifer for the Slice, and past illness successful tears connected the sideline; alternatively she showed maturity and poise good supra her property to enactment successful the lucifer and win. Just an astonishing showing.
2. The Sunday mixed-1 lucifer connected FS1 betwixt NJ-STL was astir apt the champion imaginable merchandise pro pickleball could person EVER put onto a nationalist broadcast. It was truthful overmuch amended than yet different 1v2 PPA dink-fest, and erstwhile again highlights what makes MLP specified a awesome product. Emotion connected each point, item reel shots, full unit connected each players, real-time strategies and strategy unfolding, and astonishing play from each competitors. You can’t inquire for thing else.
3. Every athletics finds itself successful situations wherever location are “dead rubbers" astatine the extremity of a competition, wherever triumph aliases suffer the results don’t alteration the standings aliases playoff advancers. But a squad sitting its full squad connected a Sunday is simply a really bad look.

Media Pick’ Em Contest Update

We person a slew of influencers and members of the accepted pickleball media participating successful a season-long pick’em contest. Here’s the link to way the competition online, and I’ll beryllium tweeting retired the prime matrix and updates, truthful follow maine connected Twitter if interested.

MLP Media Pick’em Competition Weekly Summary: The Dink’s Thomas Shields ties for the Week 9 triumph and takes the Regular Season title.

Next up connected the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, we’ll soon get the lucifer selections and the teams classed 5th-12th will alert retired to Dallas for adjacent weekend’s first information of the playoffs.

August is simply a very engaged period for non MLP events, pinch a slew of APP and International events to cover. Stay tuned this period for events from Chicago, India, Vietnam, Australia, Detroit, and of people the full tally of the MLP playoffs.

MLP-specific stats mentioned herein travel from PickleKey.com, which has done a awesome occupation collecting elaborate MLP subordinate information for the convention and went done an off-season re-design that includes a slew of caller ways to portion and dice the data.

My workfellow Erik Tice astatine the Dink (who does double work arsenic the GM for the California Black Bears) is backmost to maintaining his Public MLP Data sheet, which has each sorts of awesome data.

Any Tour-level lucifer stats quoted successful this article are courtesy of PickleWave. Visit picklewave.com for the premier root of Pro Pickleball data, including lucifer replays, highlights, stats, and discussion. PickleWave has much than 31,000 matches successful its database crossed each the pro tours.