New Jersey Finishes Off The 2026 Major League Pickleball Season With Its First League Title

Federico Staksrud takes location the Finals MVP pinch a magical capacity successful NYC.

MLP

Major League Pickleball (MLP)’s scintillating 2026 play came to its conclusion this past play pinch the sport’s apical teams connected show and a No. 1 vs No. 2 last that was arsenic breathtaking of a matchup arsenic we’ve ever seen successful the league’s history.

At the extremity of Sunday’s play, the New Jersey 5’s captured their first ever season-ending MLP title pinch a 2 crippled expanse of St. Louis, besides giving Anna Leigh Waters her first ever title.

Premier Title Winning history:

• 2026: New Jersey 5’s (Staksrud, Khlif, Howells, Waters, Johnson, Rane)
• 2025: Columbus Sliders (Daescu, Klinger, Todd, Jansen)
• 2024: Dallas Flash (JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Ge, Black)
• 2023 S2: Chicago Slice (Johns, Lange, Irvine, Schneemann)
• 2023 S1: LA Mad Drops (Arnold, Wilson, Parenteau, Tereschenko)
• 2022: Team BLQK (Navratil, Hewett, Todd, Tereschenko)
• 2021: Team BLQK (Johns, Nunnery, Koop, Tereschenko)

(Note: location was conscionable 1 arena successful 2021, and successful 2022 BLQK won 2 of the 3 events held to beryllium declared the “winners” of that season).

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

Semi-Finals Playoff Recaps

Matchup No. 1: No. 1 New Jersey 5’s vs No. 5 Brooklyn Pickleball Team

• Playoffs Semis Match 1: NJ and ALW came retired firing, blowing distant Brooklyn's women 11-2 to unfastened the match. NJ continued to predominate successful Mens, jumping retired to a 7-0 lead. Brooklyn came each the measurement backmost arsenic the crowd exploded. NJ dug in, crushed retired immoderate awesome defense to extremity Brooklyn successful their tracks, past ran disconnected the past 3 points to get the 11-8 triumph and put NJ up 2-0. Interestingly, ALW/Khlif were not group for Mixed-1, but it didn't matter, arsenic Staksrud/Johnson cruised to the triumph successful mixed 11-6 to expanse Brooklyn successful the opener.
• Playoffs Semis Match 2: With their backs against the wall, Brooklyn's ladies came retired … flat, losing to the very motivated ALW/Jorja squad 11-1. Alshon & Newman held patient but mislaid to Howells & Fed successful a adjacent 1 that ended connected a arguable constituent punishment astatine the end, really putting Brooklyn's backmost against the walls. In mixed-1, NJ flipped the bid and put ALW/Khlif first, and Rachel/Alshon were conscionable excessively correction prone to return advantage of the matchups, losing 11-4 for a sweep.

Matchup No. 2: No. 2 St. Louis Shock vs No. 6 Dallas Flash

• Match 1: Playoffs Semis Match 1: STL and Dallas kicked disconnected the play pinch the first lucifer conscionable aft noon connected Friday. STL's women dominated early and often, taking advantage of the Dallas errors and cruising to an 11-1 opener. Dallas instantly returned the favor, pinch Johnson going connected a tear to hit the STL Men 11-5 to moreover things up. The halfway tribunal is almost perfectly aligned eastbound to west, meaning there's a existent "sun court" to woody with; it wasn't uncommon to spot teams quickly spell down erstwhile looking into the sun during play. successful Mixed-1, STL cruised to a 6-0 lead, but a bid of errors from Dallas led to an easy triumph for STL 11-2 arsenic Bright goes 22-3 for the day. Needing a triumph successful Mixed-2, Townsend and Ge played well, but not good capable and mislaid 11-6 to springiness StL a 1-0 lead.
• Playoffs Semis Match 2: STL's Anna Bright picked correct up wherever she near off, destroying Dallas' ladies 11-2 to unfastened lucifer 2 and spell for the semifinals triumph earlier the sun moreover sets connected Friday successful NYC. JW and Ge took retired Patriquin and Tardio for the 2nd clip connected the time to moreover up the match, sending things to Mixed erstwhile again. In Mixed1, JW and Brooke tightened it up but couldn't flooded Bright * Hayden, losing 11-9 to put the play connected the statement for Mixed-2 and their mid-season waste and acquisition acquisition Townsend. Dallas did their best, but they couldn't apical Fahey & Tardio, losing 11-8 and the match.

Finals Playoff Recaps

Matchup No. 1: No. 1 New Jersey 5’s vs No. 2 St. Louis Shock

• Playoff Finals Match 1: STL came retired firing, jumping to a 6-1 lead complete the 33-1 ALW/Jorja team, who started looking into the sun. After switching sides, STL continued their dominance, taking advantage of netted thrust errors from Jorja and pressing-errors from ALW arsenic she tried to get involved, and STL shocked NJ 11-2 to open. Just arsenic quickly arsenic STL jumped complete NJ successful women’s, did the NJ men jump up of STL 4-1 ... past the talk started. Hayden saying that Howells "was their guy" aft an error, past Staksrud pointing astatine a spot int he Kitchen aft Hayden missed a dink, telling his regular PPA doubles partner "that’s wherever im’ going;" At 2-5 down, STL gets 2 stops staring into the sun, and frankincense began the travel back. Patriquin and Tardio, who had yet to triumph together this weekend, someway turned the tied and hit the NJ men to springiness STL a shocking 2-0 lead and what was surely a lucifer 1 triumph . NJ had different things to say: ALW and Khlif, aft struggling truthful severely successful the Qtf information against Palm beach, cruised to an 11-4 win, past Fed & Jorja took attraction of business 11-8 to nonstop america to the first DreamBreaker of the weekend. In the DB, STL was firmly successful power for overmuch of it, arsenic Fahey shocked ALW pinch a 3-1 move and Tardio (in for the DB for the first clip this play for STL) dominated his counterpart Howells to thief springiness STL an 18-15 lead astatine 1 point. Then Fed took over, winning 3 consecutive against Hunter to moreover it. After a 2-2 move tied the lucifer dormant quadrate astatine 20-20 NJ handed the shot to ALW ... and she delivered, winning 2 coagulated points against the 2nd champion singles subordinate successful the onshore successful Fahey to unafraid the lucifer for NJ 22-20. They snatched a triumph from the jaws of conclusion and had nary business winning today.
• Playoff Finals Match 2: In a complete reversal from yesterday’s results, coming it was New Jersey that swept gender doubles, pinch some teams winning adjacent ones (11-9 and 12-10) to put St. Louis connected their backmost heels. The Shock answered, pinch Bright & Patriquin dominating ALW & Khlif 11-6 successful Mixed-1 and past Fahey & Tardio holding connected for an 11-9 triumph to nonstop america to different DreamBreaker. Unfortunately for the fans who wanted much ... New Jersey dominated the DreamBreaker from the get-go. Both Howells and Waters turned successful 3-1 turns to start, but it was Staksrud blanking Hunter Johnson 4-0 that put the lucifer retired of reach. At that constituent NJ had a 14-6 lead and it was conscionable a matter of time. ALW sewage different 3-1 turn, and it was over. 21-9 hit down for the title. Staksrud is deservedly named the Finals MVP.

Player Stats Analysis for the Weekend

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

• In a testament to really intimately matched NJ and STL are, nary play went undefeated this weekend, not moreover the apical players for the apical teams. Bright & Fahey, acknowledgment to their dominating performances successful the semis, lead the play successful points percent astatine 64%.
• Patriquin and Tardio each went conscionable 4-4 for the play and struggled arsenic a Men’s brace aft going 30-4 together successful the regular season. It didn’t really facet into their loss, but was still surprising.
• Brooklyn’s ladies sewage waxed this weekend: Rohrabacher scored conscionable 7 points successful 3 games, and Jackie Kawamoto didn’t fare overmuch better.

What did we study this weekend?

What were our apical Takeaways from the title this weekend?

1. NYC and this venue make for specified an astonishing host. MLP has to fig retired really to get much seating and much fans because the tickets were scarce and expensive.
2. New Jersey stayed patient pinch their lineup choices and did not get tempted to beryllium Noe Khlif aft his struggles successful the quarters. He and ALW still look a loss, but he played importantly amended this weekend.
3. I spot tons of snippy comments successful societal media astir really STL paid truthful overmuch money for Bright and still lost, without the corresponding acknowledgement that New Jersey wrote a beautiful monolithic cheque to get Staksrud for fundamentally 2 events and the playoffs. Nonetheless, it was money good spent, arsenic NJ doesn’t triumph this arena without Staksrud’s power and composure successful the finals.
4. MLP was astonishing this year. Enough said.

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 @NmlPickleball guys triumph the weekend, getting each prime correct until the finals, and moreover past they still had the correct squad (but the incorrect number of games). @Johnny5pointOH was the SOLE pundit to correctly foretell the finals victor and lucifer people of NJ 2-0.

Next up connected the Pickleball Calendar? According to my Master Pickleball Schedule, we person completed the 2026 MLP Regular Season. MLP will big the 2026 Nations Cup successful Dallas up of 2026 Worlds, but that arena seems to beryllium much astir world squad play versus MLP squad play. With 2027’s title rules successful flux and a slew of apical players ending their 3-year contracts pinch MLP teams, we’ve reached the extremity of an era for sure, and adjacent year’s teams whitethorn look drastically different from what we conscionable witnessed. We apt don’t get immoderate MLP transaction aliases title updates for months.

In the meantime, adjacent week kicks disconnected the 2026-27 PPA slate, which I’ll beryllium previewing complete the adjacent mates of days successful this space.

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.