Dallas Flash Remain Undefeated - Edward Jones MLP Phoenix Recap

In the second of three back-to-back-to-back Major League Pickleball (MLP) events, the Dallas Flash reigned supreme. The Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Arizona, hosted the Edward Jones MLP Phoenix event that took place Thursday, May 29, through Sunday, June 1.

A total of seven Premier Level teams participated in the MLP Phoenix event, with each team playing every other team once. Each team played six matches, in a round-robin style event, with a total of 21 matches taking place over the four days.

Team Results from the Weekend

Team Standings Breakdown from MLP Phoenix

Player Results from the Weekend

Top Ten Players Breakdown from MLP Phoenix

Overall Team Standings After MLP Phoenix

Overall Team Standings - Top 10 Make Playoffs

Top Storylines

The Dallas Flash Earn all 18 Points Possible

Led by Jorja Johnson, the Dallas Flash have solidified themselves in the 2nd seed, for now. There are two juggernauts atop the standings in the 2025 MLP Season - The Dallas Flash and the St. Louis Shock.

The Flash beat all six of their opponents in regulation, earning 18 standings points. They are now at 14 matches played, with 40 points, for a 2.86 points per match (ppm) average. The crazy part of this stat is that St. Louis is still just barely ahead of them, with 8 matches played, earning 23 points, and averaging 2.88 ppm.

The Flash have dropped two points in total this year, one to St. Louis, and one to the New Jersey 5s (both are top three).

In Phoenix, the biggest challenge came on the last day, Sunday. I was actually able to commentate the match between the Dallas Flash and the LA Mad Drops, with Dave Fleming. 

The Mad Drops women beat Jorja and Tyra for the first time all season, 11-3. This was a very uncharacteristic scoreline, but the Flash men, JW and Augie, had the ladies’ backs. They beat Quang Duong and Hunter Johnson, 12-10, and then it was smooth sailing in mixed, winning 11-3, 11-4.

What I like about the Flash is that they are such a complete team. The men have had some uncharacteristic losses over the past two events, going 1-3 in MLP Austin, and losing to the Phoenix Flames men in MLP Phoenix. However, the women have been steady as a rock. Additionally, Augie and Tyra are had a 7-3 record in mixed in the two most recent events. It’s like if one game is lost, they just don’t care - they know they will win the other three.

Quang Duong was Suspended and Fined, but the LA Mad Drops Persevered

Essentially, Quang Duong was suspended four MLP matches in MLP Phoenix, suspended for the PPA Select Medical Orange County Cup in June, and fined $50,000. This punishment was handed down by UPA for a breach of contract, when Duong played in an unsanctioned tournament overseas. For all the details, check out our article below covering the incident.

So the night before play started, the LA Mad Drops had a decision to make: do we fly our third guy (Wes Burrows) out to Phoenix, or use on-site alternate, Spencer Smith. Ultimately, it was decided that the Mad Drops would use Smith.

For the four matches that Smith played in, LA started down 0-1 in any game he played in, including a Dreambreaker.

Despite playing with a sub, the Mad Drops were able to win eight points from their four matches with Smith, quite an impressive run. Overall, they finished with 11 points. While they didn't change spots in the standings (they are still in 8th), they widened the margin between themselves and the ninth place team from .26 to 0.56 points per match. They also pulled within 0.15 ppm of seventh place Columbus.

The Gap Between the Haves and the Have Nots is Widening

We've got a very clear distinction between the Top 8 and the Bottom 8 in Major League Pickleball in 2025 pic.twitter.com/pztlJp9szE

Matty Pickles posted a crazy graphic on X, that I had to share. The top eight teams are now 42-0 against the bottom eight teams. The top eight and bottom eight are clearly delineated after MLP Phoenix. Will we see a bottom eight team beat a top eight team all season?

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team played Extremely Well, but the Wins Came at a Huge Cost

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team went 5-1, only losing to the Dallas Flash, in MLP Phoenix. In fact, they beat all five opponents in regulation, picking up 15 of a possible 18 standings points.

This boost helped them jump all the way from 7th to 4th in the standings, leapfrogging Columbus, Orlando, and Texas. They are now sitting at 2.09 ppm, well into playoff contention. They will be fighting for a top seed for the remainder of the year.

So what is the ‘huge cost’? Near the end of the first mixed doubles game in their second to last match on the weekend, against the Utah Black Diamonds, Riley Newman injured his groin. He went for a Bert in front of Jackie Kawamoto, and upon landing, came up limping. 

He grimaced through the pain to get the win, but couldn’t go for Brooklyn in their last match. 

Rostered sub, Pat Smith, was available, and he played admirably, helping Brooklyn win all three points against the Phoenix Flames.

The Utah Black Diamonds made the Biggest Leap in the Standings

The Black Diamonds had only played three matches prior to MLP Phoenix, so we didn’t really know where they stood. After MLP Orlando, they were in 15th place, at 0.67 ppm, second from last. Utah earned nine points in their six matches this weekend, bumping them all the way up to 1.11 ppm. 

This is good for 9th place currently, just inside the playoff hunt. The Black Diamonds jumped up 6 standings spots in this one event, which is impressive. 

Connor Garnett and Tyler Loong carried the team, going 5-1 in men’s doubles, with Garnett and Allyce Jones going 3-3, helping them earn 1.5 ppm in the Phoenix event.

Are the Black Diamonds going to be title contenders the way they are currently constructed? Absolutely not. Could they give a 7 or 8 seed some problems in one match in the play-in match during the playoffs? Absolutely.

The Phoenix Flames Dropped Further out of Playoff Contention

Flames (0.33 ppm) all slipped further in the standings. 

The Flames only managed a Dreambreaker win over the Atlanta Bouncers. Otherwise, they were shut out. Although not mathematically eliminated, I am declaring the Phoenix Flames as my first team in 2025 to be eliminated from playoff contention. 

Right now, the Miami Pickleball Club is in the 10th and final spot in terms of points per match, at 1.07. I am using that number as the number of points needed to make the playoffs. Using this logic, a team will need to earn 27 points from their 25 matches by the end of the year. 

This means that although they are currently averaging 0.64 ppm in their first 14 matches, the Phoenix Flames would have to average 1.64 ppm in their last 11 matches, which I just don’t see happening.

Of note, I think the Flames have the best vibes of any team in the lower half of the field. Despite their results, the Flames can always be seen smiling, and having a good time, which is sometimes difficult.

The Bouncers and Hard Eights could not have looked so different, while both earning four points from six matches

The Bouncers (0.67 ppm) and Hard Eights (0.67 ppm), both earned the same amount of points in Phoenix. However, they look like totally different teams.

For the Hard Eights, Blaine Hovenier brings a TON of positive energy, and even if they are losing, the team stays positive and works hard together. This feels like a very good team environment, despite the mounting losses.

Hovenier even helped rally Jalina Ingram, the newest SoCal Hard Eight into a win over Tyra and Augie in their match against the Dallas Flash, while Jalina subbed for Irina the first night.

The Bouncers, on the other hand, looked in shambles for much of the MLP Phoenix event. In fact, they were pickled three times in Phoenix. DiMuzio ended up getting sick on Saturday and Sunday, so Rettger had to step in. The vibe from the entire team was terrible, with what seemed like minimal effort given from multiple players. I would be shocked if the Bouncers don’t make a roster move or two before their next event.