MLP Las Vegas Tournament Preview | Erik Tice

MLP Las Vegas is taking over the Darling Tennis Center on Monday, October 14th, directly following the PPA Las Vegas Rate Championships. Over three action-packed days, 30 matches will be played, shaping the MLP playoff picture.

Ten Premier Level teams and four Challenger Level teams will compete in Vegas. Below are the teams ending their regular season in Vegas. If a team is not listed, they will close out their season in MLP Miami from October 24-27.

Premier Level Teams Competing in Vegas

• Columbus Sliders
• Dallas Flash
• St. Louis Shock
• Texas Ranchers
• Utah Black Diamonds

Challenger Level Teams Competing in Vegas

• Bay Area Breakers
• California Black Bears
• Las Vegas Night Owls
• SoCal Hard Eights

Number of Matches Each Team Will Play

How to Watch MLP Las Vegas

All matches will be streamed on either PickleballTV or the MLP YouTube channel.

The top seven matches to watch this weekend are highlighted in yellow. These key matchups involve teams that are almost guaranteed to make the playoffs but are fighting for those coveted top two seeds.

Weather Outlook

It looks like Mother Nature will be kind to MLP in Vegas.

Player Substitutions

• Roscoe Bellamy is substituting for the Columbus Sliders, replacing the injured Jay Devilliers.
• Jaume Martinez Vich is on loan to the LA Mad Drops from the Atlanta Bouncers for cash considerations. He is replacing Thomas Wilson, who remains on IR.

Team-by-Team Analysis and Preview

Premier Level Teams (Reverse Order of Standings)

Utah Black Diamonds

• Current Roster: Connor Garnett, Tyler Loong, Alix Truong, Genie Bouchard
• Place in Table: 12th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 0%
• Opponents in Vegas: St. Louis, Orlando, LA, Carolina, AZ

Utah's goal in Vegas? Showcase Genie Bouchard’s growth this year and play spoiler to other teams. All five of their opponents will be hoping for three points, but Utah can definitely take points off a few of them. Every time they do, it will feel like a loss for the other teams.

Prediction: Utah earns four points from their five matches in Vegas.

Columbus Sliders

• Current Roster: Riley Newman, Parris Todd, Callie Jo Smith, Roscoe Bellamy
• Place in Table: 12th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 0%
• Opponents in Vegas: Dallas, Orlando, NJ, Texas, LA

While Columbus isn’t mathematically eliminated, their playoff chances are slim. They made two trades at the deadline, acquiring Smith and Todd. Much like Utah, they’re playing the spoiler role. It'll be interesting to see how well Callie and Parris gel. Riley’s been in great form lately, and I could see them stealing a few points.

Prediction: Columbus earns five points from their five matches.

AZ Drive

• Current Roster: Andrei Daescu, Dylan Frazier, Lacy Schneemann, Jessie Irvine
• Place in Table: 10th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: <1%
• Opponents in Vegas: LA, Dallas, Carolina, Utah, St. Louis

To have any chance at the playoffs, AZ needs to earn at least 2.5 points per match. That’s a tall order, considering the first-place team averages 2.21 points per match. With Jessie Irvine replacing Kaitlyn, they should improve in mixed doubles. While AZ isn't completely out of it, the players will be fighting to prove their worth for next season.

Prediction: AZ earns six points from their five matches, but still gets eliminated from playoff contention.

Orlando Squeeze

• Current Roster: Federico Staksrud, Tyson McGuffin, Viv David, Meghan Dizon

Orlando needs a massive performance in Vegas to stay in the playoff hunt. It’s likely Meghan will play on the left with Viv David. Tyson and Fed need to win their matches, while one of the mixed teams needs to win consistently. They’ll need at least ten points from Vegas to stay alive for MLP Miami.

• Place in Table: 9th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 10%
• Opponents in Vegas: Utah, Columbus, NJ, LA, Dallas

Prediction: Orlando earns eight points from their five matches, essentially eliminating them from the playoffs.

LA Mad Drops

• Current Roster: Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, Hunter Johnson, Jaume Martinez Vich
• Place in Table: 8th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: <10%
• Opponents in Vegas: AZ, Texas, Utah, Orlando, Columb

LA brought in Jaume Martinez Vich from Atlanta for Vegas, and they remain a dangerous Dreambreaker team. Despite one of the easier schedules, playing with a Challenger Level sub in Jaume makes this a wildcard team. This could either go really well or poorly for LA.

Prediction: LA earns six points, dropping them out of playoff contention.

Carolina Pickleball Club

• Current Roster: Ben Johns, Brooke Buckner, Collin Johns, Kaitlyn Christian
• Place in Table: 7th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 20%
• Opponents in Vegas: NJ, St. Louis, AZ, Utah

Carolina has seven matches left, four of which are in Vegas. With their recent addition of Kaitlyn Christian, they are a formidable Dreambreaker team. They’ll need to win a few crucial matches on Monday and go all-in on Tuesday to keep playoff hopes alive.

Prediction: Carolina earns seven points, staying in the playoff hunt.

Texas Ranchers

• Current Roster: Christian Alshon, Etta Wright, Tina Pisnik, Quang Duong
• Place in Table: 4th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 95%
• Opponents in Vegas: LA, NJ, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus

Texas is sitting in fourth place, and while they're almost guaranteed a playoff spot, they have their eyes set on securing a top-two finish. The Ranchers have a challenging stretch of matches against NJ, St. Louis, and Dallas. Their goal will be to pick up at least five points from these matchups, while victories over LA and Columbus are expected.

Prediction: Texas earns eight points from their five matches, bringing their total to 43 points.

Dallas Flash

• Current Roster: JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Hurricane Tyra Black, Augie Ge
• Place in Table: 3rd
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 100%
• Opponents in Vegas: Columbus, AZ, Texas, St. Louis, Orlando

Dallas is a solid team, and if the Johnson siblings are playing at their peak, they’ll rack up plenty of points in Vegas. Their most critical matches will be against Texas and St. Louis. If they can earn at least three points from those matchups, it will be a strong result for the Flash.

Prediction: Dallas earns ten points from their five matches.

St. Louis Shock

• Current Roster: Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Kate Fahey
• Place in Table: 2nd
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 100%
• Opponents in Vegas: Utah, Carolina, Texas, Dallas, AZ

St. Louis is riding a wave of momentum right now. Gabe has won both mixed and men’s doubles golds recently, Hayden has won two men’s doubles golds, Anna has secured women’s doubles gold, and Fahey is performing impressively in singles. With Gabe and Kate improving in mixed doubles, I’m predicting that St. Louis takes over first place after Vegas.

Prediction: St. Louis earns 12 points from their five matches in Vegas, taking over first place in points per match.

New Jersey 5s

• Current Roster: Anna Leigh Waters, Zane Navratil, Mari Humberg, Will Howells
• Place in Table: 1st
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 100%
• Opponents in Vegas: Carolina, Texas, Orlando, Columbus

The 5s are fresh off a stellar performance at MLP NYC, and they're firing on all cylinders. They should secure two wins on Tuesday, but the Monday matchups will be pivotal. The main question is which Carolina team will show up. I expect the 5s to slightly slow down in Vegas and drop to second place, setting the stage for MLP Miami to determine the final top-two spots.

Prediction: The 5s take seven points from their four matches.

Challenger Level (In reverse order of standings)

California Black Bears

• Current Roster: Amanda Hendry, Lina Padegimaite, Brandon French, Chris Haworth
• Place in Table: 12th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 0%
• Opponents in Vegas: Las Vegas, Bay Area, SoCal

Haworth looks like a solid pickup. I'm curious to see what the mixed pairings will be for this team. They face three tough opponents, all of whom are either fighting for first place or a playoff spot.

Prediction: California steals two points from their three matches.

Las Vegas Night Owls

• Current Roster: Zoey Wang, Judit Castillo, Rafa Hewett, Blaine Hovenier
• Place in Table: 7th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 45%
• Opponents in Vegas: California, Bay Area, SoCal

The Night Owls are on the outside looking in. They absolutely need a win against California and must upset either Bay Area or SoCal. With only three matches left in the season, management will be eager to get promoted. Hewett and Hovenier bring top-notch energy, but their results have been inconsistent. Las Vegas needs these two to step up.

Prediction: Las Vegas takes four points from their three matches.

Bay Area Breakers

• Current Roster: Collin Shick, Allyce Jones, Jill Braverman, Martin Emmrich
• Place in Table: 5th
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 80%
• Opponents in Vegas: California, Las Vegas, SoCal

The Breakers are on a roll, and their 12:30 match against SoCal on Wednesday will be critical. Bay Area will want to secure at least two points from each of their matches. Martin has been a calming presence for the team, but while they’re a good Dreambreaker team, they’re not great. They should make the playoffs, but they're fighting for a third or fourth seed to choose their first-round opponent.

Prediction: Bay Area earns six points from their three matches.

SoCal Hard Eights

• Current Roster: Irina Tereschenko, Erik Lange, Max Manthou, Yana Newell
• Place in Table: 2nd
• Tice’s Odds for Making Playoffs: 100%
• Opponents in Vegas: California, Las Vegas, Bay Area

The SoCal Hard Eights won’t leave anything to chance—they’ll be fully locked in for all three matches. If they secure six points, they’ll end the season with 44 points, forcing Chicago to average more than two points per match in MLP Miami for a top-two finish. Yana has been a standout for SoCal, bringing both a steadying presence and plenty of firepower. Max is a serious threat in Dreambreakers, making SoCal a dangerous team.

Prediction: SoCal earns six points from their three matches.