MLP Playoffs - Finals Preview

The first Major League Pickleball full season is about to come to a close in Orlando! The semi-finals and finals will take place starting Friday, November 22nd, and end on Sunday, November 24th.

There is a lot of information to review before we get into all the detailed action, so here we go!

Location, Location, Location

The USTA National Campus will host the last rounds of the playoffs. The iconic venue will host the semi-finals and finals of the 2024 Major League Pickleball season. Through sources, I have heard the PickleRoll surface will be used in these matches.

Weather Outlook

I am unsure how much better the weather outlook could be for the finals of the MLP 2024. The weather should be good, but not too hot, and there is no precipitation in sight!

The ONLY hiccup I foresee (and it’s a small one), is there could be winds as high as 14mph on Friday. Winds are predicted to be less than 10 mph on both Saturday and Sunday.

How to Watch the MLP Finals and Match Schedule

A few notes:

• All times noted are EASTERN
• All Premier Level matches are shown on PickleballTV and all Challenger Level matches will be streamed on the MLP YouTube channel
• Matches are best two out of three and Match #3 will only be played if necessary
• The 3rd place matches (Noon on Sunday) are just one match - no two out of three

A reminder about what is at stake

First, the four Challenger Level teams who are in the semi-finals, have earned a spot in the Premier Level for 2025. On top of that, they are competing for the following prize money (per team):

1. First Place - $30,000
2. Second Place - $20,000
3. Third Place - $10,000

The Premier Level teams are competing for the following prize money:

1. First Place - $80,000
2. Second Place - $40,000
3. Third Place - $20,000

Player Availability

Unfortunately, there are two player substitutions to note for the finals, both in Challenger Level:

• Jaume Martinez Vich (Atlanta Bouncers) is dealing with some personal issues and is unavailable for Orlando. 2024 MLP Super Sub, Anderson Scarpa, is filling in this weekend.
• Brendon Long (Chicago Slice) is dealing with a nagging lower body injury and is unable to play in Orlando. The Slice have picked up Wyatt Stone to play in his place.

Challenger Level

Matchup 1 - #4 Atlanta Bouncers v. #1 Chicago Slice

Rosters:

• Atlanta: Todd Fought, Susannah Barr, Emily Cederquist, and Anderson Scarpa
• Chicago: Jack Munro, Megan Fudge, Allison Harris, and Wyatt Stone

Regular Season Matchup: These two teams split the regular season matchup, 1-1. The most recent, and much more relevant, matchup took place in October, in MLP Miami. Only the subs were missing in that matchup. Chicago won both gender doubles games, and then Atlanta won both mixed doubles, forcing a Dreambreaker. Atlanta won 22-20 in the Dreambreaker.

Tice’s Takes

Both teams are coming into the weekend with a sub - not an ideal situation going into a playoff semi-final.

Women’s Doubles - Barr and Cederquist haven’t had a great run together on the Bouncers in gender doubles. They went 2-9 in the regular season, for a 18% win percentage. Fudge and Harris though, went 16-4 together, for an 80% win percentage. 

Advantage: Chicago Slice

Men’s Doubles - Munro and Wyatt Stone are going to be an interesting pairing. Fought and Scarpa might be even more interesting, because I am unsure who is going to play the left or right. If I had to guess, I would say Fought will play the left because I think Scarpa can outdink Munro cross court and they trust Fought's counter against Munro.

Advantage: Even

Mixed Doubles - Atlanta has been so good in mixed doubles this year, but that was with Jaume Martinez Vich. Chicago definitely has a top team and a second team. Fudge and Munro will need to win their mixed doubles matches for Chicago to win matches. I will be interested to see who they face off against.

Advantage: Even

Dreambreaker - These are two below average Dreambreaker teams and this will be a war of attrition if any of the matches makes it that far. I think the Atlanta men have the advantage and then the Chicago women have the advantage. I like Megan Fudge to come out on top if any of the Dreambreakers goes down to the wire.

Advantage: Even

Prediction 

I think the Slice is able to win this one in three matches. Atlanta is going to win one in regulation, but Chicago is going to win the final match in a Dreambreaker, on Megan Fudge’s paddle.

Matchup 2 - #3 Miami Pickleball Club v. #2 SoCal Hard Eights

Rosters:

• Miami: Milan Rane, Eric Oncins, Noe Khlif, and Bobbi Oshiro
• SoCal: Irina Tereschenko, Erik Lange, Max Manthou, and Yana Newell

SoCal hasn’t played in what feels like forever, and Miami has been very up and down the last month or so of play.

Regular Season Matchup: Like the other Challenger Level matchup, this one is split, 1-1. Miami beat SoCal in a Dreambreaker all the way back in the first event of the season, MLP Atalnta, where only four of the current eight rostered players were on the team. 

SoCal beat Miami in MLP Virginia Beach, 3-1, much more recently. More importantly, the teams were the same as they are now. SoCal won both gender doubles in dominant fashion and Erik and Yana cleaned up the regulation win in mixed doubles.

Tice’s Takes

Women’s Doubles - I think the SoCal women have a slight edge here with Yana Newell and the MLP GOAT, Irina Tereschenko. They are definitely more steady and consistent than Bobbie and Milly. However, I could easily see Bobbi and Milly stealing a game off SoCal, because their highs are so high.

Advantage: SoCal 

Men’s Doubles - In an eerily similar matchup, the SoCal men are more consistent and have a little bit better hands, in my opinion. Eric and Noe could very easily win a game, or even two. However, if these two teams played each other 10 ten times, I would expect SoCal to win seven of those ten times.

Advantage: SoCal

Mixed Doubles - Both teams are in a 1a and 1b mixed doubles situation. Purple Jesus has gotten MUCH better in mixed doubles since the start of the season. I think mixed doubles is a coin flip and a lot depends on the matchups. I would expect SoCal to send out Yana and Erik against Milan and Eric. 

Advantage: Even

Dreambreaker - Miami was 7-1 in Dreambreakers in the regular season, and SoCal was 4-3. Dreambreakers are a weird beast. Just because someone is good or bad at singles, does not necessarily make them a good Dreambreaker player. I think for SoCal to have a chance, Purple Jesus and Yana need to carry the team, while Lange and Irina look to just break even in their matchups.

Advantage: Miami

Prediction

The SoCal Hard Eights’ leadership is too much for Miami. I think, for the most part, all the SoCal Hard Eights players want to have the pressure on them to win. I don’t think that’s true for Miami - when the spotlight gets brightest, a couple of their players have shied away from the pressure.

SoCal wins in three, with Miami winning a Dreambreaker in the first match.

Challenger Level Finals

I do think the finals will come down to the 1 and 2 seeds - Chicago vs. SoCal. The last time these two played was in MLP Virginia Beach, where Chicago swept it, 4-0. 

I just don’t see a way for Chicago to win with Wyatt Stone in for Brendon Long. 

My prediction for the Challenger Level Finals is SoCal wins in regulation in two matches over the Chicago Slice.

Premier Level

Matchup 1 - #5 Texas Ranchers v. #1 New Jersey 5s

Rosters:

• Texas: Christian Alshon, Etta Wright, Tina Pisnik, and Quang Duong
• New Jersey: Anna Leigh Waters, Zane Navratil, Mari Humberg, Will Howells

Regular Season Matchups: The 5s are 2-0 against the Ranchers this season. The last time they played, New Jersey won in regulation, 3-1. That was in MLP Las Vegas, where Christian Alshon was absent and had Anderson Scarpa filling in for him. 

Tice’s Takes

Women’s Doubles - Anna Leigh Waters. Need I say more? Anna Leigh and Mari Humberg have only lost one regular season game together. Yes, Etta and Tina are a good team, but they went 14-8 together. Additionally, in MLP Las Vegas, Tina and Etta only went 1-3, and Etta had to pull out the last day due to heat issues, so they are on the downward trend.

Advantage: New Jersey

Men’s Doubles - Let’s call a spade a spade. Will and Zane were NOT good at the beginning of the season together. In their first two events, they went a combined 2-7. In their last two events, they went 6-3. They are much better than they were in the beginning of the season. Zane and Will ended up the entire regular season going 12-11, for a 52% winning percentage.

Quang and Christian haven’t even played that much together. In fact, they have only played nine times together and won five, for a 55.5% winning percentage.

Advantage: Even

Mixed Doubles - This is a very interesting mixed matchup. I think as long as New Jersey win at least one of the gender doubles games, they will send out Anna Leigh and Will against Quang and Tina. Quang and Tina are 11-8 together, so they are no slouches. The Ranchers lineup of Alshon and Etta is very dangerous, and Zane and Mari will probably be sent out as the sacrificial lamb if New Jersey is ahead or tied.

Advantage: Even

Dreambreaker - The New Jersey 5s were made for Dreambreakers. Every single player on the squad had a better than 50% winning percentage in Dreambreakers in the regular season. Anna Leigh won 70% of her points, nearly averaging a 3-1 win every single time. The Ranchers men are good, but the women are going to lose a LOT of points if any of the matches goes to a Dreambreaker.

Advantage: New Jersey

Prediction

I just don’t see a realistic, viable way for Texas to win two out of three matches against New Jersey. The only way that happens is if both Quang and Christian play super hot, and Anna Leigh loses multiple games.

New Jersey takes this one in two matches - one in regulation and the other in a Dreambreaker and Will Howells finishes off the Ranchers in the Dreambreaker.

Matchup 2 - #3 Dallas Flash v. #2 St. Louis Shock

Rosters:

• Dallas: JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Hurricane Tyra Black, Augie Ge
• St. Louis: Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Kate Fahey

The Flash lost a game to the NY Hustlers in the first round, but then bounced back to win easily in match #2 and #3. The St. Louis Shock have played extremely well down the stretch, but haven’t played in MLP since Las Vegas. Each individual though, has won at least one gold medal in the past two weeks on the PPA Tour.

Tice’s Takes

Women’s Doubles - Anna Bright and Kate Fahey went 19-4 in the regular season, while Jorja and Tyra went 14-9. Fahey has progressively gotten better throughout the year, which was expected. 

Advantage: St. Louis

Men’s Doubles - The men’s doubles is a little closer, as Hayden and Gabe went 17-6 and JW and Augie went 15-8. I just think Hayden and Gabe are playing too good right now, and JW hasn’t been his usual dominant self over the past few months.

Advantage: St. Louis

Mixed Doubles - This is very much a case of a #1 team with a #2 team. If St. Louis is up 2-0, or tied 1-1 heading into mixed doubles, I believe they place AB and Hayden up against Tyra and Augie, to ensure a win. Kate and Gabe can play the sacrificial lamb happily, if it gets them a regulation win.

Advantage: St. Louis

Dreambreakers - I have to give the edge to St. Louis, mostly for their team’s consistency from top to bottom in Dreambreakers. The idea of facing off against Anna Bright and Kate Fahey has to be intimidating, even for Jorja and Tyra. All year, Anna has played the other teams’ best woman. With her meteoric rise in singles the last three months, I wonder if Kate starts taking those first female reps in Dreambreakers.

Advantage: St. Louis

Prediction

As you can see above, I just think St. Louis is even or slightly better in every single category. Combine that with getting to choose to react in mixed and the Dreambreaker, I think it’s too big of a hurdle for Dallas to climb.

St. Louis takes this one in two matches - first in a Dreambreaker and then in regulation.

Premier Level Finals

I think the two best teams all year have been the New Jersey 5s and the St. Louis Shock, so it is no surprise I am predicting them in the finals. I think Sunday is going to be one of the most entertaining days of pro pickleball all year. 

My prediction is that New Jersey wins in regulation in the first match, with the guys stealing a game off Hayden and Gabe. St. Louis then comes back and wins in regulation, with both gender doubles teams winning. The third game comes down to a Dreambreaker, and the 5s beat the St. Louis Shock, 21-18, on Zane’s paddle.