The final regular season event of the 2024 Major League Pickleball season is happening this weekend in Miami.
The Miami Fairgrounds will host 30 matches over four days, starting Thursday and wrapping up on Sunday. Thirteen teams (seven Premier Level and six Challenger Level) will compete, while the remaining nine have already played their last matches.
Weather Outlook
The weather looks phenomenal and shouldn’t be an issue for play.
How to Watch MLP Miami and Match Schedule
- All Championship Court matches will air on MSG Networks and be live-streamed on Pickleball TV
- All Grandstand Court matches will air on the MLP YouTube channel
- Sun, Oct. 27: Tennis Channel (4 p.m. ET match; will not air on MSG)
Most Intriguing Matchups Each Day
- Thursday, 4pm(ish) - Miami Pickleball Club vs. Atlanta Bouncers - These two teams are playoff-bound, with Miami trying to lock up a first-round bye.,
- Friday, 10am - DC Pickleball Team vs. NY Hustlers - These two teams are vying for the last couple of playoff spots and are in the driver’s seat for them. They both will want this one.
- Saturday, 10:30am - Miami Pickleball Club vs. Chicago Slice - Number 1 and 2 overall in terms of points per match, respectively. With these two teams seemingly destined for the 1st and 2nd roster spots, this could be a preview of the Challenger Level finals.
- Sunday, 4pm(ish) - NJ 5s vs. Orlando Squeeze - Last match of the day on Championship Court, and the 5s could be looking to lock up a playoff bye or the #1 seed. Orlando may be fighting for a playoff spot, or they could be out of it.
Premier Level Preview
Here is a look at the standings for Premier Level - thanks to Real Clear Stats for the graphic!
Let’s preview the Premier Level teams in Miami. The order of teams is based on points per match standings.
New Jersey 5s
Prediction: The 5s earn 11 points from their five matches, falling one point short of the Shock’s 52 points. New Jersey locks up the #2 seed.
D.C. Pickleball Team
Prediction: DC will earn 10 points in Miami, bringing them to 40 points and the fourth seed in the playoffs.
NY Hustlers
Prediction: The Hustlers earn eight points from their matches in Miami, tying them with the Texas Ranchers. It will come down to the tiebreakers to see which one gets the 5 or 6 seed.
AZ Drive
Prediction: AZ earns seven points in Miami, bringing them to a total of 31, and they miss out on the playoffs.
Orlando Squeeze
Prediction: Orlando just doesn’t have enough in the tank to take a playoff spot. They earn seven points in their six matches and miss out on the playoffs.
LA Mad Drops
Prediction: LA only earns six points from their six matches, eliminating them from the playoffs.
Carolina Pickleball Club
Prediction: Carolina doesn’t find the motivation to win in Miami and only earns two points from their three matches.
Challenger Level Preview
The following teams are done playing and will not be in Miami: SoCal Hard Eights, Las Vegas Night Owls, Bay Area Breakers, and California Black Bears.
Only SoCal has locked up a playoff spot out of this list. Las Vegas is looking good for a playoff spot, and the Bay Area will need some teams to falter in Miami for a chance. California has been eliminated from playoff contention.
We will review each team in order of the standings in points per match.
Miami Pickleball Club
35 points - 1.94 points per match - 1st place
Team: Milan Rane, Eric Oncins, Bobbi Oshiro, Noe Khlif
Opponents: Atlanta, Brooklyn, Chicago, Frisco, Florida
The matchups are interesting for Miami.
They have to play Atlanta and Brooklyn first, who are both fighting for playoff positions. They follow that up with the second-best team in Chicago, in terms of points per match. Then, they have the two easier teams on the last day. I think this actually favors Miami a little bit because chances are high that they will know exactly how many points they need on Sunday to lock up the #1 overall seed in the playoffs.
Tice’s Take - Miami earns nine points in Miami, finishing with 44 points on the season and wraps up the #1 seed.
Chicago Slice
36 points - 1.89 points per match - 2nd place
Team: Jack Munro, Megan Fudge, Brendon Long, and Allison Harris
Opponents: Atlanta, Florida, Miami, Brooklyn
Chicago had a really good MLP Virginia Beach, and the players are riding that wave of positive momentum. They do have a tough schedule, with Miami trying to take the #1 overall seed and Brooklyn and Atlanta fighting for playoff positioning. This team isn’t great in Dreambreakers, but they have a super solid squad that can win in any matchup - there is no glaring weakness.
Tice’s Take—Chicago continues its winning ways, earning seven points in MLP Miami to end its season with 43 points, earning the #2 seed. This comes with a first-round bye and automatic promotion to Premier Level next year.
Atlanta Bouncers
29 points - 1.61 points per match - 4th place
Team: Jaume Martinez Vich, Todd Fought, Susannah Barr, and Emily Cederquist
Opponents: Chicago, Miami, Frisco, Brooklyn, Florida
Atlanta picked up Barr and Cederquist in mid-season transactions.
They had a very poor MLP Virginia Beach together, but the veterans should be able to bounce back in Miami. The biggest threat to Atlanta is that they play the top two teams, and Brooklyn could get hot. The Bouncers are banking on five or six points from their matches against Frisco and Florida.
On top of that, they will look to take at least three more points from the remaining three matches.
Tice’s Take - Atlanta earns seven points from their five matches, giving them a total of 36 points on the year.
Erik Tice
Brooklyn Aces
28 points - 1.47 points per match - 6th place
Team: Daniel De La Rosa, Layne Sleeth, Pablo Tellez, and Andrea Koop
Opponents: Frisco, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago
Brooklyn traded for Koop in their playoff push—this will be the first event we get to see this team play together. Brooklyn needs to earn at least six points, but it will be hoping for closer to ten in Miami.
Pablo hasn’t played his best for Brooklyn yet, but with high stakes in Miami, I think he steps up.
Tice’s Take - Brooklyn earns eight points from MLP Miami in their four matches - earning them the fifth spot in the playoffs.
Frisco Pandas
23 points - 1.21 points per match - 11th place
Team: Ewa Radzikowska, Stefan Auvergne, Tammy Emmrich, Michael Loyd
Opponents: Florida, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Miami
Frisco is on its last lifeline. I predict 34 points will be the minimum to make the playoffs. If that is the case, Frisco will need to earn 11 points from its four matches.
Tice’s Take - Frisco takes three points from their four matches and misses out on the playoffs.
Florida Smash
26 points - 1.37 points per match - 10th place
Team: Travis Rettenmaier, Martina Frantova, Donald Young, Christa Gecheva
Opponents: Frisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami
Florida is also on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs. They will need to average 2 points per match to have an outside shot at making the top six. Considering the Smash plays Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami (all top four teams), I don’t see that happening.
Tice’s Take - Florida earns five points from their four matches and misses out on the playoffs.
