Boy, was there suspense and drama in MLP Miami!
Playoff seeding in both Premier and Challenger Levels came down to the last regular-season match in each. A lot was on the line in Miami as some teams clinched playoff berths, and others were sent packing.
Let’s get into the action.
Here are the standings from the event in both levels
Premier Level MLP Miami
Challenger Level MLP Miami
The "Good"
New Jersey 5s
The 5s had a tall task going into MLP - earn 13 points out of a possible 15 points in their five matches to overtake the #1 seed, St. Louis Shock. How did the 5s respond?
They dropped one point all weekend, earning 14 points and the first seed going into the playoffs.
The New Jersey 5s won all five matches, with Anna Leigh Waters going a perfect 10-0 in her games. Additionally, Will Howells went 9-1 on the weekend, only losing a men’s match to the D.C. men.
The 5s have been firing on all cylinders recently. Here are the results from their last three events:
- MLP NYC - 4 regulation wins, 1 Dreambreaker win - 14/15 points
- MLP Las Vegas - 3 regulation wins, 1 regulation loss - 9/12 points
- MLP Miami - 4 regulation wins, 1 Dreambreaker win - 14/15 points
Frisco Pandas
If you had asked me about the chances of the Pandas making the playoffs before MLP Miami, I would have said less than 5%.
They started the event in ninth place at 1.21 points per match, 0.26 points per match behind the six seed, at 1.47 points per match. Additionally, Frisco had only won one point per match in their most recent event, MLP Virginia Beach.
Anyone outside of the organization probably didn’t have high expectations for Frisco. In my MLP Miami preview article, I predicted Frisco to earn three points from their four matches.
Erik Tice
Man, was I wrong!
Instead, Frisco earned 10 points in their four matches and locked in the sixth spot.
They started off hot, beating the Florida Smash and Brooklyn Aces 3-1 on Day 1. Then, on Day 2, they lost a close one to Atlanta in a Dreambreaker, 19-21. They didn’t play on Day 3. On Day 4, they had the odds stacked against, needing two points from their match against the then #1 seed in points per match, the Miami Pickleball Club.
The Pandas won both gender doubles games and needed one more game win in mixed doubles to earn three points.
Tammy Emmrich and Michael Loyd played Bobbi Oshiro and Noe Khlif in the first mixed doubles game. They won the game (25-23) and leapfrogged over the Brooklyn Aces and Bay Area Breakers to earn the sixth and final playoff spot.
Chicago Slice
The Slice earned eight points in four matches to earn the overall #1 seed.
In regulation, they beat the Florida Smash 4-0 and the Brooklyn Aces 3-1. They lost to the Miami Pickleball Club and Atlanta Bouncers in Dreambreakers. Did they blow away the competition?
No, but they did enough to earn the #1 spot.
Megan Fudge came into the team midseason and really solidified it.
She was picked up in the first waiver wire period with what some people call the “fab 5”. They were a group of five women who did not want to participate in the draft but had since decided to play in MLP.
For the most part, each of those five players added immediate impact. However, Fudge has been the best of the five, going 30-10 in doubles with a +108 point differential.
The Slice are VERY excited to get promoted to Premier Level in 2025.
I think their achilles heel is that they are not very good in Dreambreakers (2-7 on the year). This may hold them back in the playoffs, but only time will tell.
Limped into the Playoffs
DC Pickleball Team
DC won a match in regulation and lost a match in regulation. They also won two Dreambreakers and lost two Dreambreakers.
DC beat Carolina on Day 1, as they should. They then lost to the Hustlers AND the Squeeze on Day 2, teams they should have beaten. On Day 3, another poor performance against a depleted LA Mad Drops team resulted in a Dreambreaker win.
On Day 4, James Ignatowich pulled out of the competition with an (unconfirmed) injury to his back. His good friend, Ryan Fu, subbed for him. DC lost to the 5s in a Dreambreaker, which was a good showing, and then beat AZ in another Dreambreaker.
Since DC has to play this Friday, it will be interesting to see if Ignatowich can stay healthy throughout the playoffs. If not, DC might be sent home early.
Yes, DC earned 1.5 points per match in MLP Miami, which is very close to their season points per match of 1.7.
But the way they played was anything but usual for them.
Vivian Glozman made more errors than usual, and Dekel Bar didn’t look confident throughout the entire event. DC will need to turn around the momentum quickly to get through the first round of the playoffs.
NY Hustlers
The Hustlers are another team that limped into the playoffs with an injured player on the last day.
The Hustlers started off MLP Miami HOT - they beat DC and the Squeeze 3-1 in their first two matches.
Days 3 and 4 were another story.
They lost all three matches in regulation to the NJ 5s (0-4), AZ Drive (0-4), and the LA Mad Drops (1-3). Against AZ and LA, the Hustlers were without CJ Klinger, as he was allegedly dealing with some migraine issues (unconfirmed).
Anderson Scarpa, the Premier Level super sub, took his spot, but it wasn't enough to help the Hustlers in the standings.
The Hustlers earned six points from their last five matches. If they had just earned four points from those last three matches, the Hustlers could have locked up the 4 seed and had a better chance of winning in the first round of the playoffs.
Now it looks like the Dallas Flash will choose to play them and that will be tough for NY on Friday.
Biggest Disappointments
Brooklyn Aces
The Aces front office team is very invested in the team's success. They have a GM, a coach, a trainer, a full-time social media person, etc.
This was a heartbreaker for the whole organization.
The Aces never truly clicked together after trading for Pablo Tellez. I know he wasn’t super happy about playing Challenger, but it seemed like he was up to the task.
Instead, he finished as the 30th-ranked Challenger player, going 15-15 with a -7 overall point differential.
Going into MLP Miami, Brooklyn was in 6th place in terms of points per match. They had 28 points from their 19 matches and averaged 1.47 points per match.
Before Miami, Brooklyn was the odds-on favorite to earn the sixth seed. They were only four points behind Bay Area, which was done playing. They were well ahead of Florida and Frisco, who each had 26 and 23 points, respectively. So, the thinking was that Brooklyn would just need five points from their four matches to pass Bay Area and secure the last spot in the playoffs.
Instead, Brooklyn won one match in regulation, lost two matches in regulation, and lost in a Dreambreaker. This means they earned only four points from their four matches.
They lost to the Frisco Pandas on Day 1, 1-3. The Aces women in that match lost a close one, 28-30, to Tammy Emmrich and Ewa Radzikowska. If they had just won that game, that would have given Brooklyn the extra point needed to overtake Bay Area and Frisco.
On Day 2, they beat Miami, 3-1. On Day 3, Brooklyn’s fate was decided. They lost in a Dreambreaker to Atlanta, 17-21, and none of the doubles matches were really close. It all came down to their match against the Chicago Slice. Brooklyn knew they needed a point to pass Bay Area because Bay Area had the tiebreakers against them.
The nail in the coffin for Brooklyn was the 23-25 men’s doubles loss to Chicago. If they turned that around to a win, it would go to a Dreambreaker, and Brooklyn would be in the playoffs.
Brooklyn had high hopes going into the season but never really gelled to get the most out of their potential.
Miami Pickleball Club
Miami was the odds-on favorite to earn the #1 overall seed in the Challenger Level playoffs. Instead, they only earned four points from their five matches in Miami and fell from first to third place in the playoff hunt.
In the Challenger Level, the top two teams are guaranteed promotion in 2025 because they get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Miami could have secured that bye with just six points from their matches.
Instead, Miami lost three matches in regulation and won two Dreambreakers. Now, they will have to fight for promotion starting this Friday against an opponent of their choice.
Miami started off well, beating Atlanta in a Dreambreaker on Day 1. On Day 2, they lost to the spiraling Aces, 1-3. On Day 3, they beat the Slice in a Dreambreaker. Going into Day 4, the Miami Pickleball Club knew they just needed two standings points from their two matches against Frisco and Florida.
Easy, right?
Wrong.
Day 4 was a meltdown, and Miami lost both matches 1-3. If Miami had gotten either team to a Dreambreaker, I think they would have won, earning them the two points necessary to leapfrog the SoCal Hard Eights for that two-seed.
Miami has a quick turnaround, both mentally and physically, and will play in the first round of the playoffs on Friday. They need to play a lot more confidently than I saw on Sunday in their two losses if they want to get promoted for 2025.
What does all this mean for the playoffs and seeding? Check it out:
MLP Premier Level Playoff Seeding Set@MajorLeaguePB playoffs start this FRIDAY in Dallas!
— Erik Tice (@azetice) October 27, 2024
Premier Level
1. @the5spickleball - 1st rd bye, gets to pick semis opponent, and gets all coin toss choices (side, md/wd 1st, react in mixed, react in Dreambreaker)
2. @stlshockmlp - 1st…
MLP Challenger Level Playoff Seeding Set@MajorLeaguePB
— Erik Tice (@azetice) October 27, 2024
playoffs start this FRIDAY in Dallas!
The Florida Smash win over Miami in the last match gave the 2 seed to SoCal!
Challenger Level Playoffs
1. @chicagoslicemlp - 1st rd bye, promotion to Premier in 2025, gets to pick…
