The MLP playoff brackets for the Premier and Challenger Level are now set. There is a lot of information to explain, so let’s get into it!
Location and Schedule of the MLP Playoffs
- Round 1 - November 1st - 3rd | Brookhaven Country Club, Farmer’s Branch, TX
- Round 2 - November 22nd - 24th | USTA National Campus, Orlando, FL
MLP Premier & Challenger Payouts
Premier Level Payouts (per team)
- $80,000
- $40,000
- $20,000
Challenger Level Payouts (per team)
- $30,000
- $20,000
- $10,000
Additionally, the six Challenger Level playoff teams are fighting for four promotion spots to the Premier Level in 2025.
Weather Outlook for Round 1 in Dallas
Storm showers seem like they may force play indoors.
How the Playoffs Work
The top six teams in both Premier and Challenger Levels qualified for the playoffs. Here's a look at the seeding.
Premier Level
- New Jersey 5s
- St. Louis Shock
- Dallas Flash
- D.C. Pickleball Team
- Texas Ranchers
- NY Hustlers
Challenger Level
- Chicago Slice
- SoCal Hard Eights
- Miami Pickleball Club
- Atlanta Bouncers
- Las Vegas Night Owls
- Frisco Pandas
Since the top two seeds in each receive a bye straight to the semifinals, round 1 will only feature the 3 through 6 seeds.
Something unique to MLP is that the higher seed gets to choose its opponent (between the two lowest seeds). It just so happened that both 3 seeds chose to play against the 6 seeds in both levels.
Premier Level
- (3) Dallas Flash vs. (6) NY Hustlers
- (4) DC Pickleball Team vs. (5) Texas Ranchers
Challenger Level
- (3) Miami Pickleball Club vs. (6) Frisco Pandas
- (4) Atlanta Bouncers vs. (5) Las Vegas Night Owls
Each playoff matchup is a best-two-out-of-three series – meaning each team will play each other in up to three separate matches on the three days of the event. If one team wins the first two, the last match will not be played.
The higher seed gets to choose all coin toss options (BIG advantage) - side, which gender games play first, react in mixed doubles, and react in a Dreambreaker.
How to Watch the 1st Round of the Playoffs
Note: The 4pm time slot on Sunday is exclusively on ESPN2.
Match Breakdowns
Challenger Level - Quarterfinal Matchup #1
#3 Miami Pickleball Club vs #6 Frisco Pandas
Rosters
- Miami: Milan Rane, Eric Oncins, Noe Khlif, Bobbi Oshiro
- Frisco: Ewa Radzikowska, Stefan Auvergne, Tammy Emmrich, Michael Loyd
Regular Season Matchup - Miami won two matches and lost one to Frisco. Miami won 3-1 in MLP NYC and 4-0 in MLP Virginia Beach. On Sunday, Frisco got some revenge, beating Miami 3-1.
This most recent match is the only one with all of the same players involved that will be playing in the playoff matchup.
Tice’s Take
Miami is entering the playoffs with some downward momentum, having lost its last two matches (one to Frisco). On the other hand, Frisco is riding a wave of positive momentum, earning 10 points from its four matches in MLP Miami.
Men’s Doubles - Noe and Eric are consistent and don’t have too many ups or downs. Stefan and Michael probably have a slightly higher ceiling right now but a much lower floor.
Advantage: Miami
Women’s Doubles - Ewa is one of the best women at the Challenger Level, and Tammy is very steady on the right. Milly and Bobbi are great together in gender doubles. I think this matchup will be close and will come down to who makes more errors at the end of the game.
Advantage: Even
Mixed Doubles - Oncins or Loyd are probably the two best mixed players in this group. One big X factor for this matchup is the pairing of Stefan and Ewa. Since Stefan is a lefty, he plays the right, and Ewa plays the left.
That means Stefan will play across from the opponent’s guy, and Ewa will play across from the opponent’s woman. It will be interesting to see who Miami sets up to play against Ewa and Stefan.
Advantage: Miami
Dreambreaker - Miami is 7-1 in Dreambreakers this year and is the clear favorite over every other team in Dreambreakers except maybe Las Vegas. Loyd and Radzikowska can do well.
Advantage: Miami
Prediction - Miami wins the first match in a Dreambreaker and then beats Frisco in the second match in regulation.
Challenger Level - Quarterfinal Matchup #2
#4 Atlanta Bouncers vs #5 Las Vegas Night Owls
Rosters
- Atlanta: Jaume Martinez Vich, Todd Fought, Susannah Barr, Emily Cederquist
- Las Vegas: Chao Yi Wang, Judit Castillo, Blaine Hovenier, Rafa Hewett
Regular Season Matchup - Atlanta and Las Vegas split the regular season matchup, 1-1. Vegas won 3-2 in MLP DC, and Atlanta won 3-1 in MLP Virginia Beach. The Virginia Beach matchup is a little more telling, as the rosters are the same.
Tice’s Take
The Bouncers earned two points per match in MLP Miami, while Las Vegas didn’t play. In the last event Vegas played, MLP Las Vegas, they earned seven points from their three matches.
Men’s Doubles - The Las Vegas men were switched mid-season, and Hovenier and Hewett were added. They are probably the most volatile pairing in the playoffs. They could be very good OR very bad. The Bouncers men are some of the best in Challenger.
Advantage: Atlanta
Women’s Doubles - In the 11 matches since MLP Virginia Beach, Atlanta’s women have gone 2-9. The good news? The only two wins they achieved were their last two matches. Zoey and Judit are the best women’s doubles duo in Challenger Level.
Advantage: Las Vegas
Mixed Doubles - Both teams clearly have a top team and a second team. I think mixed doubles comes down to how gender doubles went. Atlanta gets to react. If they win both genders doubles games, they will probably send out Todd and Emily as sacrificial lambs against Rafa and Zoey. Then Jaume and Susannah will be favored against Blaine and Judit.
Advantage: Even
Dreambreaker - Vegas is 9-2 in Dreambreakers and Atlanta is 5-8. The Vegas women are easily the two best Dreambreaker women in Challenger and are on the same team. The Atlanta men have the advantage over the Vegas men. I think the gap between the women is larger than the men.
Advantage: Las Vegas
Prediction - Atlanta wins the first match in regulation, winning both mixed doubles matches and the men winning. In the second match, Las Vegas gets one mixed doubles win and wins in a Dreambreaker. In the third and final match, I think the experience of the Bouncers takes over and they are able to weather the storm, winning in regulation.
Premier Level - Quarterfinal Matchup #1
#3 Dallas Flash vs #6 NY Hustlers
Rosters
- Dallas: JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Hurricane Tyra Black, Augie Ge
- NY: Jack Sock, Jackie Kawamoto, Lea Jansen, CJ Klinger
Regular Season Matchup - The series is split 1-1. Dallas beat NY 4-0 in the first event of the season, MLP Atlanta. In MLP D.C., NY beat Dallas 3-1. These two haven’t played each other in over four months.
Tice’s Take
The Flash haven’t played since MLP Las Vegas, and they earned nine points from five matches, with regulation losses to AZ and STL. NY started off MLP Miami hot, beating DC and Orlando in regulation, 3-1. Then their event went off the rails, losing three straight matches, 1-11. Klinger couldn’t play the last two matches, due to migraines.
Hopefully, he is better for the playoffs.
Men’s Doubles - The Flash men are very good this year, and NY is very up and down. JW and Augie will outdink the Hustlers, so the Hustlers will need to be more of a drive-and-crash team while also speeding up whenever they are given a chance.
Advantage: Dallas
Women’s Doubles - Lea and Jackie have been the third-best women’s team all year, just behind Anna Leigh/Mari and Anna Bright/Kate. Jorja and Hurricane are a good women’s team but have been a little more up and down. If Dallas can win a women’s match that means a LOT of trouble for NY.
Advantage: New York
Mixed Doubles - Both teams have a lefty guy and left side woman combo. The dynamic here is interesting because NY has a 1a/1b mixed team. Dallas, on the other hand, definitely has a top team and a second team. If Dallas is ahead after gender doubles, they will choose HTB and Augie to play who they feel is the better NY team. JW and Jorja will face the lesser of the two teams.
Advantage: Dallas.
Dreambreaker - Dallas is 1-2 on the year in Dreambreakers, while NY is 6-3. From top to bottom, NY has the better Dreambreaker team. CJ is very good as the second man, Lea is very good in #1 spot and Jackie is an extremely good second female. JW will need to carry the Flash if they have a chance of beating NY in a Dreambreaker.
Advantage: New York.
Prediction: NY has a great first match, winning women’s doubles and a mixed doubles game. They beat the Flash in a Dreambreaker. In matches two and three, Sock’s level falls off, and Dallas wins both matches in regulation.
Premier Level - Quarterfinal Matchup #2
#4 D.C. Pickleball Team vs #5 Texas Ranchers
Rosters
- D.C.: James Ignatowich, Rachel Rohrabacher, Dekel Bar, Vivian Glozman
- TX: Christian Alshon, Etta Wright, Tina Pisnik, Quang Duong
Regular Season Matchup - The series is split 1-1. Texas won in a Dreambreaker in MLP D.C., and D.C. won 3-1 in MLP Kansas City.
Tice’s Take
This is a super interesting matchup.
Both teams utilized substitutes in their last two events. In MLP Las Vegas, Texas had to play without Christian Alshon the entire event (headache), and Etta Wright missed the last day due to heat exhaustion. In MLP Miami on Sunday, James Ignatowich missed the last day due to a back issue.
Additionally, Dekel and Vivian struggled in MLP Miami—can they turn around that momentum in the playoffs? I believe all players on the rosters will be healthy for the playoffs.
Men’s Doubles - Quang Duong and Christian Alshon are playing great together and are one of the scariest men’s doubles duos. Dekel and James could easily be a top-three men’s team in MLP OR a bottom-three men’s team. They are very volatile and have a bunch of highs and lows.
Advantage: Texas
Women’s Doubles - Rachel and Viv bring a ton of firepower and will speed anything up they can. Tina and Etta are way more consistent and better at the kitchen line. I don’t see a world where Rachel sees many balls - Vivian is going to see 80% or more of the shots. The X factor in this one is definitely Glozman.
Advantage: Toss Up
Mixed Doubles - Both of these teams have very good mixed doubles teams. If they are equal or win after gender doubles, I think DC is going to send James and Rachel against whichever duo they feel more comfortable beating. Vivian and Dekel will need to play close to their best to beat either of Texas’ teams.
Advantage: Texas
Dreambreaker - DC is 5-5 in Dreambreakers, and Texas is 1-3 on the year. Alshon and Duong definitely have an advantage over Ignatowich and Bar. The DC women have an advantage over Etta and Tina.
If it comes down to a Dreambreaker, I think whichever player wins between Duong and Ignatowich wins the entire match.
Advantage: Toss Up.
Prediction - I just don’t think D.C. is stable enough to win a best-of-three match. Texas wins in regulation in the first match. D.C. comes back in match two, causing a Dreambreaker. The Texas women step up, and Texas wins in a Dreambreaker.
