🔥A hot one in Austin🔥

MLP Austin Recap

What a sizzling weekend it was in Austin, TX at the Austin Pickle Ranch! The Texas Ranchers turned up the heat with a fiery MLP event that had everyone on the edge of their seats.

Four of the top five teams clashed in an epic showdown to claim their spot at the top of the leaderboard. And let's not forget the thrilling debut of all six Challenger teams, eager to make their mark with brand-new 2025 rosters. The excitement was off the charts!

We’re breaking down the matchups day-by-day, and what’s worth a re-watch

Friday

The weekend kicked off with the Challenger matchup of the LV Night Owls (Buckner, Wang, Tellez, Delgado) vs. Nashville Chefs (Radzikowska, Esquivel, Brown, Scarpa). Las Vegas came in with high expectations, as they are arguably the stronger team. Meanwhile, the Chefs are fresh off the grill (yeah, we went there) with a city move and rebranding effort, led by The Kitchen’s Jared Paul. The teams have a nearly identical team DUPR (23.73 vs 23.78) and it showed on court, with the teams alternating wins and closing the matchup in a Dreambreaker. Vegas won WD, and MXD1 with Pablo & Chao Yi, while the Chefs won MD and MXD2 with Marshall & Michelle. Vegas dominated the Dreambreaker, winning 21-11. Because of the tight matchup, this one is worth the rewatch!

The second matchup of the day was between California Black Bears (Hewett, Benitez, Sleeth, Padegimaite) and the Florida Smash (Rettenmaier, Campbell, Ansboury, Frantova). Look, there’s not much to say other than the Bears got blindsided, losing 3 matches to 1 (only winning WD). MXD1 between Travis & Sarah and Layne & Juan was an astounding 11-1 loss for the Bears. On a more upbeat note, Cason was looking very strong; word is he’s been drilling with Florida-based pros, and it shows.

Friday’s Premier matchup featured home team & host Texas Ranchers (Alshon, Oncins, Tuionetoa, Pisnik) playing the Orlando Squeeze (Staksrud, Frazier, Schneemann, Parker). The Squeeze came into the event #1 ranked (with 25 points and 9-2 record), while the Ranchers were 3-1. All things considered, this should’ve been a close matchup, but the Ranchers came out roaring, stunning the Squeeze in a 4-0 sweep. Although Orlando didn't come out on top in any games, it's still a blast to watch thanks to the incredible athletic talent and thrilling action.

Saturday - Challenger Matchups

The day started with California Black Bears vs. Las Vegas Night Owls. After Friday’s performance, the Bears switched up their mixed matchups, pairing Rafa with Layne, and Juan with Lina. Though Vegas won the match, Rafa & Layne narrowly lost 8-11 while Juan and Lina won 12-10 (the only game the Bears won).

Promptly after beating the Bears, Las Vegas went on to sweep the Bay Area Breakers (Roddy, Young, Truong, Funaro). The men’s doubles game was a nail-biter, with Vegas winning 14-12. But the high-scoring excitement was short-lived, when in the following game, Pablo & Chao Yi pickled Alix & DJ.

*Note: Shortly after MLP Austin, the Breakers traded Danna Funaro to the LA Mad Drops for cash and Angie Walker.

The remaining Challenger matches included the Florida Smash losing twice 3-1: first to the DC Pickleball Team (formerly Brooklyn Aces: Auvergne, De La Rosa, Humberg, Koop), then the Bay Area Breakers.

In the afternoon, the Bears got their first match win, beating the Chefs in a Dreambreaker. Team Captain Lina Padegimaite led the charge, winning both her games (11-9, 11-4) and went 5-3 over Ewa in the Dreambreaker. This was an exciting matchup - rewatch this one!

Saturday - Premier Matchups

Over on Championship Court, Dallas Flash (Johnson, Ge, Johnson, Black) started the morning playing the Orlando Squeeze. The Squeeze struggled once again, proving this was going to be a tough weekend for them. The Flash prevailed 3-1, only losing in men’s doubles in tight race: 11-13.

Following Flash/Squeeze was the first match of the weekend for both the New Jersey 5s (Navratil, Howells, Waters, Dizon) and Miami Pickleball Club (Devilliers, Khlif, Rane, Bui). The Fives won it handily, 3-1, only losing MXD1 Zane & Meghan to Milly & Noe.

Finally: Saturday. Night. Pickleball. Without a doubt, this was the weekend's standout game: the home team Texas Ranchers taking on the reigning champions, the Dallas Flash. The Ranchers were out to make a statement that they mean business this year, while the Flash aimed to prove their championship win was no stroke of luck. The energy in the crowd was electric, with fans from both sides buzzing with excitement for this classic Texas showdown. You really have to watch this matchup to feel the thrill for yourself!

Sunday - Challenger

The Cali Black Bears must’ve gotten a good night’s sleep, because they came out swinging Sunday morning, toppling the Bay Area Breakers 3-1. The maintained Saturday’s mixed pairings, with Juan and Lina finding a good rhythm. The Bears’ only game loss was in MXD2 Rafa/Layne against Alix/DJ, in a tight 10-12 game.

The Nashville Chefs, continuing to distance themselves from their disappointing past as the Frisco Pandas, fought a tough battle against DC, winning in a Dreambreaker. DC took both gendered matchups (12-10, 11-7) while the Chefs swept mixed (11-1, 11-9). Scarpa and Esquivel, for the Chefs, carried the Dreambreaker by winning 8-3 and 7-4, respectively.

Florida Smash lost again 1-3, this time to Las Vegas. Only Travis & Sarah were able to eek out a win in mixed.

The final Challenger match of the day saw DC falling to Bay Area in a close-scoring event ending in a Dreambreaker. Bay Area dominated the DB, winning 21-11. Give this one a re-watch:

Sunday - Premier

Sunday’s Premier matches were largely one-sided, with nothing terribly noteworthy:

• Fives over Squeeze, 3-1

• Flash swept Miami, 4-0

• Ranchers dominated Miami, 3-1

Miami looked a little gassed the whole weekend - was it the heat, or were they just facing giants? They came into this event ranked 4th with a 6-5 record, and left with no more wins to their name. Now sitting in 7th, and having played 15 of their 25 matches, they have an uphill battle to remain in the top 10 teams who make it to playoffs. Don’t forget - they won the Challenger championship last season, earning their promotion to Premier.

The most exciting game of the day was Sunday Night Pickleball, featuring Anna Leigh’s New Jersey 5s vs. the Dallas Flash. A re-match of last season’s penultimate championship game, undoubtedly many thought this would easily go to the 5s, who were on their revenge tour. But the Flash weren’t going down so easily.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the Flash women Jorja & Tyra took down the 5s Anna Leigh & Meghan - and it wasn’t close: Flash won it 11-3. The 5s men Zane & Will brought it back, beating JW & Augie 11-8. The teams split the mixed matchups and the whole thing ended in a thrilling Dreambreaker you just have to see to believe:

Monday - Challenger

Oh, it’s not over yet! Monday (Memorial Day) started with a rain delay. Go figure: Austin is in a 3-year drought, but the UPA comes to town and brings rain along with it. Here’s a rundown of the final day’s Challenger matchups:

• DC swept the Cali Black Bears, 4-0

• Nashville Chefs beat Bay Area Breakers, 3-1

• Chefs followed up with a win over the Florida Smash, 3-1

• LV Night Owls took a win in a Dreambreaker over DC

The Night Owls-DC matchup was a thriller, and a recommended re-watch:

Monday - Premier

There were just two matches in Premier for the day, which started with a Florida showdown between the Orlando Squeeze and Miami Pickleball Club. Miami continued its disappointing run, losing 1-3. After a hot streak raised eyebrows in Columbus and PPA’s Atlanta Slam, Jay Devilliers finished dead last in player rankings, losing every one of his games. Mya Bui was there with him, ending 1-8 in her games.

The final matchup of the event was Fives vs. Ranchers. As the weekend kicked off, it seemed like the Ranchers were poised to be the surprise powerhouse team of 2025. While that might still prove to be true, they didn’t quite maintain their initial momentum. In the final matchup of the weekend, playing the NJ Fives, Alshon appeared to get a bit frustrated (and perhaps a little worn out?), leading to a series of slip-ups. The Ranchers’ energy fizzled during their showdown in the grand finale of MLP Austin, ending in a tough 3-1 defeat.

Will Howells really proved his critics wrong and showed everyone why he deserved his UPA contract, signed during the MLP offseason. At MLP Austin, he was on fire, ending up as the top-performing male with an impressive 7-2 record, tying with Alshon. If you want to hear more about how great he is, just ask Jim Kloss.

Re-watch this epic matchup:

Standings

Three events down, with plenty more to go, here’s how the teams currently stand (keeping in mind some teams are more than halfway through all their season’s matchups, and others have barely begun).

Premier

Because of their match count, the Squeeze remain atop the ranking by total points. Expect to see this fall rapidly as the rest of the top teams (Shock, Flash, Ranchers) reach their halfway point. The Flash remain undefeated, with the 2nd highest points per match (2.75 to the Shock’s 2.88). They remain the ones to beat.

Challenger

Overall, Las Vegas proved what we expected: they are the clear top team in Challenger, going 5-0 on the weekend. On the flip side, the Smash (as we expected) were the bottom-performing team, finishing with a 1-4 record. The Chefs may be the biggest surprise of the weekend, going 3-2. The rest of the pack settled in the middle with matching 2-3 records.

Not to fear - there’s a lot of season left.

NEXT UP: MLP Phoenix

Believe it or not, the Phoenix event starts tomorrow! If you’re planning to attend MLP Phoenix (or the next event nipping at its heels, MLP Daytona Beach) you can secure your tickets at a discount using code KOTC.

Schedule Changes

Speaking of Daytona Beach, make note of the following schedule/location changes:

• MLP Salt Lake City is now MLP Daytona Beach: June 5 - 8

• MLP DC (which had been a TBD location) has unofficially been moved to NYC: July 3 - 6

• MLP St. Petersburg is now MLP Salt Lake City: July 31 - Aug 3

Catch up on last week’s episode #142, which included an MLP Austin preview and PPA Atlanta recap.

As Tyler traveled to Italy and Jimmy made an appearance in Austin, this week’s pod will be delayed and shortened. Subscribe to get alerts for the premiere.