Champions Crowned

The day kicked off with the Challenger 3rd-place showdown between the SoCal Hard Eights and the Miami Pickleball Club. SoCal took both gendered doubles events, then Miami countered by taking both mixed matches and pushing to Dreambreaker. Hard Eights ultimately won DB 21-19, but the Miami team had much to show for their efforts. Newcomer to the team Noe Khlif made a solid showing, and Miami ladies Milan Rane (part of the Julie Johnson “academy”) and Bobbi Oshiro ranked 2nd and 4th overall, respectively, in rate of points won.

In the Challenger final, the Brooklyn Aces battled to take down 1-seed LV Night Owls, handing them their first loss of 2024. Pablo Tellez may have dropped from Premier to Challenger, but he led his team to victory and a $30k kitty, while the team he left (Ranchers) finished 3rd and took home only $20k. This was the only match of the day that did NOT end in a Dreambreaker. The Aces took out the Night Owls in both mixed match-ups and the men’s doubles event. Only Judit Castillo and Chao Yi Wang were able to take a win off Layne Sleeth and Lina Padegimaite.

Premier’s 3rd-place match was a contentious fight between neighboring teams Texas Ranchers and the Dallas Flash. Both teams put yesterday’s losses behind them and duked it out for the $20,000 prize pool. Things got heated when Christian Alshon started chirping (some might say heckling) from the sideline, targeting Hurricane Tyra specifically, provoking anger from Julie Johnson on the Flash’s bench. We didn’t hear the words exchanged, but it was bad enough that Ranchers’ GM Ryan Dawidjan stepped in to scold Alshon like a child. [Watch the replay starting at 29:14 and you can hear “That’s the spot” after Tyra hits into the net. The edited feed “mysteriously” cuts from 11-10 to 13-10.] Perhaps the heckling got into her head, because Tyra and Jorja ended up narrowly losing that game. The match ended in a Dreambreaker 21-15 with Ranchers taking home the prize money.

And of course, that brings us to the penultimate match of the day, broadcast on ESPN2, the DC vs. NJ 5s Championship final. Number 1 seed New Jersey came out on top, giving Anna Leigh her first MLP title, silencing critics that said she can’t win without Ben and another top woman. ALW went 5-1 at BCO and now ranks 4th in points won ratio. However, she didn’t do it alone: Zane clinched the winning Dreambreaker against James Ignatowich, and Will scored 7-5 in Dreambreaker over Dekel Bar. Generally, Dekel seemed off his game; late in the DB with DC leading he crumbled under the pressure and missed two serves in a row, killing DC’s momentum. The 5s took it 21-18 in the end.

Rivals Born

With 2 regular season games and the mid-season tournament behind us, we can already see some rivalries brewing.

Next Up: MLP Salt Lake City

As the slogan says, “there’s nothing like” an MLP event. The twists and turns of partnerships unique to MLP make for unexpected outcomes. Crowd energy is high, rivalries are hot, and you really never know what you’re going to get. Whether you root for your hometown team, or just a favorite with beloved players, the excitement is palpable.

If you haven’t had a chance to attend in person, make a plan to come to the next event. KOTC is offering an exclusive discount for tickets using code KOTC for 25% off! Note: This code ALSO works on registration for amateur PPA events.

MLP Salt Lake City is July 25 - 28th.

This indoor event will be the first time MLP has been held in Utah, and is hosted by The Picklr Kaysville. Teams competing will be:

Premier Level Teams 
AZ Drive, Carolina Pickleball Club, Columbus Sliders, Dallas Flash, LA Mad Drops, NJ 5s, Orlando Squeeze, St. Louis Shock, Texas Ranchers, Utah Black Diamonds

Challenger Level Teams 
Bay Area Breakers, California Black Bears, Las Vegas Night Owls, SoCal Hard Eights

Games to Re-Watch

If you’ve been off the grid the last week, or just want to re-watch games with nail-biting action, we recommend the following:

• Hustlers vs. Squeeze (Saturday consolation bracket) - Watch the record-setting 40-38 match in Men’s Doubles. The entire match had a differential of just two points

• Flash vs. 5s (Saturday Semi-Final) - broadcast on ESPN2, this high-energy match is a must-see

• Black Diamonds vs. AZ Drive (Friday Quarters) - Tyler & Co battle for their first MLP victory with controversial calls culminating in a Dreambreaker

• DC vs. 5s (Sunday Finals) - Championship match, for obvious reasons. (Game replay hasn’t been uploaded yet - watch MLP’s YouTube for release)

• CBB vs. Smash (Day 1) - Hook of th week? Hook of the year? Hook of the century? You decide.

• Hard Eights vs. Miami (Sunday 3rd place) - A tight match-up that went to dreambreaker, original MLP GOAT Irina takes her to team to a win over exciting waiver wire pickups Bobbi Oshiro and Noe Khlif.

• Aces vs. Night Owls (Sunday Finals) - watch the Aces take down previously undefeated Night Owls for the Championship. (Game replay hasn’t been uploaded yet - watch MLP’s YouTube for release)

Next KOTC Pod: Wednesday, July 20th, 10 a.m. MT/12 p.m. ET

NEXT KOTC Pod the guys will dig into more of the excitement AND drama of MLP Mid-Season Tournament at BCO.