Premier Champions: Columbus Sliders

The Sliders did the unexpected in NYC this past weekend, taking down #1 St. Louis Shock in 2 straight matches, then the #3 NJ Fives in three matches.

The team was dubbed “the chosen ones” after been intentionally selected by the highest seeded teams they faced: Flash (in San Diego), Shock, and Fives. Presumably, they’d be an “easy” team to beat due to their lower seed, but this just lit a fire under Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, Parris Todd, and Lea Jansen.

Match 1 against the Fives was a nail-biter, with the Fives winning WD and Mixed 1 with Meghan Dizon & Noe Khlif taking down Lea & CJ. The Sliders took MD and Mixed 2 against Will Howells & Anna Leigh. Andrei & Parris trounced them 11-2, which surely rattled the world #1. The Dreambreaker ended 21-17 in favor of the Fives, who were carried (surprisingly?) by Will (8-4 over Andrei) and Meghan (5-3 over Lea). Rewatch the Dreambreaker

Match 2 became a win-or-go-home for the Sliders, who came out ahead in another Dreambreaker with nearly the same match outcomes (Fives took WD and Mx 1 Meghan/Noe; Sliders won MD and Mx 2 Parris/Andrei). But this time, the Sliders prevailed in the Dreambreaker 21-15 and tied the series 1-1.

Match 3 had a lot of ups, downs, chirps, and finger-wags. The game felt almost rushed, as the sun threatened to set on a venue with no lights. (Yeah.) It started out much the same: Fives take WD, Sliders take MD. But this time, Lea and CJ took the first mixed game 11-4, leaving the deciding match to Parris and Andrei, who’d already beat Will & AL in matches 1 and 2. The teams were neck & neck up to 7-6 when Andrei & Parris pulled ahead winning the final 4 points unanswered. Parris hit the winning shot down the line behind Will, in a thrilling moment that closed out the series. If you only have time for one rewatch, it should be this one:

Rewatch: Championship Match 3

Things you may have missed

Zane graciously loses but gets called out for his terrible trash talk.

Lea was on Twitter/X before the trophy was even hoisted to go on a rampage against all the haters.

Hey, remember how Jim said Will was a top 10 player, only to watch him go 0-6 in the finals?

Here we are having THAT conversation again, after several questionable line calls disrupted play and had major game implications

And Memes of Pickleball just saying what we’re all thinking…

Challenger Champions: Las Vegas Night Owls

Lest we forget about Challenger, the final showdown to see who was crowned champion AND gets to move to Premier next year, also went down this weekend.

The final matchup came down to the Nashville Chefs vs. Las Vegas Night Owls, who both played really tough this year. The Chefs surprised a lot of people, and though Jared can make a fool of himself trash talking players from his sideline GM seat, the players deserve all the credit for a great season. They pushed the Night Owls to the edge, going 3 full matches and ending in a Dreambreaker.

The Night Owls were ultimately crowned champion, so Brooke Buckner, Zoey Wang, James Delgado, and Pablo Tellez get to make their way to the Premier league in 2026.

Match 1 on Saturday saw the Night Owls handily beat the Chefs, 3-1, winning both mixed matchups and WD, 12-10. This is where Jared got chirpy with James Delgado on the Night Owls, earning himself a warning from Onisha, and later both benches got blue card warnings.

The Chefs answered back in Match 2, winning 3-1, this time taking both WD and MD, and Mixed 2 (Genie Erokhina & Anderson Scarpa vs. Zoey Wang & James Delgado).

The real excitement game in Match 3, which went to Dreambreaker after splitting both gendered (Night Owls won WD, Chefs won MD) and mixed (Brooke & Pablo beat Ewa & Marshall; Genie & Anderson beat Zoey & James). It all came down to the Dreambreaker, where Pablo was the hero of the hour, going 7-1 over Marshall Brown. In the end, the Night Owls took the match & series in the DB, 21-9.

Rewatch: Championship Match 3

After the finals, Jared had a lot to say…

But hey, if this sizzle reel of the Las Vegas Night Owls doesn’t stir your excitement for their future Premier debut, check your pulse!

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Episode 159:

Catch up on the latest pod, where we talk about contracts & MLP playoffs