Table of Contents

• Salt Lake City Preview

• Player Substitutions

• Where to Watch

• Matchups by Day

• MLP Spectator Discount

• Catch the Latest Pod

• Join Our Discord Community

We’re coming for ya, Utah!

We’ve barely finished our sigh of relief after the conclusion of MLP’s mid-season tournament, and now we’re drawing in a deep breath of preparation for the next event: The Vulcan MLP Salt Lake City.

This indoor event will be the first-ever MLP event hosted in Utah, at The Picklr Kaysville. Sheltered from wind and heat, some teams may find playing indoors advantageous, but it may prove challenging for the Carolina PBC, due to Ben Johns’ childhood eye injury (Collin’s fault). All teams will be dealing with increased crowd noise as well as the challenge of playing at a higher altitude.

Here are the teams facing off this week, and their current by-points standing (MST performance excluded):

Premier-Level Teams 
St. Louis Shock (2), Dallas Flash (3), Texas Ranchers (5), NJ 5s (6), Carolina Pickleball Club (7), LA Mad Drops (8), AZ Drive (9), Columbus Sliders (10), Orlando Squeeze (11), Utah Black Diamonds (12)

Challenger-Level Teams 
Bay Area Breakers (3), Las Vegas Night Owls (5), SoCal Hard Eights (8), California Black Bears (9)

Here are some storylines we’re watching:

• Will Bay Area Breakers be fully restored? They look to make a statement with their waiver-wire picks Jilly B, Allyce Jones, and DJ Young all ready for action.

• Newly hired GM Chris Patrick will have big shoes to fill with the LV Night Owls, who came in second at MST and were previously undefeated. Can he keep things rolling?

• Will the Jay Devilliers-Connor Garnett trade prove to be fruitful for either team? Both Sliders and UBD have struggled thus far: Utah has not won a single match including MST, while the Sliders have won only one match in the regular season— and didn’t even win one game at the MST. The Sliders should also be aided by new acquisition Andrea Koop from Carolina.

PLUS - Who’s hot and who’s not in SLC?

HOT

• NJ 5s. Riding high off their mid-season championship, the 5s are sizzling hot and looking to continue the momentum in Salt Lake City. They have been unbeatable in Dreambreakers— can anyone figure out a way to defeat them before it gets that far?

• Tina Pisnik. She’s put the Ranchers on her back and carried them so far this season, far out-performing her draft position at #30. Will she continue her dominant ride?

• Tyson McGuffin. After a middling start to the regular season, Mr. Electrifying lived up to his hype at Beer City, going 6-1. He’ll face two tough opponents in the Flash and 5s early on in SLC. And of course, we’re all holding our breath for the Squeeze v Black Diamonds grudge match. Can his stock keep rising?

NOT

• Riley Newman. Couldn’t find a win in Beer City. Will a new partner in Jay “Smoldering” Devilliers shake things up and get the #4 overall pick moving in the right direction?

• Alix Truong. Hopefully a hometown crowd can provide the spark that she needs to find her first MLP win of the 2024 season. She’ll likely be alongside newly acquired Connor Garnett; she needs to show something to the Black Diamond faithful soon, or she could be in danger when the waiver wire rolls around after KC.

• Connor Pardoe. Beer City gave us all a glimpse of what COULD be. Everyone is excited for The Picklr experience. Can things run smoothly enough to restore confidence in the MLP product? (How ‘bout those replay cameras?)

Check out this week’s pod, where the guys talk about even more storylines!

Substitutions

Just a few subs have been named, but more could be released by morning.

• Milan Rane in for Vivienne David (Orlando Squeeze)

• Blaine Hovenier subbing for Thomas Wilson (LA Mad Drops)

Note: previously injured DJ Young (Breakers) should be playing this week, but we may see a late scratch. Andrei Daescu is returning to the AZ Drive from his 60-day suspension.

Where to Watch

Thursday matches:

Championship Court - All matches on PBTV and Game+ (Canada). First game starts at 12 p.m. MT (2 p.m. ET)

Grandstand Court - All matches on MLP YouTube

Friday matches:

Championship Court - First match of the day (9 a.m. MT/11 a.m. ET) on MLP YouTube. Remaining matches (beginning 11 a.m. MT/1 p.m. ET) will be on PBTV. FS1 will air matches from 5-7 p.m. MT/7-9 p.m. ET.

Grandstand Court - All matches on MLP YouTube

Saturday matches:

Championship Court - First match of the day (11 a.m. MT/1 p.m. ET) on MLP YouTube. Remaining matches (beginning 1 p.m. MT/3 p.m. ET) will be on PBTV. FS2 will air matches from 7-9 p.m. MT/9-11 p.m. ET.

Grandstand Court - All matches on MLP YouTube

Sunday matches:

Championship Court - First match of the day (9:30 a.m. MT/11:30 a.m. ET on MLP YouTube. Remaining matches (beginning 11:30 a.m. MT/1:30 p.m. ET) will be on PBTV, except 2-4 p.m. MT (4-6 p.m. ET) when it will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN2. Tennis Channel/PBTV will air matches from 6-8 p.m. MT/8-10 p.m. ET.

Grandstand Court - All matches on MLP YouTube

Note: FS1 will broadcast tape-delayed Saturday matches on Sunday, from 4-6 p.m. MT (6-8 p.m. ET)

Daily Lineup

Use these day-by-day guides to find your favorite match-ups.

Thursday kicks off at 12 p.m. MT (2 p.m. ET) with Premier only, and uses a “followed by” schedule. Challenger matches begin on Friday, with one match each on Friday and Saturday, and four matchups on Sunday.

Friday matches begin at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET), and use a “followed by” schedule. Challenger begins approximately 3:30 p.m. MT (5:30 p.m. ET), following the Ranchers-Shock matchup.

Saturday matches begin at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET), and use a “followed by” schedule. The Challenger matchup follows Ranchers-Mad Drops, not to begin before 2:30 p.m. MT (4:30 p.m. ET).

Sunday matches begin at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET), and use a “followed by” schedule. Challenger matches kick off the day on Grandstand, followed by CC at 9:30 a.m. MT (11:30 a.m. ET).