The Major League Pickleball season continues Friday at MLP Columbus, where 11 teams are in action across four days in the Ohio capital.  

The first three days feature Group Play before the top 4 teams from each group advance to the Standing Point matches on Super Sunday.

Here are the groups for this week’s event:  

Group A: Atlanta Bouncers, California Black Bears, Chicago Slice, Columbus Sliders, Miami Pickleball Club, New Jersey 5s 

Group B: Carolina Hogs, Florida Smash, Las Vegas Night Owls, Palm Beach Royals, St. Louis Shock   

Here is the order of play: 

Now, let’s get into what to watch for.

• Fresh off a third-place finish at MLP Dallas, the St. Louis Shock will play their first matches in Columbus on Friday. They will face the Carolina Hogs and Florida Smash, with both matches set to run on Grandstand Court. This early stretch of the season is a grind for the Shock, as they are the only team competing in the first three events: Dallas last week, Columbus this week, and St. Louis next week. The Anna Bright-led squad will look to remain fresh and further cement their status as one of the favorites to win the season championship.

• The Miami Pickleball Club had a strong showing to start the season, falling in a DreamBreaker to the Columbus Sliders in their first match on Thursday. That squad—with only one full season of MLP experience between its six players—will look to get in the win column on Friday with matchups against the Atlanta Bouncers and New Jersey 5s. Nico Acevedo proved to be the X-factor for Miami on Thursday as he won both his men’s doubles and mixed doubles games, so he will be looking to maintain his form on Friday.

• The Atlanta Bouncers kicked off their 2026 campaign with a 3-1 victory over the California Black Bears on Thursday. This team—featuring experienced gender doubles teams and no shortage of singles talent—will face a test on Friday in the form of the New Jersey 5s. The men’s doubles contest pitting Atlanta’s Jay Devilliers/Jaume Martinez Vich against New Jersey’s Noe Khlif/Will Howells projects to bring plenty of fireworks into the second match of the day on Championship Court.

Live broadcast coverage from Pickle & Chill begins at 9:30am CT on Pickleballtv.