Augie Ge and JW Johnson competing for the Dallas Flash at the Advil Targeted Relief MLP Dallas.
Augie Ge and JW Johnson competing for the Dallas Flash at the Advil Targeted Relief MLP Dallas. Major League Pickleball

3 things to watch for on Saturday at MLP Dallas

The Advil Targeted Relief MLP Dallas continues on Saturday with eight matches across Championship Court and Grandstand Court at Pickler Universe in Carrolton.

Here is the order of play:

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

  • Saturday afternoon will give fans back-to-back matches between top teams, starting with the Los Angeles Mad Drops (16-6, 43pts) taking on the New Jersey 5s (14-3, 44pts). This will be the first meeting between these two teams since the season-opening event in Orlando, where New Jersey prevailed in a DreamBreaker over a Mad Drops squad that had AJ Koller filling in for an injured Hunter Johnson. LA should be at full strength this time around, with newly acquired Ben Johns leading the charge. The first mixed doubles game with Catherine Parenteau/Ben Johns taking on Anna Leigh Waters/Will Howells should be especially exciting, with Waters facing her former PPA women’s doubles partner in Parenteau and current PPA mixed doubles partner in Johns.

 

  • Sticking with New Jersey, the 5s are again elevating Mari Humberg into the starting lineup for their first match of the day against the New York Hustlers (4-18, 10pts). Humberg will play alongside Anna Leigh Waters in women’s doubles and Noe Khlif for the first time in mixed doubles. Meghan Dizon—who outscored her opponents by a collective 44-8 score line through four games on Friday—will be back in the starting lineup for New Jersey’s clash against Los Angeles.

 

  • The day’s second marquee matchup will feature the hometown Dallas Flash (19-2, 61pts) taking on the Texas Ranchers (9-7, 30pts). Dallas triumphed 22-20 in a DreamBreaker when these teams faced off in May at MLP Austin, so the Ranchers will be out for revenge against their intrastate rivals. If this bout goes to a DreamBreaker, Kaitlyn Christian could prove to be a valuable pickup for Texas as the No. 3 ranked women’s singles player on the PPA Tour.

 

Grandstand Court action begins at 11:00am CT, while Championship Court matches will start at noon CT on Pickleballtv.