One day after the No. 2 seeds in men’s doubles fell, the top seeds suffered the same fate in the semifinals, as Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu defeated Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio 11-9, 11-6 to advance to the men’s doubles final at the Opendoor Pickleball World Championships.

The match was a story of strong starts in both games, as the No. 3 seeds jumped out to a 7-1 advantage in Game 1 and a 9-0 lead in Game 2 to notch their second consecutive win over Johns and Tardio.

Even though Alshon and Daescu have traditionally been known for their attacking style of play as a partnership, the key for ‘Team Power Forward’ on Saturday was patience.

“This is pickleball at the highest level, and these guys have really good counters, so as much as we want to just blow through them, it’s not that easy of a game,” Daescu explained. “I think it was so important for us to play the soft game the right way, and then when we had the opportunity, to go for it.”

Since reuniting ahead of the 2026-2027 PPA Tour season in August, Alshon and Daescu have now made the finals in all four tournaments they have played together. They will look to win their third straight title together on Sunday.

Alshon gave some insight into what makes the partnership work.

“We just have the same mindset, and I think we really know what it takes to win,” he noted. “I trust that Andrei’s doing the work, and I trust that he’s gonna be smart in the big moments. I love having him by my side.”

They will face JW Johnson and Tama Shimabukuro for gold.