Saturday was another great day of team pickleball action from MLP DC.

Matches were long and intense. So long in fact, that the DC v Dallas match could not be played because of darkness and was postponed to a future MLP event.

Let’s go over the action that did occur, and what stood out, for good or ill.

 

1. Can you say Dreambreaker? Historically, about one-third of MLP matches result in a Dreambreaker. However, in DC just over 50% of all matches have gone to a Dreambreaker. That is true for both Premier and Challenger. It shows the skill level of the teams is fairly well balanced. Of course, there is nothing in pickleball more exciting than a Dreambreaker, so it has been great for fans.

 

2. Unpredictably. The skill of Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns is awesome to watch, but it can result in some PPA events where the #1 seed wins a high percentage of the time. Not so in MLP. Whether it is because of players playing with unfamiliar partners, or because teams are drafted so there is competitive balance, or because of the differing pressures brought from a team format, it is very hard to predict which team will win a match, which side will win a game, or which player will win points in a Dreambreaker. New York appeared to be a significant underdog to league leader St. Louis but New York to their credit gutted out a tough 3-1 win. In a Dreambreaker between Carolina and Texas, Ben Johns was outscored 8-4, but his teammates (none known for singles ability) outscored their foes 19-13, for a 23-21 victory. The unpredictability of MLP was on display today and it was great. Just don’t ask me for advice on who to bet on.

 

3. Quang Duong. Duong subbed again for Christian Alshon on Texas and appeared right at home. His highlight would have been his opening 4-0 sweep of Ben Johns in a Dreambreaker, but Texas could not convert the early lead to a win. Will Duong be a waiver wire pickup at mid-season? If so, who would you drop?

 

4. Jackie Kawamoto. Kawamoto led New York to its two victories on Saturday. Kawamoto was 4-0 on the day and also dominated in the one Dreambreaker she played, winning 8-1 on her points, including the match winner. You pretty much cannot do better than that.

 

1. Lights? The last match of the day was supposed to be Dallas v DC. But because other matches took so long, and darkness was approaching, the match had to be postponed. This could result in later scheduling problems down the road. Will one team now be forced to play an extra match on a day already filled with several matches? The facility could have used some lights, for longer play. With seven matches scheduled on Sunday, we could face the darkness issue again.

 

2. A bigger stadium? The stands were packed today. That is a good thing. It is also a common thing to see at many PPA events. We all need to recognize pickleball is exploding. Just when you think it’s grown by 30% a year, you find out it is more like 40%. MLP and PPA need to recognize the good news; your product is in high spectator demand in many places. Give me some bigger stadiums, let more fans see the great product. Some people will say I’m crazy when I claim hot pickleball places like Phoenix could attract 5000 people for a pro pickleball match. In two or three years, that estimate may seem low. Kudos to DC fans for turning out, now let’s reward them with a bigger set of seats.

 

Tune in Sunday for more great play, on the last day of MLP DC.

 

Follow me on Twitter/X @pickleball_jim