Johns brothers claim second straight national championship

FARMERS BRANCH, TX - Ben and Collin Johns bested JW Johnson and Dylan Frazier on Sunday for their 27th career title together and second consecutive national championship.

The brothers embraced on Championship Court as Johnson’s final ball fell into the net to officially seal an 11-6, 12-10, 11-7 victory.

It’s a title that required more than drops, dinks, and drives, however. It also required resilience.

“It’s been an adverse week, mentally recovering, resetting, and having the confidence to come back after adverse events,” said Ben.

One adverse event came in the quarterfinals when Collin took a ball to the face that put him in a medical timeout that lasted 20 minutes.

Ben and Collin barely escaped that match, winning 11-8 in the fifth and deciding game against James Ignatowich and Tyler Loong.

The next day, the brothers beat another duo that previously pushed them to the brink in Federico Staksrud and Pablo Tellez.

And then Ben and Collin stared down the barrel of the gun that was the No. 2 seeds Frazier and Johnson, the only team that has managed to defeat them this season... and they were up to the challenge.

The world's top pair displayed a degree of dominance that has come to define their partnership.

With both teams’ strengths being their hand speed and discipline at the kitchen line, there were some long dink rallies, but the brothers proved to be too solid for their opponents.