Callie Smith and Vivienne David playing women's doubles pickleball.
Callie Smith and Vivienne David celebrate a point for the Chicago Slice at MLP Columbus presented by The James at Ohio State. Major League Pickleball

LIVE BLOG: The latest news and updates from MLP Columbus

The 2025 Major League Pickleball season continues this week at MLP Columbus presented by The James at Ohio State, where nine Premier level teams will be in action across four days at Pickle & Chill.

This is the second of ten regular season events that will take place between April and August, and each team will play a total of 25 matches during the regular season before the playoffs.

Broadcast coverage will be available on the Pickleballtv app, which is available for download in the Apple and Android app stores, starting at 12pm ET.

Stay tuned for live updates throughout the day.

5:55pm ET: Miami outlasts Chicago in DreamBreaker

The Miami Pickleball Club (5-4, 12pts) picked up a hard-earned DreamBreaker victory over the Chicago Slice (2-4, 6pts) for its second win of the day at Pickle & Chill.

Miami’s two doubles wins came from Noe Khlif/Jay Devilliers in men’s and Milan Rane/Khlif in mixed to bring on the DreamBreaker.

In that deciding contest, Chicago had an 11-9 lead at the side switch. But consecutive 3-1 rotations by Rane and Jay Devilliers gave Miami a lead that they would maintain until Rane eventually closed out the match against Callie Smith, with a final score line of 21-18.

 

Devilliers talked about his team’s success in DreamBreakers.

“That was our third DreamBreaker of the year, so we feel like we have some good experience because we on the first two,” he explained. “Johnny [Goldberg, coach of Miami PC] was telling me that the energy was not as good this morning and that we had to bring it this afternoon, so I think the team did a great job of doing that in this match.”

Here are the head-to-head results of the DreamBreaker:

Both teams will be back in action on Sunday morning, with Miami set to take on the Atlanta Bouncers and Chicago scheduled to face the Orlando Squeeze.

5:45pm ET: St. Louis Shock (A) v. Orlando Squeeze (H): Pre-Match Notes

The St. Louis Shock (5-0, 14pts) will take on the Orlando Squeeze (7-1, 20pts) in the final match of the day on Toray Championship Court.

Both teams have been on fire to start off the season, with St. Louis being one of only two remining undefeated squads and Orlando having won four matches in a row.

They both have also already been in action on Saturday; the Shock swept the Columbus Sliders, while the Squeeze defeated the Atlanta Bouncers in regulation.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

4:05pm ET: Shock sweep Sliders, continue dominant run

The St. Louis Shock (5-0, 14pts) continued their impressive start to the 2025 season with a 4-0 sweep of the Columbus Sliders (6-4, 17pts).

It’s never easy taking on the hometown team, but Anna Bright/Kate Fahey started things off with a victory over Lea Jansen/Parris Todd in women’s doubles.

That win set the tone for the rest of the contest.

“I was actually feeling very nervous an anxious before this match, and I told some members of the team that that’s usually when I play my best,” Bright said of the opening performance. “I was kind of seeing melons out there.”

 

This result gives the Sliders—who were without CJ Klinger (illness) for a third straight match—their second straight loss after previously winning their last six.

They will look to get back on track when they face the Atlanta Bouncers on Sunday, while St. Louis will next be in action against the Orlando Squeeze for the second edition of Saturday Night Pickleball.

3:55pm ET: Carolina Hogs (A) v. New York Hustlers (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Carolina Hogs (0-6, 2pts) will face the New York Hustlers (1-3, 2pts).

The shorthanded Hogs are in search of their first win of the season after heartbreaking DreamBreaker losses to the Phoenix Flames and Chicago Slice.

They will again be without the Johns bros, in addition to Kaitlyn Christian and Liz Truluck.

The Hustlers are fresh off their first win of the season, which came in a DreamBreaker—also against Phoenix. They will look to make it two in a row against Carolina.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

3:40pm ET: Miami Pickleball Club (A) v. Chicago Slice (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Miami Pickleball Club (4-4, 10pts) will take on the Chicago Slice (2-3, 5pts).

Both teams are fresh off of victories earlier on Saturday; Miami dispatched the Phoenix Flames in regulation, while Chicago outdueled the Carolina Hogs in a DreamBreaker.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

2:25pm ET: Slice survive upset bid from shorthanded Hogs in DreamBreaker

The Chicago Slice (2-3, 5pts) defeated the Carolina Hogs (0-6, 2pts) in a thrilling DreamBreaker early Saturday afternoon.

Carolina was working with only one of its usual starters in Tamaryn Emmrich but put forth a truly inspired effort to nearly pull off an upset over a Chicago squad at full strength.

The two doubles wins from Carolina came from Emmrich/Zoey Weil (replacing the injured Kaitlyn Christian and unavailable Liz Truluck) in women’s doubles and Tammy/Martin Emmrich in mixed doubles in a contest that saw them save match point against Vivienne David/James Ignatowich.

It looked like Carolina might have a chance to pull off the upset when a 4-0 rotation from Ross Whittaker over Ignatowich gave them a 19-17 lead, but Max Freeman used a 4-0 rotation of his own over Martin Emmrich to help the Slice escape with a victory and two standings points.

 

Here are the head-to-head results from the DreamBreaker:

  • James Ignatowich 5-7 Ross Whittaker
  • Max Freeman 10-2 Martin Emmrich
  • Callie Smith 4-4 Tamaryn Emmrich
  • Vivienne David 2-6 Zoey Weil
  •  

Elsewhere, the Miami Pickleball Club earned a regulation victory over the Phoenix Flames in the first match of the day on Toray Championship Court, thanks to two wins in mixed doubles.

Miami and Chicago will face off later Saturday afternoon.

1:50pm ET: St. Louis Shock (A) v. Columbus Sliders (H): Pre-Match Notes

The St. Louis Shock (4-0, 11pts) will do battle against the Columbus Sliders (6-3, 17pts) in what, on paper, is the match of the weekend in central Ohio.

St. Louis is the only remaining undefeated team other than the Dallas Flash and has beaten the Atlanta Bouncers and Miami Pickleball Club so far this weekend.

On the other side of the net, the Sliders saw their six-match winning streak come to an end Friday night when they were swept by the Orlando Squeeze.

One positive note, however, is that CJ Klinger is expected to be available for Saturday’s bout after missing the weekend’s first three matches with the flu.

12:30pm ET: Chicago Slice (A) v. Carolina Hogs (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Chicago Slice (1-3, 3pts) will face the Carolina Hogs (0-5, 1pt) in the first bout of the day on Grandstand Court.

Chicago is fresh off its first win of the season over the Atlanta Bouncers and should be coming into this matchup with plenty of confidence.

Carolina, on the other hand, is still dealing with the fallout from the Johns bros’ decision to pull out of their remaining matches this weekend due to lighting concerns at the venue.

In addition to not having their male starters, the Hogs will also be without Liz Truluck due to a previous scheduling conflict and will have on-site alternate Zoey Weil take her place.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

11:45am ET: Phoenix Flames (A) v. Miami Pickleball Club (H): Pre-Match Notes

The Phoenix Flames (1-4, 5pts) will take on the Miami Pickleball Club (3-4, 7pts) to open up Saturday’s action.

Phoenix opened up their Columbus campaign with a win over the Carolina Hogs, but they have fallen to the Columbus Sliders and New York Hustlers in their last two matches.

Miami is 1-1 on the weekend so far, having beaten New York and fallen to the St. Louis Shock.

Here are the individual matchups for the contest:

Saturday's Order of Play released

Here is the Order of Play for the seven matches being played on Saturday:

 

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