It's Day 1 of MLP Miami, and I've got all the latest updates from the final regular season event of 2024.

Check back here throughout the day, as this article will be modified as results come in. 

You can watch the action for yourself on the Pickleballtv and the MLP YouTube, starting at 9:30 a.m. EST.

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5:15 p.m. EST: Miami outlasts Atlanta in DreamBreaker for first win on home court

The Miami Pickleball Club kicked off its home stand with a DreamBreaker victory over the Atlanta Bouncers in Thursday's final match.

After teams split the gender doubles games, Miami's Eric Oncins/Milan Rane faced off against Atlanta's Jaume Martinez Vich/Susannah Barr. 

Martinez Vich/Barr were 7-0 together coming into this matchup, but Oncins/Rane earned a match point at 24-19 with stellar play. A few minutes later, though, it was Martinez Vich/Barr who walked away with a 27-25 triumph to give the Bouncers a 2-1 advantage. 

Not deterred by the narrow defeat, Noe Khlif/Bobbi Oshiro evened the match with a win over Todd Fought/Emily Cederquist in the second mixed doubles game. 

Khlif and Oncins both shined in the ensuing DreamBreaker; Khlif outscored Martinez Vich 8-3 and scored the final point, while Oncins outscored Fought 6-2 through two rotations. 

Those standout performances helped Miami come out on top by a 21-14 score line. 

This result keeps Miami at the top of the Challenger level standings, while Atlanta remains in fourth on a points-per-match basis. 

Both squads will be back in action on Friday, with Atlanta taking on the Frisco Pandas and Miami set to face the Brooklyn Aces.

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3:20 p.m. EST: DC eliminates Carolina from playoff contention with regulation victory

Thanks to wins from the pairings of James Ignatowich/Rachel Rohrabacher and Dekel Bar/Vivian Glozman in mixed doubles, the DC Pickleball Team earned a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Pickleball Club to close out Premier level action on Day 1 in Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

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Perhaps more importantly, though, DC officially ended Carolina's playoff hopes. Carolina can finish with a maximum of 29 points, and there are already six teams with 30 or more on the season. 

DC has five more matches to play over the next three days in South Florida. If they earn more than 13 standings points across those contests, they will overtake the Dallas Flash and finish the season in the No. 3 spot in the standings, earning the right to choose who they play in the first round of the MLP playoffs in Dallas.

Up next for DC is a clash against the New York Hustlers in Friday’s first match on Championship Court.

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1:25 p.m. EST: Pandas outduel Aces for second win of the day

The Frisco Pandas continued their strong start with a 3-1 triumph over the Brooklyn Aces for their second regulation victory of the day. 

Michael Loyd and Stefan Auvergne dropped the opening men's doubles game to Brooklyn's Pablo Tellez and Daniel de la Rosa, but Frisco stormed back to take women's doubles and both mixed games. 

This result makes the two teams neck-and-neck in the standings; Frisco has one more point, but they have also played one more match. Both squads are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive with each contest this week in the 305.

Frisco and Brooklyn will be back in action on Friday, with the Pandas set to face the Atlanta Bouncers and the Aces taking on the Miami Pickleball Club.

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1:05 p.m. EST: Mixed doubles powers Atlanta to DreamBreaker victory over Chicago

The Atlanta Bouncers began their time in South Florida with a DreamBreaker victory over the Chicago Slice.

Atlanta dropped both gender doubles games, but the mixed doubles pairings of Jaume Martinez Vich/Susannah Barr and Todd Fought/Emily Cederquist both won their matches to bring on the deciding contest. 

Mixed doubles has been the name of the game for Atlanta in this final stretch of the regular season; Martinez Vich/Barr are 7-0 together, while Fought/Cederquist boast a 5-2 record themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

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With this win, the Bouncers upped their average points per match to 1.63, a mark that is good for fourth place in the Challenger standings. They will look to keep it going against the Miami Pickleball Club in Thursday's final match on Championship Court, while Chicago will look to rebound against the Florida Smash at 3 p.m. EST on Grandstand Court.

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11:35 a.m. EST: Carolina downs Orlando, stays in playoff hunt

The Carolina Pickleball Club earned a 3-1 victory over the Orlando Squeeze in what was a must-win match for the squad featuring Ben Johns, Collin Johns, Brooke Buckner, and Kaitlyn Christian.

 

 

 

 

 

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B. Johns picked up wins in both men’s and mixed doubles for Carolina, but the story of the match was Buckner and Christian’s 25-20 victory over Orlando’s Vivienne David and Meghan Dizon in women’s doubles.

A key part of their strategy was half-stacking, which isn’t common in rally scoring; Buckner played the left when the team was serving, while Christian played the left on the return.

That allowed Christian to crash at the kitchen line off of Buckner’s third shot drives on serve.

“Kaitlyn moves so well, and she can be pretty intimidating at the net with my drive, so that was plan: for me to drive and Kaitlyn to do her thing,” Buckner explained.

Carolina remains playoff eligible with this win, but they will have to win both of their remaining matches in regulation and hope for abysmal performances from both the DC Pickleball Team and New York Hustlers this weekend to stay in the hunt.

Orlando is also still in it, but they now have to win their five remaining matches and have favorable results from other teams to sneak into the top six.

Carolina will face DC later Thursday afternoon, while the Squeeze will next face New York on Friday.

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11:00 a.m. EST: Frisco starts off with key victory over Florida

The Frisco Pandas kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 victory over the Florida Smash to begin action in the Sunshine State. 

The teams split the gender doubles games, but Frisco's mixed doubles pairings of Ewa Radzikowska/Stefan Auvergne and Tammy Emmrich/Michael Loyd each picked up wins to seal the deal in regulation.

This win makes Frisco and Florida tied at 26 points with three regular season matches remaining. They will both almost certainly have to win out to have any chance at making the playoffs at the Challenger level.

Both teams will be back in action Thursday afternoon, with the Pandas set to face the Brooklyn Aces and the Smash taking on the Chicago Slice.

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8:00 a.m. EST: Order of play released

There are seven matches to be played on Thursday. Check out the full order of play below.

 

 

 

 

 

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