DALLAS, TX - The SoCal Hard Eights and Chicago Slice came into the MLP Season 2 playoffs with different levels of comfort.

The Hard Eights, a team featuring Ewa Radzikowska, Yana Newell, CJ Klinger, and Todd Fought, rolled into San Clemente looking to capture their third title in as many events after going undefeated in Atlanta and Dallas.

As the undisputed top team at the Challenger level, they had already earned a spot in Tuesday’s finals and didn’t even have to play a match on Monday.

The Chicago Slice, on the other hand, had not made it to a final in either of the season’s first two events and had to survive an elimination match against the Miami Pickleball Club on Monday just to make the Premier level semifinals.

Despite the difference in their roads, both the Hard Eights and Slice stood victorious as MLP Season 2 champions Tuesday afternoon once all was said and done.

The Hard Eights took on the St. Louis Shock for the title, and the first match of the bout featured Newell and Radzikowska taking on the Shock’s Judit Castillo and Genie Erokhina in women’s doubles.

Both teams saved multiple match points in the tense affair, but Newell and Radzikowska came away with a 27-25 victory to give SoCal an advantage they wouldn’t lose.

This win gave the Hard Eights the momentum needed to win the proceeding men’s doubles and mixed doubles matches to claim the title in three games and complete the first undefeated campaign in MLP history.

After such a dominant run in Season 2, Radzikowska says there’s only one logical way to continue.

“I think the only way forward is to keep us together for the next year so that we can win more,” she joked.

It was a different—and, certainly more dramatic—victory for the Chicago Slice. After getting past the Miami Pickleball Club in four games on Monday, the team consisting of Jessie Irvine, Lacy Schneemann, Ben Johns, and Erik Lange took on reigning MLP Dallas champions, the D.C. Pickleball Team, in the Premier level semifinals.

D.C. jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after winning both gender doubles matches, but Chicago’s mixed doubles pairings of Schneemann and Lange and Irvine and Johns evened the match at 2-2 behind close wins to force a dreambreaker.

Both teams remained even in the dreambreaker until Riley Newman went on a run to give D.C. a 20-16 advantage.

With his team’s back up against the wall, Johns saved two match points against Christian Alshon to make it 19-20 before Schneemann continued the final run to propel Chicago to a 22-20 victory and book a spot in Tuesday’s final against the Orlando Squeeze.

Johns and Irvine followed suit with a 21-19 victory over Daescu and Bright to force a dreambreaker for all the marbles.

Like I said, almost no chance.

Orlando jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the dreambreaker, but Johns reeled off four straight points against Navratil to tie it at 10 before the deficit became too great.

With the dreambreaker tied at 14-14, Jessie Irvine took the match into her own hands. She scored four crucial points in a row against Rohrabacher to give the Slice a lead they wouldn’t lose.

Schneemann would close out the match a few points later to complete Chicago’s second improbable comeback in as many days to claim the Season 2 Premier level title.

Much different journeys for the Hard Eights and the Slice, but the same success regardless.