MLP returns with the playoffs, beginning Friday in San Diego. It starts with the play-in round, where the teams finishing 7-10 square off in a one match, winner-take-all format. The two winning teams will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal round will be best two of three matches and will also take place this coming weekend in San Diego.

 

 

 

Texas finished 7th and thus earned the right to pick their opponent in the first play-in match. Texas chose to play Miami. The Miami men should be fairly competitive. Jay Devilliers for Miami has been playing well, and Yuta Funemizu is greatly improved. But on the women’s side, Texas has a big advantage with Tina Pisnik/Kaitlyn Christian matching up against Mya Bui/Tammy Emmrich. Texas swept Miami 3-0 in the regular season series, and we can expect to see the same in the playoffs.

Prediction: Texas wins 3-0 (4th match won’t be played).

 

 

This is the really interesting play-in match. Orlando finished 8th and Utah 9th, with Orlando winning the regular season series 2-1. This should be a really close match, with neither team favored by much. On the men’s side, Orlando has the best player in Federico Staksrud, and he teams with Dylan Frazier. Frazier has not been playing particularly well since he switched away from the JOOLA paddle. For Utah, Connor Garnett and Tyler Loong have a ton of experience and synergy. The women match up very closely. Orlando has Milan Rane and Lacy Schneemann, while Utah counters with veterans Etta Tuionetoa and Allyce Jones. No one puts out more effort than Jones, and her effort fires up her team.

Prediction: I will take the upset here, with Utah winning 3-1.

 

 

In the quarterfinals, the top six are St. Louis, Dallas, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Columbus, and LA. St. Louis has their choice of opponent, then Dallas picks, then New Jersey, with Brooklyn facing whoever is left. Expect St. Louis and Dallas to pick as their opponents the two teams that win in the play-in round. But, the twist will come with New Jersey’s pick. I predict they will choose to play #5 Columbus and pass on playing #6 LA. That leaves Brooklyn to face LA. Each matchup is best-of-three matches.

 

St. Louis vs. Play-in team (they will pick Miami if Miami wins; otherwise they will pick the winner of Orlando/Utah).

 

St. Louis will be a heavy favorite, no matter who they play. Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio have been easily the best men’s doubles team all year. Anna Bright and Kate Fahey were not quite as dominant as the men, but were still a top team. In mixed, Patriquin/Bright were one of the best mixed teams, while Tardio/Fahey were the best #2 mixed team. St. Louis is just too deep. They will win in two matches, 2-0.

 

Dallas vs. Play-in team (they will pick whichever play-in winner that St. Louis does not pick)

 

Dallas, like St Louis, is a team that goes four strong doubles teams deep. Their mixed team of Jorja and JW Johnson lead the way as they were the #1 mixed team all year. Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black were a top women’s doubles team. The men’s duo of JW Johnson and Augie Ge were only 16-13 in the regular season, not quite the dominant team they were last year when they won the championship. But this team is just too deep for any of the opponents they may get in the quarterfinals. Expect another 2-0 sweep.

 

 

New Jersey finished third and normally would play #6 LA. But expect New Jersey to avoid LA and Ben Johns, and instead pick Columbus. Columbus is a solid and steady team with Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, Parris Todd, and Lea Jansen. Columbus has underperformed. Columbus is a team where the sum of the parts is not as good together as you would expect. All four of their doubles teams have been pretty good, but none have been great. New Jersey, conversely, has been either great or average. Their #1 mixed team (Will Howells and Anna Leigh Waters) and their women’s doubles team (Waters and Meghan Dizon) have been great. Their men’s doubles team has been decent, but their #2 mixed team has been a weakness. This is what led to New Jersey trading to add Noe Khlif. Khlif has not had much time to gel with his new teammates, and now he will need to be at his best against Columbus. This one could be an upset, but I will stick with New Jersey to win 2-1. This one may very well come down to a DreamBreaker in match #3 to determine a winner. Wouldn’t that be something to see?

 

 

The big question for Brooklyn is, who will play on the men’s side? Dekel Bar has missed the second half off the season. Super sub Pat Smith has also been hurt. AJ Koller filled in and did admirably, but he is not going to be in San Diego, so Brooklyn will need Bar or at least Smith to be there. Will either be 100%? On the women’s side, Rachel Rohrabacher has played MVP level, and Jackie Kawamoto has been her usual solid self. Riley Newman has played well, especially at mixed. For LA, the new look team features Ben Johns. He was energized by the trade to LA and I expect Johns to play hard in San Diego. Hunter Johnson has played well, and their women’s doubles team of Catherine Parenteau and Jade Kawamoto were dominant early before fading some late in the MLP regular season. This match will come down to who Brooklyn is able to play on the men’s side next to Newman. If it was a 100% healthy Dekel Bar, this would be a dead even match. If Bar is out, LA should roll. If Bar plays but is less than 100%, LA should have an edge.

Prediction: I will go with LA winning 2-0, with at least one if not two Dreambreaker wins.

The pressure will be on the players in San Diego. Pressure can lead to some upsets, so nothing is for sure. I expect at least one of the quarterfinal matchups to come down to a third and deciding match, maybe even a DreamBreaker to determine who moves on to New York. Either way, this weekend will be must see pickleball on Pickleballtv.

 

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