The story of MLP Dallas focused on the two top seeds, the St. Louis Shock and the Dallas Flash, as they battled to secure the top seed for the playoffs. MLP Dallas also featured the new look LA Mad Drops, with newly-acquired Ben Johns taking the court for the first time with his new teammates. Playoff teams the New Jersey 5s and the Texas Ranchers were also in action, guaranteeing that there would be quite a few matchups involving top teams and players. MLP Dallas did not disappoint, as big crowds were there to cheer on the home team.

 

 

St. Louis and Dallas did not play each other at MLP Dallas, but both teams did a lot of scoreboard watching to keep track of how each team was doing. St. Louis entered MLP Dallas with a slight lead, and they hung on to it all weekend. But Dallas would not quit. Dallas kept pace with St. Louis, such that the top seed could not be decided until the last day, Sunday. Even on Sunday, the early matches kept Dallas’ hopes alive. With two matches to go both for MLP Dallas and in the regular season for both teams, Dallas still had a chance to catch St. Louis. In the next to last match, Dallas was up against LA and Ben Johns. Dallas needed to win 4-0 or 3-1 to have a chance. Tyra Black and Jorja Johnson came out firing and defeated Jade Kawamoto and Catherine Parenteau by the relatively easy score of 11-3. In men’s doubles, Ben Johns and Hunter Johnson defeated JW Johnson and Augie Ge 11-5. Now Dallas needed a sweep of the mixed matches, or St. Louis would mathematically clinch the top seed. In the first mixed match, Johns and Parenteau took out the Johnsons 11-8, ensuring that Dallas could not get enough team points to catch St. Louis.

 

 

 

As we predicted in our MLP preview column, many of the top matches went to DreamBreakers. The top teams are so close in talent that many matches will knot at 2-2, necessitating a DreamBreaker. MLP Dallas did not disappoint when it came to DreamBreakers. The LA vs. New Jersey match on Saturday was a standout. Anna Leigh Waters (and Will Howells) won the much anticipated mixed match against Ben Johns (and Catherine Parenteau). But Hunter Johnson and Jade Kawamoto won their mixed match against Noe Khlif and Meghan Dizon to send it to a DreamBreaker. New Jersey jumped out to an early lead, but LA fought back. Fittingly, it was Waters who scored the last two points to close out a thrilling 22-20 victory.

 

MLP Dallas closed with two DreamBreakers. LA defeated Dallas 21-18, and then St. Louis closed out New Jersey 21-12. St. Louis showed in that DreamBreaker that they are not only a threat in every doubles match, but that they can hold their own with anyone in a DreamBreaker.

 

 

 

With St. Louis and Dallas clinching the top two seeds, it was then up to the rest of the Premier teams to find their playoff slot. New Jersey clinched #3, with Brooklyn #4, Columbus #5, and LA #6. Those top six teams will avoid the first round play-in matches. Texas and Orlando will be the home teams in the first round play-in matches. Utah will be one opponent, and the last slot will be determined later this week in Salt Lake City. Miami has a slight lead over Chicago, and those two teams will battle it out for the 10th and last playoff spot.

 

 

Six of the current Premier teams will have to wait till next year to improve. Those teams are Miami or Chicago (whoever does not get the last playoff spot), Carolina, Phoenix, SoCal, Atlanta, and New York. They will be joined by the team that wins the 2025 Challenger crown. For the six teams in Premier this year who miss the playoffs, some soul searching will be needed. Will they hire new coaches and general managers, as we would normally see for teams missing the playoffs in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB? Will they spend money in the 2026 auction, when a number of very good players will be available? With smart management, this year’s non-playoff team can become a Cinderella story for 2026, if managed correctly. The offseason will be fun to follow.

 

For now, it is on to Salt Lake City, as the Utah Black Diamonds will host the last regular season MLP event. It starts Thursday. Tune in to Pickleballtv to catch the action and find out if Miami or Chicago will make the playoffs.

 

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