Top 5 overall storylines in New York:

• Which GOAT will make it to the finals as Anna Leigh Waters and the New Jersey 5s take on Ben Johns and the LA Mad Drops in the semis? 

• Will the Chosen Ones (Columbus Sliders) rise again and pull off another upset against the St. Louis Shock after a thrilling triple DreamBreaker series win over the defending champion Dallas Flash?

• As the regular season champs and favorites, can the St. Louis Shock live up to that billing and take home the title with a lineup featuring 4 of the top 7 players from the regular season?

• National CBS window starts at noon EST on Saturday. Huge showcase for MLP and pickleball. 

• Who will take the Challenger title and earn promotion to Premier (Night Owls vs. Chefs)?

   

   

   

   

   

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Storylines per Premier team participating in NYC (by seed): 

St. Louis Shock (1): Coming off a 2-0 series sweep of the Orlando Squeeze, the Shock are full of swagger heading coast to coast to the Finals. Question: Will the hype and weight of expectations stop their charge, or did they learn from their semifinal loss in 2024? 

New Jersey 5s (3): The 5s knocked out the Texas Ranchers in 2 straight but were forced to a DreamBreaker in match 2 when Waters/Howells lost to Kaitlin Christian/Christian Alshon. Question: Will the home court advantage for the 5s be the difference and propel them to a Championship? Bonus Question: As the home team in the first two matches of this series (giving them all the matchup selections), will they choose to put Anna Leigh vs. Ben in mixed doubles as they did in Dallas – which was an 11-4 win for the 5s?

Columbus Sliders (5): Willed to victory by their captain Andrei Daescu, they enter the Finals battle tested after facing and answering every question versus the Flash. Question: Will the chip on their shoulder (“they chose us”) inspiration be the difference again for a team that is now brimming with confidence?  

LA Mad Drops (6): Started the playoffs with a strong, commanding win over Brooklyn in the quarters, losing just one game (women’s in match 2). The combined scores were 33-10 in match one and 41-27 in their 4-game win in match two. Question: Will the ever-improving chemistry between Ben Johns and both partners (Hunter Johnson and Catherine Parenteau) be the difference in driving the Mad Drops to the title (4-0 vs. Brooklyn)?

Head-to-head regular season:

St. Louis Shock 2-0 vs. Columbus Sliders. Winning 4-0 in Columbus and 3-1 in St. Louis. NOTE: CJ Klinger did NOT play in the match in Columbus.

New Jersey 2-0 vs. LA Mad Drops. 3-2 in Orlando and 3-2 in Dallas. NOTE: Much different lineups in Orlando. NOTE 2: The loudest roar in pickleball history took place at 20-20 in the DreamBreaker in Dallas when Waters and Parenteau took the court, with Waters ultimately winning two points and the match for the 5s, 22-20.

Challenger Finals:

• Las Vegas Night Owls were the regular season champions, and the Nashville Chefs finished 2^nd so chalk to the finals.

• Las Vegas won the head-to-head 5-1 but…5 of these 6 matches went to a DreamB reaker. 

• Included in that record was a thrilling 22-20 DreamBreaker win for the Night Owls over the Chefs at the Mid-Season Tournament when Brooke Buckner hit the shot heard across Michigan, walking it off with a blistering forehand on the run.

Premier semi-final matchups (best 2 of 3 series) on Friday August 22 (all times EST): 

• 11:30am: Match 1: St. Louis Shock (1) vs. Columbus Sliders (5)

• 1:30pm: Match 1: New Jersey 5s (3) vs. LA Mad Drops (6)

• 3:15pm: Match 2: St. Louis Shock (1) vs. Columbus Sliders (5)

• 5:00pm: Match 2: New Jersey 5s (3) vs. LA Mad Drops (6)

Location/times:

• City Pickle, Central Park, New York City

• With the potential and uncertainty for deciding third matches, check the Major League Pickleball socials for exact matchups and times for Saturday and Sunday. 

• Saturday at noon EST on CBS will either be a 3^rd match of one of the Premier semis or the first match of the Finals series. 

• Catch the action on Pickleballtv.