Top 3 overall storylines

• How supremely dangerous will the Sliders be with the combination of the return of Parris Todd from suspension, the hometown crowd, and the momentum from a 2nd place finish in Dallas?

• How will the debut of the Palm Beach Royals go in their first ever event? And how will the rest of the teams at their first event play versus others who played in Dallas and have already started to gel (they hope)?

• Will teams continue to utilize their singles specialists in the DreamBreaker – Gabe Joseph, John Lucian Goins, and Albie Huang played strong in Dallas.

Storylines per team competing in Columbus

Group A

Atlanta Bouncers: Make their 2026 season debut. How will returning star Jaume Martinez Vich fare (his health has gotten progressively better throughout 2026)? Jay Devilliers joins the squad, and has had good results with Martinez Vich on the Carvana PPA Tour. What will the mixed pairings be (with Kaitlyn Christian and Jessie Irvine)?

California Black Bears: Young and mostly inexperienced team makes its debut. Michael Loyd will be the “vet” paired with either Anouar Braham or Joey Wild (just added to the team as Luca Mack is placed on season-ending IR). IF they get to a DreamBreaker, their women will be money with the young sensation Kiora Kunimoto and the Aussie Sahra Dennehy. 

Chicago Slice: Brand new squad debuts in 2026. The veteran Zane Navratil, plus Hunter Johnson (traded in for Max Freeman), and the German Tom Protzek make up the men - how will they be deployed? They invested early in the Free Agent Draft for two terrific talents in Mari Humberg and Jamie Wei - but who will play the right as they both traditionally play left? 

Columbus Sliders: The Sliders exceeded prognostications with a 2nd place finish in Dallas without Parris Todd and now they get home cooking. Will they deploy all three women or will Alix Truong sit? And will we see ever improving results from Klinger and Townsend who went 3-2 in Dallas?

Miami Pickleball Club: Made the playoffs in 2025 and look to repeat that with a new look lineup which debuts in Columbus. Nico Acevedo, another Johnny Goldberg talent acquisition special, showed tremendous potential at the end of the Carvana PPA Tour season. Can he light up MLP? Yuta Funemizu and his unique “soft tennis style” also had a great conclusion on the PPA Tour. What will the deployment of the three ladies look like (Isabella Dunlap, Estee Widdershoven and Aiko Yoshitomi)? This team is unproven but full of potential. How will it perform?

New Jersey Fives: Anna Leigh Waters was dominant, but the team finished 4th in Dallas with losses to Columbus and St. Louis. Will they stick with the mixed pairings of Waters/Noe Khlif and Jorja Johnson/Will Howells or switch it up? And will Khlif remain on the left for men’s doubles?

Group B

Carolina Hogs: Got their first match win of the season in Dallas, but finished 6th due to tiebreakers so they remain at zero standings points. Battled illness and injury with both Brandon French and DJ Young. Will Connor Mogle, who was not in Dallas, get into the lineup in Columbus? And will they continue to rotate the three ladies (Samantha Parker, Abbi Hatton, and Alli Phillips)?

Florida Smash: Event number one for the Smash. Player/owner Travis Rettenmaier returns to the court, with Chris Crouch and Cason Campbell on the men’s side. Who plays in what events? Same holds for the women as the trio of Martina Frantova, Paula Rives, and Zoey Weil will likely split the duties. Can they find a win or two in CBus?

Las Vegas Night Owls: New look former Challenger (RIP) champions. Only Zoey Wang remains as Callie Smith was traded in for Brooke Buckner. Their fellas got taller, but are very similar in the two UCLA giants Roscoe Bellamy and Blaine Hovenier (both best suited for the right). How will they perform together? Will the youngster with the nasty twoey Braden Jacobson or the veteran Liz Truluck see the court in Ohio?

Palm Beach Royals: Welcome to MLP, Palm Beach Royals. Sofia Sewing, a talented player will be paired with Tina Pisnik to form a dynamic women’s doubles team. Can they win against the very best teams? And how will the OG men’s doubles team featuring Dekel Bar and Tyson McGuffin perform against the up and coming players seen today in MLP? Grayson Goldin is a singles dynamo who everyone in pickleball is thrilled to see back after suffering a stroke earlier this year. 

St. Louis Shock: Left Pickler Universe disappointed Sunday night after a loss in a DreamBreaker to the LA Mad Drops, but rebounded impressively on Super Monday in a DreamBreaker win over the New Jersey 5s in which Anna Bright was sensational vs. Jorja Johnson. Will early season adversity actually benefit this team? They are a heavy favorite to win Group B in Columbus. 

Marquee matchups

Group A: Columbus Sliders vs. New Jersey Fives (2:30pm Central 5/30): Rematch of Group play from Dallas. Columbus won this matchup 3-1 by sweeping mixed doubles. With Parris Todd back, that makes Columbus even more dangerous. Will the Fives change their mixed lineup and will Alix Truong see the court in this one? This CBus faithful will be in a frenzy. It’s likely again a showdown for the top spot in the Group. 

Group B: Palm Beach Royals vs. St. Louis Shock (4:00pm Central 5/30): Welcome to MLP, Palm Beach! An early season opportunity for the Royals to compare themselves with an elite team. The women’s match should be terrific. Can the veteran Royals fellas (Bar and McGuffin) rise up vs. the young talented duo of Gabe Tardio and Hayden Patriquin in not just men’s, but mixed as well? The Shock will be hyper focused after finishing 3rd in Dallas.