Top 4 overall storylines for round 1 of the playoffs (one per matchup):

• Will the Dallas Flash continue their end of season rampage in front of their adoring Flash Mob? They are currently on an 11 match winning streak and won the belt in their last 2 regular season events. 

• Will the Cinderella story of the Chicago Slice continue? The youngsters Elsie Hendershot and John Lucian Goins have injected youth, energy, and high level play into the deep dish pizza lovers. 

• Will Brooklyn avoid DFW-area Urgent Care centers? If they are fully healthy, they are a massive threat to the top teams and a heavy favorite in Dallas. 

• Which version of the Atlanta Bouncers and Texas Ranchers will appear in the playoffs? Two talented rosters have had huge swings in their level of play throughout the regular season.

Storylines per matchup in Dallas: 

Brooklyn Pickleball Team (5) vs. SoCal Hard Eights (10)

Brooklyn Pickleball Team: Had their choice of any of the 9-12 teams as the #5 seed and chose #10 SoCal (Armaan Bhatia is injured and not available which plays a big role in this choice). Christian Alshon was a monster in Orlando. They are heavily favored in Dallas and will be the team no one wants to play in Newport (and thus likely playing 4th seeded Columbus). First things first, must win this matchup.  

SoCal Hard Eights: Youth movement with Cailyn Campbell and Will Mackinnon produced mixed results but good enough for a playoff berth and sets the stage for a big jump in 2027. Bhatia injury is a BIG problem - his level kept improving throughout the season. The dice may come up snake eyes without him.  

Dallas Flash (6) vs. Las Vegas Night Owls (11)

Dallas Flash: Another higher seed avoiding the Slice. The energy and play from Danni-Elle Townsend deserves all of the attention it is getting, but the star of this show (and why they won back-to-back belts) is JW Johnson. Can he maintain his superstar t level play to propel them into the quarterfinals? They are a heavy favorite to do so, especially getting to play in their home venue. 

Las Vegas Night Owls: Finishing as the #8 mixed team in all of MLP, Roscoe Bellamy and Zoey Wang are the catalyst for this squad. They must win their mixed match and find a way to force a DreamBreaker to pull off an upset. The addition of Gabe Joseph makes them a dangerous DreamBreaker team.  

Palm Beach Royals (7) vs. Chicago Slice (12)

Chicago Slice: Playoff experience will serve this team well in 2027. But in the present, can they push the favored Royals with their combination of youth (Hendershot, Goins, Nelson) and veterans (Navratil, Koller)? And don’t sleep on Jamie Wei who has been the constant on the women’s side. 

Palm Beach Royals: In their first season in the league, they made the playoffs behind the impressive run of Tina Pisnik and Sofia Sewing who put together an 18 match winning streak. However…that was broken by Hendershot and Wei. The Royals big question mark all season has been the play and availability of the fellas - which version shows up in Dallas will determine whether they can pack their bags for the quarterfinals in Newport. 

Texas Ranchers (8) vs. Atlanta Bouncers (9)

Texas Ranchers: Turned over their roster throughout the season and that upheaval has resembled their play - terrific in some events, subpar in others. This high ceiling team (Oncins, Acevedo, Jansen, Christian) has the talent to make a run. But can they bring up the floor and avoid critical mistakes in the playoffs?

Atlanta Bouncers: Four veteran players made them the team that none of the 5-7 teams wanted to choose. Their big question is similar to Texas - can they gel and play at a high level consistently in a best of three match pressure-cooker playoff battle? And will it be showtime pickleball, locked-in, or a combination of the two for Jay Devillier and Jaume Martinez Vich? 

Watching at home on Pickleballtv thanks to their byes:

New Jersey Fives (1), St. Louis Shock (2), LA Mad Drops (3), Columbus Sliders (4)