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

• How will the men for the New Jersey Fives be utilized against the Palm Beach Royals?

• Will the St. Louis Shock sweep the Texas Ranchers as the favorites?

• Who will win the head to head showdowns across all disciplines between the LA Mad Drops’ Ben Johns and the Dallas Flash’s JW Johnson? 

• Will Rachel Rohrabacher play women’s doubles and mixed for the Brooklyn Pickleball Team against the defending champion Columbus Sliders?

Storylines per matchup in Newport Beach:

New Jersey Fives (1) vs. Palm Beach Royals (7)

New Jersey Fives: As the #1 seeds, they chose Palm Beach due to matchups (Sewing/Pisnik are the strength of the Royals, but the #1 team in MLP is the Fives’ Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson). Can Federico Staksrud make the same impact in men’s that he has made so far in mixed?

Palm Beach Royals: Can the fellas find their best level of the year? The Royals went with the hot hand of Casey Diamond in Dallas (Tyson McGuffin did not play). Will that be the plan in Newport? 

St. Louis Shock (2) vs. Texas Ranchers (8)

St. Louis Shock: Will they treat this matchup like a business trip and cruise into NYC? Their challenge in the playoffs the last two years has been getting upset in the semis - this round has not been a problem. 

Texas Ranchers: Can Eric Oncins go wild and win his 2 doubles games to force a DreamBreaker? If so, the Ranchers have a good chance to win in the singles corral, with the formidable women’s duo of Kaitlyn Christian and Lea Jansen.

Los Angeles Mad Drops (3) vs. Dallas Flash (7)

Los Angeles Mad Drops: What’s the utilization of their personnel? The same as Orlando? If Garnett/Parenteau falter early, will Freeman get added to mixed? NOTE: Ben Johns LOST his 2 doubles matchups in San Diego to the Flash and they still made it to a DreamBreaker, ultimately losing 21-17. NOTE 2: Garnett not on the team for that matchup. 

Dallas Flash: LA chose this team: RED HOT. 13 straight match wins. Beat LA last time, also in California. Chip on their shoulder from 2025 playoff loss. Can they carry the momentum to Cali again and will the Flickwizard, JW Johnson, be the difference? 

Columbus Sliders (4) vs. Brooklyn Pickleball Team (5)

Columbus Sliders: Defending Champs. Played their last match on July 19th, a loss to Dallas on Super Sunday with a chance to claim the belt. Will rust or rest prevail? And will their “Peak in August” mantra deliver again in 2026? 

Brooklyn Pickleball Team: Incredibly, they did not play Columbus in 2026, so zero H2H history. Can Alshon dominate his 2 games to force at least a DreamBreaker? And if so, can Chris Haworth resemble his “best singles player in the world” status in the playoffs? He is just 46-45 in DreamBreaker points in MLP so far this season.