In what fans and the PPA Tour are already calling possibly “the best match of all time,” Ben Johns and Gabriel Tardio survived an all-out war against Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu, pulling out a 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10 victory in a breathtaking 148-minute men’s doubles final at the Rate Vegas Cup.

The match had everything: drama, athleticism, emotional outbursts, and razor-thin margins. Johns and Tardio won despite being outscored overall, 48–49, and facing match point late in the fifth.

When the final ball dropped, Johns — typically stoic — erupted with a roar, pumping his fists and embracing Tardio in triumph. On the other side of the net, Alshon held his head in disbelief as Daescu looked skyward, acknowledging how close they’d come to pulling off the upset.

 

 

 

 

 

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A Rivalry for the Ages

This marked the sixth meeting between the two teams, with Johns and Tardio now holding a 5–1 edge in the head-to-head series. Each battle has been epic, but none have delivered quite like this one — a match that swung back and forth for over two and a half hours.

Game four saw the biggest momentum shift of the day as Alshon and Daescu stormed through with an eight-point streak, forcing a decisive fifth game. But in the end, Johns and Tardio steadied themselves, digging deep to reclaim the edge in one of the most gripping finishes of the season.

Post-Match Reflections

Daescu was reflective but optimistic after the heartbreaking loss:

“There’s only one way to go, and that’s forward,” he said. “Look, we played a great match, and the margins are very small. We had a match point — again, very small margins — they got it there in the end, but there are a lot of positives.”

Johns, meanwhile, was full of praise for his opponents and his partner:

“A ton of credit to them — they played phenomenal, best I’ve ever seen,” Johns said. “They came back like they usually do, and yeah, we had to face down a match point, and I’m just glad Gabe’s pretty clutch.”

Stats and Storylines

• Duration: 2 hours, 28 minutes (148 minutes 36 seconds)

• Total Points: Johns/Tardio 48 – Alshon/Daescu 49

• Timeouts Used: 4 by each team

• Longest Point Streak: 8 by Alshon/Daescu (Game 4)

For Johns and Tardio, the win adds to their extraordinary run — now eight titles together in 2025, including Texas, North Carolina, Orange County, Bristol, Las Vegas (Open), Cincinnati, Virginia Beach, and now, the Vegas Cup.

Johns now owns 54 career men’s doubles titles, while Tardio climbs to 13 — a partnership that has begun to set the standard for consistency and resilience.

Alshon and Daescu, meanwhile, have established themselves as the clear No. 2 team in the world, collecting five medals this year (including three golds in Tucson, Mesa, and Red Rock). Their combination of power and creativity — “Team Power Forward” — continues to electrify fans and push the sport’s athletic limits.

An Instant Classic

Matches like this don’t just decide medals — they define eras. For nearly two and a half hours, four of pickleball’s finest went shot-for-shot, testing the boundaries of intensity and endurance.

As the PPA Tour aptly described it:

“This one was special.”

Missed it? Watch the match for yourself on Pickleballtv.