In the 2024 Premier level draft, the Utah Black Diamonds selected Tyson McGuffin with the 19^th overall pick and filled out the rest of their roster with Tyler Loong, Callie Smith, and Alix Truong.

Less than a week later, Utah traded McGuffin to the Orlando Squeeze in exchange for Jay Devilliers and $50,000.

The primary reason for that trade was McGuffin’s reluctance to play alongside Loong because of a history of ‘bad blood’ between the two.

Both Utah and Orlando would go on to miss the playoffs in 2024.

Fast forward to 2025, and Utah looks significantly different with roster of Loong, Connor Garnett, Allyce Jones, and Genie Erokhina. McGuffin is now on the Phoenix Flames alongside Jack Sock, Jessie Irvine, and Genie Bouchard.

The two squads faced off on Friday night at the Edward Jones MLP Phoenix in a matchup that had more at stake than just standings points.

For Utah, it was a chance to get some revenge on McGuffin for leaving without even playing a single match; for McGuffin, it was a chance to show that leaving was the right choice.

In the end, Utah earned a 3-1 victory as McGuffin dropped both of his matches.

The current standings are further evidence of the Black Diamonds’ momentum; they are averaging 1.40 points per match so far, compared to just 0.82 for the Flames.

Obviously, there is a lot of pickleball left to be played this MLP season, but McGuffin’s decision to leave in 2024 will continue to be a topic of discussion if Utah makes the playoffs and Phoenix doesn’t.