Major League Pickleball Announces Matchups, Dates, Times, and Courts for MLP Atlanta

MLP Atlanta is the first Major League Pickleball event in 2024, taking place Thursday, May 9-12. The event takes place ahead of the PPA Atlanta at the same venue, Life Time Peachtree Corners.

Here are the matchups for the first event of 2024:

Thu, May 9	Championship Court	Thu, May 9	Grandstand Court
2 p.m.	Columbus Sliders v Texas Ranchers	–	–
4 p.m.	Frisco Pandas v SoCal Hard Eights	4:30 p.m.	Florida Smash v Bay Area Breakers
6 p.m.	NY Hustlers v Columbus Sliders	6:30 p.m.	Frisco Pandas v Bay Area Breakers
Fri, May 10	Championship Court	Fri, May 10	Grandstand Court
10 a.m.	Dallas Pickleball Club v Texas Ranchers	10:30 a.m.	Atlanta Bouncers v Frisco Pandas
12 p.m.	NJ 5s v LA Mad Drops	12:30 p.m.	Brooklyn Aces v Bay Area Breakers
2 p.m.	NY Hustlers v Dallas Pickleball Club	2:30 p.m.	Atlanta Bouncers v Miami Pickleball Club
4 p.m.	St. Louis Shock v Texas Ranchers	4:30 p.m.	Frisco Pandas v SoCal Hard Eights
6 p.m.	NJ 5s v NY Hustlers	6:30 p.m.	Miami Pickleball Club v SoCal Hard Eights
Sat, May 11	Championship Court	Sat, May 11	Grandstand Court
10 a.m.	NJ 5s v AZ Drive	10:30 a.m.	Brooklyn Aces v Florida Smash
12 p.m.	Atlanta Bouncers v SoCal Hard Eights	12:30 p.m.	Miami Pickleball Club v Bay Area Breakers
2 p.m.	Columbus Sliders v AZ Drive	2:30 p.m.	St. Louis Shock v LA Mad Drops
4 p.m.	DC Pickleball Team v Columbus Sliders	4:30 p.m.	Brooklyn Aces v SoCal Hard Eights
6 p.m.	Orlando Squeeze v St. Louis Shock	6:30 p.m.	DC Pickleball Team v AZ Drive
Sun, May 12	Championship Court	Sun, May 12	Grandstand Court
10 a.m.	Dallas Pickleball Club v LA Mad Drops	10:30 a.m.	Atlanta Bouncers v Bay Area Breakers
12 p.m.	DC Pickleball Team v St. Louis Shock	12:30 p.m.	Florida Smash v SoCal Hard Eights
2 p.m.	NY Hustlers v Orlando Squeeze	2:30 p.m.	Miami Pickleball Club v Bay Area Breakers
4 p.m.	DC Pickleball Team v Dallas Pickleball Club	4:30 p.m.	St. Louis Shock v AZ Drive
6 p.m.	Orlando Squeeze v Texas Ranchers	–	–

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Premier Level breakdown

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The first and obvious note is that two teams are not playing at the MLP Atlanta - the Utah Black Diamonds and the Seattle Pioneers.
The St. Louis Shock have a match on Friday, two on Saturday, and two on Sunday – so much for letting Kate Fahey ease into Premier Level play.
Orlando – while only playing three matches in MLP Atlanta – has to play Saturday night and two matches on Sunday.
Similarly, the AZ Drive is going to be playing a lot of matches quickly – they play at 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm on Saturday, and then again Sunday afternoon. We will quickly see where Kaitlyn Christian and Lacy Schneemann are compared to the rest of the women’s teams.

Challenger Level breakdown

The Slice, Night Owls, and Black Bears are all not playing in the MLP Atlanta event. I am guessing that there are contractual issues for some of their players and they will only be attending certain events.
Bay Area and SoCal are both playing six matches. It will be exciting to see Christine Maddox and Max "Purple Jesus" Manthou in MLP uniforms for the first time. We will also see Patrick Kawka for the first time in MLP – he brings a crazy forehand drive and overhead.
The Bouncers have four matches, and while we have seen Martinez Vich, Erokhina, and Fought in the Challenger Level, we will get to see Layne Sleeth for the first time.