The first round of the expanded Major League Pickleball (MLP) playoffs this year is in the books. Pickler Universe in Dallas hosted the first round of the playoffs this past weekend. In 2026 the MLP expanded the playoffs from two weekends to three.

The first four seeds in the playoffs got byes this weekend and didn’t have to play in Dallas. Seeds 5-12 battled it out to make the quarterfinals and face off against one of the top four seeds.

Let’s look at each matchup and the scorelines.

#5 Brooklyn Pickleball Team v #10 SoCal Hard Eights

Match #1 was a highly entertaining match. In fact, I would say it was the most entertaining and drama filled match of the weekend.

Rachel Rohrabacher played in both women’s doubles and mixed. Cailyn Campbell was the star for the Hard Eights in this one, winning women’s and mixed 12-10. Campbell and Will Mackinnon fought off at least six match points to win that second mixed doubles game to force the Dreambreaker. And the Dreambreaker was a nailbiter, with Jackie Kawamoto clinching the win in extra time.

Match #2 was not as close, with Brooklyn winning 3-1 on Sunday:

SoCal was tasked with a huge uphill battle in playing Brooklyn without Armaan Bhatia. They fought valiantly and should hold their heads high for a great season and Herculean effort in that first match this weekend in Dallas.

Brooklyn moves on to the quarterfinals and they are an extremely dangerous team that no one wants to play if they are fully healthy.

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#6 Dallas Flash v #11 Las Vegas Night Owls

This matchup was the most lopsided of the weekend, with Las Vegas only winning one game of the seven played.

The Dallas matchup just proved to be too much for the Night Owls, who had a great overall season. For me, Roscoe Bellamy was on the short list for Most Improved Player, moving to the left this year in MLP and taking a ton more balls out of the air and pressuring his opponents way more than he ever had before.

The Flash have got to feel good headed into their quarterfinal matchup, winning the last two regular season events they played, they won six of the seven games in Dallas, and JW Johnson is playing unbelievably right now.

#7 Palm Beach Royals v #12 Chicago Slice

This was another highly entertaining matchup from the weekend. There was some drama between the teams - specifically Zane Navratil and Casey Diamond (I think).

Outcome of the matches:

The drama really came in the second match when out of nowhere, Zane Navratil hit Diamond in the shoulder from an out of the air speedup and then screamed at him.

Palm Beach women take the first game handedly.

Up 8-4, Zane tags Casy Diamond on a backhand flick out of the air and then proceeds to scream at Casey while walking toward him in the kitchen as Casey is walking away.

This caused Palm Beach to call timeout.

It felt like a…
— Erik Tice (@azetice) August 8, 2026

I am sure this drama will be covered by all the podcasts and maybe even Zane will provide more color and background on what exactly happened.

Chicago had a great season, especially in the last three events. John Lucian Goins really had a stellar performance down the stretch for Chicago and would have been another candidate on my short list for Most Improved Player.

Palm Beach heads to the quarterfinals with an elite level women’s team, a newly formed men’s team that is the biggest question mark, and two mixed teams playing well. They will be dangerous for whomever chooses to play them.

#8 Texas Ranchers v #9 Atlanta Bouncers

Another drama filled matchup with some backstories, some screaming, and two Dreambreakers. Match results:

There was some hostility throughout this one, mostly because Kaitlyn Christian was traded from Texas to Atlanta to start the season and then back to Texas before the deadline. There was a video made about her by KFC Barstool that may have pushed KK into a new level on the court.

This was probably the closest matchup of the weekend, with both matches going to a Dreambreaker. The Atlanta women played well and won both games. Jay and Jaume won the first men’s game, but Eric and Nico won the second. In the end, the Texas Dreambreaker lineup was too much.

Nico Acevedo - 12-7 against Jay Devilliers
Eric Oncins - 8-8 against Jaume Martinez Vich
Lea Jansen - 12-4 against Mari HUmberg
Kaitlyn Christian - 10-6 against Keilly Ulery

Atlanta ends their season having made a great run to make the playoffs and was able to pull off some trades to make the team better down the stretch. The Bouncers should feel good about their season after the sting of the playoff loss wears off.

Texas has proven it is dangerous in Dreambreakers and Eric Oncins can go off at any second. They are a very dangerous team, with the biggest weakness looking like the women’s doubles pairing, but even Lea and/or KK can get hot.

The Quarterfinals of the MLP Playoffs begin this Friday. Be on the lookout for a full preview of the next round on Wednesday.

Matchups: