The third stop of the 2026 Major League Pickleball season is taking place at Chaifetz Arena for the MLP St. Louis event. If you need to catch up, here's the MLP Dallas event recap and the MLP Columbus event recap to get up to speed. The arena is on the Saint Louis University campus and hosts SLU athletics competitions, including basketball. The arena seats over 10,000 spectators.

With two events already in the books, there are a lot of storylines for St. Louis - let’s get into it.

The St. Louis Shock Are Hosting and Playing Their Third Straight Event

The St. Louis Shock did NOT look good on Sunday in Columbus. They finished second to the New Jersey 5s in the event, but got beat 3-0 in that final match. 

They finished third in Dallas, beating the 5s in a Dreambreaker. So the Shock finished third and then second in the first and the second events.

Can they win their first event at home? The St. Louis Shock won the first MLP Cup in franchise history, and a hometown win at MLP St. Louis would be the statement result of the 2026 season so far.

It's crazy that the Shock will be 60% of the way through their regular season after MLP St. Louis and two teams are playing for the first time in MLP St. Louis.

New Teams Playing at MLP St. Louis for the First Time

• Brooklyn Pickleball Team
• SoCal Hard Eights

We have seen plenty of teams gain momentum throughout an event early on in the 2026 season. On one hand, Brooklyn and SoCal are fresh. On the other hand, the other teams have already had a chance to gel and pick up momentum.

The question is - can Brooklyn and SoCal get off to a hot start or are they going to see some early bumps in the road in their initial event?

Pool A at MLP St. Louis: Two Elite Teams and Four Contenders

Brooklyn and LA are in the elite tier. The LA Mad Drops boast Ben Johns on their roster, and the new MLP rules for 2026 make every standings point at MLP St. Louis count toward expanded playoff positioning.

The Night Owls, Flames, Hard Eights, and Black Diamonds are all fighting for playoff positioning. How these four teams play against each other this weekend could go a long way toward their playoff aspirations.

Pool B at MLP St. Louis: A Rivalry in the Making — Orlando Squeeze vs. Palm Beach Royals

This match will go on at approximately 2pm ET on Grandstand Court on Friday. This is a huge miss for me by the league to not put this one in primetime. This match will essentially be for second place in the pool, barring some sort of crazy outcome in Pool B.

The Orlando Squeeze said they should have finished higher than 7th in Dallas. The Palm Beach Royals just got trounced in Columbus, losing 1-3 on Super Sunday. This Pool B clash at MLP St. Louis may effectively decide second place in the pool before the weekend is out.

The Squeeze only have 6 standings points and the Royals have 12. The Squeeze are looking to regain control of Florida from the Royals with a win on Friday and a better finish than the Royals.

How to Watch MLP St. Louis

All match times listed are CST

All matches available on Pickleballtv and the Pickleballtv App, in addition to:

Saturday, June 6

• Live on Tennis Channel 1PM ET - 5PM ET (12PM - 4PM CT Local)

Sunday, June 7

• All day on MSG Network
• Live on Tennis Channel 1PM ET - 5PM ET (12PM - 4PM CT Local)

MLP St. Louis Pool Breakdown

Pool A:

• Brooklyn Pickleball Team
• Las Vegas Night Owls
• Los Angeles Mad Drops
• Phoenix Flames
• SoCal Hard Eights
• Utah Black Diamonds

Pool B:

• Atlanta Bouncers
• Bay Area Breakers
• Orlando Squeeze
• Palm Beach Royals
• St. Louis Shock

MLP St. Louis Team-by-Team Quick Glance

Pool A

Brooklyn Pickleball Team

• Roster: Riley Newman, Christian Alshon, Jackie Kawamoto, Rachel Rohrabacher, Chris Haworth, and Hannah Blatt

Las Vegas Night Owls

• Roster: Zoey Wang, Liz Truluck, Blaine Hovenier, Roscoe Bellamy, Braden Jacobson, and Callie Smith

LA Mad Drops

• Roster: Ben Johns, Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, Max Freeman, Gabe Joseph, and Samantha Parker

Phoenix Flames

• Roster: Alix Truong, Jonathan Truong, Wyatt Stone, Cam Chaffin, Alexa Schull, and Daria Walczak

SoCal Hard Eights

• Roster: Meghan Dizon, Armaan Bhatia, Cailyn Campbell, Will Mackinnon, Rafa Lenhard, and Naomi Nguyen

Utah Black Diamonds

• Roster: Etta Tuionetoa, Connor Garnett, Allyce Jones, Tama Shimabukuro, Victoria DiMuzio, and Tyler Loong

Pool B

Atlanta Bouncers

• Roster: Jaume Martinez Vich, Jay Devilliers, Jessie Irvine, Kaitlyn Christian, Keilly Ulery, and Donald Young

Bay Area Breakers

• Roster: Pablo Tellez, Genie Erokhina, Luc Pham, Mya Bui, Len Yang, and Ella Yeh

Orlando Squeeze

• Roster: Federico Staksrud, Lacy Schneemann, Milan Rane, Jack Sock, Alex Walker, and Yates Johnson

Palm Beach Royals

• Roster: Sofia Sewing, Tyson McGuffin, Dekel Bar, Tina Pisnik, Tammy Emmrich, and Grayson Goldin

St. Louis Shock

• Roster: Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Kate Fahey, Elsie Hendershot, and John Lucian Goins

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the MLP St. Louis event?

MLP St. Louis is the third stop of the 2026 Major League Pickleball season, hosted at Chaifetz Arena on the Saint Louis University campus. The arena seats over 10,000 spectators and marks the first home event for the St. Louis Shock in the 2026 season.

Which teams are in MLP St. Louis Pool A?

Pool A at MLP St. Louis includes the Brooklyn Pickleball Team, Las Vegas Night Owls, Los Angeles Mad Drops, Phoenix Flames, SoCal Hard Eights, and Utah Black Diamonds. Brooklyn and SoCal will be making their MLP debuts at this event.

Which teams are in MLP St. Louis Pool B?

Pool B features the Atlanta Bouncers, Bay Area Breakers, Orlando Squeeze, Palm Beach Royals, and St. Louis Shock. The Squeeze vs. Royals matchup on Friday afternoon is the marquee Pool B clash of the weekend.

How do you watch MLP St. Louis?

MLP St. Louis matches are available on PickleballTV and the PickleballTV app throughout the weekend. Saturday and Sunday coverage is also available on Tennis Channel from 1PM–5PM ET, with Sunday additionally airing all day on MSG Network.

Who are the key players to watch at MLP St. Louis?

Key players include Ben Johns (LA Mad Drops), Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin (St. Louis Shock), Federico Staksrud (Orlando Squeeze), Riley Newman and Chris Haworth (Brooklyn Pickleball Team), and Tyson McGuffin (Palm Beach Royals). The Shock's home crowd could also make Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin targets for an emotional home event win.