The Dallas Flash Remain Undefeated and Take Home the MLP Mid-Season Tournament
In a tournament filled with storylines, the Dallas Flash created their own storyline by winning the Major League Pickleball (MLP) Mid-Season Tournament.
That’s what they have done all regular season long, and now they did it in the Mid-Season Tournament. Win.
The Flash entered Grand Rapids with a regular season record of 14-0, with two wins coming from Dreambreakers (over The 5s and the Ranchers).
Let’s get into all the action.
Top Storylines
Quang Duong’s Contract was Terminated by the UPA
The buzz surrounding the tournament on Saturday was the news that broke early in the morning - The UPA has terminated Quang Duong’s contract.
Alex E. Weaver
Having just received a $50,000 fine, suspension from four matches in MLP, and suspension from the PPA Orange County Cup, less than three months ago, you would think Duong would want to mind his P’s and Q’s.
Erik Tice
Instead, Duong was seen at multiple pickleball events in Vietnam over the weekend, according to his Instagram account:
The repercussions of this will be ongoing. Will Duong sue the UPA? Will they settle out of court? Will he even fight the contract termination? There are more questions than answers right now, so stay tuned as this particular story continues on.
Plenty of Other Players Missed the Tournament
The Mid-Season Tournament felt a little bit like musical chairs in terms of starters playing alongside bench and/or on-site alternates.
A list of notable players who did not participate in the Mid-Season Tournament:
- Dekel Bar (Brooklyn Pickleball Team)
- Etta Tuionetoa (Carolina Hogs)
- Jack Sock (Phoenix Flames)
- Jaume Martinez Vich (Atlanta Bouncers)
- Jay Devilliers (Miami Pickleball Club)
- Genie Bouchard (Phoenix Flames)
- Pat Smith (Brooklyn Pickleball Team)
- Quang Duong (LA Mad Drops)
- Sam Querrey (Bay Area Breakers)
- Tyler Loong (Utah Black Diamonds)
There were so many substitutes needed that both Collin Johns (Bay Area Breakers and Atlanta Bouncers) and Rafa Hewett (D.C. Pickleball Team and LA Mad Drops) played for two teams this weekend.
While the top four finishing teams all played their starters, the lower level teams just had to do everything in their power to put four players on the court.
Michelle Esquivel and Pablo Tellez got into a Heated Argument in the Challenger Finals
First, the Challenger Level finals were highly entertaining, and I would say the third-best match of the weekend was this one.
The Las Vegas Night Owls (#1) faced off against the Nashville Chefs (#2) in the final, which was what was expected. There was a ton of back and forth, but ultimately it came down to a Dreambreaker.
At one point, Vegas was down 16-10 in the Dreambreaker, and then they went on an 12-4 run, with Brooke Buckner earning the victory for the Night Owls.
Of note, things got heated between Pablo Tellez and Michelle Esquiel in the first mixed doubles game of the match. There was a lot of chirping and back and forth. At the end of the game, when Pablo and Zoey won 11-9 over Esquivel and Brown, Esquivel was seen giving Tellez the middle finger, and not tapping paddles. She was heated enough about the situation to go talk to the referee right after.
The good news for fans is that Challenger Level action is back this week in MLP St. Louis, so we will see these two teams face off against each other again within a week.
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The Dallas Flash Remain Undefeated in 2025
The Flash are the cream of the Premier level crop, if you will. They are now 18-0 if you combine their 14-0 regular season record and their 4-0 record at the Mid-Season Tournament.
In fact, the Flash are so good that they are now averaging 3.29 points per match. With the six extra regular season standings points awarded for winning the Mid-Season Tournament, they are averaging well over 3 points per match now.
Here is a crazy stat: The last match the Dallas Flash lost was in the finals of the 2024 playoffs. Because the playoffs are the best two out of three, the Flash actually lost to the New Jersey 5s in a Dreambreaker on November 24, 2024, before eventually winning the 2024 title. It has been 232 days since the Dallas Flash have lost a match in MLP.
The New Jersey 5s lost to the St. Louis Shock for the Second Time this year in a Controversial Lineup Change
The top teams haven’t played each other much this season. Prior to the Mid-Season Tournament, the 5s had only played the Flash once and the Shock once, losing to both in a Dreambreaker.
The Shock and the Flash had not played each other until the finals of the Mid-Season Tournament.
However, in order to get to the finals, the St. Louis Shock had to first beat The 5s in the semis.
In a somewhat controversial and unexpected roster move, The 5s started Mari Humberg, instead of Meghan Dizon. Dizon had already won two matches with The 5s and was playing well.
In the semi-final against the Shock, while Humberg played well, The 5s ended up losing in regulation, with Mari losing both her games and The 5s men losing as well.
To her credit, Dizon stayed positive despite the benching, and then played two very good matches on Sunday to help secure the bronze medal for The 5s. In fact, Dizon finished as the 9th best player at the Mid-Season Tournament, going 5-2 in her games.
The decision about which woman to start next to Anna Leigh Waters will continue to be a talking point in the media, unless The 5s make a public statement on who their starter is, or until one of them is traded.
Some Bright Spots from Lower Seeded Teams may Provide some Momentum
Despite the top seeds making the semis and the finals, there were some upsets and some very good play from some unexpected players.
A few of the best game/match upsets from the weekend:
- The two college teams did not fair too well in the Challenger Bracket, but the FAU women (Bella Nelson and Ava Cavataio) were able to defeat the Florida Smash women, 11-5
- On Thursday, Blaine Hovenier and Ryan Fu (SoCal Hard 8s) handed Gabe Tardio and Hayden Patriquin (St. Louis Shock) their only loss on the weekend in men’s doubles, 11-7
- On Saturday, Yuta Funemizu and Noe Khlif (Miami Pickleball Club) beat Zane Navratil and Will Howells (NJ 5s) 11-5
- The New York Hustlers won both mixed doubles games against the Miami Pickleball Club, before falling short in the Dreambreaker
Players Who Continued to Raise their Stock in Grand Rapids
- Kaitlyn Christian (Texas Ranchers) - A great first outing for Christian and the Ranchers, losing in the bronze medal match. She went 4-2 in gender doubles while going 1-1 in mixed doubles. Christian looked great on the right side next to Pisnik and may not be as much of a drop-off in doubles as early detractors may have thought.
- Yuta Funemizu (Miami Pickleball Club) - Yuta has a unique game and has an extreme pancake grip, similar to Riley Newman. He also brings a ton of mild-mannered energy. I wouldn’t say he is as loud and rambunctious as Blaine Hovenier, but he brings that same type of positive energy.
- Ryan Fu & Blaine Hovenier (SoCal Hard 8s) - I mentioned above, Hovenier and Fu gave Patriquin and Tardio their only loss on the weekend. These two have slowly been building their stock throughout the 2025 campaign. I have said it before and I will say it again - Fu was not great in the early part of 2025. However, since MLP San Clemente, he looks like a new person. It is great to see both guys playing so well right now.
Quick - take a breath, because Major League Pickleball is back in action starting this Thursday, July 17. The Challenger Level Teams and six Premier Level teams will battle it out at the Chaifetz Arena, in St. Louis. Check out our newsletter Wednesday for a full breakdown of the action.
