The Kaysville Picklr hosted the last Major League Pickleball (MLP) event of the regular season, and it had excitement throughout.
The Picklr hosted an MLP event for the second year in a row, and this one was even bigger and better than last year’s.
As the last event of the regular season, there were tons of playoff implications on the line, and plenty of drama.
Final Premier Level regular season standings
Top Storylines from MLP Salt Lake City
The crowd and the newly revamped Black Diamonds brought the energy
Utahns came out in droves for the MLP Salt Lake City event. The fans were electric all weekend long. There were vuvuzelas (I thought these were banned), whistles, Callie Smith braids, and tons of great signs in the stands.
The Black Diamonds fed off that energy all weekend, and earned 12 points out of a possible 15. Newly acquired Etta Tuionetoa played great in front of her hometown crowd and meshed in well with the team. Utah went 4-1 this weekend, with their only loss being against the Texas Ranchers.
Etta and Allyce proved they are a formidable duo, going 5-0, and really putting the team in good position going forward. I doubt the Ranchers choose to play the Black Diamonds in the first round of the playoffs, because they have proven they are a team not to be taken lightly.
In an odd twist of fate, the Black Diamonds played the Orlando Squeeze in their first match on Sunday. Utah won 4-0.
The reason this was odd, is because this will very likely be one of the two matchups in the first round of the playoffs. Utah chose to go out and “dominate,” according to their owner, Connor Pardoe, at a halftime interview.
Instead, Orlando looked very lackluster and not giving it their all. In fact, they almost got pickled twice. Was this a case of Orlando not playing well? Is Utah that good? Was this gamesmanship on Orlando’s part, making Utah feel confident? We will most likely find out in two weeks in San Diego.
Wyatt Stone was the hero no one knew the Texas Ranchers needed
The Texas Ranchers entered the weekend needing 14 of 15 points to surpass the LA Mad Drops for the 6 seed in the playoffs. The 6 seed is important because that spot gets a first round bye in the playoffs. The 7 seed has to play in the first round.
The feat seemed near impossible, especially once it was known that Wyatt Stone would be subbing for Christian Alshon, who stayed home this weekend.
What did Texas do? Beat the Chicago Slice, 3-2 in a DreamBreaker, beat Utah, Miami, and Orlando in regulation, and then faced Atlanta on Saturday.
If they won in regulation, the Ranchers would have earned the 6 seed. Instead, they lost in a Dreambreaker, coming up just short.
Stone cloned the Dreambreaker win for Texas against Chicago. He went 6-4 on the weekend, winning all five mixed doubles matches he played with Kaitlyn Christian.
The Wyatt Stone story is super intriguing, but what is more intriguing is what Texas does with Alshon, with the playoffs just two weeks away. Is he going to play in San Diego? One would assume yes, but we don’t have much intel here.
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The Fives earned the 3 seed
The New Jersey 5s entered Salt Lake City needing four points from three matches. They earned nine points and sat Anna Leigh Waters in their last two matches on Sunday. Although they lost to the Squeeze in regulation in the last match, they had a very successful weekend.
Newcomer Noe Khlif is still looking to figure things out as a member of the 5s, having gone 4-4 on the weekend, going 1-3 with Meghan Dizon in mixed doubles. They even got pickled in one game. New Jersey will look to continue building on court chemistry as they head into the playoffs.
The Miami Pickleball Club earned the last spot in the playoffs
Miami gutted their team before the trade deadline.
Noe Khlif? Gone. For cash and Craig Johnson.
Milan Rane? Gone. For cash and Samantha Parker in a three-way deal.
The starters for Miami in MLP SLC were Mya Bui, Jay Devilliers, Yuta Funemizu, and Tammy Emmrich (acquired from Carolina).
What did they do? Earned three points from their five matches, BARELY reaching the playoffs as the 10 seed. They were able to hold off the Chicago Slice and the Atlanta Bouncers for that last spot.
While Miami only earned three points, so did the Atlanta Bouncers this weekend. The Slice earned four. Miami’s lead headed into the weekend proved to be enough, launching them into the playoffs.
This was a big accomplishment for a team who had recently lost their two most consistent players. They showed a ton of grit and team spirit throughout the weekend to make the playoffs.
The California Black Bears moved up two spots in Challenger level seeding
The Black Bears began the weekend in fifth place out of six in the Challenger Level. They recently acquired Martin Emmrich for Juan Benitez, so both men on their team did not start the year on their team.
The Bears women, Layne Sleeth and Lina Padegimaite, have been super solid this entire season, and ended the season going 18-7 overall. They have been the rock of the Black Bears this year.
The addition of Emmrich proved to be a fantastic move for California. Jimmy Miller, who holds the title of President and GM of the Black Bears got him late in the year, but he proved to be important down the stretch.
The Bears went 5-0 in Salt Lake City, earning 14 out of a possible 15 points, and jumping two spots in the standings. They overtook both Bay Area and D.C. to win the three seed. This allows them to choose their opponent in the first round of the playoffs, and they will most likely choose the last place Florida Smash.
Final Challenger Level regular season standings
Be on the lookout for a full MLP playoff preview next week, heading into the first round in MLP San Diego, August 15-17.
