🚨MLP Finals Recap: Dallas Shines, New Jersey Stumbles 🚨

Good evening, picklers.

Here’s what’s on the docket today:

• Pickle Talk: MLP Finals Recap: Dallas Shines, New Jersey Stumbles

• Bite-sized: The Pickleball Power Play: The Kitchen vs. Outta-The-Jar

• Golden Pickle: Enhance Pickleball covers the newest pickleball rules for 2025

PICKLE TALK

 🚨MLP Finals Recap: Dallas Shines, New Jersey Stumbles 🚨

The Major League Pickleball season closed out with a bang, serving up plenty of drama, stats, and surprises. Here’s the play-by-play breakdown from the Premier and Challenger Levels, delivered in bite-sized nuggets.

Let’s dig in.

🏆 Premier Level: Dallas Flash Claim the Title

Semi-Final 1: Texas Ranchers vs. New Jersey 5s

Rosters:

• Texas: Christian Alshon, Etta Wright, Tina Pisnik, Quang Duong

• New Jersey: Anna Leigh Waters, Mari Humberg, Will Howells, Zane Navratil

Results:

• Match 1: New Jersey sweeps 3-0.

• Match 2: Another 3-0 sweep for New Jersey.

🔥 Analysis:

The 5s made quick work of the Ranchers, dominating every category.

• Women’s Doubles: NJ squeaked out a nail-biter (27-25) in Game 1 but crushed Texas in Game 2 (25-15).

• Men’s Doubles: NJ duo Zane Navratil and Will Howells were a wall, outperforming expectations and winning 25-19 and 25-23.

🔎 What happened to Texas?

New Jersey’s consistency and strong mixed doubles pairs sealed the deal early. Once NJ locked in both men’s doubles games, Texas had no way back.

Semi-Final 2: Dallas Flash vs. St. Louis Shock

• Rosters:

• Dallas: JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson, Hurricane Tyra Black, Augie Ge

• St. Louis: Anna Bright, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio, Kate Fahey

Results:

• Match 1: Dallas shocks the Shock with a 3-0 sweep.

• Match 2: Dallas wins 3-1, powered by back-to-back mixed doubles nail-biters.

🔥 Analysis:

Hayden Patriquin’s wrist injury from Friday night was a key storyline. The Shock couldn’t recover despite Anna Bright’s fiery performance in Game 2.

💡 Key takeaway:

The Flash proved they’re clutch under pressure, with both mixed doubles games in Match 2 going into overtime.

Third Place Match: Texas Ranchers vs. St. Louis Shock

The Ranchers tried to sub in Pierina Imparato after Etta Wright withdrew during the Dreambreaker. Controversial? Yes. Effective? No. The Shock cruised to a dominant 25-11 Dreambreaker win.

Finals: Dallas Flash vs. New Jersey 5s

Match 1 (Sunday Morning):

• Dreambreaker: NJ 25-13

• NJ controlled the first Dreambreaker with Anna Leigh Waters and Zane Navratil playing lights-out.

Match 2 (Sunday Afternoon):

• Dreambreaker: Dallas 21-15

• Augie Ge and Jorja Johnson flipped the script with massive performances.

Match 3 (Sunday Night):

• Dallas closed it out 3-1.

• Mixed doubles duo Jorja Johnson and JW Johnson came up clutch with a 28-26 win that shifted momentum for good.

🏅 Real Clear Stats:

• Will Howells (NJ): Won 85% of his speedups in men’s doubles.

• Augie Ge (Dallas): Zero unforced errors in the final mixed game.

• Anna Leigh Waters: Struggled in women’s doubles with 8 unforced errors—the most in any match this season.

💰 Prize money: Dallas Flash takes home $80,000.

🎖️ Challenger Level: Miami’s Grit Shines Through

Semi-Final 1: Atlanta Bouncers vs. Chicago Slice

• Chicago cruised with back-to-back wins (3-0, 3-1). Missing MVP Jaume Martinez Vich hurt Atlanta big time.

Semi-Final 2: Miami Pickleball Club vs. SoCal Hard Eights

• Miami wins Match 1 (3-0), SoCal claws back in Match 2 via Dreambreaker, but Miami seals Match 3 (3-1).

Finals: Miami Pickleball Club vs. Chicago Slice

• Miami came out on top in a nail-biter, winning Match 3 decisively.

Final Word

The Dallas Flash and Miami Pickleball Club came ready to fight, and both walked away champions. Whether it was clutch Dreambreaker performances or strategic patience, these teams showed what championship-level pickleball looks like.

🔥 Quick Hits:

• Anna Leigh Waters’ rough weekend: Lost two games in one match for the first time all season.

• Dreambreaker dominance: Augie Ge is now a certified Dreambreaker assassin.

BITE-SIZED PICKLES to watch out for this week 👀

1/ 🔋The Pickleball Power Play: The Kitchen vs. Outta-The-Jar

Here’s what’s cooking in northern Utah’s pickleball drama pot:

The Setup

Outta-The-Jar Pickleball, a local facility in Roy, listed their business for $395,000 back in July. Enter The Kitchen—a rapidly growing pickleball brand with locations across Utah—ready to talk deals.

The initial pitch? Turn Outta-The-Jar into a franchise of The Kitchen. Things shifted, though, with The Kitchen offering to buy out the facility outright for $200,000—half upfront, half later.

The Twist

Outta-The-Jar handed over everything to make the deal happen:

• Court software and customer lists (nearly 600 names).

• A shiny Google profile with five-star ratings.

• Fully upgraded courts with the iconic Kitchen vibe.

• Their website redirected to The Kitchen’s.

But when it was time for the money transfer, The Kitchen hit them with this text bomb:

“Outta-The-Jar, in our minds, is worth $0.00. We won’t be paying you anything.”

The Fallout

Outta-The-Jar’s owners are claiming over $300,000 in improvements, equipment, and goodwill gone up in smoke. They’re now suing The Kitchen for allegedly pulling a fast one and walking away with the goods without paying a dime.

The Kitchen? Radio silence.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just a local dispute; it’s a cautionary tale for small businesses navigating the competitive pickleball boom. Deals can get murky fast, and trust doesn’t always make it to the court.

Will Outta-The-Jar serve up justice, or will The Kitchen paddle their way out of this one? We’ll keep you posted.

2/ 🏓 Grand Rapids Goes All In—But Guinness Says “Not Quite”

The Attempt

Four pickleball players in Grand Rapids—Brad Haverkamp, Julie Ondersma, Sydney Sonday, and Caleb Dang—set out to smash the Guinness World Record for the longest pickleball game: 34 hours and 5 minutes. They weren’t just chasing glory; they were raising funds for Gift of Life Michigan while doing it.

The scene? A buzzing All In Pickleball Gym, with live streams, cheering witnesses, and a Special Olympics tournament adding to the energy.

The Hiccup

Everything was dinking along fine for over 14 hours, until—uh-oh—an issue with break timing surfaced. Turns out, the team unintentionally overextended their breaks by a few minutes earlier in the day.

Their options:

1. Power through and adjust their breaks to make up the time.

2. Take the risk and hope Guinness forgives the slip.

3. Call it a day and regroup for another attempt.

After some deliberation, they chose option 3.

While it’s a bummer they had to stop at 14.5 hours, spokesperson Phil de Haan said the team is using this as a learning experience. The players and their support crew are already gearing up for round two, vowing to tighten the logbooks and rest schedules next time.

Why It Matters

Breaking records is a grind—literally. While the Grand Rapids team fell short this time, their attempt raised awareness for a good cause and showcased just how much planning goes into chasing a world record.

The lesson? The pickleball court is just as much about strategy as it is about spirit.

Will their next attempt put them in the Guinness books? Stay tuned—this story’s not over yet.

GOLDEN PICKLE: Your must-clicks of the week

Just a few crumbs before you go…😉

1. A 50-Year Comeback A pickleball player is representing Ireland again, five decades after her first debut on the international stage. 

2. Pickleball Market Watch According to Market.Us, the pickleball market is set to hit an all time high of 4.4 USD by 2033
   

3. Violence on the Court In case you missed it, here’s the pickleball face kick heard around the world
   

4. New Rules for 2025 Enhance Pickleball covers the newest pickleball rules for 2025
   

5. Witness the Play TWO 4.0 Pickleball Players vs. ONE 5.0 Player. Prepare for the entertainment.
   

6. Watch & Learn MLP Texas Ranchers vs. St. Louis Shock | Premier 3rd Place Match | Vulcan MLP Orlando Playoffs 2024

7. Miss the last Pickle Talk? 👉🏻  Get the update on the pickleball kick heard around the world. Also, join the debate: Should pickleball only be an inside sport? Plus, see the $400,000 PickleBarn…finally completed.