The Major League Pickleball postseason picture is officially set after a high-stakes showdown in Orlando. The New Jersey 5s earned the regular-season title by defeating the St. Louis Shock 3-1 on Zipfizz Super Sunday, securing the No. 1 playoff seed. The result also served as revenge for the 3-0 loss New Jersey suffered against St. Louis in the Mid-Season Tournament final just three weeks earlier.
Key Takeaways
The New Jersey 5s secured the top playoff seed in Major League Pickleball by defeating the St. Louis Shock, avenging a previous loss and justifying a significant mid-season player acquisition.
- New Jersey 5s defeated the St. Louis Shock 3-1, clinching the No. 1 seed in the MLP playoffs and earning revenge for a prior loss in the Mid-Season Tournament final.
- The 5s’ mid-season acquisition of Federico Staksrud and Milly Rane for $400,000 proved successful, with the new players contributing to their championship-clinching victory.
- As the top seed, New Jersey will enjoy strategic advantages in the playoffs, including the ability to choose their opponents and play as the home team in each round.
Mid-season gamble pays off
New Jersey’s victory also justified one of the biggest moves of the MLP season. After losing the Mid-Season Tournament final, the team paid the Orlando Squeeze $400,000 to acquire Federico Staksrud and Milly Rane, and the investment paid off immediately.
Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson opened with an 11-5 women’s doubles victory over Anna Bright and Kate Fahey. St. Louis levelled the tie when Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio beat Federico Staksrud and Will Howells 11-5, improving to a league-best 28-4 in men’s doubles.
The turning point came in mixed doubles, where Waters and Noe Khlif rallied from a 7-1 deficit, saved multiple game points and defeated Bright and Patriquin 15-13.
Playoff edge secured
That comeback completed an unbeaten weekend for Waters and Khlif, who improved to a league-best 29-3 record. Even more impressively, each of their three victories in Orlando came after fighting off at least one game point. With the 5s holding a 2-1 lead, Jorja Johnson and Staksrud sealed the result with a commanding 11-2 win over Kate Fahey and Gabe Tardio.
The victory handed New Jersey valuable postseason advantages. As the No. 1 seed, the 5s will be able to choose their opponents in each round and play as the designated home team, allowing them to react to opposing mixed doubles pairings and DreamBreaker line-ups.
New Jersey finished the regular season with 118 standings points, seven ahead of St. Louis, and will begin its playoff campaign in the quarter-finals on August 14 in Newport Beach after the opening playoff round starts in Dallas on August 7.