The first Major League Pickleball event of the season saw several upsets, a ton of close matches and reminded fans what makes team pickleball so exciting. 

The Los Angeles Mad Drops walked away from MLP Dallas as the biggest winner, defeating the Columbus Sliders on Monday to secure the top overall spot for the event and earn 25 standings points.

While most thought LA and Columbus would be solid teams coming into the season, the biggest surprise of the week was that both New Jersey and St. Louis failed to win their respective groups, and instead played in a match to decide 3rd/4th place on Monday.

The Shock edged out the 5s in a Dreambreaker, which puts New Jersey in a tough spot in the standings after Week 1.

5 key takeaways from MLP Dallas

1. Danni-Elle Townsend is a beast. The MLP newcomer from Australia went 4-1 in women’s doubles and 3-2 in mixed doubles to help Columbus secure a strong finish. Benching either Townsend or Alix Truong when Parris Todd returns from a suspension this week will be a very tough decision. Townsend and Truong were a formidable duo.

2. MLP Ben is BACK! It’s unclear if it’s because he likes his new LA roster or if he’s just motivated to take home the title, but his attitude and drive looked light-years different from what we saw the past two seasons.

3. MLP is infinitely more exciting with Ben locked in. For years now, the sport has largely rode on the shoulders of Ben and Anna Leigh, and when they aren’t feeling MLP it’s real tough to get bought in.

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4. This year is truly anyone’s ballgame. Very few people predicted that Columbus and LA would playing for the points title this weekend, and the top 5 finishing teams in the event (LA, Columbus, St. Louis, NJ and Dallas) all looked dominant and vulnerable at times throughout the weekend.

5a. I’ve said for years that MLP should be the anti-PPA. PPA is big, bold, and beautiful; MLP should be raw, high-energy and unfiltered. They’ve gotta stop with the blue cards for silly reasons and let the personalities of the players, coaches, GMs and owners shine through.

5b. Allowing those personalities to shine through gives energy and spice to the matches that either feature the lower-tier teams or matches that aren’t competitive. The drama and smack talk literally makes any match watchable, and without it I found myself disinterested in many of the weekend’s matches.

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