Major League Pickleball's Daytona Beach event over the weekend gave us the first big upsets of the season, exposing holes in some of the top teams and giving teams in the bottom half of the league standings a glimmer of hope heading into the second half of the season.

There are 5 regular season events remaining + the Mid-Season Tournament. Every team has now played at least 11 matches, so the contenders and pretenders are pretty well defined at this point.

But there were definitely some big movers in Daytona Beach, most notably the Los Angeles Mad Drops.

After playing without Hunter Johnson (finger injury) at MLP Orlando and without Quang Duong (suspension) for 4 matches at MLP Phoenix, the Mad Drops seem to be clicking now that their starters have spent more time on court together.

LA went undefeated at MLP Daytona Beach, including impressive wins over the Texas Ranchers and the previously unbeaten St. Louis Shock in a Dreambreaker. Their 5 wins on the week rocketed the Mad Drops up the league standings, and they made a big jump in these here power rankings.

While the Mad Drops surged, the Ranchers faltered. Texas came into the week 5-3 with their losses all coming against quality opponents (Dallas in a Dreambreaker, New Jersey in regulation and Columbus in regulation). But in Daytona Beach they went 3-3, losing to the previously winless Carolina Hogs, getting smoked by St. Louis and losing in a Dreambreaker to LA.

The other perplexing result from Daytona Beach was the Utah Black Diamonds upsetting the New Jersey 5s in a Dreambreaker (which was 21-13 in favor of Utah). That appeared to be a blip on the radar by the end of the weekend, though, as New Jersey cruised through their other four matches in Daytona in regulation.

Major League Pickleball Premier Level updated standings (as of June 8)

Major League Pickleball Power Rankings -- Week 5

#1: Dallas Flash ↔️

Starters: Jorja Johnson, Tyra Black, JW Johnson, Augie Ge
Bench players: Ivan Jakovljevic, Tatiana Ruhl

Previous ranking: #1
Record: 14-0
Dreambreaker record: 2-0

Best result: Win vs. New Jersey in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: None

Jorja Johnson has been on a mission, compiling an individual record of 26-2 to this point in the season and winning 73.75% of points played -- by far the best in the league. I've got the following dates circled, and would recommend fans do the same: July 9-13 (Mid-season tournament) and July 17-20 (MLP St. Louis). That's when Dallas will likely play the St. Louis Shock in what will be highly anticipated matchups.

#2: St. Louis Shock ↔️

Starters: Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Hayden Patriquin, Gabe Tardio
Bench players: Felicity Di Laura, Erik Lange

Previous ranking: #2
Record: 13-1
Dreambreaker record: 1-1

Best result: Win vs. New Jersey in regulation
Worst result: Loss vs. LA in a Dreambreaker

The Mad Drops may have exposed a couple flaws in St. Louis, as Catherine Parenteau/Jade Kawamoto beat Bright/Fahey convincingly (11-5), then Parenteau and Quang Duong rolled to an 11-3 win over Bright/Patriquin to force the Dreambreaker. The Dreambreaker was its own disaster for St. Louis, as they lost 21-12 to a very strong LA singles lineup. It's hard to hold one loss against them too much, though, as the Shock have only been pushed to one other Dreambreaker on the year (when they beat Brooklyn). But it does confirm (for now) that Dallas should be at No. 1, where I have had them since Week 1.

#3: New Jersey 5s ↔️

Starters: Anna Leigh Waters, Meghan Dizon, Will Howells, Zane Navratil
Bench players: Christa Gecheva, Craig Johnson

Previous ranking: #3
Record: 12-3
Dreambreaker record: 2-2

Best result: Win vs. Brooklyn in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. Utah in a Dreambreaker

Like St. Louis, New Jersey was exposed a little bit in Daytona Beach. This has always been a team that has relied on Dreambreaker success to win matches, but this year they aren't having that success with Dizon being a downgrade from Mari Humberg in singles. I thought Dizon would be a net benefit because she's better in doubles, but it seems New Jersey is still going to end up in its fair share of Dreambreakers, and you'd rather have Humberg or a singles equivalent if that's the case. Their two Dreambreaker losses have not been close: 21-11 vs. Dallas and 21-13 vs. Utah. ... Concerning.

#4: Los Angeles Mad Drops ⬆️

Starters: Jade Kawamoto, Catherine Parenteau, Hunter Johnson, Quang Duong
Bench players: Wes Burrows, Angie Walker, Thomas Wilson (IR)

Previous ranking: #8
Record: 10-4
Dreambreaker record: 3-1

Best result: Win vs. St. Louis in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. Orlando in regulation

Their record says 10-4, but I'm considering them to be 6-1, which is their record in matches where they have played all 4 of their starters. And that one loss was against Dallas. I think you could make an argument that they have the best women's team in all of MLP (Parenteau/Kawamoto are 12-2 and beat the Dallas duo of Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black 11-3 at MLP Phoenix). Meanwhile, Duong/Johnson are 4-3 with one of those losses being 12-10 vs. Dallas' JW Johnson/Augie Ge, proving that they can hang with the best when they are firing. And both mixed partnerships are 5-2. That all adds up to a lot of ways this team could get to a Dreambreaker, and they have arguably the best singles lineup in the league. Look out.

#5: Brooklyn Pickleball Team ↔️

Starters: Rachel Rohrabacher, Jackie Kawamoto, Dekel Bar, Riley Newman
Bench players: Hannah Blatt, Pat Smith

Previous ranking: #5
Record: 7-4
Dreambreaker record: 0-2

Best result: Win vs. LA in regulation (but LA wasn't full strength at the time)
Worst result: Loss vs. Texas in regulation 

They didn't play at MLP Daytona Beach, but they leapfrog Texas because of the Ranchers' poor weekend. Ultimately, I think Brooklyn and the next three teams are pretty comparable. Any of them could beat the other on any given day. That's assuming Brooklyn has Riley Newman going forward -- he injured his groin at MLP Phoenix and missed one match. Next event: MLP San Clemente, June 26-29. 

#6: Texas Ranchers ⬇️

Starters: Tina Pisnik, Etta Tuionetoa, Christian Alshon, Eric Oncins
Bench players: Michael Loyd, Helena Jansen

Previous ranking: #4
Record: 8-6
Dreambreaker record: 0-1

Best result: Win vs. Brooklyn in regulation
Worst result: Loss vs. Columbus in a Dreambreaker

I'm sure Texas would like to forget this weekend ever happened. They lost to the previously winless Carolina Hogs, got smoked 4-0 by St. Louis and lost in a Dreambreaker to LA. We won't see them again until the Mid-Season Tournament July 9-13, so we'll have to wait to see if this week's results were a sign of bigger issues or just a blip.

#7: Orlando Squeeze ⬇️

Starters: Lacy Schneemann, Samantha Parker, Dylan Frazier, Federico Staksrud
Bench players: Tom Evans, Alli Phillips

Previous ranking: #6
Record: 10-5
Dreambreaker record: 2-0

Best result: Win vs. Columbus in regulation
Worst result: Loss vs. Texas in regulation

They were off this week but got leapfrogged by LA. They won't play again until the Mid-Season Tournament July 9-13.

#8: Columbus Sliders ⬇️

Starters: Lea Jansen, Parris Todd, Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger
Bench players: Ross Whittaker, Marcela Hones

Previous ranking: #7
Record: 7-4
Dreambreaker record: 1-0

Best result: Win vs. Texas in regulation
Worst result: Loss vs. Orlando in regulation

Columbus has been the most disappointing team for me so far this season. I thought they would be able to push for a spot in the top 3, but it just isn't clicking. They obviously were hurt by not having CJ Klinger for their home event in Columbus, but their women also underperformed in that event. They have regulation losses to New Jersey, Dallas, St. Louis and Orlando this season. I'll need to see them be more competitive against those top teams before I consider moving them up.

#9: Miami Pickleball Club ↔️

Starters: Milan Rane, Mya Bui, Jay Devilliers, Noe Khlif
Bench players: Yuta Funemizu, Ava Ignatowich

Previous ranking: #9
Record: 6-9
Dreambreaker record: 3-1

Best result: Win vs. Utah in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. Orlando in a Dreambreaker

They had the week off. Next event: Mid-Season Tournament July 9-13.

#10: Chicago Slice ↔️

Likely starters: Vivienne David, Callie Smith, James Ignatowich, Max Freeman
Bench players: Pierina Imparato, Carlos Di Laura

Previous ranking: #10
Record: 4-10
Dreambreaker record: 2-4

Best result: Win vs. Utah in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. SoCal in a Dreambreaker

This team will need to figure out their Dreambreaker troubles to stay in the race for a playoff berth. I do think it's a good sign that they can get to a lot of Dreambreakers, though, because they are guaranteeing themselves points in those scenarios. They went 2-4 in Daytona Beach, but 3 of those losses were to St. Louis, New Jersey and LA. That's a tough slate.

#11: Utah Black Diamonds ↔️

Starters: Allyce Jones, Genie Erokhina, Tyler Loong, Connor Garnett
Bench players: Mehvish Safdar, Yates Johnson

Previous ranking: #11
Record: 6-9
Dreambreaker record: 1-2

Best result: Win vs. New Jersey in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. Chicago in a Dreambreaker

I know what you're thinking: They beat New Jersey this week, how did they not move up? Well, they also lost to Chicago on Sunday, so it's hard to justify putting them ahead of Chicago. They also have a loss to Miami in a Dreambreaker. Utah is putting itself in a good position for the playoff run though by beating the teams they should beat in regulation.

#12: Phoenix Flames ↔️

Starters: Jessie Irvine, Genie Bouchard, Jack Sock, Tyson McGuffin
Bench players: Alex Walker, Pesa Teoni

Previous ranking: #12
Record: 3-11
Dreambreaker record: 3-3

Best result: Win vs. Chicago in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss to SoCal in regulation

This team is such a bummer. They show flashes, but other than McGuffin, they're just all over the place from a consistency standpoint. Sock and Bouchard are 1-12 as a pair this season. That's ... not good. But they have taken teams like Orlando and Columbus to Dreambreakers (they lost both), which is more than the other teams in this region of my rankings can say.

#13: Atlanta Bouncers ↔️

Starters: Vivian Glozman, Victoria Di Muzio, Todd Fought, Jaume Martinez Vich
Bench players: Sam Querrey, Rachel Rettger

Previous ranking: #13
Record: 4-11
Dreambreaker record: 1-1

Best result: Win vs. Miami in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. Phoenix in a Dreambreaker

Of the bottom 5 teams, they have the highest quality win (in a Dreambreaker over Miami at MLP Columbus), but their only other wins are against the three teams we haven't named yet.

#14: Carolina Hogs ⬆️

Starters: Kaitlyn Christian, Tamaryn Emmrich, Ben Johns, Collin Johns
Bench players: Liz Truluck, Brandon French

Previous ranking: #16
Record: 2-12
Dreambreaker record: 1-2

Best result: Win vs. Texas in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. New York in regulation

They showed signs of life in Daytona Beach with a nice win over Texas, but not enough life to make me think they're a playoff contender.

#15: New York Hustlers ↔️

Starters: Lingwei Kong, Dominique Schaefer, Zane Ford, Donald Young
Bench players: Helena Spiridis, Stephen Madonia

Previous ranking: #15
Record: 3-10
Dreambreaker record: 1-0

Best result: Win vs. Phoenix in a Dreambreaker
Worst result: Loss vs. Atlanta in regulation

They won the battle to not be ranked last on this list, beating SoCal in regulation in Daytona (they did have the benefit of using on-site sub AJ Koller, though).

#16: SoCal Hard Eights ⬇️

Starters: Judit Castillo, Irina Tereschenko, Roscoe Bellamy, Ryan Fu
Bench players: Blaine Hovenier, Lauren Hidalgo-Smith

Previous ranking: #14
Record: 2-12
Dreambreaker record: 1-2

Best result: Win vs. Phoenix in regulation
Worst result: Loss vs. New York in regulation

It's dark down here.