Major League Pickleball Mid-Season Tournament brackets and storylines
Last Edited
Jul 09 2025
Category
News
The much-anticipated Major League Pickleball Mid-Season Tournament kicked off Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with first-round Challenger Level matches.
Premier Level matches will begin Thursday.
The Mid-Season Tournament is a modified double-elimination format with teams seeded based on points per match thus far this season (not total points, since some teams have played more matches than others).
It's not a true double elimination bracket because teams cannot "come around" to win gold after dropping a match -- the best they can do from the backdraw is bronze.
The tournament is held in conjunction with the Beer City Open, an annual amateur event founded and still operated in part by pro player Andrea Koop.
Standing points will be awarded for the top 3 finishing teams at the Mid-Season Tournament:
1st place = 6 additional standings points
2nd place = 4 points
3rd place = 2 points
There also will be cash on the line at both the Premier Level and Challenger Level:
Premier Level
1st = $50,000
2nd = $25,000
3rd = $12,500
Challenger Level
1st = $7,000
2nd = $3,500
3rd = $2,000
In a first for Major League Pickleball, there are two College teams participating in the Challenger Level bracket. Those spots were given to the top finishers from the Collegiate National Championships in April.
Texas beat TCU in the final to win the national championship, but some players from both teams were unavailable to make it to Grand Rapids this week, so a College All-Stars team was formed consisting of players from multiple schools. The other college team is from Florida Atlantic University, which tied for third place at Nationals.
College All-Stars
Zoeya Khan (UT, 5.159 DUPR)
Ellie Douglas (TCU, 4.860 DUPR)
Liam Duffin (Utah Tech, 5.800 DUPR)
Aj Khawaja (TCU, 5.263 DUPR)
FAU
Ava Cavataio (5.635 DUPR)
Bella Nelson (5.033 DUPR)
Zachary Card (5.331 DUPR)
Zachary Marceau (5.638 DUPR)
Major League Pickleball Mid-Season Tournament schedule
All matches available on Pickleballtv and the Pickleballtv App, in addition to:
Saturday: A tape delayed match (10 p.m.-Midnight) on FS1
Sunday: All Championship Court matches live on MSG Networks and a tape delayed match (11 p.m.-1 a.m.) on FS1.
Major League Pickleball Mid-Season Tournament Premier Level bracket
Intriguing first-round matches
Orlando Squeeze (8) vs. Utah Black Diamonds (9): This is a tale of two teams on different trajectories. Orlando had a very good start to the season, but is just 3-6 over its past two events. The Black Diamonds, meanwhile, have hovered around .500 over their past three events after a slow start and now find themselves just inside the playoff bubble (they are currently 9th in total points and 9th in points per match -- the top 10 teams make the playoffs).
Columbus Sliders (5) vs. Carolina Hogs (12): Both of these teams are playing well right now. Columbus is 9-1 in its past 10 matches, while Carolina is surging after making some big roster changes last month. They dropped Collin Johns and picked up Roscoe Bellamy and Martin Emmrich, then made a trade to get Etta Tuionetoa in exchange for Kaitlyn Christian. The moves have paid off initially, as the Hogs went 3-2 at MLP New York last week to get back in the hunt for a playoff spot. One of those losses was to Columbus in regulation, however.
Texas Ranchers (7) vs. Chicago Slice (10): Both teams will be debuting new-look rosters this week at the Mid-Season Tournament. The Ranchers were involved in the aforementioned trade involving Etta Tuionetoa and Kaitlyn Christian. The trade was an apparent move by Texas to bolster its Dreambreaker lineup, but is inarguably a downgrade in terms of doubles. The Slice also made a recent trade to get Vivian Glozman in exchange for Vivienne David.
Major League Pickleball Mid-Season Tournament Challenger Level bracket
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