PPA Tour Las Vegas Cup recap: Ben Johns, Gabe Tardio win sixth straight title in thrilling fashion
Last Edited
Oct 27 2025
Category
News
In a match that lasted more than 2 1/2 hours Sunday afternoon, Ben Johns and Gabe Tardio were pushed into a corner they haven't found themselves in since the spring: Facing a match point against ... with a five-tournament winning streak on the line.
Christian Alshon and Andrei Daescu -- the No. 2 seeds who have been ultra consistent this season but have settled for silver or bronze in five out of seven tournaments together since April -- produced one of their best efforts of the year against the top seeds and were on the verge of getting over the hump at the PPA Tour Las Vegas Cup.
They led 10-8 late in Game 3 of the best-of-5 series, but Johns and Tardio survived a match point and then never gave the ball back, ultimately winning 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10.
“A ton of credit to them — they played phenomenal, best I’ve ever seen,” Johns said after the match. “They came back like they usually do, and yeah, we had to face down a match point, and I’m just glad Gabe’s pretty clutch.”
After Daescu and Alshon rattled off eight straight points in Game 4 to force the deciding Game 5, Johns and Tardio bounced back immediately, jumping out to a 4-0 lead to stifle any momentum the underdogs had built up. The top seeds built an 8-5 lead at one point, but Daescu and Alshon again went on a late-game run, scoring five straight points to earn their match point.
They had a great look on that point with an extended hands-battle that could have just as easily gone their way, but the final volley from Alshon caught the top of the net.
“Look, we played a great match, and the margins are very small," Daescu said. "We had a match point — again, very small margins — they got it there in the end, but there are a lot of positives.”
Johns/Tardio are now 6-1 against Alshon/Daescu on the season, with their only loss to that duo coming in the finals of the Mesa Cup in February. Sunday's victory extends their winning streak to six straight tournaments, dating back to the Orange County Cup in June.
Federico Staksrud and Hayden Patriquin won Sunday's bronze medal match 11-9, 11-6 over Matt Wright and Eric Oncins.
While men's doubles saw the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds make the final, there were several upsets in other divisions this week that led to some intriguing gold-medal matches. Here's a look at what happened elsewhere at the Las Vegas Cup.
Mixed doubles
Tardio and Jessie Irvine -- the No. 5 seeds coming into this week -- pulled off two upsets on their way to Sunday's gold medal match. They topped No. 4 seed Alshon/Tyra Black in the quarterfinals, then backed it up in the semifinals with a win over No. 2 seed JW and Jorja Johnson.
In Sunday's final, however, Johns and Anna Leigh Waters claimed their seventh straight title with an 11-2, 12-10, 11-7 win.
The gold medal is their 11th of the season together and 55th overall, a mark that seems highly unlikely to ever be beaten.
“We have great chemistry on the court," Waters said. "I feel like we know what the other one is going to do. We might not talk too much to each other, but I feel like we’ve got some kind of telepathy thing going on. We’ve kind of always meshed since the beginning — both on and off the court.”
One of the best matches of the tournament came in the semifinals, as No. 3-seed Anna Bright/Patriquin played Johns/Waters very tough. Patriquin at times looked like the best player on the court and controlled the match for long stretches, but Johns/Waters ultimately settled in and won 6-11, 11-5, 11-4.
The Johnson siblings rebounded on Sunday with an 11-3, 11-3 win over Bright/Patriquin in the bronze medal match.
Women's doubles
It looked like we could be headed for another instant classic Sunday afternoon when No. 3 seed Black/Parris Todd took Game 1 over No. 1 seed Waters/Bright, but the top-seeded duo quickly stepped on the gas and left no doubt the rest of the way, winning 11-13, 11-6, 11-2, 11-1.
Its their second-straight title and fifth overall on the season since Waters/Bright teamed up in the spring. They were upset in back-to-back tournaments at the Walgreens Open and Cincinnati Showcase in August and September, but seem to have learned from those defeats and come back even better. They are clearly back to being the heavy favorites in this division.
Jade Kawamoto/Catherine Parenteau won Sunday's bronze-medal match over Jorja Johnson/Rachel Rohrabacher 11-7, 11-7.
Men's singles
Federico Staksrud has not hit the top of the podium as much in 2025 as he did in 2024, but he has still been arguably the most consistent singles player in the world this year.
Coming into this week he had two golds, three silvers and two bronze medals on the season, and on Sunday the No. 2 seed added a third gold medal with an 11-3, 11-2 win over No. 16 Roscoe Bellamy.
Staksrud joins a small group of players to win three singles titles this season, along with Johnson and Alshon. Johns (2), John Lucian Goins (2) and Tardio (2) are the other players who have won multiple titles this season.
“I had to play my best — honestly, that was my best,” Staksrud said after the match. “(Bellamy is) going to be here more often, and he’s going to win championships for sure. He’s such an amazing player, so congrats to him.”
Bellamy walks away with his second silver medal of the season after beating No. 3 Alshon, No. 11 Gabe Joseph and No. 1 Johnson on his way to the final.
Johnson defeated No. 22 Marshall Brown (who also made an impressive run this weekend) 11-7, 11-0 in Sunday's bronze medal match.
Women's singles
The biggest storyline this week in women's singles was No. 11 seed Genie Bouchard's run to her first PPA Tour final, beating No. 2 seed Kate Fahey in the semifinals along the way.
Bouchard couldn't get past Waters, though, who kept her impressive women's singles streak intact with an 11-5, 11-5 win in Sunday's gold medal match. It was Waters' 17th consecutive gold medal in women's singles, dating back to the middle of 2024.
Bouchard, meanwhile, collected her first-ever medal on the PPA Tour.
"I've really enjoyed the challenge of learning a new sport," the former tennis star said after Saturday's win over Fahey. "I remember my first ever singles match, after the first point I didn't even know I had to go get the ball. I didn't even know how it worked barely, so I'm proud of the improvement I've (made). There's still a long way to go, though."
Fahey defeated Kaitlyn Christian 12-10, 11-1 in Sunday's bronze medal match.
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