The Kitchen Team is on site this week at the Pickle Money Ball Super Series event in Daytona Beach, Florida.

It’s the first Pickle Money Ball event we’ve been to in person, so we were excited to find out what these tournaments are really like.

Pickle Money Ball has made waves in the pickleball industry since hosting their first event earlier this year in Mesa, Arizona. The main reason: They are giving away A TON of money to amateur players in all divisions, from 3.0 to 5.0+.

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The event this week in Daytona Beach, which is being held at the huge 49-court Pictona facility, has a total prize payout of $250,000. Their Florida Regional event next month in Fort Lauderdale has $625,000 up for grabs across all divisions.

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, which makes us feel really good about the direction we’re going and what we’re bringing to pickleball,” said Pickle Money Ball COO and co-founder Clay Deen.

Hearing from the founder is one thing, but the people we really wanted to hear from this week are the players.

We talked to dozens of participants in all skill divisions and different age brackets about their experience playing in the event and being at the venue — here’s what they told us:

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Senior players get opportunity to compete and earn money

While there has been an increased focus on the pro game in recent years, senior pros haven’t received a lot of the spotlight — or much of the prize money at most tournaments.

That’s different this week, and senior pros Jaime Oncins and Carolina Lopez Ascarate took advantage by winning the top division in age 50+ mixed doubles. They earned $3,000 for the win.

“We love to compete, and to have the opportunity to play pickleball and earn some money is really nice,” Oncins said. “Mostly it’s just good to be on court and competing.”

Added Lopez Ascarate: “I think these events are a really cool idea because this one pays out to eighth place, so you don’t have to always medal to be in the money. You can get your entry fee back or make a little bit by placing 6th or 7th, and then when you do have a really good day you get rewarded for it with a bigger payout.”

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A big opportunity for amateurs

The fact that it’s not just the pros or super high-level amateurs who have the ability to make money is a huge change from traditional tournaments. Most events just give medals to the winners in the lower divisions, and usually pretty cheap medals at that.

“It doesn’t feel real right now, but when that check hits the bank account it’s gonna feel real nice,” said Gammy Velazquez, who took the title in mixed doubles 4.5 and under alongside 16-year-old Knightley Houston. They also earned $3,000 for the win. “That’s a crazy amount of money to win, especially for us not being some pros or whatnot. It’s really cool for us.”

Alexander Ramos Rolon and Hailey Glode, a couple who won the mixed doubles 4.0 and under division, already had plans for their $3,000 in winnings. Glode is going to get a purse out of the deal, while Ramos Rolon is going to get a new exhaust for his motorcycle.

It was their second Pickle Money Ball event after they finished second at the Jacksonville tournament earlier this month. They said they have really liked competing in the events and are hoping to keep climbing the leaderboard with the goal of moving up a level in the future.