Upcoming season or competition: 2026 Major League Pickleball season | |
| Sport | Pickleball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| No. of teams | 20 |
| Countries | United States |
Most recent champions | Columbus Sliders (2025) |
| Website | Official website |
Major League Pickleball (MLP) is a professional pickleball league in the United States composed of 20 teams. Each season features a regular season where teams compete in a selection of events to rack up points, with the top twelve teams advancing to the playoffs where one team is crowned the season champion. The MLP forms one half of the United Pickleball Association alongside the Professional Pickleball Association.
The league was founded in 2021 by businessman Steve Kuhn. In 2022, the league gained significant investment from high-profile athletes and businessmen, leading to accelerated expansion.
History
Major League Pickleball launched on September 21, 2021 by businessman Steve Kuhn. The new league saw an initial investment of more than $1 million from notable personalities including Marc Lasry, then-co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, and James Blake, a former tennis player.[1] The league's first event was held in November that year at Dreamland in Dripping Springs, Texas, part on the Greater Austin area. In 2022, the league saw a number of notable athletes and personalities becoming team owners the likes of which include LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Naomi Osaka,[2][3][4] as well as companies such as Anheuser-Busch.[5]
On September 13, 2023, MLP announced a merger with the Professional Pickleball Association to form the United Pickleball Association with an investment of $50 million for the new entity.[6] The merger was completed on February 29, 2024.[7]
In 2026, MLP underwent significant changes, including the removal of the Premier and Challenger tiers and consolidating all teams into a single tier. Teams are now divided into two groups during each event, culminating in a final match where teams of the same rank compete for standings points. The league did contract from 23 teams to 20, but is still an increase from 18 teams in 2025's Premier tier.[8]
Teams
Major League Pickleball is currently composed of 20 teams. Starting from the 2026 season, teams are no longer divided into Premier and Challenger tiers, and will compete in a single tier. Each team is composed of a six-team roster that includes three men and three women.[8]
Season structure
Match structure
Major League Pickleball matches follow a four-game structure known as MLPlay. Teams must submit their rosters for each match on the day before the actual matchday. In each match, one team is assigned to be the home team and the other as the away team. The home team will have the advantage of being able to see the away team's lineups before submitting theirs.[9]
Before each match, a coin toss is done. The winner of the coin toss will get to choose from either serving or receiving in each game, or select which end of the court to start the match. The first game is women's doubles, the second is men's doubles, and the last two are mixed doubles; all played using side out scoring to 11 points and a winning margin of at least two points. During the regular season, all four games have to be played, even if either team wins three games in a row. If both teams win two games each, an additional fifth game, known as the DreamBreaker, is played. The DreamBreaker is a singles game using rally scoring, with both teams swapping players every fourth point. The first team to reach at least 21 points and lead by two wins the match. Teams switch ends once either team reaches six points (11 points for the DreamBreaker).
Teams are then awarded match points using a 3–2–1–0 scoring system. Those points will only be used to determine the final matches for each event and doesn't affect regular season standings.
- 3 points for a win in regulation (4–0 or 3–1).
- 2 points for a win in the DreamBreaker (3–2).
- 1 point for a loss in the DreamBreaker (3–3).
- 0 points for a loss in regulation (1–3 or 0–4).
Regular season
The regular season is split into a series of events held in team markets. Each event features a selection of teams who will participate in a number of matches; the lineup of teams varies for each event.
For the 2026 season, each event starts with group play, where participating teams are split into two groups of five or six for each event. Each group then plays a single round-robin tournament where each team plays against all other teams in their group once. Teams will be assigned into a group of five for two events and a group of six for the remaining three, meaning that each team will compete in a total of 23 matches in group play. After group play, the top four teams will play an additional match against the team from the other group with the same placement. That match determines the number of standings points awarded for each team as listed below:
- First-place teams: 25 points for the winner; 18 points for the loser
- Second-place teams: 15 points for the winner; 12 points for the loser
- Third-place teams: 10 points for the winner; 8 points for the loser
- Fourth-place teams: 6 points for the winner; 4 points for the loser
- Fifth-place teams: 1 point per team (no match)
- Sixth-place teams: 0 points per team (no match)[8]
Mid-Season Tournament
Midway through the regular season, the league hosts a Mid-Season Tournament. It is a double-elimination tournament with the top three teams earning standings points: 6 points for first place, 4 points for second place, and 2 points for third place.
Playoffs
The top twelve teams based on standings points qualify for the MLP playoffs. All rounds feature best-of-three series and matches are played until either team wins three games.[9] In the first round, quarterfinals, and semifinals, the higher-seeded teams will get to choose their opponent from the lower-seeded teams, starting from the highest seed:
- First round: Fifth through seventh seeds choose from ninth through twelfth seeds; eighth seed plays last remaining team.
- Quarterfinals: First through third seeds choose from first round winners; fourth seed plays last remaining team.
- Semifinals: Highest seed chooses from two lowest seeds; second-highest seed plays the other team.
MLP Cup
Starting from the 2025 season, the league hosts the MLP Cup. The tournament's format is similar to that of the NBA Cup, where teams are divided into multiple groups, with the top team in each group advancing to a single-elimination tournament.
Major championships
The following events are included as major championships:
- 2021–2022: Event Finals
- 2023: Season 1 Finals and Season 2 Finals
- 2024–present: Mid-Season Tournament, MLP Finals, and MLP Cup
| Season | Event | Champion | Result | Runner-up | Venue | Location | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Season 1 Finals | BLQK | 3–1 | Chimeras | Dreamland | Dripping Springs, Texas | |
| 2022 | MLP Austin | BLQK | 3–0 | Florida Smash | |||
| MLP Newport Beach | The Ranchers | ||||||
| MLP Columbus | BLQK | Hard Eights | |||||
| 2023 | Season 1 Finals | Los Angeles Mad Drops | Life Time Rancho San Clemente | San Clemente, California | |||
| Season 2 Finals | Chicago Slice | Life Time Rancho San Clemente | San Clemente, California | ||||
| 2024 | Mid-Season Tournament | New Jersey 5s | Belknap Park | Grand Rapids, Michigan | |||
| MLP Finals | Dallas Flash | USTA National Campus | Orlando, Florida | ||||
| 2025 | Mid-Season Tournament | Dallas Flash | Belknap Park | Grand Rapids, Michigan | |||
| MLP Finals | Columbus Sliders | 2–1 | New Jersey 5s | CityPickle | New York City, New York | ||
| MLP Cup | St. Louis Shock | 3–1 | Orlando Squeeze | Brookhaven Country Club | Farmers Branch, Texas |
See also
References
- Rumsey, David (September 21, 2021). "Bucks' Lasry among new pickleball league investors". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Singh, Simrin (September 29, 2022). "LeBron James buys into Major League Pickleball team, as sport continues to gain popularity". CBS News. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Woodyatt, Amy (October 13, 2022). "Tom Brady is putting his money into … pickleball". CNN. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Gentrup, Abigail (December 14, 2022). "Osaka, Mahomes Among New Pickleball Investors". Front Office Sports. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Golden, Jessica (November 8, 2022). "Major League Pickleball's newest team owner is Anheuser-Busch". CNBC. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Shields, Thomas (September 13, 2023). "PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball Announce Merger". The Dink Pickleball. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Golden, Jessica (February 29, 2024). "Major League Pickleball and PPA Tour complete long-awaited merger". CNBC. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- Tice, Erik (February 5, 2026). "Major League Pickleball Announces New 20-Team Format, End of Challenger Level in 2026". The Dink Pickleball. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
- Tice, Erik (January 14, 2026). "New MLP Rules for 2026: Full Roster Usage, Event Winners, & Expanded Playoffs". The Dink Pickleball. Retrieved April 8, 2026.