The Major League Pickleball 2025 playoffs are here, and the brackets are stacked. If you’re already deep in the league, share this with a friend. If you’re new, here’s what you need to know before first serve.
Guide to the playoff picture
After four months of regular-season play, the postseason kicks off August 15–17 in San Diego. The top 10 Premier Level teams and all six Challenger squads will battle it out for a trip to the finals.
While both levels will hold their playoff events in San Diego, these are separate competitions. Teams at level are fighting for their own titles and playoff advancement. Premier teams will not face Challenger teams.
After this weekend's action, the Premier level semifinals and finals take place August 22–24 at CityPickle in NYC’s Central Park.
The challenger champion gets promoted to Premier Level in 2026
How the Premier playoffs work
This is the top tier of MLP, made up of 16 teams and the league’s top 64 players. Only the top 10 teams qualify for the playoffs, based on regular season points.
First Round:
The bottom four seeds open with NBA-style play-ins:
- #7 Texas Ranchers vs. #10 Miami Pickleball Club
- #8 Orlando Squeeze vs. #9 Utah Black Diamonds
The twist? The 7-seed got to choose their opponent—either the 9 or 10 seed.
These are single-elimination matches. Win and you're into the quarters. Lose and you’re headed home.
Quarterfinals bring in the rest of the bracket, and match-ups move to best two out of three. Higher seeds get perks like choosing serve/side and reacting to lineups. Four teams punch their ticket to the finals in New York.
How the Challenger playoffs work
The Challenger Level features six teams made up of 24 rising stars—future pros looking to earn their way to the big stage. The format here is similar.
The top two teams get a first-round bye. Here’s the first round:
- #3 California Black Bears vs. #6 Florida Smash
- #4 D.C. Pickleball Team vs. #5 Bay Area Breakers
All matches are single elimination. Semifinal winners will advance to the Finals in NYC.
🔥 The top Premier level storylines
Here’s who and what to watch:
- #1 St. Louis Shock: With a 24-1 record and led by Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin, they are eyeing redemption after falling in the semis last year.
- #2 Dallas Flash: Defending champs, two straight titles under their belt, powered by Jorja Johnson.
- #3 New Jersey 5s: Made a splash with the Noe Khlif trade—and benched me (Zane). Bold move. Let’s see if it pays off.
- #4 Brooklyn Pickleball Club: Finally back to full strength after Riley Newman and Dekel Bar's recoveries.
- #5 Columbus Sliders: With a month-long break, will they be rested or rusty?
- #6 LA Mad Drops: Added Ben Johns late in the season. Tons of talent, a potentially formidable yet largely untested squad.
- #7 Ranchers: Christian Alshon is back after missing Salt Lake City.
- #8 Squeeze: 3-0 in DreamBreakers. Clutch when it counts.
- #9 Black Diamonds: Etta Tuionetoa might be the midseason pickup of the year.
- #10 Miami: Massive underdogs. Just five matches played since the trade deadline.
The final word
San Diego is set to deliver fireworks. We’ve got dominant teams, underdog stories, and playoff drama building by the minute. By Sunday night, we’ll know who’s headed to NYC for the biggest stage in pickleball.
Buckle up—this weekend’s going to be wild.
