The MLP Virginia Beach took place at the Pickleball Virginia Beach venue over the weekend. In four days, 33 matches were played between all Challenger Level teams, representing 29% of the Challenger Level season.
The production was low-level, with no commentators at any of the matches. All matches were played on MLP YouTube. With that said, it was very entertaining because the player and referee audio was fun to listen to throughout the weekend.
Here are the standings after Virginia Beach:
(Thanks to Real Clear Stats for the graphic)
Let’s get into the action with the top takeaways:
Three teams have separated themselves from everyone else
The SoCal Hard Eights, Miami Pickleball Club, and Chicago Slice have separated themselves from the field as the best teams in the Challenger Level. In terms of points per match, they are all within .05 points of each other.
SoCal Hard Eights
The Hard Eights have the most points right now but have also played the most matches. They are in second place for points per match at 1.90 points per match.
Gender doubles are really good for the Hard Eights—they went 10-4 on the weekend, with both men and women going 5-2. Mixed doubles is where they struggle a little, 6-8. Yana and Erik are good, but Max and Irina–not…
