The Chosen Ones - Sliders on Top

Going into the playoffs, few people thought that the Columbus Sliders were going to be the team to win it all. Even after their quarterfinal win over Dallas, few thought the Sliders would upset my team, the St Louis Shock. Even in the final… many were thinking “no way they can do it three times?”

But, three times they did. The Columbus Sliders won the championship in the absolute toughest way possible. They beat the 1, 2, and 3 seeds, and even more impressive, in their eight matches, they had the home-team advantage once. This is insane. I don’t know when we will next see another similarly impressive championship run/effort in Major League Pickleball, but I bet it will not be for a while.

All four of the Sliders players stepped up huge when it mattered, but IMO, with this championship run Andrei has cemented himself as a true MLP GOAT. Few would say that Andrei is genuinely a better overall player than Ben Johns (singles, mixed, and mens combined), but I think almost everyone would rather be on an MLP team with him than with Ben. No knock on Ben, he is the GOAT, but Andrei is a leader of men in a way that few are.

Also, if you are reading this but aren’t active on pickleball twitter, what are you doing? At the time of writing, Andrei has posted 18 motivational quotes since Parris’ iconic walk-off winner that made them the champions. He may reach 30 by day’s end. You’re missing out on some amazing stuff.

I’d be remiss not to also shout out the performances of the other Slider’s players. Parris played exceptionally, especially in mixed doubles- she was often the most aggressive player on the court and if she hadn’t managed to go 8-8 in singles with Anna Leigh, good chance the Sliders never hoist that trophy. Parris’ improvement over the last year has not gotten enough recognition. She is one of the very best competitors in our sport and also one of the hardest workers. Kudos to her.

CJ is quickly moving up the ranks in terms of my favorite players to watch. It’s amazing to see him slowly but surely coming out of his shell. He brings variety in a way few do, and seems to be unaffected by the big stage. His mixed, in particular, has improved a lot over the course of the season, and I’ve no doubt that next year he will be even more of a force for the Sliders. The fact he’s from Ohio and bleeds Ohio State only makes the victory for him and the Sliders even sweeter.

Queen Lea did her thing, and is back on twitter to boot. She is calling out everyone, and it’s highly entertaining stuff. I recommend you tune in. Lea’s playoff record wasn’t the best, but when her team desperately needed a win, she delivered. She also came up huge in some of the dreambreakers as I talked about last week. I consider Lea a good friend and in all honesty I’m very proud of her.

I wrote in my last edition that even if we lost to the Sliders I wouldn’t regret the decision, and I stand by that. I don’t regret choosing them, I think we made the best possible decision with the information we had available at the time. Do I, in hindsight, wish we had chosen differently? Of course! But, it is what it is.

I was watching the second match of the final and wondered, does Columbus doing well make us and the Flash feel better for losing to them, or feel worse for having picked them? An interesting dilemma/conundrum. I think it personally made me feel better for the loss, LOL.

For my team and the New Jersey 5s, this playoff loss really couldn’t have been more painful. We both lost in the same way we did last year. With my team, the Shock, losing in 2 matches in the semifinals, and the 5s losing in the finals after winning the first match. There truly is nothing like the pressure of this season-long format of MLP. Everyone knows what we are playing for and knows you won’t get another chance to win for an entire year. With PPAs, winning means a ton, but there’s always another one around the corner. MLP is creating something special and I am honored to be a part of it, even if I cried a lot and was severely depressed for the first half of Saturday.

I don’t know what our teams will need to do to get over the hump. The 5s tried some roster changes, but still fell short. I saw a lot of tweets saying the 5s were wrong to bench Zane, and I don’t agree. It was a swing for the title. Maybe they would have done better with Zane, but regardless, Will and AL still can’t lose three straight mixed matches. Noe and Meghan went 2-1 which kept them in it. For us, I think we have some adjustments to make in regards to preparation and mentality, but I’m not sure what they are and I am curious what ownership will decide to change for next season. Who knows how much will change?

I expect a lot of movement before the 2026 regular season commences, and on Thursday I will write about some of my general takeaways for the season and hopes for next year. Along with a PPA Vegas preview. Sheesh! Ain’t no rest for the wicked!