MLP SEASON 2 PLAYOFFS: DAY 2 RECAP – CHALLENGER AND PREMIER LEVEL FINALS

Day 2 Recap 

With crisp coastal air and sunny conditions at Life Time Rancho San Clemente, it was a picture perfect day to wrap up Season 2 of MLP 2023. The year’s culminating event delivered pickleball excellence and memorable moments from four of this season’s most dominant teams.

The SoCal Hard Eights completed the trifecta of titles, and put a bow on a perfect season with this Challenger Level Championship win against the St. Louis Shock. For his consistency and critical part in SoCal’s three-peat, Todd Fought was named Challenger Level MVP.

For the second time during this playoff event, the Chicago Slice came back from an 0-2 deficit to win their match, this time clinching the Premier Level Championship title against the favored Orlando Squeeze. Lacy Schneemann was named Premier Level MVP after her clutch shots and grace-under-pressure attitude helped the Slice take home their first title of the season.

Read on for game-by-game highlights from today’s Finals.

CHALLENGER LEVEL FINAL
St. Louis (0) vs. SoCal (3)

Game 1 – Women’s Doubles: 27-25
Game 2 – Men’s Doubles: 21-18
Game 3 – Mixed Doubles: 21-12

Game 1: Judit Castillo and Genie Erokhina vs. Ewa Radzikowska and Yana Newell

The SoCal Hard Eights won both the MLP Atlanta and MLP Dallas Finals this season, and entered this match determined to hold onto their undefeated streak. Erokhina, who currently lives in Aliso Viejo, California, came out swinging for the Shock with the confidence of someone playing in her own backyard. That extra spring in her step led St. Louis to an 11-10 advantage at the end-change. SoCal’s Radzikowksa delivered a nasty ATP off of a full sprint to move past the Shock, 14-13. On the next point, Castillo crushed an overhead putaway for St. Louis that SoCal called out. Castillo challenged the out call, but after video review, the ball was confirmed out. Her partner, Erokhina, followed that up by burying the ball cross-court to make it 15-17.

The SoCal Hard Eights targeted the middle of the court in an attempt to catch St. Louis slipping on their communication. After swapping points, the score was tied at 21-21 and a missed forehand dink by Radzikowksa gave St. Louis their first game point. Erokhina hit a forehand roll-out to once again tie the score at 22-22. Both teams fought to close out this game. When the score reached 25-25, Genie cheered as she hit a forehand roll through the middle that she thought caught the baseline. Her team debated whether or not to do a video challenge, but ultimately decided to play on as the Shock lead 26-25. Newell closed out the game for SoCal with an overhead punch met by a reset from Erokhina that soared outside the sideline. SoCal narrowly took this one, 27-25.

Game 2: Martin Emmrich and Rob Nunnery vs. Todd Fought and CJ Klinger

Two-time MVP Klinger and Fought came out with their champion armor on to start the second game with an emphatic lead for SoCal. Down 2-8, St. Louis called a timeout. At time in, Klinger’s down-the-line attack went sailing past the baseline and Nunnery shook his head in disbelief over Klinger attempting such a shot. Unfazed by the Shocks’ tactics, the Hard Eights let their game speak for itself, leading 11-3 at the end change. Klinger did seem a bit frazzled after St. Louis went on a short run. After missing a routine dink at 16-11, followed by a loud cheer from both Nunnery and Emmrich, Klinger called a timeout to regroup on the sideline with Fought. Nunnery and Emmrich audibly celebrated every point, slowly minimizing their deficit. SoCal had their first game point at 20-16, but a missed third shot drop gave St. Louis a chance to stay in the game. Over-zealous play from Emmrich with a counter into the net gave SoCal another chance to close out the game. Emmrich’s forehand putaway sailed long, and the SoCal Hard Eights ended game two with a win, 21-18.

Game 3: Genie Erokhina and Martin Emmrich vs. Yana Newell and Todd Fought

With the ultimate victory in their grasp, Yana Newell and Todd Fought entered this game with their heads held high. The SoCal Hard Eights came out strong with a 7-1 lead, leaving Erokhina and Emmrich visibly frustrated. Newell had Erokhina directly in front of her and used her backhand down-the-line attacks to her advantage, emerging with most of the points using that play. Down 3-9, St. Louis called a timeout. At the end-change the SoCal Hard Eights were up 11-4 as Fought and Newell were completely dialed in. St. Louis challenged a no-call foot fault at 18-11, which was confirmed to give them another shot at capturing some momentum. Fought didn’t let that deter him, and soon after the score was 20-12. The SoCal Hard Eights closed the match with a decisive 21-12 score, taking the match in three straight games and running away with the Season 2 Championship title.

PREMIER LEVEL FINAL
Orlando (2) vs. Chicago (3)

Game 1 – Women’s Doubles: 14-21
Game 2 – Men’s Doubles: 17-21
Game 3 – Mixed Doubles: 18-21
Game 4 – Mixed Doubles: 19-21
Game 5 – Dreambreaker: 18-21

Game 1: Anna Bright and Rachel Rohrabacher vs. Lacy Schneemann and Jessie Irvine

With their chemistry and complimentary style of play, Bright and Rohrabacher have proven to be one of the toughest teams to beat this season. Making their Season 2 Finals debut, Schneemann and Irvine had to bring their best for the Slice to keep up with Orlando’s energy. After a couple of loose errors and miscommunication in Chicago’s mid-court, Schneemann was airborne for a beautiful putaway. At the end change, the Orlando Squeeze were up 11-5. After returning to the court, Bright paced back and forth at the baseline, and looked determined to take this game. Schneemann and Irvine came back after the end change with Jessie on the right and Lacy on the left in hopes of making a strategic change. This change proved to be effective for a few points as they aimed to ice out Rohrabacher. One of the most notable points was at 15-9, when a hands battle erupted between both teams, with Orlando winning the point. Up 17-12, the Orlando Squeeze called a timeout. After time in, it was only a few minutes before the offensive onslaught from Bright and Rohrabacher took this game for the Squeeze, 21-14.

Game 2: Andrei Daescu and Zane Navratil vs. Ben Johns and Erik Lange

After coming off a triple crown during the PPA Finals just a couple days ago, Johns entered this match as an undeniable asset and leader for the Chicago Slice. The dance between he and his partner Lange tied the game at 4-4. Navratil’s drive from the baseline pulled the Squeeze ahead 5-4. Daescu was called for a foot-fault to make the game 6-5 Squeeze. Shaking off the mistake, Daescu fired a shot towards Johns’ backside, which caught him off guard to bring the game to 10-7, Orlando. At the end change, Chicago was trailing by two points. During the second half, Navaratil showed his prowess for MLP’s rally scoring format. Showing up big on the left side, Daescu has been Navratil’s perfect complement this entire season. Orlando quickly gained a 20-13 lead after the end change, but Johns and Lange fought back for their turn at the offensive upper-hand. Chicago clawed their way back to 17-20, which prompted the Squeeze to regroup with a timeout. Johns hit a forehand counter into the net, which sealed the game two victory for Orlando, 21-17.

Game 3: Rachel Rohrabacher and Zane Navratil vs. Lacy Schneemann and Erik Lange

The Orlando Squeeze revealed their mixed doubles team first, opting to put Navratil and Rohrabacher on the court for this third game. The Chicago Slice responded by sending out Schneemann and Lange, who won together when in the same position against D.C. yesterday. Just before the end-change, Navratil snuck in a body bag at Erik Lange and paused at the net, lightly taunting Lange before the break. Navratil’s strategy appeared to focus on attacking Lange cross-court and squeezing the middle heavily. Chicago made attempts to humble this approach by placing the ball behind Navratil as often as possible. After a few missed counters from Rohrabacher, Chicago was able to minimize their deficit to 14-15. Following a timeout to strategize, Chicago returned with several crucial shots from Lange and Schneemann to tie it up at 17-17. This sparked a time out call from Orlando. At time in, Schneemann body bagged Navratil down the line, giving Chicago the upper hand after being down majority of the game. Chicago stayed resilient and applied pressure to win this game 21-18. This kept their bid for the title alive. What a comeback!

Game 4: Anna Bright and Andrei Daescu vs. Jessie Irvine and Ben Johns

With a tall task ahead for Chicago, Johns turned up the heat as he and Irvine were determined to force a Dreambreaker. Up 6-3, Johns hit a Bert winner to reinforce his GOAT status. Orlando proceeded to challenge this shot, claiming Johns had committed a foot fault after the next rally ended. This caused some confusion, as the following rally had already been played out. After video review, the referee ruled that no foot fault had been committed and Orlando Squeeze lost a timeout. Chicago continued to lead at the end-change, 11-8. Bright returned to the court with the intensity and competitive fire she’s known to possess in spades. Orlando shrunk their deficit to 13-14, and proceeded to challenge an out call made by Chicago. The call was not overturned. Irvine showed why she’s revered as one of the top women’s players, playing mind-blowing defense at 19-16, and setting up Johns for game point. The Orlando Squeeze responded quickly, bringing the score to 19-20. The Chicago Slice closed the game 21-19, sending this exciting Premier Final to a game 5 Dreambeaker.

Game 5: Dreambreaker

It all came down to this! For the Dreambraker, the Chicago Slice revealed their order first and the Orlando Squeeze responded with their line-up. The match-ups were:

Navratil vs. Johns
Bright vs. Schneemann
Daescu vs. Lange
Rohrabacher vs. Irvine

The crowd loves a good Dreambreaker, as this is unique to the MLP format. It’s even more exciting to watch a Dreambreaker in a high-stakes final. After battling almost point-for-point, the score was 11-10 Chicago at the end-change. Down 14-16, Orlando called time out. Jessie Irvine proceeded to put on a ball placement clinic and swept Rachel Rohrabacher 4-0 in their second rotation to make the game 18-14, Chicago. Zane Navratil responded with incredibly tricky shots, earning 3 points to Ben John’s 1, bringing the game to 17-19 and keeping Orlando in it. Lacy Schneemann returned to the court with explosive shots, giving Chicago their first match point at 20-17. Ultimately, she sealed the deal for the Slice with a 21-18 final. The Chicago Slice won this MLP Season 2 Playoff event, 3-2.