Major League Pickleball held its annual midseason tournament at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, alongside the long-running Beer City Open. St. Louis came out on top and staked their claim to first place in the overall league standings, according to Forbes' Todd Boss. The event ran a full winner's and loser's bracket format across the 20 Premier League teams, and was streamed live on MLP's YouTube channel and PickleballTV.com.
The midseason tournament also saw notable player movement in the lead-up: a trade between the California and Bay Area franchises sent James Delgado and Kiora Kunimoto to the Breakers, with Pablo Tellez, Mya Bui, and cash heading to the Black Bears in return.
Why team pickleball is worth following even if you play recreationally#
MLP's team format is genuinely unusual in professional racket sport. Unlike a standard draw where individuals accumulate ranking points, here franchises trade players like roster assets and compete in mixed-team brackets. That creates a very different set of incentives than the PPA or APP singles tours, and it also produces a wider spread of visible pros across the season.
For anyone getting into pickleball - or already playing a few times a week at a club - that visibility matters. When you watch MLP, you see a much broader range of playing styles and paddle setups than you'd get from watching the top two or three singles stars. That variety is genuinely useful if you're trying to figure out what kind of solid paddle suits your game.
What roster churn means for the pre-owned paddle market#
Player trades are interesting from a gear angle too. When a pro moves franchises, their equipment contracts can shift or lapse, and that occasionally surfaces lightly used or demo-spec paddles into secondary channels. It's not guaranteed, but roster movement events - like a midseason trade window - are moments worth watching on the pre-owned side.
More broadly, the increased mainstream coverage of MLP (FOX Sports broadcast pool play; Beer City Open drawing large crowds to a public park) keeps pickleball in front of new audiences who then go looking for their first solid paddle. That demand hits the new market first, but within six to twelve months a wave of "I tried it and it's not quite right" returns and upgrades flows into the second-hand market.
What to look for if MLP coverage has you tempted#
| Paddle type | Typical use case | Pre-owned availability |
|---|---|---|
| Control/touch paddle (softer core) | Kitchen dinking, doubles play | Good - popular with club players who upgrade to power paddles |
| Power/spin paddle (carbon textured face) | Driving from the baseline, singles | Growing - MLP's team format showcases a lot of these |
| Beginner composite | First-time players | High - often barely used |
If you are new to pickleball and the Grand Rapids coverage has piqued your curiosity, starting on the pre-owned market is genuinely sensible. A used beginner or intermediate composite paddle at a fraction of the retail price lets you get 30 hours of court time before you have any idea what you actually need. Browse what's currently listed on EpicRackets' pickleball section and you'll get a clear picture of what's available without committing to a paddle spec you may outgrow in a month.
The MLP season continues, and with St. Louis now holding the top spot heading into the second half, the race for the season title is genuinely open. Worth keeping an eye on.
