2025 Major League Pickleball Cup Champions Recap

The inaugural Edward Jones MLP Cup (Oct 31–Nov 3, 2025, at Brookhaven CC in Dallas) brought every Major League Pickleball team back together for a season-ending showdown. All Premier teams (17 squads) and top Challenger squads (5 MLP Challenger teams plus a collegiate All-Star team) battled in pool play and knockout brackets for two trophies. Here’s a breakdown of how the Cup worked and the story of each champion team – the St. Louis Shock (Premier level) and the California Black Bears (Challenger level) – including their standout rosters, Cup performance, and 2025 season arcs.

Cup Format and Qualification

The MLP Cup blended classic round-robin pools with single-elimination playoffs in both levels:

• Premier Bracket (17 teams): Teams were split into four pools (three pools of 4 teams, one pool of 5). Each team played a three-match round robin in its pool. The winner of each pool advanced to the Premier semifinals, with those winners meeting in the Premier final for the Cup championship.

• Challenger Bracket (6 teams): The five Challenger-level teams (plus one special collegiate All-Star team) were divided into two pools of three. Each team played two pool matches. The top two teams in each pool moved on to the Challenger semifinals, and the semifinal winners met in the Challenger final to decide that trophy.

• Team Entry: All league teams qualified by virtue of their 2025 season membership. (The Premier level had expanded to 17 teams in 2025, including four recent promotions, while the Challenger level featured six squads.) Pool play results seeded the playoffs, and then each bracket crowned a champion in single-elimination semis and finals. The Cup carried a $50,000 prize pool and marked the finale of the 2025 season.

St. Louis Shock – Premier Champions

St. Louis Shock players celebrate their first-ever MLP Cup title. The Shock’s lineup – featuring stars Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Hayden Patriquin, and Gabe Tardio – dominated the season and the Cup.St. Louis’ premier team finally got over the hump by winning the first MLP Cup. The Shock’s lineup was a powerhouse of young talent and veterans: Anna Bright (team captain and doubles dynamo), Kate Fahey (former NCAA tennis star turned elite singles player, re-acquired in the 2025 draft), Hayden Patriquin (a rising all-rounder), and Gabe Tardio (veteran champion). Second-year player Felicity Di Laura and veteran Erik Lange rounded out the deep bench. This core – picked together in the 2024 draft – gelled quickly.

• 2025 Season Recap: St. Louis was dominant all year, finishing with an astonishing regular-season record (an estimated 27–1 match win-loss record). They swept through events and took second place in the season playoffs (falling just short to the Columbus Sliders in the championship). After coming up empty-handed in 2024 and again in the 2025 finals, the team was hungry for a trophy.

• Cup Performance: The Shock aced their pool, winning every match to top their group. In the semifinals, they swept the Brooklyn Pickleball Team, another top squad. In the final against the Dallas Flash (a fierce rival), St. Louis showed resilience: after dropping a thrilling first game (Bright/Fahey lost 11–13 to Dallas’s Johnson/Black), they stormed back. Patriquin/Tardio won the next match, and Bright/Patriquin and Fahey/Tardio dominated the mixed doubles games to seal the championship.

• Championship Impact: This Cup win was huge for St. Louis – it was the franchise’s first league title with this lineup. Players and coaches celebrated breaking the “tease” of past near-misses. Owner Richard Chaifetz and Captain Anna Bright noted how fitting it was to finally lift hardware after a season of near-perfect play.

California Black Bears – Challenger Champions

The California Black Bears captured the Challenger-level crown in Dallas, capping a strong late-season surge. Their roster was a blend of savvy veterans and hungry young stars: Martin Emmrich (a former pro tennis doubles specialist), Lina Padegimaite (powerful singles ace and former Baylor standout), Layne Sleeth (rising American player), and Michael Loyd (an up-and-coming talent). Together these four gave the Black Bears versatile skill in men’s, women’s, and mixed play.

• 2025 Season Recap: The Bears had a solid if somewhat roller-coaster year in Challenger-level play. They consistently competed with the league’s best underdog teams. (Notably, the Vegas Night Owls – the 2024 & 2025 Challenger champions – were elevated to Premier for 2025, and the Nashville Chefs were sidelined, making the Black Bears one of the pre-event favorites.) Even if they didn’t run away with the regular-season standings, California built chemistry through the year.

• Cup Performance: In Dallas, the Black Bears lived up to the hype. They navigated pool play smoothly to advance (finishing atop or near the top of their group). In the semifinals, they continued their momentum, then in the final they cleanly swept the D.C. Pickleball Team 3–0 to claim the Challenger Cup trophy. Their balanced lineup proved unstoppable: Emmrich’s crafty doubles, Padegimaite’s heavy groundstrokes, and the Sherher-like intensity of Sleeth and Loyd secured each point with consistency.

• Championship Impact: The title was the Black Bears’ first major championship on the MLP stage. It also spotlighted the success of their team-building – combining experienced heads and collegiate talent. This triumph gave the Bears confidence heading into off-season and proved that they could compete at the highest level when it counted.

Both championship runs were full of excitement and showcased the depth of MLP teams. The St. Louis Shock’s ruthless efficiency and the California Black Bears’ late run made the 2025 MLP Cup a fitting, thrilling capstone to the season. Each winning team lifted a trophy on center court in Dallas, marking a historic first for the league and setting an energetic tone for MLP moving forward.