Last Updated on July 16, 2026 by Drew Pierce
The MLP Mid-Season Tournament just wrapped up in Grand Rapids, and it was absolute chaos. The St. Louis Shock just dethroned the New Jersey 5s from their perch atop the league, Anna Leigh Waters suffered her first loss of the season in the most surprising way possible, and we got a blueprint for how to actually beat the world’s most dominant player. Let’s dig into what went down.
St. Louis Shock Won the Mid-Season Tournament and Changed the Playoff Race Forever
Event: Edward Jones MLP Mid-Season Tournament
Dates: July 8-12, 2026
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan (Belknap Park)
Champion: St. Louis Shock
Runner-Up: New Jersey 5s (swept 3-0)
Bronze: Columbus Sliders
The St. Louis Shock just went undefeated (losing only one game all weekend) and swept the New Jersey 5s 3-0 in the championship final. More importantly, they broke something that everyone thought was unbreakable.
Here’s the storyline: New Jersey’s Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson entered the tournament with a 25-0 record in women’s doubles on the season. Not 25 wins—25 GAMES. They hadn’t lost a single game. They were projected to be completely untouchable.
St. Louis said “no.”
In the championship match, Kate Fahey and Anna Bright faced Waters and Johnson in the opening women’s doubles match. Despite being the second-best women’s doubles team in the league, Fahey and Bright had a game plan: they executed it to perfection and won 11-6.
That victory gave Jorja Johnson her first loss of the season and proved something crucial: Anna Leigh Waters can be beaten.
The Strategy That Beat Anna Leigh Waters Is Brilliantly Simple
After watching Fahey and Bright execute the strategy that beat Waters/Johnson, I need to understand how it works. The Dink just published a deep dive on the exact game plan Fahey/Bright used, and it’s fascinating because it’s so straightforward.
The strategy: Target Jorja Johnson. Don’t let Anna Leigh Waters play.
That’s literally it. Fahey and Bright hit almost every ball to Johnson’s side of the court. They made Johnson beat them, not Waters. And on Sunday in Grand Rapids, Johnson didn’t have her best game.
Here’s why this works: Waters is objectively the best player in the world. Johnson is an excellent player, but she’s a tier below Waters. When you force Johnson to beat you, you’re playing against the 5-10 ranked player instead of the #1 ranked player.
The analogy one analyst used: it’s like how teams in basketball will sometimes let a great shooter’s teammates beat them. You’re conceding that you can’t stop the best player, so you make everyone else win the game.
St. Louis’s Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio then beat Khlif/Howells 11-3 in men’s doubles, and the Shock cruised to a 3-0 sweep.
The key insight: Every team left in the playoffs now has a roadmap. If you face New Jersey in the playoffs and Waters/Johnson are your women’s doubles matchup, you know what to do. Target Johnson. Make her earn it. Don’t give Waters the chance to take over.
St. Louis Now Tied With New Jersey At 93 Points—And Holds the Tiebreaker
Before this tournament, St. Louis and New Jersey were separated by ~23 points. The Shock won 10 points at Grand Rapids (championship victory). New Jersey got 6 points (runner-up). That’s a 16-point swing.
The result: Both teams now sit at exactly 93 standings points.
But here’s what matters: St. Louis holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. The two teams have played three times this season:
- May 25: St. Louis wins in a DreamBreaker (21-15)
- May 31: New Jersey wins 3-0
- July 12: St. Louis wins 3-0
St. Louis leads the series 2-1.
If both teams win out until the final regular season event (MLP Orlando, July 23-26), they’ll meet in the championship match to determine the #1 seed heading into the playoffs. That’s the scenario everyone wants to see.
Kate Fahey Is Now the Key to St. Louis’s Championship Run
This tournament elevated Kate Fahey from solid contributor to essential player.
Fahey’s ability to beat Waters/Johnson single-handedly gave St. Louis the championship. Before this tournament, Fahey was known as a player who specialized in singles and had some doubles capability. Now she’s proven she can execute high-leverage strategy against the best partnership in the league.
Anna Bright said after the win: “This is our third year together as a group, and we have not yet been able to hold up this trophy here in Grand Rapids. So I’m really excited that we get to do that this year, and it was a great match against the 5s. We will likely see them again this year, but this is a really big win and gives us a lot of momentum going into the postseason.”
Momentum matters in playoffs. St. Louis is riding a 15-match winning streak heading into the final regular season event. They’ve beaten: New Jersey (multiple times), Los Angeles (3 times), Columbus, Palm Beach (twice), Orlando (twice), and Texas (twice).
Jay Devilliers Got Hit in the Face…But Came Back to Play
During a quarterfinal match between Atlanta Bouncers and Los Angeles Mad Drops, an accident happened that nobody wants to see.
Jay Devilliers was attempting to poach on a Jessie Irvine overhead when Irvine’s paddle connected with his face. Don’t forget eye protection!
Devilliers got multiple stitches near his eye/eyebrow area and initially looked like he might be done for the tournament. But he came back on Friday to help the Bouncers advance in the back bracket.
On Instagram the next day, Devilliers took full responsibility: “I was late on my poach.”
That’s the kind of accountability you want to see, but it’s also a reminder that pickleball can be dangerous when players are moving at tournament intensity. Poaching is a critical doubles strategy, but it creates blind spots where you’re vulnerable to being hit.
The International Teams Were a Huge Addition to the Mid-Season Tournament
For the first time, MLP brought in four international/developmental teams to compete in the Mid-Season Tournament:
- Team Australia: Sarah Burr, Talia Sanders, Mitch Hargreaves, Zach Grabovic
- Team Canada: Rosie Johanson, Jordann Vigna, Ryan Torresin, Mackonner Dy
- Team Europe: (mixed roster)
- College All-Stars: Ryan Morneau, Kallan Arledge, Lauren Mercado, Ella Cosma
This was a smart move by MLP for several reasons:
- It fills out the bracket. The 20 MLP teams get 20 + 4 = 24 teams. With 24 teams and double-elimination, you get better seeding and matchups.
- It creates storylines. Ryan Morneau (James Madison University) won the 2026 National Singles title at CPT Nationals. Arledge and Cosma were named regional All-Americans. These aren’t random players—they’re legitimate prospects.
- It gives international players exposure. Sarah Burr just won Gold in women’s doubles at the May 2026 PPA Australia event. Mitch Hargreaves has dozens of medals in Australian pickleball history. These are elite players in their regions who don’t normally get mainstream coverage.
- It tests depth. Regular MLP teams playing against College All-Stars and international squads showed which teams can handle different styles and less familiar opponents.
Columbus Sliders Won Bronze
Columbus finished third in Grand Rapids, which earned them 4 standings points. That moved them ahead of Brooklyn in the “points per event” tiebreaker.
Here’s what matters: Columbus is now in position to crack the top 4 in the regular season standings heading into playoffs. The Sliders have been improving steadily—they beat Utah 3-0, beat Chicago 3-0, and took New Jersey to 3-1 in the semifinals.
According to The Kitchen’s power rankings, Columbus could be a legitimate threat in the playoffs if they keep this trajectory. They’ve shown they can beat mid-tier teams decisively and take elite teams to close matches.
The fourth playoff seed is still up for grabs between Columbus and Brooklyn. That 4-point bronze finish could be the difference.
The MLP Standings Are Wide Open Heading Into MLP Orlando
Before Grand Rapids:
- St. Louis and New Jersey were separated by ~23 points
- Top 4 seemed set
After Grand Rapids:
- St. Louis and New Jersey are tied at 93 points
- Columbus is climbing fast
- Only one regular season event left (MLP Orlando, July 23-26)
- St. Louis and New Jersey are in opposite pools in Orlando, meaning they could meet in the championship match
If St. Louis beats New Jersey in Orlando, the Shock secure the #1 seed heading into playoffs. If New Jersey wins, it’s likely a tie or New Jersey takes #1. Either way, this race is wide open.
Final Thoughts: The Playoffs Are Going to Be Chaos
The Mid-Season Tournament proved three things:
1. Anna Leigh Waters can be beaten. Her 25-0 women’s doubles streak is over. Now every team with Kate Fahey or comparable talent will study that tape and try the same strategy.
2. St. Louis Shock is the form team. Fifteen-match winning streak, championship performance, undefeated tournament with only one game lost. They’re playing the best pickleball of anyone right now.
3. New Jersey is still dangerous, but they’re vulnerable. The 5s lost the only match that mattered—the championship final. They got out-executed when it counted. But they can absolutely beat anyone if their women’s doubles partnership is allowed to play their game.
The final regular season event is Orlando in 9 days. After that, we go straight to playoffs. Two weeks of regular season competition left to determine playoff seeding for what’s going to be the most wide-open postseason MLP has ever had.
St. Louis, New Jersey, Columbus, and the Sliders are all one event away from setting their playoff destiny.
This is pickleball at its best.