In the early days of basketball and football in the United States, there was tight competition between leagues of the same sports. It wasn’t until the NFL and NBA rose to such prominence that the AFL and ABA would merge. Instead of going back and forth for years about who is the premier league, Major League Pickleball and VIBE have agreed upon a merger that will satisfy both leagues. Here is everything you need to know about the most significant moment in professional pickleball to date.
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Pickleball Under One Roof: Major League Pickleball and VIBE Merger Announced
(Via IG / Loveleen Kaur)
By: Justin Cohen
Published Nov 9, 2022
MLP and VIBE
The Professional Pickleball Association, known as PPA, created VIBE in order to establish a league with team competitions. The PPA currently has some of the best pickleball players in the world including Ben Johns and Tyson McGuffin among others. The league was slated to start this year with a draft in December, but now the league will be merged with the already established Major League Pickleball. MLP will continue to live under the “Major League Pickleball” brand name and format.
Major League Pickleball, or MLP, has been at the forefront of professional team pickleball competitions. Last season the MLP put together three tournaments throughout the year, with a $100,000 prize for each winning team. MLP only showcases team competitions, with the occasional overtime ‘Dreambreaker’ that pits singles against each other in a four point rally.
What Does This Mean?
The agreed upon merger will give MLP the exclusive rights to team competitions, and PPA will have the exclusive rights to singles play. This is more than great news for both leagues, as now we get to see the best pickleball players in the world all play in the same competitions. This also allows for two leagues to be successful in the pickleball world, which will hopefully lead to even more interest in the sport. So far MLP has made all the right moves, only time will tell how big the league might get.
MLP will now officially be expanding to 24 teams for the 2023 season, with more owners to be announced in the near future. The MLP will host a draft similar to what they did last year, which means every team should have a new roster next season. There will be six tournaments across the season that will see MLP and its pro’s travel the United States, bringing pickleball from sea to shining sea.
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