Eight teams have completed two days of competition at Brookhaven Country Club in Farmers Branch, Texas, setting up the knockout stage of the inaugural MLP Nations Cup. The tournament also serves as the official kickoff to the 2026 Opendoor Pickleball World Championships, with an opening pool stage that featured unexpected results and the competition's first DreamBreaker.
Key Highlights
- Team USA finished unbeaten at 3-0 to top Pool A, recording a +6 game differential and +52 point differential.
- Asia Domestic secured second place after taking USA to a DreamBreaker in a thrilling 3-2 encounter.
- Latin America recovered from an opening defeat to finish first in Pool B, edging a three-way tie on game and point differentials.
- USA, Asia Domestic, Latin America and Europe East advanced to the semi-finals, while Australia narrowly missed out on qualification.
Pool A: Team USA's Dominance Tested by Resilient Asia Domestic
Team USA lived up to its favourite status in Pool A, finishing with a perfect 3-0 record. Its six-player lineup featured Tyra "Hurricane" Black, Anna Bright, Kate Fahey, Ben Johns, CJ Klinger and Will Howells.
The Unbeaten Run: USA Sets the Standard
USA opened with a 3-1 victory over Canada after recovering from an early 5-11 loss in women's doubles. They followed that with a commanding 3-0 sweep of Europe West, winning 11-5, 11-1 and 11-2. Their strongest test, however, came against Asia Domestic on Saturday.
USA claimed women's doubles 13-11, but Asia Domestic responded by taking men's doubles 11-6 and Mixed Doubles 1 by 14-12. The Americans fought back with an 11-4 victory in Mixed Doubles 2, forcing the tournament's first DreamBreaker. USA eventually prevailed 21-18 to secure a 3-2 victory and finish at the top of Pool A.
Asia Domestic Earns a Semi-Final Spot
Despite losing to USA, Asia Domestic delivered an impressive pool-stage performance, finishing second with a 2-1 record. The team began with a 3-1 win over Europe West, recovering from an opening 4-11 loss to take the next three games 11-9, 11-1 and 11-9. They then produced a convincing 3-0 victory over Canada (12-10, 11-7, 11-2).
Their narrow defeat against USA was enough to secure the second qualifying position in Pool A. Meanwhile, Europe West finished third with a 1-2 record after beating Canada 3-1, while Canada ended its campaign without a win.
Pool B: Latin America Rises from an Early Defeat
Unlike Pool A, Pool B produced a three-way tie, with Latin America, Europe East and Australia all finishing with 2-1 records. However, Latin America emerged as the group winner after securing the best tiebreaking numbers, with a +3 game differential and +21 point differential.
Latin America's Impressive Comeback
Latin America's campaign started with a 0-3 defeat to Europe East, losing 6-11, 7-11 and 8-11. Rather than allowing the opening result to derail their campaign, they responded with two consecutive 3-0 victories.
Their first came against Asia International (11-8, 11-5, 11-4), followed by another dominant performance against Australia (12-10, 11-2, 11-5). The two wins lifted Latin America to the top of Pool B, earning them the first semi-final qualification position.
Europe East Advances as Australia Misses Out
Europe East claimed second place with a 2-1 record, a +3 game differential and a +14 point differential. After losing to Australia, they recovered with a 3-1 victory over Asia International, winning 11-2, 7-11, 11-4 and 11-7.
Australia also finished with a 2-1 record, having beaten Asia International 3-1 and Europe East 3-1. However, its +1 game differential and +9 point differential were not enough to secure a semi-final place. Asia International completed Pool B in fourth position with a 0-3 record.
MLP Nations Cup Semi-Finals: Matchups and Schedule
With the pool stage complete, the top two teams from each group advance to a single-elimination bracket on Sunday, 1 November. The semi-final matchups will see Asia Domestic take on Latin America, while undefeated Team USA faces Europe East.
USA enters the knockout stage as a strong favourite, but Asia Domestic's performance against the Americans and Latin America's recovery in Pool B suggest both semi-finals could deliver competitive encounters.
Semi-Final and Final Schedule
The semi-finals will take place on Sunday, 1 November, in Texas, with the first matchup seeing Asia Domestic face Latin America at 10:00 am CST. The second semi-final between USA and Europe East is scheduled for 11:30 am CST, followed by the championship final at 2:00 pm CST.
For fans in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the matches will take place in the early hours of 2 November. The first semi-final starts at 12:00 am, followed by the second semi-final at 1:30 am. The final is scheduled for 4:00 am. All matches will be streamed live on PickleballTV.
Asia Domestic's semi-final against Latin America will be particularly interesting for regional fans. Having pushed USA to a DreamBreaker, the team now faces a group winner that has demonstrated its ability to recover from setbacks.
With four teams remaining, the inaugural MLP Nations Cup is approaching its conclusion, with the first-ever champion set to be crowned following the final.
