MLP Asia reveals inaugural season championship rings
Summary by Coachino Daily Digest · Original reporting by Pickleball News Asia
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MLP Asia has unveiled the gold Championship Rings that its first-season winners will receive. The rings feature an orange enamel pickleball, navy details and clear stones; they will be presented on Super Saturday, 12 December, when the inaugural champions are crowned.
The season opens on 13 November, with teams playing across three weeks before the top four advance to the MLP Asia Finals 2026. The semifinals are scheduled for 11 December, ahead of the title matches.
Coachino Insight
The rings give MLP Asia’s inaugural title a visible prize, while its home-and-away team format brings league competition to venues across the region.
Two Mindanao provinces have announced tournaments offering more than ₱2.5 million in combined prize money. Sultan Kudarat’s national event, part of Kalimudan Festival 2026, runs from 14 to 16 November 2026 and will feature Vietnamese pro Quang Duong in an exhibition appearance.
Malitbog’s inaugural Mayor’s Cup is scheduled for 21 to 24 January 2027, with nine novice and intermediate divisions and ₱1 million in prizes. The announcements bring competitive opportunities and substantial prize pools beyond the Philippines’ major-city hubs.
Coachino Insight
The events offer players across Mindanao more chances to compete, including divisions for novice and intermediate skill levels, while putting local governments at the center of the region’s pickleball growth.
Team USA swept Pool A with a 3-0 record, while Asia Domestic also advanced after pushing the Americans to the tournament’s first DreamBreaker before losing 3-2. Latin America topped a three-way 2-1 tie in Pool B, with Europe East taking second and Australia missing out on tiebreakers. The top two teams from each pool move into Sunday’s single-elimination bracket at Brookhaven Country Club in Texas.
Coachino Insight
Asia Domestic’s semifinal place shows the depth of the field, while the pool-stage tiebreakers underline how game and point differentials can shape team-event qualification.
Hunter Johnson beat Tama Shimabukuro in the PPA Tour Asia Hong Kong Slam men’s singles final, after defeating Federico Staksrud in the semifinals. Crowds packed Kai Tak Arena for an event offering $1.1 million in prize money and 1,500 World Pickleball Ranking points.
Staksrud’s quarterfinal comeback against Hong Kit Wong drew controversy: an extended equipment timeout and a 1-point penalty for inappropriate language preceded his 12-10 deciding-game win. Anna Leigh Waters won women’s doubles with Anna Bright and mixed doubles with Ben Johns.
Coachino Insight
For athletes and coaches, the Staksrud-Wong match puts equipment readiness and on-court conduct in focus: both became central issues during a closely contested deciding game.
