The people of Grand Rapids, Michigan hosted another Beer City Open and this year, yet agin, the stars came to play.
The tournament was started in 2018 by local lawyer, and pro player, Andrea Koop and Paul Richards, a local, retired wealth management advisor.
It has since grown annually and now has over 600 volunteers taking care of things. Thank you folks! You have one of the best tournaments in North America.
This past weekend Major League Pickleball (MLP) came to Grand Rapids, and joined the already successful tournament with their “Advil Targeted Relief Mid Season Tournament”
The MLP Mid-Season had all 12 Premier Teams, and 10 Challenger Teams come to Grand Rapids, for the 4 day tournament.
In total, the Beer City Open also had hundreds of amateur players compete in their own tournament as well in various age and skill categories.
MLP Canadian Players
The Canadian players competing this weekend were Layne Sleeth, Angie Walker, and Todd Fought.
Canadian star, Catherine Parenteau was away on her honeymoon this week. Congrats Catherine!
Most of the best pickleball players on the planet are playing in MLP this season, the the competition was furious in the hot, and humid mid-west weather.
Many players and teams shone, and put on a wonderful spectacle for the fans.
MLP Premier Division
In the Premier Division semi finals, DC eked out a gutsy win after coming back in game 4 and then taking the Dreambreaker.
The other Semi New Jersey won 3-1 over Dallas, after a hard fought and tense 30-28 victory in game 4.
The Finals therefore had DC playing Jersey..
DC's team consisted of Vivian Glozman, James Ignatowich, Rachel Rohrabacher, and Dekel Bar.
Jersey had superstar Anna Leigh Waters, who had never won an MLP event previously, Zane Navratil, Will Howells, and Mariana Humberg.
Navratil has previously won MLP tournaments with the Orlando Squeeze.
The final went to another Dreambreaker, with Zane Navratil showing why he's mister clutch in team events, by taking the final point, and the Jersey 5's and ALW getting her very first MLP tournament victory.
MLP Challenger Division
The Challenger Finals showcased Las Vegas Night Owls and Brooklyn Aces.
The Vegas team consists of Anderson Scarpa, Spaniard, Judit Castillo, Chao (Zoey) Yi Wang, and Mo Alhouni.
Brooklyn has Pablo Tellez, Lina Padegimiate, Canadian, Layne Sleeth, and Daniel De La Rosa.
Sleeth is relatively new to pickleball, but in this tournament, she truly showed her stuff, and you could see why she is a rising star. Her father was in attendance, and she mentioned that it was only the 2nd time that he had seen her play pickleball. That's how new she is to the sport. Yet she held her own with the best. Very impressive!
The final results had Brooklyn defeating Las Vegas in stunning fashion winning 3 games to 1, in Las Vegas first loss of the season.
