The 15 Seed That Beat Ben Johns

One of the wildest pickleball Sundays in a long time just got even crazier. A 15 seed nearly hijacks men’s doubles, a bird literally crashes the singles final, and the new PPA format changes are already reshaping who gets rewarded, who gets punished, and who might be gaming the system. Nico and Zane break down the finals day in Mesa from top to bottom, starting with Chris Haworth vs Federico Staksrud and the absurd momentum swing that followed the most bizarre replay of the weekend. Then they unpack the run of the tournament: Yuta Funemizu and Nico Acevedo storming through the draw, saving match points, ripping off upset after upset, and coming within touching distance of a title that would have rewritten the sport’s rankings logic. 👕 Check out the new performance apparel line from Six Zero: https://bit.ly/3T9NaDM 💊 Marek Health → https://www.marekdiagnostics.com | Code: THEDINK for 10% off 🏓 Donate to the Solomon Boltes Memorial Pickleball Courts: https://www.gofundme.com/f/building-solomon-boltes-memorial-pickleball-courts 📩 Subscribe to our free newsletter for everything that matters in pickleball: https://subscribe.thedinkpickleball.com #Pickleball #PickleballPodcast #mlp #ppa ------------------ Like the ep? Do us a favor: subscribe to our channel and leave a review on Apple or Spotify -Follow us on IG : https://www.instagram.com/thedinkpickleball/ -Join the Pro Pickleball Talk Discord → https://discord.gg/ZCqXrxhgsv -For everything else we do, visit https://linktr.ee/dinkfam -Read more about Zane and subscribe to his newsletter at https://zanenavratilpickleball.com/ -Follow Zane on IG @zanenavratilpickleball ------------------ 0:00 Intro 6:09 Chris Haworth receives luck from above 9:09 An epic run in men's doubles 17:31 Is Yuta the most slept on? Nico’s next partner? 22:21 Best 2/3 finals format 25:53 Pickleball officially becomes a nighttime sport 32:48 MLP hunting for a new commissioner 39:17 WPR has a singles problem 49:47 Anna Leigh Waters vs Kate Fahey 54:07 Mean comments 1:01:53 Women's doubles results 1:04:22 Nico’s combine experience