LA Mad Drops Clinch Top-Four Seed and First-Round Bye Heading Into 2026 MLP Playoffs

Los Angeles closes the regular season with a winner-take-all Dreambreaker win over Brooklyn at Amway MLP Orlando.

Los Angeles, CA (August 4, 2026) — The Los Angeles Mad Drops have secured a top-four seed and a first-round bye in the 2026 Major League Pickleball playoffs, capping a regular season that began with a championship in Dallas and ended with a winner-take-all Dreambreaker victory at Walt Disney World.

At Amway MLP Orlando, held July 30 through August 2 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, the Mad Drops closed out the Brooklyn Pickleball Team in a Dreambreaker with a postseason bye hanging in the balance. The win locked Los Angeles into the top tier of the bracket alongside the New Jersey 5s, who claimed the No. 1 overall seed, and gives the Mad Drops a week off while the No. 5 through No. 12 seeds fight through the opening round.

Orlando also marked the debut of Connor Garnett in a Mad Drops uniform. The world No. 3 men's singles player joined Los Angeles ahead of the final regular-season stop and slots into a lineup anchored by world No. 1 Ben Johns, Catherine Parenteau, Jade Kawamoto, Max Freeman, and Samantha Parker.

The bye caps a season bookended by statement performances. Los Angeles opened 2026 by winning MLP Dallas, defeating the Columbus Sliders 3-1 to take the season's first event title as the only team to leave Texas undefeated. The weekend in Orlando included a marquee group-stage meeting with New Jersey that featured a rare head-to-head between Johns and Anna Leigh Waters, longtime PPA Tour mixed partners who face each other only a handful of times each year.

The MLP postseason runs across three cities. The first round is underway at Picklr Universe in Carrollton, Texas, with series winners advancing to the quarterfinals in Newport Beach, California, August 13 through 16. The semifinals and finals follow in New York City, August 28 through 30, at City Pickle at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

The Mad Drops enter the quarterfinals rested and, as a top seed, with a say in who they face.

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