New Jersey 5s Take Game One of the MLP 2026 Final in New York
Waters and Khlif answer at the perfect moment, sending their team to a heart-stopping Dreambreaker
Today is one of those days that recharges pickleball fans and makes them want to run straight to the court, fueled by the level of play on display in New York. And it's no wonder: the two most consistent teams of the entire season were facing off, after New Jersey completed a sweep over Brooklyn earlier that same morning to punch their ticket to the Final.
The road there was no accident. New Jersey came in having sealed back-to-back 3-0 wins over Brooklyn, Friday and Saturday, with Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson dominating both women's doubles games, and Federico Staksrud and Will Howells surviving a dramatic back-and-forth in the second matchup that ended with a rules controversy in the 5s' favor, after Brooklyn's bench hesitated on challenging a point the referee had already called. That stumble seemed to drain the energy right out of the home team, and New Jersey never gave the game back.
On the other side of the bracket, St. Louis Shock arrived with nerves of their own. Hayden Patriquin admitted as much after sweeping Dallas Flash 2-0 on Friday, saying the team came in tense but felt relief at finally getting the monkey off their back after being eliminated in the Semifinals the past two seasons.
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That was the backdrop heading into Saturday afternoon, and from the opening point of the Final it was clear there would be no easy path for anyone. Fantasy-level shot-making, phenomenal rallies that had everyone in the Central Park stands on their feet — and of course, everyone following along on PickleballTV. Tight scorelines from the very first point.
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the overall match: Anna Bright and Kate Fahey took down Waters and Johnson 11-2, in a game reminiscent of their Mid-Season Tournament meeting, funneling nearly every ball toward Johnson and forcing the error. Then Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio rallied back from an 8-3 deficit to take the second game over Staksrud and Howells 11-8, closing it out with long dinking rallies at the net that sucked the air right out of New Jersey.
With the series slipping away, the Waters-Khlif pairing stepped onto the court to settle things down and give The Fives a breath of fresh air. This duo, one of the most solid for New Jersey this postseason, showed once again why the fans back them: across the net stood Patriquin and Anna Bright. Waters was steady and forceful, with Khlif backing her up on every ball and closing out the final point of the game to take it, 11-4 — a performance that put to rest any outside questions about whether Khlif deserved that mixed doubles spot over Howells.
With that breath of momentum, and the following win from Federico and Jorja over Kate and Tardio 11-8, the series was tied 2-2, forcing the weekend's first Dreambreaker. That's when the festival of great plays kicked off to close out a match that wasn't for the faint of heart. Emotion, euphoria, adrenaline — Staksrud and Howells kept their team alive all the way to a razor-tight 20-20, until Anna Leigh Waters closed out the final two points against Kate Fahey and put her stamp on the win, 22-20.
Waters didn't hesitate to spread the credit after the match. "I feel like in the Dreambreakers all year, Will has been the one getting me the ball to serve or keeping us in it, so huge props to him for getting that point late when we were down — that was huge," she said of Howells, highlighting that coming back from down 2-0 to win the next two mixed games and then the Dreambreaker was a total team effort.
Staksrud, for his part, was a constant source of energy throughout the match, hyping up the home crowd between nearly every point. Afterward, he admitted it will take even more energy on Sunday to secure the 5s' first title since the league switched to its current format — and he was clear that St. Louis, a great team, is going to bring it even harder tomorrow, so New Jersey will need to play better still.
A phenomenal day in Central Park. And tomorrow, everything gets decided: New Jersey and St. Louis go all in for the 2026 MLP Season Championship.
Waters and Khlif answer at the perfect moment, sending their team to a heart-stopping Dreambreaker
Today is one of those days that recharges pickleball fans and makes them want to run straight to the court, fueled by the level of play on display in New York. And it's no wonder: the two most consistent teams of the entire season were facing off, after New Jersey completed a sweep over Brooklyn earlier that same morning to punch their ticket to the Final.
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The road there was no accident. New Jersey came in having sealed back-to-back 3-0 wins over Brooklyn, Friday and Saturday, with Anna Leigh Waters and Jorja Johnson dominating both women's doubles games, and Federico Staksrud and Will Howells surviving a dramatic back-and-forth in the second matchup that ended with a rules controversy in the 5s' favor, after Brooklyn's bench hesitated on challenging a point the referee had already called. That stumble seemed to drain the energy right out of the home team, and New Jersey never gave the game back.
On the other side of the bracket, St. Louis Shock arrived with nerves of their own. Hayden Patriquin admitted as much after sweeping Dallas Flash 2-0 on Friday, saying the team came in tense but felt relief at finally getting the monkey off their back after being eliminated in the Semifinals the past two seasons.
LOVE PICKLEBALL?
Get Dink Authority Magazine updates, new editions, pro stories and event alerts.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.
That was the backdrop heading into Saturday afternoon, and from the opening point of the Final it was clear there would be no easy path for anyone. Fantasy-level shot-making, phenomenal rallies that had everyone in the Central Park stands on their feet — and of course, everyone following along on PickleballTV. Tight scorelines from the very first point.
St. Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the overall match: Anna Bright and Kate Fahey took down Waters and Johnson 11-2, in a game reminiscent of their Mid-Season Tournament meeting, funneling nearly every ball toward Johnson and forcing the error. Then Hayden Patriquin and Gabe Tardio rallied back from an 8-3 deficit to take the second game over Staksrud and Howells 11-8, closing it out with long dinking rallies at the net that sucked the air right out of New Jersey.
With the series slipping away, the Waters-Khlif pairing stepped onto the court to settle things down and give The Fives a breath of fresh air. This duo, one of the most solid for New Jersey this postseason, showed once again why the fans back them: across the net stood Patriquin and Anna Bright. Waters was steady and forceful, with Khlif backing her up on every ball and closing out the final point of the game to take it, 11-4 — a performance that put to rest any outside questions about whether Khlif deserved that mixed doubles spot over Howells.
With that breath of momentum, and the following win from Federico and Jorja over Kate and Tardio 11-8, the series was tied 2-2, forcing the weekend's first Dreambreaker. That's when the festival of great plays kicked off to close out a match that wasn't for the faint of heart. Emotion, euphoria, adrenaline — Staksrud and Howells kept their team alive all the way to a razor-tight 20-20, until Anna Leigh Waters closed out the final two points against Kate Fahey and put her stamp on the win, 22-20.
Waters didn't hesitate to spread the credit after the match. "I feel like in the Dreambreakers all year, Will has been the one getting me the ball to serve or keeping us in it, so huge props to him for getting that point late when we were down — that was huge," she said of Howells, highlighting that coming back from down 2-0 to win the next two mixed games and then the Dreambreaker was a total team effort.
Staksrud, for his part, was a constant source of energy throughout the match, hyping up the home crowd between nearly every point. Afterward, he admitted it will take even more energy on Sunday to secure the 5s' first title since the league switched to its current format — and he was clear that St. Louis, a great team, is going to bring it even harder tomorrow, so New Jersey will need to play better still.
A phenomenal day in Central Park. And tomorrow, everything gets decided: New Jersey and St. Louis go all in for the 2026 MLP Season Championship.
