Largest prize payout ever in a New England pickleball tournament
HANOVER : Pickles NE, LLC, an indoor, first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art, climate-controlled pickleball-only complex, recently crowned the first-ever, Major League Pickleball (MLP) 4-Player Team Amateur Champions and distributed $6,000 in prize money.
After 10 weeks of individual competition throughout the summer, 12 teams of four players each were created based on each individual’s Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR), and categorized into one of three levels: 3.5 DUPR, 4.0 DUPR, and 4.5 DUPR.
The 12 teams competed on Sunday, September 4, at Pickles. The competition featured double elimination and rally scoring, and over 60% of the matches ended with a DreamBreaker – an innovative pickleball tiebreaker with modified rally scoring. In this tiebreaker, one team first discloses its four-person singles rotation order, and then the opposing team with that knowledge counter-designates its single rotation order. Each player then rotates in for four singles points, until the tiebreaker has a winner.
The 3.5 DUPR winning team, with a combined DUPR of 13.33, is Rich Martini, Rick Knight, Wendy Spiziri, and Peggy Bryan. The 4.0 winning team, with a combined DUPR of 15.64, is Ryan Puntiri, Jacky Lau, Mike Bruny, and Maria Melone. The 4.5 winning team, with a combined DUPR of 18.89, is Lee Lindemuth, Tacyanno de Brito Silva, Andrew Burdick, and Tabitha Johnson.
“Congratulations on being a part of one of the most innovative clubs in pickleball, not just in America but in the world,” said Jill Braverman, CEO of DUPR. “I’m so excited to see what the next couple of months hold for you and for DUPR in New England.”
“Thank you to everyone who makes this possible,” added Lisa DeMeritt, co-founder of Pickles. “MLP, the DUPR dream team who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, the volunteers, Steve Kuhn (who if not for this vision none of this would be possible), and last but definitely not least, the players! Your commitment, grit, passion, and perseverance are simply unmatched!”
“Congratulations to all of our winning teams, and thank you to all of our players for helping to make this the greatest summer pickleball has ever seen!” said Wanda Melampy, co-founder of Pickles.