Upset City: Ballers Repeat, Last-Place Chomp Shock the Field at the AFPL Midseason Tournament (Pro League This Week Ep. 9)
The All Florida Pro League Midseason Tournament rolled into Fort Myers, and it delivered exactly what midseason always does: twists, turns, and upset city right out of the gate. In Episode 9 of Pro League This Week, Hugh Green and David Tabb broke down a wild day of upsets, dream breakers, and bracket chaos, sat down with Punta Gorda Tide owner Ivan Roney, and looked ahead to a waiver wire period that is about to shake up the entire league. Here is everything that went down.
The Ballers Just Keep Winning
Some things do not change. The Jacksonville Ballers came into Fort Myers as the team to beat and left with another title, taking down the GNV Chomp in the gold medal match. That loss they took in Miami clearly lit a fire, because this group looked dominant from start to finish. As David pointed out, they did not even drop into a dream breaker the entire tournament.
The secret is not complicated: consistency. The Ballers have kept the same four players together at essentially every stop this season while other teams shuffle subs in and out. They practice together, they play other events together, and that chemistry is showing up on the scoreboard. They won Stop 1, won Stop 2, and now own the midseason crown. With the next stop coming up on their home courts at The Hub in Jacksonville, it is fair to ask: who is picking against them?
The Cinderella Story: GNV Chomp
If the Ballers were the expected story, the GNV Chomp were the shocking one. Sitting in last place coming in and seeded No. 8, the Chomp opened the day by knocking off the top-seeded St Pete Iceburgs in a dream breaker, then took down the Sarasota Manatees in the semifinals before running into the Ballers buzz saw in the final. From last place to silver is an incredible run.
Ava Pisacrita anchored the group as the steady presence among three big personalities, playing rock-solid on the right side and earning midseason MVP buzz. Pairing her with Kristine Marseco in women's doubles paid off, and Noah Waddell brought his usual nonstop energy, including a Jimmy Neutron spin at the kitchen line that had the booth cracking up. Big credit to Chrishawn Spackman for assembling a squad that suddenly looks dangerous.
Bronze, Standings, and the Icebergs Question
The bronze medal match turned into the marathon of the day, with the O-Town Bangers outlasting the Sarasota Manatees in a match that ran late into the night, including a 33-31 mixed doubles game that took everything out of all four players. Sub Sam Gabet impressed again, helping the Bangers climb from sixth to fifth in the season standings.
The bigger talking point was the absence of the St Pete Iceburgs from any medal match. With owner Bruce Jonas not on site, the team made its own lineup calls and put Stephen Preissler out for singles over Kamden Bradstreet, a decision they may second-guess. As the top seed, the Iceburgs are still No. 2 in the season standings, but the questions are piling up heading into playoff season, where there is zero margin for error.
Standout Players and Top Plays
The top three plays of the day were a highlight reel. Kamden Bradstreet and Stephen Preissler combined for an Erne-into-ATP sequence plus a filthy block for the Iceburgs. Gianna Jarman and Andi Godwin traded a brutal, side-to-side singles rally on championship court that ended on a flying ballerina forehand. And Jared Cohen and Ahmad El-Zarif capped it off with a nonstop defense-to-offense point for the Ballers against the Chomp.
On the fantasy side, the 1-800-Ask-Dave Fantasy Pickleball game keeps growing with more than 50 players in the mix. James Ignatowich, aka Big Papa Jimmy, took the stop by riding the chalk with the Ballers. The hosts, for the record, did not fare so well.
Looking Ahead: Waiver Wire and Stop 4
The interview with Ivan Roney was a highlight, as the Punta Gorda Tide owner talked about building the league's most passionate fan club, the towels, the coming purple bus, and the hardest part of ownership: letting a player go. The Tide already made the first move of the waiver period, picking up Caden Salefsky and parting ways with TC Anderson as they fight to climb out of the basement.
And that is just the start. The waiver wire is open, and by next week's show the whole league could look different heading into Stop 4 in Jacksonville. There are two stops left before the playoffs, and with the bottom spots this tight, every point matters.
Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/RVxtzKrtsl4
Subscribe and follow Pro League This Week for weekly All Florida Pro League coverage, and get your picks in for Fantasy Pickleball before Stop 4. See you next week.