ahm NPL Round 4: Mid-Season Festival Recap

The Mid-Season Festival (MSF) delivered exactly what it promised: pure chaos, intense pressure, breakout performances, and a genuine reshuffling of the National Pickleball League landscape.

Across the Teams Cup, the debut of the State of Origin format, and the Individual/Open events, the weekend gave us a crystal-clear picture of where the league stands heading into the second half of the 2026 season. Some favorites went quiet, some contenders cemented their status, and a hungry group of rising stars put the entire league on notice.

With the Mid-Season Shuffle Draft just around the corner, the race for the championship is officially wide open.

The Outback are built different

The Outback were the headline act of the Teams Cup.

Harrison Brown and his crew didn’t just show up — they showed out. They went 3–1 through the Swiss format, then found themselves under pressure in the semi-final against the Stingers after dropping gendered doubles. From there, they clawed it back through singles and forced a deciding mixed doubles rubber, where Harrison and Katy Hart closed the door.

Then, in the final, they did it again.

Same situation. Same result.

The Outback don’t just win when everything goes their way. They win ugly when they have to — and that is often a far scarier trait than winning clean.

The Outback have the strongest championship DNa right now, they have stars, more importantly, they have answers under pressure. 

The 29ers are suddenly a problem

The 29ers came into the weekend sitting last in the Victoria conference — then nearly stole the entire Teams Cup. That alone says everything about the volatility of the NPL format and the potential impact of one big weekend.

Izzy Papazyan is playing like one of the top female players in the country right now. Not eventually. Now. Dan and Nigel have quietly found something in their gendered game, while Nives Papazyan is becoming a genuine dual threat. Don't let the ladder fool you — their ceiling is clearly much higher than their current position suggests.

Tide and Heat went missing

Two conference leaders. Two 2–2 records. Two underwhelming performances. The Tide and the Heat both came into the Mid-Season Festival with authority, but neither converted that into a statement weekend.

There are no major excuses here — just flat performances from two sides that now need to recalibrate before Round 5. The standard is higher now, and the second half of the season will punish teams that cannot adapt quickly.

The NPL format manufactures drama

Ten of the 28 Teams Cup matches were decided by a mixed doubles decider. Ten. No lead is safe. No team is out of it. No result feels completely settled until the final ball is played.

The NPL format doesn't just create drama — it manufactures it. And the format itself was one of the biggest winners of the weekend.

The super subs just changed the draft conversation

With Nicola unavailable, Captain Mildwaters led the Opals with class and composure — and Emily Martin didn't just fill the void, she owned it. Her standout moment came against the previously unbeaten Lelenoa/Dang partnership, a result that deserves far more attention than it has received.

Josh Barber also played extremely well and should be considered one of the weekend's most important risers. These performances matter for one reason above all others: the Mid-Season Shuffle Draft is coming.

• Emily Martin

• Josh Barber

• Nick Mal

• Bee Horsley

• Ethan Butson

• Shannon Spencer

• Tayah Cross

• Andy Horridge

• Nives Papazyan

The audition before the shuffle

The reshuffle is coming — and it needs to. The Mid-Season Festival exposed the gaps across the league. The Roos still live and die by Sahil Dang, and that may not be sustainable. The Adders have issues that results alone cannot paper over. The Comets are one dominant male away from being dangerous. The Reef need to get more out of Wilson and Daggmarr. The Dinkers need their women to step up and are still heavily reliant on Brian Tran and Ryotaro Tanabe.

This is where the draft becomes more than a mid-season reset. It could define who plays finals in August. The weekend wasn't just a standalone tournament — it was the audition before the shuffle.

State of Origin Has Officially Arrived

The debut of the NPL State of Origin format wasn't a novelty act—it was a roaring success. It brought fierce state pride, deep emotional buy-in, fascinating new combinations, and some of the highest-quality pickleball ever seen in Australia.

Because weekend performances directly shaped the rosters, players truly had to earn their right to wear the state colors.

Ultimately, The Allies delivered in a major way. Stacked with the likes of Robertshawe, Hart, Horridge, Westbury, Papazyan, Fisher, McCorkindale, and Lee, they edged out Victoria in a thrilling mixed doubles decider.

If this was our first taste of NPL State of Origin, the next chapter cannot come soon enough.

Kyle Stoker reminded everyone who he is

Harrison Brown came in as the clear favourite. Brian Tran and Sahil Dang were obvious threats. But Stoker had other ideas, dismantling the Australian number one 15–8 in the final. Cold, clinical, and a reminder that Kyle Stoker belongs firmly in the conversation at the top of the Australian game. This was not an upset — he took control.

Harrison Brown is still the gold standard

The singles result should not distort the full picture. Harrison Brown remains the most dominant male player in the NPL. He delivered when it mattered in gendered and mixed doubles, played a central role in the Outback's Teams Cup win, and continues to show why he is the standard everyone else is chasing. With Coach Costin and Apex Academy behind him, Harrison is not just maintaining his edge — he is sharpening it.

The Triple Crown curse lives

Selina Turulja and Harrison Brown both came painfully close to the most prestigious individual achievement of the weekend. Harrison fell to Stoker in the singles final. Selina fell in the mixed final — to Harrison and Katy Hart. Both were one win away. The Triple Crown remains untouched.

Selina Turulja is still the best women's player in the league

Selina took out gendered doubles and singles in the same tournament, beating Isabelle Papazyan in the singles final — no small task given Izzy's form across the weekend. She has also flagged she will be giving pickleball more time in the second half of 2026. If this is the current version of Selina, the next version could be frightening.

Katy Hart went four from four

Teams Cup. State of Origin. Gendered doubles. Mixed doubles. Four from four. With her singles game continuing to rise, the argument that Katy Hart is the best player in the league — male or female — is becoming very hard to ignore.

Watch these names

Shannon Spencer and Ethan Butson both went on serious singles runs and finished with bronze medals. Tayah Cross was genuinely in contention for bronze across all three disciplines. Andy Horridge is no longer just a singles threat — his doubles game has evolved, and the results are starting to prove it.

These names matter now, especially with the Mid-Season Shuffle Draft around the corner.

Mid-Season Shuffle Draft- Register here now.