After five jam-packed rounds across 3 states, insane tiebreakers, once-in-a-century cyclones, and plenty of on-court shakeups, Season 3 of the National Pickleball League (NPL) is heading to its epic conclusion this weekend. It’s all going down at The Jar in South Melbourne where 9 teams will be facing off for a grand prize of $50,000 to the winning team, and I’m here to tell you everything you need to know before it kicks off.
Whether you’ve been following the season closely or you’re just tuning in, here’s your quick guide to how NPLeague works, who’s heading to the finals, and why this weekend is worth a close watch.
SCHEDULE + FORMAT
It’s going to be a massive weekend of pickleball at The Jar in South Melbourne. Come watch the action live at The Jar — no tickets needed, just rock up and have a great time! If you can’t make it live, grab your fav snacks and tune into the NPL Green Zone on YouTube.
SCHEDULE – PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE
Friday, 30 May: THE PLAYOFFS
- 10:00AM – Adders v Burras
- 1:00PM – Burras v Bandicoots
- 4:00PM – Adders v Bandicoots
Saturday, 31 May: THE FINALS PT 1
- 10:00AM – Heat v Brumbies (QF1) // Outback v 29ers (QF2)
- 10:00AM – Stingers v Playoff 1 (EF1) // Tide v Playoff 2 (EF2)
- 1:00PM SEMI FINALS
Sunday, 01 June: THE FINALS PT 2
- 8:30AM PRELIM FINALS
- 11:30AM BRONZE
- 2:00PM FINAL
SCHEDULE – DIVISION 2
Saturday, 31 May: ROUND ROBIN
- 12:00PM – Tide v Comets
- 2:30PM – Comets v Burras
- 5:00PM – Burras v Tide
Sunday, 01 June: THE FINAL
- 11:30AM – THE FINAL
WHERE TO TUNE IN
All finals matches will be streamed live this weekend via the NPL Green Zone on YouTube. Whether you’re supporting your favourite players and teams or just keen to see where pickleball is headed in Australia, this is a weekend to watch.
BREAKING DOWN THE FINALS FORMAT
CLICK HERE FOR THE BREAKDOWN
The NPL Finals format is layered, similar to a footy finals structure, rewarding the top-performing teams in the regular season by giving them a second chance. Here’s a simplified breakdown:
FRIDAY (30 MAY)
- The three 3rd-place teams from each state will face off in a round robin
- The top two finishers will be seeded 7th and 8th
- The third team is eliminated
SATURDAY (31 MAY)
- Quarterfinal-style matchups
- 1st vs 4th
- 2nd vs 3rd
- 5th vs 8th (elimination match)
- 6th vs 7th (elimination match)
- The losers of 1v4 and 2v3 get a second chance, playing the winners of the 5v8 and 6v7 matches in the semi-finals for a spot in the preliminary finals and a guaranteed top 4 finish
- Semifinal match-ups
- Loser of 1v4 vs winner of 5v8
- Loser of 2v3 vs winner of 6v7
- By the end of Saturday, just 4 teams are left standing
SUNDAY (1 JUNE)
- The top 4 teams compete to determine who will face off in the grand final
- Grand final occurs and a winner is crowned!
THE NPLEAGUE COMPOSITION
The National Pickleball League is one of the two major pro pickleball leagues currently operating in Australia.
Quick details:
- Each team has four players (two men and two women)
- Events include singles, gender doubles, and mixed doubles matches
- Season 3 features 18 teams across three states (6 from each of Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales combined with ACT)
- 5 total rounds of regular season play for a spot in the final
In each state, the top 2 finishing teams are guaranteed a spot in the final, and the 3rd place teams compete in a knockout to determine 7th and 8th. One team is eliminated.
REGULAR SEASON FORMAT
- Play occurs in each home state (no travel).
- Two matches are played in each round
- Teams face off twice against each of the other five teams in their region (total of 10 matches per team)
- The top three teams from each state advance to the finals and compete interstate for the first time
- Gameplay follows the original NPLeague format, which can be a bit tricky to follow at first. Check out NPL’s breakdown here, or I’ve also created a breakdown here.
MORE FORMAT DETAILS
MORE ABOUT THE FORMAT
NPLeague match-ups consist of four parts: men’s singles, women’s singles, gender doubles, and mixed doubles.
Each “part” is comprised of two games: both women’s singles/both men’s singles, women’s doubles/men’s doubles, and mixed pair 1/mixed pair 2.
The 4 singles games are scored individually (one game to 11 points) while the gender and mixed doubles are stacked. One pair plays first, and the second pair closes out that game. The first team to reach 22 points wins.
So while Team A’s pair may be the first to reach 11 points, if Team B’s pair make a comeback and reaches 22 points first, they win that game.
During the regular season, the first time teams played each other, the gender doubles game began with women’s doubles playing to 11 points and men’s doubles continuing from that point until one team reached 22 points.
The second time teams play each other, this switches, with men’s dubs starting and women’s dubs closing out the game.
This is notable because the first pair can only get to 11 points (while trying to give away as few points as possible to the opposing team), so it’s the second pair that will determine the overall win/loss for gender doubles.
The mixed pair lineup stays consistent, so the same mixed pair can choose to play second the entire season.
A crucial element of NPL’s format is the designation of a ‘home’ and ‘away’ team for each matchup.
Similar to the gender dubs finish, this switches the second time teams are matched up. For each game of the match, the home team automatically “wins” the coin toss, getting the choice of serve/receive or their starting end on the court.
In the finals, the home/away team designation is determined by team seedings. The higher-seeded team is the home team, and this time they also get to choose the gender doubles order.
THE PRIZE POOL
The NPL does not offer any prize money for teams during the regular season week-to-week play (aside from a $500 MVP weekly round bonus given to the top performing male and female from each state).
The stakes are quite high to make it to the finals with a total prize pool of $125k.
FIRST: $50,000
SECOND: $25,000
THIRD: $15,000
FOURTH: $`10,000
In addition to the weekly MVPs, there is also an end-of-season bonus for the overall state MVP and a finals MVP.
THE 9 TEAMS
Each state sends its top three teams, making a final pool of nine (which is eventually reduced to eight).
Here’s a look at the teams* who made it through, their regular season win/loss score, and those who just missed out.
NEW SOUTH WALES
- First: HEAT – Capt. Selina Turulja (10-0)
- Second: STINGERS – Capt. Kyle Stoker (8-2)
- Third: BANDICOOTS – Capt. Adam Walters (6-4)
- Fourth: DINKERS – Capt. Alex Tran (4-6)
VICTORIA
- First: 29ers – Capt. Tom Evans (8-2)
- Second: TIDE – Capt. Helena Spiridis (6-4)
- Third: ADDERS – Capt. Dan Kouznetsov (6-4)
- Fourth: ROOS – Capt. Kat Valos (6-4, losing on point differential)
QUEENSLAND
- First: OUTBACK – Capt. Harrison Brown (9-1)
- Second: BRUMBIES – Capt. Joey Wild (8-2)
- Third: BURRAS – Capt. Sahra Dennehy (6-4)
- Fourth: OPALS – Capt. Danni-Elle Townsend (5-5)
*Check out NPL’s website for the full team rosters and overall results.
PRE-SEASON STORY LINES
The League was buzzing before anyone ever hit the court for round one. Season 3 featured a slight NPLeague rebrand with all-new team names, new captains, smaller teams, and changes in prize money structure.
Quick overview:
TEAM NAMES: Brand new team names mean every captain is vying to secure the first win in team history!
NEW CAPTAINS: Some saucy announcements broke the internet end of 2024 when Danni-Elle Townsend, Joey Wild, and Selina Turulja made the switch to NPL over MLP. Somer Dalla-Bonna and Michaela Haet, two powerhouse female players, also chose to play NPL over MLP.
TEAM SIZES: This season also saw a change in team sizes. In 2024, teams were composed of 6 players (3 male, 3 female), which meant match days went on a bit longer and talent was more diluted.
PRIZE POOL: S1 and S2 saw a slightly smaller $100k prize pool split across all 8 finals teams. For 2025, only the top 4 finishing teams earn prize money. This means there’s a potential for 4 teams to walk away from the season with zero earnings (in addition to unpaid travel expenses).
DIVISION 2: New in 2025 is the introduction of a “minor league,” called Division 2, which follows the same format as the Pro Tour and is composed of twelve teams (four teams from each VIC, NSW, and QLD, and even features its own ACT team). Each state competes to secure just 1 spot in the finals. Note: There is no prize money for Div 2. Teams receive travel support for finals.
SEASON 3 HIGHLIGHTS
A few big storylines have also defined season 3 leading into the finals:
- New South Wales was on fire: Their top team, the Heat, went undefeated all season! But the real question is: how will they handle new competition from the other states?
- Victoria and Queensland’s battle for 3rd: In both states, round 5 determined who would nab the third finals spot. Between the Burras & Opals (QLD) and Roos & Adders (VIC), these were bittersweet to watch.
- Queensland’s wild conditions: In typical QLD fashion, it rained during 4 out of 5 rounds, including Round 1, which was postponed for once-in-a-century Cyclone Alfred. This meant two rounds required triple-match days, so the days were quite long with less-ideal backup court conditions.
And let’s not forget the home-court advantage. All matches this weekend will be played in Melbourne, where Victorian teams have played every round of their season. Familiar courts and practice in the chilly temps could give them an edge. I guess we’ll see!
THE ‘GREENZONE’
Like most of what the NPL team set out to do, the league is making waves for their ingenuity off the court.
Their “Greenzone” livestream — available to watch free on YouTube — features virtual commentators tuning in (resident funny guy Ash Williams and the iconic Dylan Kimlin) and camera switching between states, allowing viewers to catch the most exciting action in real time.
They’ve also rolled out live scoring integration via lader.live, where referees input results in real-time. This means you can keep up with the scoreboard live as you tune in remotely! No more cranking up the volume to hear the ref whisper out the score.
This tech is a massive leap for a young league prioritising the viewer experience, and signals what could become standard as pickleball continues to grow in Australia.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
I’ll be flying down to Melbourne to see it all firsthand, so be sure to follow along on the BTC Instagram and the official NPL socials for behind-the-scenes coverage and match updates.
This is the last event of Season 3, and after that, it’s draft season all over again! Who do you have as the winner?
Tati
