Draft Picks for 2024 Men’s Doubles: With the 2024 PPA Men’s Doubles field for the Professional Pickleball Association CIBC PPA Tour Finals on the horizon, excitement is building for the top players in the sport to compete in Las Vegas. Taking place from December 4th-8th, the event will feature the best of the best, with the top 16 men battling it out for the title. Collin Johns and his brother Ben Johns, the No. 1 seed, are poised to dominate the field, but plenty of talented challengers are ready to make their mark.
Top 16 Men’s Doubles Rankings and Draft Results
Here’s how the top 16 men finished this season:
- Collin Johns – 14,500 points
- Ben Johns – 14,300 points
- Dylan Frazier – 13,500 points
- JW Johnson – 13,400 points
- Federico Staksrud – 12,800 points
- Dekel Bar – 10,800 points
- Pablo Tellez – 9,600 points
- Hayden Patriquin – 9,500 points
- Tyson McGuffin – 9,250 points
- Gabriel Tardio – 9,000 points
- Matt Wright – 8,950 points
- Andrei Daescu – 8,600 points
- Christian Alshon – 8,150 points
- Riley Newman – 8,050 points
- Jaume Martinez Vich – 6,325 points
- James Ignatowich – 5,800 points
Players like Connor Garnett (5,000 points), Zane Navratil (4,775 points), and Tyler Loong (4,550 points) just missed out on qualifying, but the field is still stacked. There’s a significant turnover from last year, with five players—Young, Arnold, Devilliers, Wilson, and Koller—missing the cut.
The Draft Picks: Surprising Moves and Rivalries
The draft selections for the Men’s Doubles Tour Finals revealed some interesting decisions and potential team shakeups:
- No. 1 Collin Johns selected his brother No. 2 Ben Johns, which came as no surprise. Despite a season full of losses, the Johns brothers remain the top team and will look to secure their dominance in the final event.
- No. 3 Dylan Frazier made a shocking move by picking No. 7 Pablo Tellez instead of his usual partner, JW Johnson. This move sent waves through the pickleball community, as rumors suggest Frazier and Johnson may be parting ways for the 2025 season. Frazier, who has been playing the right side with Johnson for years, will now team up with the left-handed Tellez, a pairing that could shake up the field.
- No. 4 JW Johnson selected No. 10 Gabriel Tardio, another surprising but strategic pick. Tardio, who regularly trains with Johnson and is a top right-side player, offers strong synergy with Johnson’s left-side game, making this a team to watch.
- No. 5 Federico Staksrud picked No. 8 Hayden Patriquin, a pairing that has proven successful this season with two gold medals together. Their strong chemistry makes them a formidable duo for the finals.
- No. 6 Dekel Bar went with No. 13 Christian Alshon, an unexpected pick considering Bar’s history with Tyson McGuffin. Though they’ve played together in the past, Bar opted for the untested pairing with Alshon. The question remains: who will take the left side?
- No. 9 Tyson McGuffin picked No. 12 Andrei Daescu, bypassing his regular partner, Jaume Martinez Vich, for the final event. The pairing of McGuffin and Daescu brings together solid left-side/right-side chemistry, but it could be an unusual choice given McGuffin’s recent success with Vich.
- No. 11 Matt Wright selected No. 16 James Ignatowich, a well-established partnership that could prove tough to beat in the finals. Wright and Ignatowich have teamed up several times this year, even securing a gold medal, making them a strong duo.
- No. 14 Riley Newman ended up with No. 15 Jaume Martinez Vich, a pairing of two passionate left-side players. Their chemistry may raise questions, as both have been playing with different partners this season, but the fiery competition could fuel their success.
News in Brief: Draft Picks for 2024 Men’s Doubles
The Men’s Doubles field for the 2024 CIBC PPA Tour Finals has been set with Collin Johns and Ben Johns leading the charge as the No. 1 seed. The draft saw a number of surprising picks, including Dylan Frazier selecting Pablo Tellez over JW Johnson, signaling potential changes in future partnerships. Despite some unexpected moves, the field remains competitive, with several strong duos vying for the title in Las Vegas from December 4th to 8th.
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