Malayan Stripes Join MLP Asia's Six-Team First Season With Jimmy Liong as Captain
Andrew LeeMLP Asia's first season has six teams, and one of them carries Malaysia's name: the Malayan Stripes, captained by Jimmy Liong.
The six, as The Pickle Base lists them: Viet Panthers, Hong Kong Cannons, Team Tokyo, Dragon Warriors, Malayan Stripes and Manila Helios.
The Malayan Stripes Roster
Draft coverage on pickleball.com gives the Malayan Stripes roster as Jimmy Liong (captain), Syed Uzair, Athilla Miasara, Eunggwon Kim, Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall and Lacy Schneemann. Eunggwon Kim was the second overall pick of the international draft. Liong, Uzair and Miasara came from the domestic draft, per The Pickle Base.
How the Season Runs
- Opening event: 13 Nov, in Japan.
- Home matchdays: each franchise hosts one pool-play matchday. The Malayan Stripes' is on 28 Nov, against the Hong Kong Cannons and the Manila Helios in separate ties. No venue has been given.
- Playoffs: the top four teams reach the semi-finals on 11 Dec and the champion is crowned on 12 Dec.
- Ties: four matches each (women's doubles, men's doubles and two mixed doubles), with a singles DreamBreaker if a tie finishes 2-2.
The Draft
Each team began with three players from a domestic draft that required local players, then bid in an international draft over three rounds. The first overall pick was Tama Shimabukuro, 15, who went to the Viet Panthers. The Pickle Base headlines the Malayan Stripes' season as Malaysia's first in MLP Asia, with Liong quoted as looking forward to playing in front of home fans "for the first time in a franchise format."
This article is based on social media posts and historical data tracked by Pickle361.
