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As we head into the second half of MLPA 2025, teams have the chance to remix their line-ups by dropping a player on their team in exchange for an available player from the draft pool. Will strategy impact our next events by bringing in fresh new talent or high performing alternates? It’ll be exciting to see.
The format of MLPlay and the unique Dual Snake Draft were founded on the principles of new and exciting matchups and balanced teams. In the spirit of those founding principles the details of these mid-season shuffle draft rules are as follows:
•Team Captains may drop 0 or 1 player back into the MLP Shuffle Draft Pool and some teams may have players opt out midseason.
TIMELINE:
8/05/25: MLPA will open applications for new players to apply for the 2025 shuffle draft
17/07/25: Deadline for new applicants and existing alternate players to declare if they want to be considered for the Shuffle Draft
18/07/25: MLPA will send the Team Captains the new available player pool via email, which will not yet include players dropped back into the player pool.
18/07/25: Team Captains must email the Commissioner, Sange Carter, via email, with a player from their current team they want to place back into the player pool. *Note, if there are any public leaks MLPA will not comment and/or disclose any players placed back into the player pool until after the deadline and all players will be communicated to all teams/players from the MLPA Commissioner Office at the exact same time.
21/07/25: MLPA will communicate with all Team Captains the final available draft pool, including new players added, alternate players eligible and any players who expressed their intent to participate via the application process.
28/07/25: MLPA will also communicate in writing to all teams the order of the Shuffle Draft as determined by the Lottery explained below.
31/07/25: MLPA will hold the shuffle draft as follows:
All teams that chose to drop a player will be entered into a lottery to choose from the available player pool. Only teams that need to replace a player will be entered in the lottery.
LOTTERY RULES
Teams who dropped a player will be allotted “balls” in the lottery based on two criteria. Both of these rules are meant to provide a calculated risk/reward strategy by team captain and introduce a little bit of excitement and variance.
Selections: It is likely teams will have any combination of the following:
Draft
1) Placement as at June 9 (Conclusion of Event 3 - Gold Coast Slam): The team in 12th place gets 12 balls, 11th place = 11 balls… 1st place = 1 ball. This rule helps to allow teams with lower placement to have a higher chance of getting a high draft pick in the supplemental draft. Placement order is at the bottom of this document in Appendix A.
2) Draft Pick Rank: To give the team a higher chance of getting a better draft pick in the supplemental draft if they drop a player who was drafted high in the original draft the following calculation applies. 36 - draft pick #= balls. (Eg. 36-pick #11 = 25 balls)
Balls will be randomly selected from the hopper, or similarly random, fair mechanics, to determine the order of picks. Each team who previously dropped a player will subsequently select players from the available draft pool until all 12 teams are complete with 4 players each.
3) Team Placement Order- to be determined June 8 at conclusion of Gold Coast Slam: see current standings
Key FAQ’s
What if a challenger player gets selected for Premier?
Premier draft will occur first. If a player is selected from Challenger they will be committed to playing full time in the premier roster and the Challenger Captain will need to replace them via the Challenger Shuffle Draft.
Can I be used as just an alternative and not be in the shuffle draft?
All alternates used for the remainder of the season must come from the approved shuffle draft list. If you are not selected for the draft then you may be used as an alternate.
Do I need to be available for all events?
Players selected for the shuffle draft must be available and commit to attending a minimum of 2/3 remaining events for MLPA 2025 to be eligible for full prize money. (*barring injury exemption)
What if I don't get selected for the Premier Shuffle draft?
You can opt in to the challenger shuffle draft, there will be an opt in option for players to nominate for challenger if they don’t get selected in Premier (ANZ athletes only).
What if a player gets selected from challenger into Premier? Does that team get an extra selection?
Yes. Teams who have an athlete selected into Challenger and also have been nominated in the shuffle draft will get two selections. Balls to be added dependent on the initial draft position of the Premier selected player.
Can a captain re-select the same player?
Yes. If the player still remains in the player pool they are entitled to be selected by any team participating in the shuffle, even the team that initially nominated them for the player pool.
Will I need to sign an MLPA Contract?
Yes. If you are selected you will need to sign an MLPA contract as per the other roster players. This can be made available at the request to sange@majorleaguepickleball.net.au
Can I be an alternate just for the finals?
Teams using an alternate in The Finals must abide by the following.
Best of luck to all athletes.
MLP Australia
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