THE DOTS TOKYO Open MLP Asia With Two Wins, Survive DreamBreaker vs. Malayan Stripes
THE DOTS TOKYO made an immediate statement on the opening day of MLP Asia, sweeping Manila Helios before surviving a much tougher challenge from the Malayan Stripes to finish their home debut with two victories.
Playing in front of their home crowd at Sansan Pickleball Court Ikebukuro on Friday, 13 November, the Japanese franchise opened the league’s inaugural match day with a commanding 4-0 victory over Manila Helios. They followed it up with a 3-2 win against Malayan Stripes, with the second encounter requiring a DreamBreaker to settle the contest.
THE DOTS TOKYO Dominate Manila Helios
The hosts wasted little time establishing their authority against Manila Helios, winning all four doubles games without dropping a single one.
Aiko Yoshitomi and Rika Fujiwara got the ball rolling with an 11-3 victory over Mayu Ito and Seina Shima in Women’s Doubles.
Yuta Funemizu and Daniel Moore then produced an identical 11-3 result against Kim Ivor Saraza and Muhammad Aiman in Men’s Doubles.
THE DOTS TOKYO maintained their momentum in the Mixed Doubles. Yoshitomi and Funemizu defeated Ito and Aiman, 11-8, before Mihae Kwon and Nasa Hatakeyama completed the clean sweep with an emphatic 11-1 win over Macy Ybañez and Erin Jacob Diago.
The 4-0 result gave the hosts an ideal start to their inaugural MLP Asia campaign.
Malayan Stripes Push Hosts to the Limit
The second match proved considerably more demanding, with Malayan Stripes taking THE DOTS TOKYO all the way to a DreamBreaker before the home team secured a 3-2 victory.
Malayan Stripes drew first blood in Women’s Doubles, as Lacy Schneemann and Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall defeated Yoshitomi and Fujiwara, 11-6.
THE DOTS TOKYO responded through Funemizu and Moore, who beat Eunggwon Kim and Jimmy Liong Kai Long, 11-4, in Men’s Doubles.
Yoshitomi and Funemizu then put the hosts ahead with an 11-5 Mixed Doubles victory over Wang-Beckvall and Kim.
But Malayan Stripes refused to go away. Schneemann and Liong defeated Fujiwara and Hatakeyama, 11-4, in the second Mixed Doubles match to level the team contest at 2-2.
With the match tied, everything came down to the DreamBreaker.
THE DOTS TOKYO held their nerve in the deciding singles battle, edging Malayan Stripes, 21-19, to claim their second victory of the night.
A Strong Start to MLP Asia
The opening match day delivered an early glimpse of what the league’s team-based format can offer. Unlike conventional tournament draws, MLP matches combine women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and two mixed doubles games, with a DreamBreaker required when teams split the first four games.
For THE DOTS TOKYO, the opening night brought both a dominant performance and a valuable test of their composure under pressure.
The inaugural MLP Asia season features six franchises, with the top four advancing to the finals. The semifinals are scheduled for 11 December, followed by Super Saturday on 12 December, when the league’s first champion will be crowned.
After two wins on opening night, THE DOTS TOKYO have given their home supporters plenty of reason to believe they can be contenders in the inaugural campaign.
