English national champion Pei Chaun Kao has been appointed captain of South East Asia Surge – one of 12 teams across Australasia and Asia to feature in the new Major League Pickleball Australia.
MLP Australia is a partnership project between Major League Pickleball (MLP) in the USA and the Pacific Pickleball League. It marks the first stage of MLP’s international expansion.
Teams in MLP Australia will be selected by each captain on 11 January in a hybrid snake draft. South East Asia Surge secured the first draft pick, meaning captain Pei will have first dibs from the 280-strong list of nominated players.
Pei arrived in the UK in February 2023 from Taiwan on a temporary working visa, but soon discovered the welcoming community of London Pickleball, led by head coach Louise Stephens, and adopted Great Britain as her home. Just eight months later, she became English ladies’ champion with victory over Thaddea Lock in Bolton and also won the mixed doubles.
Twelve new professional teams with 48 leading players will compete across Australia, New Zealand and Asia and top-ranked players will compete for a share of a $700k prize pool over six world class events.
In the hybrid snake draft lottery system, aimed at ensuring an equitable and fair drafting system for all teams, the draw will see the first 12 picks drawn in reverse order before drawing picks 13-36. The team captains, who will be making selections, count towards the final total of 48 players in the competition.
MLP Australia CEO and co-founder Adam Thompson said: “As the professional league of Australia and the APAC region, we are expecting our teams to be highly competitive. Our hybrid snake format draft system ensures that all teams have a fair opportunity to succeed.
“Early picks in a draft are always highly sought after, and I have no doubt our captains will be looking forward to bringing the best talent available to the court.”
Following the MLP Australia 2024 draft on January 11 2024, season one will kick off on 23-25 February in Sydney.
