The Philippines’ pickleball scene is about to get one other correct league season, and this one is elevating the stakes.
The Pickle Yard Convention League (PYCL) opens Season 2 on Saturday, 24 October 2026, at The Pickle Yard SOMO in Bacoor Metropolis, Cavite. Eight groups will participate, every fielding a mixture of Filipino and worldwide gamers, with the goal of giving native abilities common competitors and constant publicity to completely different taking part in kinds.
PYCL Commissioner John Regison Talusan says the theme is straightforward. “Season 2 is about elevating the extent of competitors,” he mentioned. “We wish our Filipino gamers to be examined by worldwide athletes, completely different taking part in kinds and completely different aggressive backgrounds, whereas giving abroad gamers an opportunity to expertise the power and expertise of Philippine pickleball.”
The league additionally hopes to deepen the change between native and overseas gamers, giving each side expertise in a aggressive atmosphere. Talusan is assured the season will draw extra curiosity from younger and previous followers alike, and expects it to surpass the success of the inaugural staging, given how nicely the groups have ready.
Gamers and Groups to Watch in PYCL Season 2
A number of names stand out. Filipino-British Mikar Fisher and Filipina-Australian Crystal Mildwaters headline the Filipino contingent with a world flavour, becoming a member of abroad gamers Amore Cook dinner, Cody Temple, and Nico Almeida.
Native ace Bien Zoleta-Manalac can also be value watching. Only a month in the past, she helped energy Philippine tender tennis to a historic bronze medal within the ladies’s occasion on the twentieth Asian Video games in Nagoya, Japan.
The franchises battling for the Season 2 crown are:
- Thrifty Drivers
- Dentacare Pearly Whites
- Cartivo Movers
- Konjac Zero Phoenix Power
- GFOXX Paragon
- Black Mamba Aces
- Cebuana Lhuillier Gems
- DreamSkin Radiants
The season runs till 27 November, with matches on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Backers, Broadcasters and Why It Issues
An extended checklist of sponsors is behind the occasion, together with NEXXGEN, BT Sports activities Attire, UET Worldwide Corp., Wholesome & Pure Model, Million Glow by Kimsdiary, Immuni, Salonpas, Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Magnolia, and Purple Planet Inns, amongst others.
On the media aspect, companions embrace GMA Information TV, SPOTV, Prime TV, Nudge Sports activities, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630, Favourite Music Radio, and TrillerTV. They help the league’s tv, digital, streaming, and radio attain, with GMA and SPOTV serving to to increase it to audiences past the Philippines.
Certainly, pickleball within the Philippines has grown shortly, however the hole between a packed court docket on a weekend and a structured, common competitors is large. Leagues like PYCL bridge it by giving gamers a calendar to construct on, and the combo of Filipino and worldwide expertise means native gamers will see kinds they might not get in on a regular basis play.
Certainly, with eight groups, 4 match days every week, and a broadcast footprint that stretches past the nation, Season 2 appears set to be an enormous step up. Come Saturday, we’ll see how the new-look PYCL measures up.
