Scorpions Earn Dominating Upset Win Over No. 1 Seed and Host Seattle Tsunami, 7-2 for First NPL Title
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Scorpions Championship 2025 (credit: Brad Evenson/NPL)
SEATTLE – October 20, 2025 – The Coachella Valley Scorpions are champions of The National Pickleball League (NPL) presented by QC Kinetix after a dominating 7-2 victory over the No. 1 seeded and host Seattle Tsunami on Sunday at the Side Out Tsunami Pickleball Center.
Presented by Agua Caliente Casinos and Powered by JOOLA, the No. 2 seeded Scorpions avenged two earlier losses this season to the Tsunami as the third season of the first and only professional pickleball league for champion pros aged 50-and-over came to a monumental close.
“This has been a culmination of two years of hard work of building this franchise,” said Kim Jagd, Scorpions’ co-owner, General Manager and star player. “We are so grateful for the NPL and to Seattle Tsunami for putting on a first-class championship event. Our ownership group including Vince Vaughn, Ruth Ann Poppa, Don Zuker and Rob Zwemmer had a vision, and we are so pleased to execute that vision. I want to congratulate our players and staff for creating a top-notch organization built on sportsmanship, camaraderie and fun!”
The award-winning actor Vaughn, who became the majority owner of the Scorpions in July of 2024, gave the Scorpions a huge shoutout on their big win.
"Congratulations to the Coachella Valley Scorpions on winning the 2025 NPL Pickleball Championship! Well played! The players brought teamwork, dedication and fun to the court all year. Well done Kim Jagd on lights out coaching and playing. Big congrats to the entire league on an exciting and entertaining season. Onward.”
The Scorpions were a perfect 3-0 in mixed doubles on Sunday as Jagd teamed with Scott Burr and Wendy Ochoa and Drew Slacum both won 2-0 matches while Natalie Hill and John Riedy won, 2-1. In women’s doubles, Sabrina Guillebeaux and Stacy Zelenski and Kara Williams/Hill each recorded 2-0 wins. In men’s doubles, Marcin Rozpedski/Cord Robbins and Keith Jain/Riedy both won 2-0 matches.
Other Scorpion team members included: Brandi Zaslansky and David Katz. On Friday, the Scorpions defeated the Austin Ignite, 8-4, and in the semifinals, Saturday got past the Columbus Hotshots, 7-5.
A total of $100,000 in prize money was handed out to the top teams during the three-day championships with the Scorpions taking him the $50,000 first-place award.
NPL CEO Rod Davis credited Jagd with recruiting the best athletes she could find and putting together a powerhouse team that would not be denied. “Coachella proved to be the best in a season of incredible parity where any team could beat any other team on any given day,” Davis said. “Congratulations to Kim and the Coachella Valley Scorpions on an incredible season.”