National Pro-Am Pickleball Circuit

Enter the
Gauntlet.
Climb the board.

The ultimate national proving ground — regional elites face hungry challengers, every game scores, every Takedown matters — and your DUPR only moves if you say so.

Register — Springs Gauntlet 2See How A Night Works
111players2cities57profiles to claim
Registration OpenNext Event
26SEP
Springs Gauntlet 2Springs Pickleball - East · Elite · Contender · Challenger
9–11 matches · $4521 of 60
Register Now →
Last EventThe Colorado Springs Pilot — Stephen Moore takes the Elite titleRecap →
Our Mission

Revolutionizing competitive pickleball across the country.

We eliminate the "rating-parking" stalemate by hosting exclusive, high-stakes brackets that match regional elites with rising challengers — ratings on the line. This isn't just local pride. It's a national war.

01

Points on the Line

Every game counts. Rated or not.

Every game feeds your season points, your stats and your rank. Your DUPR places you — whether your results go to DUPR is your call, event by event.

02

National Leaderboard

Every Takedown feeds the rankings.

Every point and Takedown feeds the National Gauntlet Leaderboard. Defend your turf or climb toward the year-end National Championship — every game matters.

03

Cash & Pride

Real stakes. Real consequences.

This isn't recreational pickleball. Elite brackets come with cash on the line, regional pride at stake, and a national audience watching. Stay at the top? You have to defend it.

Why the Gauntlet exists

Tournaments weren't built for you.

You pay $120, burn a whole Saturday, and play four matches — two of them blowouts. You get a medal, maybe, and a DUPR bump if you're lucky — or a DUPR hit if you're not. Meanwhile the players you actually want to test yourself against are three courts away, in a bracket you'll never touch.

The Gauntlet flips it. Short, dense, guaranteed-match events where amateurs share courts with the best players in their city. Every rally is recorded, every win moves your rank, and every city gets an answer to the only question that matters: who's actually the best around here?

24.3MAmericans played pickleball last year — the fastest-growing sport in the country.
7.5Mplay 8+ times a year. Almost none of them have a competitive home.
3.5–5.5The rating band the Gauntlet is built for — the vast majority of committed players.
3–4×more matches per hour than a standard bracket tournament.
One platform · Three ways to play

The Series, Rec, and the Ladder.

One record follows you through all three. The Gauntlet Series is where reputations are made in a single night. Gauntlet Rec is the night you run yourself — your crew, your format, the same stat engine underneath. The Challenge Ladder is where a rung stays yours until somebody takes it, city by city.

Event SeriesPillar 01

The Pro-Am
Gauntlet

Our flagship. A ~3-hour, high-energy event where every player gets 9–11 guaranteed matches — rotating through Divisions led by the top-rated players in your area. Play with the pros, then take your shot at them.

Guaranteed matches9–11 per event
LevelsElite · Contender · Challenger
RatingsDUPR places you · reporting is your call
FieldUp to 72 players · 3 Levels
Season pathCity → Regional Major → Grand Slam
Upcoming GauntletsHow it works
Your nightPillar 02

Gauntlet
Rec

Your crew, your court, your format. Try one of our 8+ pre-built templates — or build a Custom night where you set every round yourself — straight from your phone. Scores go in between games, and the standings, streaks and partner chemistry keep themselves.

Formats8+ pre-built · plus fully Custom
LeaguesA season of nights, one table
TrackedRecord · differential · chemistry
PrivacyPrivate to its roster
Counts towardYour stats, not Leaderboard points
Start a Rec nightSee how Rec works
Always onPillar 03

The Challenge
Ladder

Competition that never closes, and it's your city's own board — one ladder per city, so the team above you is a team you can actually get on court with. Form a doubles team, challenge up to 3 rungs above you, schedule it yourselves — any court, any night — and report the score. Win and take their spot.

WhereOne ladder per city
FormatDoubles teams
Challenge windowUp to 3 rungs above you
Partner cap4 matches, then switch partners
Defense ruleAnswer 1 challenge / month or drift
Join your city ladderHow it works
The season path

From your city to the National Gauntlet.

Points from every Gauntlet and ladder match roll into your season total. Finish high enough and you're invited up the pyramid.

MONTHLYCity GauntletsOpen registration · your home turf
QUARTERLYRegional MajorsTop 50% of city boards · 1.5× points
4 PER YEARGrand SlamsInvite & qualifier · 2× points · cash
DECEMBERThe National GauntletTop 8 per region · one champion per Level
Gauntlet Series · 2026

Events.

Caps are locked to keep courts full and wait times at zero. When it's full, it's full.

Next up
CITY GAUNTLETCOLORADO SPRINGS

Springs Gauntlet 2

Sep 26–27, 2026 · Springs Pickleball - EastElite · Contender · Challenger
39 / 60 registered$45 entry
21 of 60 spots leftEvent Page · Schedule & Registration
REGIONAL MAJOR

Front Range Major

October 2026 · Host bid open — apply to hostAll Levels · 1.5× points
Capacity 96$85 entry
Qualification via city boards
Last time out
COMPLETECOLORADO SPRINGS

The Colorado Springs Pilot

Jul 25–26, 2026 · Springs Pickleball EastElite · Premier · Contender · Challenger
88 playersComplete
Full results on the event pageResults & Recap
See all events+2 more on the calendar · search & filter by city

Not in these cities yet? The Gauntlet launches where the demand is. Add your city to the waitlist — 16 names triggers a pilot Gauntlet.

Find your city

Same Gauntlet.
Your courts.

Every city keeps its own boards, its own ladder and its own Founders. Pick yours and the whole site follows — rankings, ladder, events.

Browse all cities →
Colorado SpringsMountainDenverMountainNot here yet?
The Gauntlet LeaderboardLive

One board that answers the question.

Every Level runs its own Gauntlet Leaderboard — one number, one board, one race against your true peers. Event nights bank the big points, ladder matches add to the pile, and your best 8 events count. Points are worth the same on every Level: a 1st-place night pays 200 whether it's Prospect or Elite. It rewards showing up, beating better players, and defending your spot. It cannot be parked.

✓

Event points — the placement curve pays 200 down to a 25-point floor for every completed night, +20 for winning your Division without being its Top Gun. Majors score ×1.5, Slams ×2.

✓

Ladder points — 4 a win, +2 per rung jumped, 3 a defense. Capped at 35 a month, so the ladder keeps you climbing but can't replace event nights.

✓

DUPR-synced — all matches submitted to DUPR, so your official rating grows while you climb the board.

View the live boardsClaim your player profile
Gauntlet LeaderboardELITE · THE COLORADO SPRINGS PILOTOne per Level
#PlayerEvLadTotal
01Stephen Moore+202200220
02Austin Field+201850207
03Daniel Adsit+202000200
04Andre Vu+201720172
05Adin Schwenke1250152
06Tim Wightman730144
Best 8 events countLadder capped 35/moDUPR push Monday
Levels — set by DUPR, same in every city
Elite4.76+The top of the sport.
Contender4.26 – 4.75Serious tournament players.
Challenger3.75 – 4.25The competitive core.
ProspectBelow 3.75New & rising players.

Your DUPR on registration day sets your Level — exactly on a line means the lower Level. A DUPR ID is required to enter; creating one is free.

Gauntlet Leaderboard = event points + ladder points · placement × tier multiplier per night · ladder points capped monthly · boards move the moment a result certifies · every match pushes to DUPR on Monday.

Membership

Your competitive career, on the record.

Finding and joining a game is free for everyone. Members host their own, run the ladder, and get first crack at every event in their city.

Rookie
$0

Find a game tonight. Claim your profile. Get on the board.

  • ✓Find and join any open game in your city — the board, regular games and open Rec nights
  • ✓RSVP, ask a host for a spot, and message any player
  • ✓Player profile, W–L record & event history
  • ✓City & regional leaderboards
  • ✓Gauntlet registration at standard price
  • ✓1 Challenge Ladder match a month as somebody's partner
Create free profile
Most popularGauntlet+
$7.99/mo

or $79/year — two months free. The full competitive toolkit.

  • ✓$10 off every Gauntlet event — play once a month and the membership pays for itself
  • ✓Full stat suite — trends, head-to-heads, advanced metrics, Takedown log
  • ✓Priority registration — 48-hour early window on every Gauntlet (the Pilot sold out)
  • ✓Unlimited Challenge Ladder — form a founding team and set your city's board
  • ✓Season badge, milestone patches & year-end awards eligibility
Go Gauntlet+
City Founder
$199/yr

First 50 members in each city. Never reopens.

  • ✓Everything in Gauntlet+
  • ✓1 free City Gauntlet entry per season
  • ✓Founder badge & name on your city's digital wall
  • ✓Founders' t-shirt (high-quality) + exclusive merch drops
  • ✓Founders-Only events (play & party)
Claim founder spot
Start a Market

Grow pickleball.
Build legacy.

A market takes three things: players who want it, a venue to hold it, and somebody on the ground to run it. Whichever of those you are, there is a door for you — and none of them cost anything to walk through.

Advocates are eligible for revenue-sharing and other incentives tied to the success of their market. Top Guns are paid per event.

Start a Market →

I want to play

Add your name. Sixteen in your city and the courts get booked.

I'm a 4.5+ player

Apply to be a Top Gun — and get paid to play.

I run a facility

Put a real league on your courts. We bring the platform.

I want to run it

Be the Advocate for your market, with revenue share.