Dozens of poker players on board the WPT Voyage got a special experience on Tuesday, April 2 when the Valiant Lady set up shop on the shore of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean. Those poker players became pickleball grinders as they received lessons from WPT commentator Vince Van Patten, a former tennis pro who made the transition to professional pickleball.
Van Patten, whose pickleball prowess was highlighted by Sports Illustrated last month, was joined by pickleball champion Mattias Johannson for two separate sessions of the popular sport on the balmy Cayman Islands with plenty of palm trees bordering the courts.
Pickleball in the Caymans
The early risers who weren’t up late playing in the WPT Voyage Main Event boated over to Grand Cayman in the morning before a short shuttle ride brought them to Pickleball Cayman, an outdoor facility that, thankfully, was shaded by a giant canopy.
Before hitting the courts, players were divided into beginner and intermediate groups before getting lessons from two individuals who knew their stuff. Van Patten kicked things off with explaining the nuances of pickleball, from what the “kitchen” is to the importance of dinking and moving up to the net after serving.
After the lessons, players were divided up into teams of two and played some practice rounds before launching into a pickleball tournament consisting of six rounds of eight-minute games. In addition to the regular cruise attendees, WPT President and CEO Adam Pliska was in the mix and
There were also a few poker media members who had the chance to partake in the pickleball action, including those from PokerNews and Brazil’s SuperPoker.
In addition to the tournament, players were offered a $20 freeroll if they could slam the ball over the net and hit a small target placed on the other side of the court — something many players struggled with that Johannson was able to accomplish in his first few tries.
Another freeroll took place in the form of a competition to see if players could hit Van Patten and Johannson, something that had the two pros ducking and dodging like Neo and Trinity in the Matrix.
After posing for a group photo, the team of newly minted pickleball crushers loaded and on the buses and headed to the Grand Cayman docks before heading back out to sea on the Valiant Lady. Once back on the boat, it was time for some more poker.
Follow the WPT Voyage poker action by checking out the PokerNews reporting blog.
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*Photos courtesy WPT & Alicia Skillman
