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Malaysian pickleball player Jimmy Liong will captain Malayan Stripes in the inaugural Major League Pickleball Asia season
Liong leads a six-player team that includes fellow Malaysians Syed Uzair and Athilla Miasara.
The three were selected in the domestic draft before Malayan Stripes added Eunggwon Kim, Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall and Lacy Schneeman through the international draft. MLP Asia has confirmed the full roster.
Liong said he was "very happy and honoured" to lead the team and was looking forward to playing in front of Malaysian fans.
"We want to show Malaysian fans that we can do it and we can challenge other countries on the international stage. I hope Malaysian fans can back us and come support us." he said.
Malayan Stripes' 2026 roster:
- Jimmy Liong (captain)
- Syed Uzair
- Athilla Miasara
- Eunggwon Kim
- Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall
- Lacy Schneeman
Malayan Stripes will play twice on their home matchday
MLP Asia brings together six teams from Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam.
Unlike a typical individual tournament, players compete for their teams across women's doubles, men's doubles and two mixed doubles matches. If a meeting is tied 2-2, a singles tiebreaker called a DreamBreaker decides the winner.
The season begins in Japan on 13 November 2026. Each team hosts one matchday during pool play, with Malayan Stripes scheduled to face Hong Kong Cannons and Manila Helios in separate meetings on 28 November. You can check out the full league schedule here.
The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals on 11 December, with the inaugural champion decided on 12 December.
