Major League Table Tennis
| Current season, competition or edition: 2025–26 Major League Table Tennis season | |
| Sport | Table tennis |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Founder | Flint Lane |
| Commissioner | Flint Lane |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Countries | United States |
| Headquarters | Princeton, New Jersey |
| Most recent champion | Carolina Gold Rush (2025) |
| Most titles |
|
| Broadcasters | CBS Sports Network, TableTennis.TV (TTTV) |
| Official website | mltt |
Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) is a professional table tennis league in the United States. Founded in 2023 by entrepreneur Flint Lane, it is the first professional team-based table tennis league in America.[1] The league is known for its innovative format, including the "Golden Game" and "Open-Serve Doubles."
History
MLTT was established in 2023 to professionalize table tennis in the U.S. market. The league debuted on ESPN's "Ocho Day" in 2023 and has since expanded its media presence through a partnership with CBS Sports Network. MLTT began its third season of play on September 15th with a three-day event at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, Calif.[2]
In August 2025, the league announced that world number one Fan Zhendong had joined as a strategic investor, following previous investments from David Blitzer (co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers) and Daryl Morey.[3] By January 2026, the league reported record growth, surpassing 46 million social media impressions—a 2,600% year-over-year increase.
Rules and format
MLTT utilizes a team-based format consisting of four singles matches and one doubles match, followed by a finale known as the Golden Game.
- Exact-11 Scoring: Games are played to 11 points without a "win by two" requirement.
- The Golden Game: A race-to-21 finale where all five players on a team rotate every four points. The winning team earns six bonus points.
- Open-Serve Doubles: Introduced in the 2025–26 season, this rule allows players to serve from any position to any position on the table, removing the traditional diagonal serve requirement of "legacy doubles".[4]
Teams
As of the 2025–26 season, the league consists of 10 teams.
| East Division | Notable Players | West Division | Notable Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Blazers | Yuya Oshima and Rachel Sung | Bay Area Blasters | Lily Zhang and Jinbao Ma |
| Carolina Gold Rush | Enzo Angles and Chen Sun | Chicago Wind | Emmanuel Lebesson and Robert Gardos |
| Florida Crocs | Liam Pitchford | Los Angeles Spinners | Ľubomír Pištej and Aditya Sareen |
| New York Slice | Koki Niwa and Peiyu Zhu | Portland Paddlers | Kang Dong-Soo and Jens Lundqvist |
| Princeton Revolution | Benedek Oláh and Koyo Kanamitsu | Texas Smash | João Monteiro and Amy Wang |
Champions
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Score (Golden Game) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Texas Smash | Princeton Revolution | 21–7 |
| 2024–25 | Carolina Gold Rush | Texas Smash | 21–18 |
Technology and rating systems
MLTT has developed a digital ecosystem to connect professional competition with recreational play, primarily centered around the SPINDEX rating system.
SPINDEX
Launched in 2024 and expanded to "SPINDEX 2.0" in early 2026, SPINDEX (Standardized Pong INDEX) is a proprietary global rating system for players of all skill levels. Unlike traditional systems that rely solely on sanctioned tournament play, SPINDEX allows for "1-on-1 Challenges" where casual matches can be recorded via a mobile app to update a player's global rating instantly.
- Rating scale: The system uses a 0–3000 point scale. A rating of 400 represents a "Casual Beginner", while 2400+ represents "Elite" talent.[5]
- Confidence Level (CL): A metric that indicates the reliability of a player's rating. New players begin with a low CL, which stabilizes as more matches are recorded.
- Professional use: SPINDEX accounts for 50% of the weighted formula used for official MLTT Power Rankings. Top-ranked professionals like Seungmin Cho have recorded ratings as high as 2805.
Partnerships and media
- PingPod Collaboration: In February 2026, MLTT announced a partnership with PingPod, a network of technology-enabled clubs, allowing players at these locations to record "Challenge Matches" that sync directly with their official SPINDEX profiles.[6]
- TableTennis.TV (TTTV): The league's primary digital streaming platform, providing live match coverage and original programming.
- Butterfly is the Official Equipment and Uniform Sponsor and Supplier for MLTT.[7]
References
- ^ "Major League Table Tennis Launches". MLTT.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ "Major League Table Tennis enters third season with business momentum". Sports Business Journal. September 15, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
- ^ "Fan Zhendong Joins MLTT as Strategic Investor". MLTT News. August 15, 2025.
- ^ "MLTT Introduces Open Serve Doubles". MLTT News. July 17, 2025.
- ^ "How It Works - SPINDEX". SPINDEXTT.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ "MLTT and PingPod Announce SPINDEX Collaboration". MLTT News. February 6, 2026.
- ^ "Sponsoring Major League Table Tennis". Butterfly Global. April 15, 2025.