ボクシングの元世界王者マニー・パッキャオが、母国フィリピンで12チーム制のプロ・ピックルボールツアーを立ち上げる。名称は「マハルリカ・ピリピナス・ピックルボール・ツアー（MPPT）」。2026年10月3〜4日にパンパンガ州アンヘレス市で初戦を迎え、全5大会（5レグ）を巡る。各レグの優勝チームには100万ペソが贈られ、5大会を合わせた賞金は総額500万ペソにのぼる。100万ペソは日本円で約250万円（1ペソ≈約2.5円、2026年9月中旬）。アジアでプロの大会が相次いで生まれるなか、著名人が地域密着のチーム制を持ち込む動きとなる。
An October start, and a 12-team, five-leg framework
MPPTは地域を代表する12のチーム（フランチャイズ）で構成され、5会場を巡る形式をとる。賞金は各レグの優勝チームに100万ペソ（約250万円）で、5大会分を合わせると総額500万ペソ（約1250万円）になる。一発勝負の単一チャンピオン賞ではなく、複数会場に賞金を配分する形だ。初戦の地アンヘレス市は首都マニラから離れたパンパンガ州の地方都市で、地方から巡回して各地に大会を届ける組み立てになっている。日程と12チーム制は現地報道でも確認できる。
The teams and the players they field
One of the teams, the Parañaque Titans, fields 10 players, with accomplished names from tennis and padel and players of Philippine national caliber. Davis Cup veterans, a Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and PCL Asia champions are among them, and converts from other sports make up the core. Local business figures are involved in running the team, and confectionery and goods brands have come on as commercial partners. Teams carrying a region's name with local companies backing them is the classic team format for tying a show to the local economy.
Prize money and format at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Maharlika Pilipinas Pickleball Tour (MPPT) |
| Founder | Manny Pacquiao |
| Number of teams | 12 (regional franchises) |
| Format | Five events in all (five legs) |
| Opening match | October 3-4, 2026 / Angeles City, Pampanga |
| Prize money (winner of each leg) | 1 million pesos (about 2.5 million yen) |
| Prize money (five events combined) | 5 million pesos (about 12.5 million yen, 1 million pesos per leg × 5) |
How it lands locally and across Asia
With Pacquiao, a national hero, named as founder, attention inside the Philippines is high. A roster gathering accomplished tennis and padel players is easy to rate well in terms of securing a standard of play. At the same time, because a new event is joining an Asian market where the PPA Tour Asia and MLP Asia are already running, how it sets itself apart from the other series comes down to how it is run from here. Community-rooted teams and widening the base by touring the provinces are MPPT's clearest features.
What opens up for Japanese players and organizers
アジアでプロの受け皿が増えれば、日本の選手にとって出場機会と収入源の選択肢が広がる。すでに日本人選手はMLPアジアなど域内のリーグに関わり始めており、複数の国際サーキットが並走すれば、海外を主戦場にするキャリアが描きやすくなる。運営面でも、著名人を軸に地域チームと地元スポンサーを束ねるMPPTの立ち上げ方は、日本で興行型の大会を構想する際の一つの型になる。国内はまだ体験会や単発大会が中心で、チーム制の興行はこれからの段階だ。まずはアジアの成功例を、選手派遣とスポンサー設計の両面から観察することが重要になる。
Asia's market reshuffles
Team and franchise events are appearing one after another in India and the Philippines, and Asia is becoming a new growth axis for professional pickleball. Competition among several events for players, spectators and sponsors tends to push prize money and the standard of play upward. A structure where local companies back teams representing a region also leaves room to tie the sport to local promotion and tourism. For Japan, these moves within the region form an outside environment that increases the places players can go to test themselves and stirs interest in gear and broadcasting.
Related moves across Asia
In the Philippines, competition brands are emerging domestically and the market is producing more of its own (A homegrown pickleball brand in the Philippines, and what changes for Japanese players). In India, a franchise-based event settled its teams at auction and is moving toward its opening (Indian pickleball locks in eight teams at the Phuket auction, opening in October), and Japanese players have joined Asian pro leagues at captain level (Yuta Funamizu named captain as Japan's national players move in MLP Asia's first draft）。
運営方式と成功の条件
MPPTが他のアジア大会と異なる点は、地方巡回による分散開催と、地元企業をチームに直結させるスポンサー体制にある。単一会場の集約型ではなく、複数地点での開催は、地方観客への接触機会を増やし、ローカル経済への波及効果も期待できる。一方、5レグという限定的な試合数で賞金総額500万ペソを配分する仕組みは、初年度の採算性をめぐる判断材料になる。チーム制の持続には、加盟企業の継続投資が不可欠で、開幕初年度での動員数と商業的成功が、その後の拡大を左右する。
Wrap-up: what to watch over the opening two days
MPPT plays its first leg in Angeles City on October 3 and 4. What to watch is how far converts from other sports hold up on a professional stage, and how many spectators the provincial tour can pull in. Professional events standing side by side in Asia gives Japanese players more places to test themselves. For anyone thinking about staging events at home, MPPT's first year of binding a famous name, regional teams and local sponsors is worth following for both attendance and the bottom line.
Sources
World Pickleball Magazine「Manny Pacquiao launches MPPT Philippines pickleball league」
