EPIC World Championship, DUPR Coach Launch Global Amateur Pipeline Using DUPR Ratings

DUPR Coaches at select EPIC World Championship partner clubs in Singapore, Malaysia and beyond will activate non-rated players into Coach-Assigned DUPR ratings, converting grassroots participation into verified starting points for leagues, tournaments and EPIC qualifications. The organizations announced the global partnership on February 26, 2026, positioning the program as a structured international amateur performance pipeline.

The partnership sets Coach-Assigned DUPR ratings to serve as an anchor for new competitors, allowing players to log matches, enter tournament qualifications and "earn their placement through performance" as they move toward EPIC events. EPIC is presented as the aspirational pinnacle for those who progress from club activation to international amateur competition, with the announcement describing the effort as infrastructure for the future of competitive pickleball.

Victor Cui, Founding Partner of EPIC World Championship, framed verification and scale as central aims. "DUPR and EPIC World Championship already share an incredible partnership, ensuring every match at EPIC is verified and meaningful," Cui said. "Now, with DUPR Coaches spread across our partner clubs, we’re creating greater accessibility and scale within the DUPR ecosystem. Coach-Assigned DUPRs will enable more players to enter the competitive pathway, grow participation at EPIC, and continue advancing pickleball worldwide."

The rollout emphasizes Asia as a strategic growth region; EPIC’s LinkedIn announcement singled out Singapore as an emerging hub for international play and events, and the post promoted deployment of DUPR Coaches across partner clubs worldwide. EPIC’s LinkedIn page shows 173 followers in the provided snippet, and the post used hashtags including #EPICWorldChampionship, #DUPR, #DUPRCoach, #PickleballAsia, #AmateurPickleball and #Singapore. The announcement also promises in-person activations at the EPIC World Championship, exclusive credentialing opportunities and discounted DUPR Coach certifications for coaches who join the program.

DUPR Coach sits inside the broader DUPR ecosystem and is billed as the mechanism to turn club-level participation into an interoperable rating that connects players across levels and regions. The announcement materials position DUPR as a universal rating system and reference a separate DUPR product note, "DUPR Reset," which gives players an option to reset their rating using recent match results — a platform feature mentioned alongside the partnership announcement.

Key operational details remain unreported in the announcement. EPIC and DUPR did not publish a list of initial partner clubs, a phased rollout timeline, the number of DUPR Coaches to be credentialed, or the precise methodology coaches will use to assign ratings — including whether coach-assigned ratings are provisional, subject to review, or how appeals would work. Pricing and eligibility for the advertised discounted DUPR Coach certifications were also not disclosed, nor was any formal role for outside bodies such as the Singapore Tourism Board confirmed.

By branding the collaboration as "transformative" and one of the sport’s first true global amateur performance pipelines, EPIC and DUPR have laid down a public framework; the next reporting steps will be the release of club rosters, coach counts and technical protocols that will determine whether the partnership moves from marketing promise to measurable pathway for grassroots players.