Team Nexion Beats Team Steelx to Win Architect Pickleball 2026 in Mumbai

Team Nexion clinched the Architect Pickleball Tournament 2026 title in Mumbai, defeating Team Steelx in a tense, high-energy final that capped Season 2 of the APB Tour on February 18. The city-wide competition brought together more than 150 architects and interior designers and wrapped a season that organisers framed as both competitive and community-building.

The tournament was staged with weeks of practice sessions across multiple venues in Mumbai and featured a pre-event gala dinner at Sofitel, Mumbai before teams advanced through league and knockout stages to the closely contested final. The Indian Institute of Interior Designers (IIID), Mumbai Regional Chapter, supported the event, and Team IIGNITE Inc., led by Gauri Verma, executed the logistics and match schedule.

Winning captain ID. Soniya Potdarr led Team Nexion through the knockout rounds to the title and praised the occasion as “a refreshing opportunity to engage with the larger design fraternity in a relaxed yet competitive environment.” Team Steelx finished as runners-up after what organisers described as an action-packed final that highlighted the sport’s growing appeal within Mumbai’s design community.

The Architect Pickleball Tournament relied on corporate backing and industry partnerships to scale Season 2. Asian Paints Beautiful Homes Invogue served as title sponsor, with Manish Shah, MD, noting the event’s role in strengthening community ties through wellness and collaboration. Sponsor partners Heritage Marble, Comlux, The Select, Steelx, ARC ONE, Nexion, and Changi Lights each led teams through the competition, bringing senior leaders into on-court roles and business-to-business networking alongside sport.

Senior industry figures framed the APB Tour as a hybrid of professional bonding and athletic pursuit. Rahool Jindal, MD, Heritage Marble, described the APB Tour as a refreshing blend of sport and professional bonding. Nitin Agarwal, MD, Comlux, and Pratik Agarwal, MD, The Select, emphasised the tournament’s energetic, collaborative spirit. Rashmi Anand, Director, ARC ONE, and Gaurav Khandelwal, AVP, Nexion, praised the discipline, structure, and relevance of the initiative, while Kirti Patel, Director, Changi Lights, summed it up as a platform that fostered lasting connections both on and off the court.

Organisers signalled growth plans after Season 2. Executed by Team IIGNITE Inc., led by Gauri Verma, the Architect Pickleball Tournament continues to grow as a distinctive movement integrating fitness, networking, and community building within the architecture and interior design profession. With the successful conclusion of Season 2, the APB Tour is poised to return with larger participation and deeper industry engagement, organisers said in a release. Social posts around the event celebrated the finish, with one Instagram caption noting the season “ended on a spectacular note” as Team Nexion was crowned champions.