Not pipped, as no really good players are competing? (8)
I believe the answer is:
seedless
'competing?' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'not pipped as no really good players' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'not' could be 'less' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'less' is found within the answer.
'players' could be 'ee' (an abbreviation for a bridge player written twice) and 'ee' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'are' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for seedless that I've seen before include "sort of grape" , "(Of fruit) without pips" , "Like some grapes" , "having no offspring" .)