It was a close race for the top spot in the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC) with Washington Freedom (WF) pipping Texas Super Kings (TSK) and San Francisco Unicorns (SFU). The top three teams were eventually separated by two points with TSK and SFU differentiated by as little as 0.273 net run rate (NRR) after finishing level.
The fourth place in the playoff race went to MI New York (MI NY) who finished a giant eight points behind but did enough to edge Seattle Orcas based on a superior net run rate. Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR), though, had a season to forget with only two wins out of 10 matches played.
MLC 2025 group stage | Rank | Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| 1 | Washington Freedom | 10 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 0.954 |
| 2 | Texas Super Kings | 10 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 1.603 |
| 3 | San Francisco Unicorns | 10 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 1.330 |
| 4 | MI New York | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6 | -0.518 |
| 5 | Seattle Orcas | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6 | -1.842 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Knight Riders | 10 | 2 | 8 | 4 | -1.320 |
Washington Freedom topped the standings with 16 points - winning eight matches out of 10 played. Their only two defeats came against the Unicorns and TSK. In between they reeled off six straight wins before closing out the first stage with back-to-back victories. Interestingly, six of Freedom's wins came when they chased.
Faf du Plessis-led Texas Super Kings twice pulled off three consecutive wins in the league stage with three defeats thrown in as well. They pocketed 14 points with a NRR of 1.603.
TSK's NRR was marginally better Unicorns' who had taken the early lead and were on course to top the standings at one stage. With six consecutive wins, Unicorns were primed to top the standings with ease. However, three losses in last four matches didn't help their cause.
The last and final playoff spot has been taken by MI New York who have progressed despite a disappointing run thus far. Their three wins in 10 matches has seen them through because of equally laggard performances by Orcas and LAKR. Concerningly, MI NY's only wins came against Orcas and twice versus LAKR.
MLC 2025 Qualified Teams: Washington Freedom (1), Texas Super Kings (2), San Francisco Unicorns (3), MI New York (4)
MLC 2025 Playoff schedule
Qualifier 1: Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom at 7pm local time/12am GMT/5:30am IST
Eliminator: MI New York vs San Francisco Unicorns at 7pm local time/12am GMT/5:30am IST
Qualifier 2: Loser of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Eliminator at 7pm local time/12am GMT/5:30am IST
FINAL: Winner of Qualifier 1 vs Winner of Qualifier 2 at 7pm local time/12am GMT/5:30am IST
MLC 2025 Playoffs: Where will the matches take place?The matches will take place at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
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