The Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 season has officially concluded. MI New York won the season after a thrilling playoff run. They defeated Washington Freedom by 5 runs in the final at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
Rushil Ugarkar was awarded Player of the Match for his bowling performance, while Mitchell Owen was awarded Player of the Series for his all-round performance.
As of now, there have been three seasons of MLC, with the past winners being MI New York (2023), Washington Freedom (2024), and once again MI New York (2025).
In this blog, we will take a closer look at all past MLC winners and their final match performances.
MLC Winners List
As of 2025, there have been three seasons of the Major League Cricket (MLC) since its First season in 2023. Down below, we take a look at the list of MLC Winners from the previous three seasons.
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | MI New York | Seattle Orcas |
| 2024 | Washington Freedom | San Francisco Unicorns |
| 2025 | MI New York | Washington Freedom |
MLC 2025: MI New York
MI New York became MLC 2025 champions on 13 July 2025. It was their second title win with a small 5-run gap over Washington Freedom in the final at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas.
After finishing fourth in the league stage, MI New York powered through the playoffs, defeating San Francisco Unicorns in the Eliminator and Texas Super Kings in the Challenger, before edging out Washington in the final.
Batting first, MI posted 180/7, led by 77 off 46 balls from Quinton de Kock and a brisk 22 from Kunwarjeet Singh*. In response, Washington Freedom, who topped the league table, fought hard with Rachin Ravindra scoring 70 (41) and Glenn Phillips finishing unbeaten on 48, but fell short at 175/5. Rushil Ugarkar’s match-winning spell of 4-0-22-2 made him the Player of the Match, while Mitchell Owen was named as the Player of the Series.
The other playoff qualifiers, Texas Super Kings and San Francisco Unicorns, had strong seasons but could not make it in the Challenger and Eliminator rounds. MI New York’s disciplined bowling and big-game performance made them the first two-time champions in MLC history.
MLC 2024 – Washington Freedom
Washington Freedom lost to MI New York in the eliminator last year. However, this time, they performed significantly better, finishing at the top of the points table with 11 points from 5 wins, 1 loss, and a match abandoned due to rain.
Washington Freedom beat the San Francisco Unicorns in the Qualifier match to book a place in the final match. They successfully chased a 146-run target as Travis Head scored 77 runs off 44 balls, and Glenn Maxwell contributed with 54 runs.
They faced off against the San Francisco Unicorns in the final match on 29 July. Washington scored 207 runs while batting first. And it was once again a captain leading from the front as Steve Smith led from the front with an 88-run off 52 balls innings. Glenn Maxwell also scored 40 runs off 22 balls.
Later, they bowled out the San Francisco Unicorns by just 111 runs. Marco Jansen and Rachin Ravindra took 3 wickets each for the Washington Freedom, while Andrew Tye bagged two wickets as the Washington Freedom were crowned the champions in 2024.
MLC 2023 – MI New York
The inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) season in 2023 was the beginning of a new life for cricket in the USA. The MLC T20 league began with a total of 6 teams in 2023, and it was MI New York who were crowned the inaugural champions.
The MI New York had an average league stage of the tournament, finishing only 4th with only 4 points behind the likes of Seattle Orcas, Texas Super Kings, and the Washington Freedom.
However, they brought in their best game in the playoffs. They won the Eliminator match against Washington Freedom by 16 runs, followed by a 6-wicket victory over the Texas Super Kings in the Challenger match, which secured their place in the final against Seattle Orcas.
In the final match, MI New York successfully chased down 184 runs. Captain Nicholas Pooran was the hero on the night for New York as he scored an unbeaten 137 runs off 55 balls to guide MI New York to the title in 2023.
MLC 2025 Playoffs Schedule And Results
The four teams that have played the MLC 2025 season playoffs are the Washington Freedom, the Texas Super Kings, the San Francisco Unicorns, and the New York MI.
Let’s have a quick recap of the playoff match results of the recent 2025 season.
| Date (IST) | Match | Teams | Venue | Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 09 | Qualifier (1v2) | Texas Super Kings vs Washington Freedom | Dallas | 5:30 AM | Match abandoned due to rain (with toss) |
| Jul 10 | Eliminator (3v4) | San Francisco Unicorns vs MI New York | Dallas | 5:30 AM | MI New York won by 2 wickets |
| Jul 12 | Challenger | Texas Super Kings vs MI New York | Dallas | 5:30 AM | MI New York won by 7 wickets |
| Jul 14 | Final | MI New York vs Washington Freedom | Dallas | 5:30 AM | MI New York won by 5 runs |
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Conclusion – MI New York Became Two-Time MLC Champions
As Major League Cricket continues to evolve, each season has already delivered exciting matches, standout individual performances. MI New York claimed the 2025 title and became the first two-time MLC champions.
The league has already begun to build a rich history in just three Seasons. From Washington Freedom’s dominant 2024 run to the rain-affected playoff drama in 2025, every final has added a new chapter to MLC’s legacy.
As we look ahead to future seasons, one thing is certain that the Major League Cricket is slowly becoming a global T20 powerhouse. Stay tuned as new teams, rivalries, and champions in the seasons are yet to come.
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