Cricket has slowly started to make inroads on the shores of the biggest sports market, the United States of America (USA).
And the newly launched Major League Cricket (MLC), the USA’s T20 league, is playing a significant role in captivating local and global audiences.
MLC boasts teams filled with global T20 stars and promising local talent. Riding on the back of this mixture, teams have set their goal to get their hands on the silverware.
In this article, we’ll look at MLC winners season by season from 2023 onwards.
MLC Winners: Season by Season
| Season | Winner (Captain) | Runners-up (Captain) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | MI New York (Nicholas Pooran) | Seattle Orcas (Wayne Parnell) |
| 2024 | Washington Freedom (Steven Smith) | San Francisco Unicorns (Corey Anderson) |
| 2025 | MI New York (Nicholas Pooran) | Washington Freedom (Glenn Maxwell) |
| 2026 | Los Angeles Knight Riders (Jason Holder) | Washington Freedom (Steven Smith) |
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2023 | MI New York
Nobody knew what to expect from the inaugural MLC season. But the newly launched league delivered big, witnessing a massive success.
MI New York, owned by IPL’s Mumbai Indians franchise, won the inaugural season by beating Seattle Orcas in the final.
New York won the toss and asked the Orcas to bat first. Quinton de Kock’s 87, Shubham Ranjane’s 29 and Dwaine Pretorious’ 21 powered the Orcas to 183 runs in 20 overs.
With a challenging total to chase down, New York’s captain, Nicholas Pooran, came out all guns blazing. The wicketkeeper slammed an unbeaten 137 off 55 balls to single-handedly win the championship for MI New York with four overs to spare.
2024 | Washington Freedom
The second season of the MLC saw Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns square off in the final.
Put in to bat first, Washington posted a challenging total of 207 runs on the board. Steven Smith played a captain’s knock of 88 in 52 balls, while Glenn Maxwell slammed 40 off 22.
In response, San Francisco kept losing wickets at regular intervals, with no batter able to go past 20 runs. Washington bundled out San Francisco for 111 runs to seize the final by 96 runs.
With that, Washington Freedom became the MLC champion in 2024.
2025 | MI New York
The two MLC champions, MI New York and Washington Freedom, were up against each other in the 2025 finale.
Quinton de Kock once again flaunted the bat. He dished out a 77-run knock to help MINY post 180 for 7.
Rachin Ravindra did try to spoil de Kock’s efforts with his 70-run knock. But timely wickets restricted Washington to 175 for 5, paving the way for MINY to lift their second MLC title.
2026 | Los Angeles Knight Riders
Washington Freedom made it to their third final in four seasons. Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR), meanwhile, qualified for their first final.
The pressure of the first did weigh down LAKR batters as they managed 164 runs in 19.4 overs. The target wasn’t big, but Washington’s batters struggled in response.
They were 109 for 6 at one stage. But Obus Pienaar’s 53 off 24 lifted Washington’s hopes.
With three required on the last ball, Washington managed just one, handing LAKR their maiden MLC title.
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