Premier Lacrosse League Championship Series

Last updated
Championship Series
SportLacrosse Sixes
First season2023
No. of teams4
Most recent
champion(s)		 Boston Cannons
Most titles Chrome LC (1)
Boston Cannons (1)

The PLL Championship Series is an annual winter lacrosse tournament in the lacrosse sixes format. It is hosted by the Premier Lacrosse League. It features the top four teams in the regular season standings of the previous Premier Lacrosse League season. The inaugural championship series occurred in 2023.

Contents

Announced in May 2022, the Championship Series was created for a variety of reasons: incentivize a teams regular season finishing position(as of 2023 only the last place team in the standings does not qualify for playoffs in the PLL), provide more playing opportunities for PLL players that do not play in the NLL, aid in the broader push for lacrosse's inclusion in the Olympics, and to create more inventory for the PLL's broadcasting partners. [1]

The four qualifying teams were allowed to roster 12 players, ten field players and two goalkeepers.

Lacrosse Sixes and Rule Differences

The lacrosse sixes format is a version of lacrosse which aims to provide greater access to lacrosse by eliminating barriers of entry. This format is also designed to be more applicable for the modern olympic framework. [2] The Championship Series selected this format as part of its broader push to be included in the 2028 Olympics. [1]

The typical major changes for Lacrosse Sixes are as follows:

For the Championship Series, the PLL also included a 13-yard 2-point arc. [3]

Results

2023 Championship Series

The 2023 Championship Series took place from February 22, 2023 to February 26, 2023. The round-robin games took place from February 22, to February 24. The semifinals games took place on February 25, and the finals took place on February 26. The participants were the Whipsnakes, the eventual champion Chrome, the Archers, and the eventual runner-up Atlas

Finals

Winning TeamRunner-UpScoreVenueWinners PurseRef.
Chrome LC Atlas LC 24-23 The St. James

(Springfield, VA)

$120,000 [4]

Bracket

Semifinals
February 25 		Finals
February 26
      
1   Atlas 30
4   Whipsnakes 21
1   Atlas 23
3   Chrome 24
3   Chrome 21
2   Archers 18

Round Robin

2023 Championship Series Round Robin Whipsnakes Chrome Archers Atlas
1 Whipsnakes 14-1823-2616-290-3
2 Chrome 18-1422-23(OT)20-291-2
3 Archers 26-2323(OT)-2226-312-1
4 Atlas 29-1629-2031-263-0

Round-robin teams are listed in their 2022 PLL regular season standings order.

References: [5] [6] [7] [8]

2024 Championship Series

The 2024 Championship Series featured the top 4 regular season finishers of the 2023 Premier Lacrosse League season; including the 2023 PLL Champion Utah Archers. The other competing teams were the eventual champion Boston Cannons, Philadelphia Waterdogs, and California Redwoods. It took place from February 14-19, 2023 at the St. James in Springfield, VA. [9] Round robin play was from February 14-17, 2024, the semifinals were on February 18, and the finals were on February 19. [10]

Finals

Winning TeamLosing TeamScoreVenueRef.
Boston Cannons Utah Archers 23-22 (OT) The St. James

(Springfield, VA)

[11]

Notable Statistics

The 2024 Championship Series final saw a 24% increase in average viewership on ESPN2 and a 42% increase in viewership on ESPN+. There was a 32% increase in attendance with a 46% increase in total ticket revenue. [12]

Golden Stick Award

The Golden Stick Award is given to the player that had the most points during the Championship Series.

YearPlayerTeamPoints (Scoring Points, Assists)Ref.
2023 Romar Dennis Atlas LC 38 (34 SP, 4 A) [13]
2024 Kieran McArdle Philadelphia Waterdogs 38 (26 SP, 12 A) [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacrosse</span> Team sport

Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Lacrosse League</span> North American professional box lacrosse league

The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major League Lacrosse</span> Field lacrosse league that merged with the Premier Lacrosse League in 2020

Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff for the championship trophy, the Steinfeld Trophy, named after founder Jake Steinfeld. League attendance peaked at 6,417 in 2011 and the 2019 average was 4,587.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Cannons</span> American lacrosse team

The Boston Cannons, formerly known as Cannons Lacrosse Club, is a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Formerly based in Boston, Massachusetts, they played in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) from their inaugural 2001 season to 2020. The team's home field was Veterans Memorial Stadium in nearby Quincy. In the MLL, the team won two Steinfeld Cup championship games in 2011 and 2020, the latter being the MLL's final championship. The Cannons joined the PLL in 2020 following the MLL–PLL merger and were rebranded as the Cannons Lacrosse Club before later being rebranded as Boston Cannons once again when the PLL assigned home cities after the 2023 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field lacrosse</span> Full contact outdoor mens team sport

Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor sport played with two opposing teams of ten players each. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Field lacrosse is one of three major versions of lacrosse played internationally. The rules of men's lacrosse differ significantly from women's field lacrosse. The two are often considered to be different sports with a common root. An outdoor six-a-side version, lacrosse sixes, was established in 2021 and features six players per team, reduced field size, and shorter duration to be conducive for daily tournament play. Another version, indoor box lacrosse, is also played under different rules.

The Denver Outlaws were a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They began playing in the MLL in 2006 as an expansion team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brodie Merrill</span> Canadian professional lacrosse player

Brodie Merrill is a Canadian professional lacrosse player. Merrill is recognized by the Premier Lacrosse League as having revolutionized the LSM position, and is the namesake for the Brodie Merrill LSM of the Year Award, being the only active PLL player to have an award named after them. Merrill is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensemen in lacrosse history, in both the indoor and outdoor game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premier Lacrosse League</span> American professional field lacrosse league

Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The league was founded by the American professional lacrosse player Paul Rabil and his brother Mike Rabil. Investors include The Chernin Group, The Raine Group and Joe Tsai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Outlaws</span> Professional field lacrosse club in the US

The Denver Outlaws are a professional men's field lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado. They compete in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) as a member of the league's Western Conference. Founded as the Chrome Lacrosse Club, they began play as one of the league's six inaugural teams in the 2019 season alongside Archers, Atlas, Chaos, Redwoods, and Whipsnakes. Following the assignment of home markets for the 2024 season, they were rebranded with the identity of the former Denver Outlaws Major League Lacrosse team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Redwoods (lacrosse)</span> American field lacrosse team

The California Redwoods are a professional men's field lacrosse team based in San Diego, California, playing in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Redwoods began play in the league's inaugural 2019 season. The team plays their home games at Torero Stadium.

Matt Rambo is a professional lacrosse attackman for the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He played college lacrosse at Maryland.

The Premier Lacrosse League All-Star Game is a field lacrosse game played between the best players on two teams representing the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).

The 2020 Premier Lacrosse League season was the second season for the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The season was originally set to begin on May 29 and culminate with a championship game played in late September. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the league postponed the start of their season, and in May announced their season would take place as a championship series between July 25 and August 9, replacing NBCUniversal's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics. The Championship Series consisted of playoff seedings based on 4 games of group play taking place at Zions Bank Stadium just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. The series began with the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club as the defending league champions and the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club joining the league as an expansion team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Waterdogs</span> Field lacrosse team in the PLL

The Philadelphia Waterdogs, formerly known as Waterdogs Lacrosse Club, are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The Waterdogs were the first PLL expansion team, beginning with the 2020 season. Players were selected through an expansion draft, new entry draft, and the college draft over the first few months of 2020. Andy Copelan was announced as the Club's first head coach on January 2, 2020. Owners of the club include Pardon My Take hosts, Barstool Big Cat & PFT Commenter. The Waterdogs won their first championship in 2022 against the Chaos.

The MLL–PLL merger represented a unification of the two major professional field lacrosse leagues in the United States at the time: Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Initial terms of the merger were released on the morning of December 16, 2020. The two leagues agreed to unite under the "Premier Lacrosse League" name and logo, operating as a tour-based model and removing the last of the hometown-based professional field lacrosse teams in the United States. The Boston Cannons would be the sole MLL team identity to play in the PLL for the 2021 season, rebranding as the Cannons Lacrosse Club.

The 2021 Premier Lacrosse League season was the third season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). The 2021 season represented a return to the tour-based format that the league followed in 2019 after playing a bubble tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 2021 also represented a return to one unified professional Field Lacrosse format after Major League Lacrosse and the Premier Lacrosse League announced they were merging on December 16, 2020. This monumental merger saw the PLL adopt the naming rights to all former MLL teams, as well as Cannons Lacrosse Club moving from the MLL to the PLL as an 8th team set by expansion draft. The Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club were the two-time defending league champions. Chaos Lacrosse Club took revenge against Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club by defeating them in the championship game on September 19 at Audi Field by a score of 9–14.

Jules Nehemiah Heningburg is an American professional lacrosse player on the Redwoods Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and Albany FireWolves of the National Lacrosse League. He played college lacrosse at Rutgers University where he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and All-American. Heningburg was selected 7th overall in the first round of the 2018 Major League Lacrosse Draft by the Florida Launch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Patrick DeMaine Kelly</span> American lacrosse player

Stephen Patrick DeMaine Kelly is an American lacrosse player who plays for Cannons Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Kelly plays as a midfielder and face-off specialist and scored the first goal in PLL history in 2019. Kelly was selected to play in the 2021 PLL All Star Game in San Jose, California.

Jeffrey Steven Teat is a Canadian lacrosse player for Atlas Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and the New York Riptide of the National Lacrosse League. He is one of three players in lacrosse history to be selected first overall in both the NLL and PLL/MLL drafts.

The 2023 Premier Lacrosse League Season is the fifth season of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). It held from June 3 through September 24.

References

  1. 1 2 Inside Lacrosse Staff (May 18, 2022). "Breaking: PLL To Host Offseason Tournament Utilizing Sixes Format". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  2. ↑ Inside Lacrosse Staff (May 18, 2021). "World Lacrosse Debuts 'Sixes' Brand, Another Step Toward New Discipline's Launch". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ Brown, Kevin (November 16, 2022). "PLL Announces Championship Series Set for February in Northern Virginia". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  4. ↑ PLL (2023-02-26). "Premier Lacrosse League Announces Winners Purse for Inaugural Championship Series". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  5. ↑ Brown, Kevin (February 26, 2023). "Finish Strong: Chrome Wins Inaugural PLL Championship Series". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ Brown, Kevin (February 25, 2023). "'All About Your Will': PLL Championship Series Semifinals Set For Saturday". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ "championship-series-2-2023-2-25 Archives". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  8. ↑ "championship-series-1-2023-2-25 Archives". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  9. ↑ "2024 PLL Championship Series Returns to Springfield, Va., in February". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  10. ↑ PLL (2023-12-20). "2024 PLL Championship Series Schedule Announced". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  11. ↑ "Boston Cannons' Turnaround Continues with Championship Series Victory". USA Lacrosse. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  12. ↑ PLL (2024-03-05). "Premier Lacrosse League Charts Double-Digit Growth in Second Championship Series, Powered by Ticketmaster". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  13. ↑ Merola, Lauren (2023-03-06). "Romar Dennis through the eyes of the Bulls". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  14. ↑ Miller, Wyatt (2024-02-20). "Why the Golden Stick Award means "not much" to Kieran McArdle". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.