Knight Riders seal second and a Qualifier spot as the MLC playoffs take shape
The Los Angeles Knight Riders beat Texas by six wickets on the final night of the MLC league stage to grab second place and a Qualifier date with the San Francisco Unicorns. With all 30 group games done, the playoff bracket is now locked in.
Jul 13, 2026
The Los Angeles Knight Riders left it to the final night of the league stage, but they got the job done. A six-wicket win over the Texas Super Kings in Dallas on July 12 carried them to second place in Major League Cricket and, with it, a spot in the Qualifier and the cushion that comes with it.
Texas, already out of the running and heading for the bottom of the table, posted 171 for 9. It was never quite enough on a night when the Knight Riders’ openers were in the mood.
Munro sets the tone, Tromp finishes it
Colin Munro made sure there was no nervous chase. He tore into the powerplay, taking 46 of the 54 runs Los Angeles scored inside the first six overs and racing to a fifty off 27 balls. By the time Hosein bowled him for 62 off 36, the platform was built and the target was already in sight.
Matthew Tromp did the rest. Dropped on 16, he made Texas pay with an unbeaten 58 off 28 balls, bringing up his half-century off 25 and knocking off the runs with five balls to spare. The player-of-the-match award was a formality.
Why second place mattered
This was not a dead rubber for Los Angeles. In MLC’s playoff system, finishing in the top two earns a place in the Qualifier, and the team that loses that game does not go home. It drops into the Challenger and gets a second shot at the final. Third and fourth meet in the Eliminator, a straight knockout with no way back. So the win did more than tidy up the table. It bought the Knight Riders an extra life in the run to the title.
The playoff picture is set
With all 30 league games done, the top of the table finished as tight as it gets. San Francisco Unicorns, Los Angeles and Washington Freedom all ended on 12 points from their ten matches, separated only by net run rate. The Unicorns came out on top, the Knight Riders squeezed into second, and Washington slipped to third. MI New York took the last spot in fourth.
That leaves a Qualifier between the Unicorns and the Knight Riders on July 15, with Washington Freedom and MI New York meeting in the Eliminator the same day. The Challenger follows on July 16 and the final on July 18, all of it at the Oakland Coliseum. For Los Angeles, the reward for a strong finish is simple. Two cracks at reaching that final, starting with the side that finished top.