After weeks of exciting action, historic milestones, batting prowess, bowling brilliance and many memorable moments, the 8 teams that will participate in the 2025 Minor League Cricket Playoffs are locked and ready to compete next week.
Before we get into how each team made it to the playoffs, it’s worth recapping how the tournament format works.
Tournament Structure
For the regular season, the 26 teams are split into two conferences, Atlantic and Pacific, split across four divisions. The Eastern and Southern Divisions make up the Atlantic Conference, while the Western and Central Divisions form the Pacific Conference.
Each division typically has six teams, but the Central Division is larger, featuring eight teams. During the league stage, every team plays 10 matches. In the Eastern, Southern, and Western Divisions, the top two teams advance directly to the playoffs. In the Central Division, however, the second- and third-place teams contest a Play In game to determine who joins the division leader in the playoffs.
Once the two playoff teams from each division are finalized, they face off against teams from the other division in their respective conference. The winners of the Atlantic and Pacific Conferences then meet in the grand finale, where the winner is crowned as the Minor League Cricket Champion.
Here is how each team made their way to the playoffs this season across all four divisions:
Eastern Division
New Jersey Stallions
Arguably the best team of the tournament so far, the Stallions made their way to the playoffs undefeated. Led from the front by their charismatic skipper, Jasdeep Singh, the Stallions left no stone unturned, winning all their games to cruise their way past the league stage.
Win/Loss Record: 10 wins, no losses (Click here for the match results)
New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers
Although the Cavaliers had a rough first weekend with back-to-back losses to the Stallions and a close defeat to the NYC Titans, they emerged from the pressure with command in the subsequent rounds, winning the rest of the matches comprehensively and establishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with this season.
Win/Loss Record: 8 wins, 2 losses (Click here For the detailed results)
Southern Division
Baltimore Royals
The Royals started their campaign strong, beating the Orlando Galaxy in the tournament opener. Despite losing one game to the weather, they went on a tremendous run with 8 wins, including an MiLC record win by 127 runs against the Fort Lauderdale Lions after they posted a mammoth 237/3 in the first innings. Their only loss came against the Atlanta Fire in the fourth round of the competition.
Win/Loss Record: 8 wins, 1 loss, 1 no result (Click here For detailed match results)
Atlanta Fire
After announcing themselves in style against the Orlando Galaxy in their first game, when they won comprehensively after putting on a huge total of 217/5 batting first, the Fire didn’t look back as they won all of their games, bar a forgettable loss against Baltimore Royals in the final round to tie their regular season series at one each.
Win/Loss Record: 9 wins, 1 loss (Click here for detailed match results)
Western Division
East Bay Blazers
The 2022 champions made sure they get another opportunity to go all the way as they managed to get to the playoffs yet again courtesy of some key contributions from each of their stars. Though they lost back-to-back games in the third round to the Seattle Thunderbolts, including a tough loss in one of the many super over deciders this season, their superior net run rate and their crucial wins in the fourth round made sure they qualified for the playoffs as table-toppers from the Western Division.
Win/Loss Record: 7 wins, 3 losses (Click here for detailed match results)
Silicon Valley Strikers
The Strikers are playoff regulars and secured their spot for the 2025 season, where they will hope for a deep run. Although they lost a couple of games against the Blazers and one against the Seattle Thunderbolts, a great blend of experience and youth made sure they got the combination right to shine both with the bat and ball to surge ahead.
Win/Loss Record: 7 wins, 3 losses (Click here for detailed match results)
Central Division
Chicago Kingsmen
Whilst a loss in their first game to Kings XI Dallas and a couple of abandoned games in the opening weekend threatened their standings early on, the reigning champions stood firm to make sure they stay on course to defend their title by winning the rest of their games and qualifying to the playoffs as the top seed in the highly competitive Central Division. Their victories included two last-wicket wins over the St. Louis Americans and Chicago Tigers respectively, showing their experience in getting over the line when under pressure.
Win/Loss Record: 7 wins, 1 loss, 2 no result (Click here for detailed results)
Kings XI Dallas
Playing their debut season in the Minor League Cricket, Kings XI have met the high expectations placed on them with their star-filled roster delivering on the field. The team features MLC stalwarts like Corey Anderson, Unmukt Chand, Andries Gous and Obus Pienaar. While youngsters like Ali Sheikh and Rishabh Shimpi also impressed with their performances. Having started their tournament with a winning note, the abandoned games and a loss in the first round made their road to the playoffs difficult to navigate but they bounced back by winning most of their remaining matches, including a thrilling super-over against the Dallas Xforia Giants in the fourth round and taking down the Metroplex Tracers in the Central Play In game.
Win/Loss Record ( League Stage): 5 wins, 3 losses, 2 no results (Click here for detailed results)
Eliminator: Beat Metroplex Tracers by 9 wickets.
The Playoff Action Begins
Now that the qualifiers from each division have been confirmed, they advance to the Super Eights where they will face off against the other teams in their respective conference in a round-robin format. Teams in the Atlantic Conference will play in Morrisville, NC and the Pacific Conference qualifiers will battle it out at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, TX. The winners of the Atlantic and Pacific Conferences then meet in the grand finale on Sunday, where the 2025 Minor League Cricket Champion will be crowned at Church Street Park in Morrisville.
Visit CricClubs to see the current playoff schedule.
How To Watch The Action Live
All games will be streamed live on the MLC Network YouTube channel. You can also follow live scores here or on MiLC’s social media accounts throughout the playoffs.
