The 2026 Major League Cricket final was a day/night 20-over cricket match that was played on July 18, 2026, at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland between the Los Angeles Knight Riders and the Washington Freedom to determine the winner of the fourth season of Major League Cricket.
In the final, Los Angeles Knight Riders defeated Washington Freedom by 1 run to win their first Major League Cricket title, with Sunil Narine named both player of the match and player of the tournament for the 2026 season.
Background The complete schedule for the tournament's fourth season was unveiled on March 20, 2026. The competition retained the format used during the 2025 season, consisting of a 30-match double round-robin stage followed by four playoff fixtures to total 34 matches.
The tournament introduced a new venue, the Knight Riders Cricket Field situated at Fairplex in Pomona, California, which took the place of Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida. The tournament concluded at the Oakland Coliseum, which hosted the championship final on July 18, 2026.
Road to the final All the top three teams San Francisco Unicorns, Los Angeles Knight Riders, Washington Freedom finished the league stage with 6 wins, 4 losses equal on 12 points.
Los Angeles Knight Riders finished second due to inferior run rate than San Francisco Unicorns. In Qualifier, Los Angeles Knight Riders beat San Francisco Unicorns and progressed to the final.
Washington Freedom had the worst run rate of the top three teams and finished third. In Eliminator, they beat MI New York and in the Challenger they beat San Francisco Unicorns and progressed to the final.
Los Angeles Knight RidersMatchesWashington FreedomLeague StageOpponentDateResultTitlesOpponentDateResultSan Francisco UnicornsJune 19, 2026WonMatch 1Seattle OrcasJune 19, 2026LostSeattle OrcasJune 21, 2026WonMatch 2MI New YorkJune 20, 2026WonMI New YorkJune 27, 2026LostMatch 3Seattle OrcasJune 25, 2026LostSeattle OrcasJune 28, 2026LostMatch 4Texas Super KingsJune 27, 2026WonWashington FreedomJuly 1, 2026LostMatch 5San Francisco UnicornsJune 28, 2026LostTexas Super KingsJuly 3, 2026WonMatch 6Los Angeles Knight RidersJuly 1, 2026WonMI New YorkJuly 4, 2026LostMatch 7San Francisco UnicornsJuly 4, 2026WonWashington FreedomJuly 9, 2026WonMatch 8Los Angeles Knight RidersJuly 9, 2026LostSan Francisco UnicornsJuly 10, 2026WonMatch 9Texas Super KingsJuly 11, 2026WonTexas Super KingsJuly 12, 2026WonMatch 10MI New YorkJuly 12, 2026WonPlayoff stageQualifierEliminatorOpponentDateResultTitlesOpponentDateResultSan Francisco UnicornsJuly 15, 2026WonMatch 11MI New YorkJuly 15, 2026WonChallenger TitlesOpponentDateResultMatch 12San Francisco UnicornsJuly 16, 2026Won2026 Major Cricket League final
Match Match officials On-field umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Wayne Knights (NZ) Third umpire: Paul Wilson (Aus) Reserve umpire: Rushane Samuels (WI) Match referee: Simon Taufel (Aus) Toss: Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
Scorecard
References
External links
MLC 2026 on ESPN