Contrary to most predictions, it was Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) who won the tournament. In an absolute nail-biter at the Oakland Coliseum, the Knight Riders held their nerve to defeat the Washington Freedom by just 1 run to lift their maiden Major League Cricket title.

LAKR posted 164 on the board, heavily carried by their openers and a quick cameo down the order. In response, Washington Freedom’s chase imploded early against Sunil Narine’s wizardry (3/13). Despite a terrifying late-overs assault from Obus Pienaar, who smashed 53 off just 24 balls, Shadley van Schalkwyk defended 14 runs in the final over to seal a historic photo-finish victory.

MLC 2026 Final Brief Scorecard

Los Angeles Knight Riders: 164 all out in 19.4 overs

Washington Freedom: 163/9 in 20.0 overs

Result: Los Angeles Knight Riders won by 1 run.

Los Angeles Knight Riders Innings

Batter	Dismissal	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Andre Fletcher	b N Chaudhary	47	27	7	1	174.07
Colin Munro	c M Owen b R Ravindra	40	29	0	4	137.93
Matthew Tromp	c L Ferguson b B Dwarshuis	39	21	3	3	185.71
Andre Russell	b N Chaudhary	0	2	0	0	0.00
Sunil Narine	b R Ravindra	0	2	0	0	0.00

Washington Freedom Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ
Ben Dwarshuis	4.0	0	31	3	7.75
Rachin Ravindra	3.0	0	23	2	7.67
Nikhil Chaudhary	2.0	0	32	2	16.00
Mitchell Owen	1.4	0	14	2	8.40

Washington Freedom Innings

Batter	Dismissal	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Obus Pienaar	b S van Schalkwyk	53	24	3	5	220.83
Andries Gous	c A Russell b J Holder	40	35	2	2	114.29
Nikhil Chaudhary	c (sub U Chand) b J Holder	25	24	3	0	104.17
Steve Smith (C)	b S Narine	8	13	1	0	61.54
Rachin Ravindra	c A Khan b S Narine	7	7	1	0	100.00