Premier Lacrosse League Championship Series

Championship Series
Logo of the 2025 PLL Championship Series.
SportLacrosse Sixes
First season2023
No. of teams4
Most recent
champions		Carolina Chaos
(1st title)
(2026)
Most titlesBoston Cannons (2)
Official websitehttps://premierlacrosseleague.com/championship-series

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.

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:

  • 6 against 6 rather than 9 against 9 (excluding goalkeepers)
  • 30 second shot-clock
  • 4, 8-minute quarters
  • Goalkeepers begin play when a goal is scored, face-offs only occur at the beginning of each quarter
  • Field size is 70 by 36 meters
  • Everyone plays on both sides of the field
  • No long poles are permitted
  • No shot back up, a missed shot results in a change of possession all of the time rather than possession being determined by who is closest to the ball when it goes out

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

Round Robin

2023 Championship Series Round Robin Whipsnakes Chrome Archers Atlas
1 Whipsnakes 14-18 23-26 16-29 0-3
2 Chrome 18-14 22-23 (OT) 20-29 1-2
3 Archers 26-23 23-22 (OT) 26-31 2-1
4 Atlas 29-16 29-20 31-26 3-0

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

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

Finals

Winning team Runner-up Score Venue Winners Purse Ref.
Chrome LC Atlas LC 24-23 The St. James

(Springfield, VA)

$120,000 [4]

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]

Round Robin

2024 Championship Series Round Robin Archers Cannons Waterdogs Redwoods
1 Archers 19-26 18-21 16-18 0-3
2 Cannons 26-19 12-22 25-26 1-2
3 Waterdogs 21-18 22-22 20-14 3-0
4 Redwoods 18-16 26-25 14-20 2-1

Round-robin teams are listed in their 2023 PLL regular season standings order.

Bracket

Semifinals
February 18 		Finals
February 19
      
1   Waterdogs 27
4   Archers 21
1   Waterdogs 22
3   Cannons 23
3   Cannons 23
2   Redwoods 15

Finals

Winning team Losing team Score Venue Ref.
Boston Cannons Philadelphia Waterdogs 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]

2025 Championship Series

The 2025 PLL Championship Series (sponsor name Lexus PLL Championship Series), took place on February 11 - 17, 2025 at The St. James in Springfield, Virginia – marketed as Washington, D.C.. The top four PLL teams from the 2024 regular season – New York Atlas, Boston Cannons, Maryland Whipsnakes and the 2024 PLL Champion Utah Archers competed in a round-robin, six-on-six tournament inspired by the Lacrosse Sixes game that will be played at the 2028 Summer Olympics. Round-robin play started on Tuesday, February 11 and continued through Saturday, Feb. 15, with PLL semifinal occurring Sunday, Feb. 16 and championship game on Monday, Feb. 17.[13]

Round Robin

Pos Team W L GF GA GD Qualification
1 New York Atlas 1 2 60 59 +1 Advance to semifinal
2 Boston Cannons 2 1 78 65 +13
3 Maryland Whipsnakes 0 3 59 88 −29
4 Utah Archers 3 0 81 66 +15 Advance to final
Source: Standings

Round-robin teams are listed in their 2024 PLL regular season standings order.

Feb 11, 8:00pm Maryland Whipsnakes 13—25 New York Atlas Stats
Feb 12, 6:00pm Boston Cannons 21—29 Utah Archers Stats
Feb 13, 6:00pm Maryland Whipsnakes 21—34 Boston Cannons Stats
Feb 14, 7:00pm New York Atlas 20—23 Utah Archers Stats
Feb 15, 5:00pm New York Atlas 15—23 Boston Cannons Stats
Feb 15, 7:00pm Maryland Whipsnakes 25—29 Utah Archers Stats

All times in Eastern Time (ET)

Playoffs

 
Semifinals
February 16		Finals
February 17
 
      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Archers 14
 
 
 
   Cannons 21
 
   Cannons 24
 
 
   Atlas 23
 
Feb 16, 5:00pm New York Atlas 23—24 (OT) Boston Cannons Stats
Feb 17, 12:30pm Boston Cannons 21—14 Utah Archers Stats

All times in Eastern Time (ET)

2026 Championship Series

Rosters[14]

California Redwoods

# Name Nationality Height Weight College Grad year High School Hometown Ref.
2 Andrew McAdorey 5 ft 8 in 190 lbs Duke 2025 St. Anthony's Manorville, New York [15]
3 Carter Rice 5 ft 11 in 191 lbs Syracuse 2025 Boston College High School Milton, Massachusetts
4 Dylan Molloy 6 ft 0 in 215 lbs Brown 2017 St. Anthony's Setauket, New York [16]
5 Romar Dennis 6 ft 5 in 225 lbs Loyola 2017 St. Mary's Ryken Huntingtown, Maryland [17]
12 Brian Tevlin 5 ft 11 in 190 lbs Notre Dame 2023 Seton Hall Prep Livingston, New Jersey [18]
23 Chris Merle 6 ft 1 in 200 lbs Virginia 2021 Westhampton Beach Westhampton Beach, New York [19]
34 Josh Balcarcel 5 ft 7 in 175 lbs Marist 2025 Delaware Valley Milford, Pennsylvania [20]
42 Zach Vigue 6 ft 0 in 220 lbs Richmond 2025 Apex Apex, North Carolina
43 Matt Knote 5 ft 10 in 220 lbs UMass 2024 Eastport-South Manor Speonk, New York [21]
70 BJ Farrare 5 ft 8 in 175 lbs Penn 2023 McDonogh Owings Mills, Maryland [22]
81 Connor Cmiel 6 ft 2 in 195 lbs Ohio State 2025 St. Ignatius Rocky River, Ohio
88 Aidan Danenza 6 ft 3 in 220 lbs Duke 2024 St. Anthony's Muttontown, New York
91 Michael Boehm 5 ft 10 in 170 lbs Michigan 2024 St. Ignatius Rocky River, Ohio [23]

Carolina Chaos

# Name Nationality Height Weight College Grad year High School Hometown Ref.
3 Chris Aslanian 6 ft 3 in 205 lbs Hobart 2019 Hun Westfield, New Jersey [24]
4 Cole Williams 6 ft 5 in 220 lbs Johns Hopkins 2021 Loyola Marriottsville, Maryland [25]
9 Ray Dearth 6 ft 2 in 205 lbs Harvard 2025 Ridgefield Ridgefield, Connecticut
14 Austin Kaut 6 ft 1 in 225 lbs Penn State 2014 Springfield-Delco Morton, Pennsylvania
15 Ross Scott 5 ft 9 in 175 lbs Rutgers 2024 West Linn West Linn, Oregon [26]
16 Mark Glicini 6 ft 1 in 200 lbs Yale 2016 Mahwah Mahwah, New Jersey [27]
19 Jackson Eicher 6 ft 4 in 220 lbs Army 2025 Episcopal Warrenton, Virginia
20 Brendan Nichtern 6 ft 0 in 185 lbs Army 2022 Massapequa Massapequa, New York [28]
27 Shane Knobloch 5 ft 9 in 200 lbs Rutgers 2024 Moorestown Moorestown, New Jersey
30 Sergio Perkovic 6 ft 4 in 225 lbs Notre Dame 2017 Brother Rice Bloomfield Hills, Michigan [29]
41 Charlie Bertrand 6 ft 3 in 215 Virginia 2021 Baldwinsville Baldwinsville, New York [30]
45 JC Higginbotham 6 ft 0 in 200 lbs Bellarmine 2024 Plano West Plano, Texas
50 Christian Scarpello 5 ft 11 in 200 lbs Rutgers 2018 Madison Madison, New Jersey [31]

Denver Outlaws

# Name Nationality Height Weight College Grad year High School Hometown Ref.
0 Graham Bundy Jr. 6 ft 1 in 200 lbs Georgetown 2024 MICDS St. Louis, Missouri [32]
2 Fulton Bayman 5 ft 10 in 175 lbs Georgetown 2025 Lovett School Atlanta, Georgia
5 Lance Madonna 5 ft 11 in 165 lbs Richmond 2024 East Syracuse-Minoa East Syracuse, New York
9 Jack VanOverbeke 6 ft 1 in 185 lbs High Point 2024 Benilde-St. Margaret's St. Paul, Minnesota [33]
13 Zach Geddes 6 ft 1 in 190 lbs Georgetown 2022 Belmont Hill Winchester, Massachusetts [34]
20 Jack Gray 6 ft 1 in 200 lbs Duke 2025 Culver San Rafael, California [35]
21 Justin Anderson 6 ft 0 in 190 lbs North Carolina 2021 Centennial Las Vegas, Nevada [36]
24 Owen McElroy 6 ft 1 in 190 lbs Georgetown 2022 Avon Old Farms Ridgewood, New Jersey [37]
30 Logan McNaney 5 ft 10 in 185 lbs Maryland 2025 Salisbury Corning, New York [38]
40 Dylan Gergar 5 ft 11 in 200 lbs Penn 2023 Severn Annapolis, Maryland
57 Greg Weyl 6 ft 2 in 210 lbs Mercyhurst 2018 Pittsford Pittsford, New York [39]
59 Mikie Schlosser 6 ft 2 in 190 lbs Michigan 2017 Davis Davis, California [40]
91 Ryan Cohen 5 ft 9 in 183 lbs Michigan 2025 Avon Old Farms Boca Raton, Florida

New York Atlas

# Name Nationality Height Weight College Grad year High School Hometown Ref.
0 Eric Malever 6 ft 1 in 190 lbs Duke 2025 Woodward Academy Atlanta, Georgia
2 Matt Traynor 6 ft 2 in 193 lbs Penn State 2025 Malvern Prep Downingtown, Pennsylvania [41]
5 Tyler Carpenter 5 ft 10 in 180 lbs Duke 2024 Salisbury Durham, North Carolina [42]
8 Myles Jones 6 ft 5 in 250 lbs Duke 2016 Walt Whitman Huntington, New York [43]
15 Jack Koras 5 ft 11 in 185 lbs Maryland 2024 Loyola Blakefield Lutherville, Maryland
22 Michael Rexrode 6 ft 0 in 215 lbs Rutgers 2018 Loudoun County Leesburg, Virginia [44]
25 Christopher Davis 6 ft 3 in 215 lbs Cornell 2025 Essex Essex Junction, Vermont
26 Bryan Costabile 6 ft 2 in 215 lbs Notre Dame 2020 Mount St. Joseph Sykesville, Maryland [45]
30 Brian Phipps 5 ft 9 in 180 lbs Maryland 2010 Severn Annapolis, Maryland [46]
47 Kyle Jackson 5 ft 9 in 163 lbs Michigan 2016 The Hill Academy Sarnia, Ontario [47]
48 Max Krevsky 6 ft 2 in 200 lbs Yale 2025 Cumberland Valley Harrisburg, Pennsylvania [48]
57 Chet Comizio 5 ft 10 in 185 lbs Villanova 2023 Delbarton Basking Ridge, New Jersey [49]
88 Will Mark 6 ft 4 in 200 lbs Syracuse 2024 Proctor Academy Danville, California [50]

Round Robin

Pos Team W L GF GA GD Qualification
1 New York Atlas 1 2 69 79 −10
2 Denver Outlaws 1 2 64 74 −10 Advance to semifinal
3 California Redwoods 3 0 72 57 +15 Advance to final
4 Carolina Chaos 1 2 71 66 +5 Advance to semifinal
Source: Standings

Round-robin teams are listed in their 2025 PLL regular season standings order.

Feb 27, 7:00pm New York Atlas 22 - 32 Denver Outlaws Stats
Feb 28, 5:30pm Denver Outlaws 14 - 26 California Redwoods Stats
Feb 28, 7:30pm Carolina Chaos 24 - 25 New York Atlas Stats
Mar 1, 11:30pm California Redwoods 23 - 21 Carolina Chaos Stats
Mar 5, 5:00pm Carolina Chaos 26-18 Denver Outlaws Stats
Mar 6, 7:00pm New York Atlas 22-23 California Redwoods Stats

All times in Eastern Time (ET)

Playoffs

 
Semifinals
March 7		Finals
March 8
 
      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Chaos24
 
 
 
   Redwoods 16
 
   Chaos 23
 
 
   Outlaws 22
 
Mar 7, 5:30pm Denver Outlaws 23—22 Carolina Chaos Stats
Mar 8, 1:00pm Carolina Chaos 24—16 California Redwoods] Stats

All times in Eastern Time (ET)

Golden Stick Award

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

Year Player Team Points (Scoring Points, Assists) Ref.
2023 Romar Dennis Atlas LC 38 (34 SP, 4 A) [51]
2024 Kieran McArdle Philadelphia Waterdogs 38 (26 SP, 12 A) [52]
2025 Matt Campbell Boston Cannons 35 (23 SP, 12 A) [53]
2026 Shane Knobloch Carolina Chaos 34 (30 SP, 4 A)

All-Tournament Team

Year Goalie Midfielder Attacker
2025 Colin Kirst (Cannons) Mason Woodward (Archers)
Beau Pederson (Archers) 		Asher Nolthing (Cannons)
Myles Jones (Atlas)
Matt Campbell (Cannons)
2026 Austin Kaut (Chaos) Brian Tevlin (Redwoods)
Matt Traynor (Atlas) 		Charlie Bertrand (Chaos)
Andrew McAdorey (Redwoods)
Shane Knobloch (Chaos)

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ PLL (2025-02-07). "2025 Lexus PLL Championship Series Exclusively on ESPN Platforms February 11-17". ESPN Press Room.
  14. ^ "2026 Championship Series rosters revealed for PLL, WLL". ESPN. 2026-01-29. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  15. ^ "Andrew McAdorey". Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2025-07-16. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  16. ^ "Dylan Molloy". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  17. ^ "Romar Dennis". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  18. ^ "Brian Tevlin". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  19. ^ "Chris Merle". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  20. ^ "Josh Balcarcel". Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2025-07-16. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  21. ^ "Matt Knote". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  22. ^ "BJ Farrare". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  23. ^ "Michael Boehm". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  24. ^ "Chris Aslanian". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  25. ^ "Cole Williams". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  26. ^ "Ross Scott". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  27. ^ "Mark Glicini". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  28. ^ "Brendan Nichtern". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  29. ^ "Sergio Perkovic". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  30. ^ "Charlie Bertrand". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  31. ^ "Christian Scarpello". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  32. ^ "Graham Bundy Jr". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  33. ^ "Jack Vanoverbeke". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  34. ^ "Zach Geddes". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  35. ^ "Jack Gray". Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2025-08-26. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  36. ^ "Justin Anderson". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  37. ^ "Owen McElroy". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  38. ^ "Logan McNaney". Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2025-08-27. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  39. ^ "Greg Weyl". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  40. ^ "Mikie Schlosser". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  41. ^ "Matt Traynor". Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2025-07-10. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  42. ^ "Tyler Carpenter". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  43. ^ "Myles Jones". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  44. ^ "Michael Rexrode". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  45. ^ "Bryan Costabile". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  46. ^ "Brian Phipps". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  47. ^ "Kyle Jackson". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  48. ^ "Max Krevsky". Premier Lacrosse League. Archived from the original on 2025-07-10. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  49. ^ "Chet Comizio". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  50. ^ "Will Mark". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  51. ^ Merola, Lauren (2023-03-06). "Romar Dennis through the eyes of the Bulls". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  52. ^ Miller, Wyatt (2024-02-20). "Why the Golden Stick Award means "not much" to Kieran McArdle". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  53. ^ "Top takeaways as Cannons win second straight Championship Series". Premier Lacrosse League. 2025-02-17.
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