The Pro Kabaddi League organisers on February 16 announced the new format for the playoffs for season 8. The final is slated to be played on February 25, while the playoff games are scheduled to be played on February 21 and 23.
This time, like the last time around, there will be two eliminator matches in the playoffs and two semifinals.
In season 7, the league did away with its zonal format. Each team played the other team twice. The format for the playoffs was also changed as season 6 included three eliminator games and two qualifiers.
As of today, three teams have already qualified for the playoffs, while five sides are still in the fray for the remaining three spots.
Patna Pirates have already secured a place in the first semifinal by leading the points table. They won’t have to play the eliminator as they would straight away play the semifinal against the winner of Eliminator 1 on February 23.
Eliminator 1 would be played between sides ranked third and sixth on the points table. While the second eliminator would be played between the sides ranked fourth and fifth on the points table. The second semifinal would be played between the side ranked second on the points table and the winner of Eliminator 2.
The two other teams, who are now guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, are last season’s runners-up Dabang Delhi and UP Yoddha, who were beaten by Haryana Steelers in the eliminator round back in 2019. But their position in the top six can still change as results for other matches are still awaited.
The organisers released a statement part of which reads:
“After successfully conducting matches on a daily basis and completion of more than 100+ matches, PKL 8 is well on its way to a successful completion of the league. This marks the first indoor & contact sports league in the country successfully conducting the league.”
Anupam Goswami, CEO, Mashal Sports and League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi League, further said:
“We have been able to conduct the league day-on-day with no break – this is a huge achievement and milestone, not just for kabaddi, but for the resumption of all indoor & contact sports. PKL S8 has also seen tough competition amongst teams with the race to the playoffs set do go down to the final day of the league stage.”
