Three cities, 12 teams and 132 high-octane matches of kabaddi action later, season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi team comes down to the next 5 games. Defending champions Puneri Paltan are out of the playoff picture, and come December 29, the PKL will crown a new champion from the six teams battling it out in Pune.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the PKL 11 playoffs:
Who are the contenders to win PKL 11?
Haryana Steelers: Table-toppers and last season's runners up - chasing a first title in franchise history.
Dabang Delhi: PKL 8 champions, with constant playoff appearances.
UP Yoddhas: Making their fourth playoff appearance in seven seasons of existence, also chasing a first title.
Patna Pirates: The most successful team in PKL history (3-time winners) but looking to win a first title in six years.
U Mumba: PKL 2 champions, enjoying a resurgence after dismal last three seasons.
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Seeking to join Patna Pirates as the most successful PKL franchise, last champions in PKL 9.
How do the PKL playoffs work?
It's familiar enough for Indian sports afficionados now - with all top franchise leagues like the IPL and ISL also following the six-team playoff format.
Haryana Steelers and Dabang Delhi, by virtue of finishing first and second in the table respectively, make a direct entry into the semifinals. Their opponents will be decided two eliminators, taking place between the teams that finished third to sixth.
Third-placed UP Yoddhas faces Jaipur Pink Panthers (6th) in the first eliminator, with the winner of this contest facing Haryana Steelers in the semifinal. Patna Pirates (4th) face U Mumba (5th) in the other eliminator, with the winner taking on Dabang Delhi in the semifinal.
PKL 11 playoffs schedule:
December 26: Eliminator 1: UP Yoddhas vs Jaipur Pink Panthers at 8 pm, Eliminator 2: Patna Pirates vs U Mumba at 9 pm.
December 27: Haryana Steelers vs winner of Eliminator 1 at 8 pm, Dabang Delhi vs winner of Eliminator 2 at 9 pm.
December 29: Final at 8 pm.
What do the playoff matchups look like?
UP Yoddhas vs Jaipur Pink Panthers - winner faces Haryana Steelers
Jaipur Pink Panthers have only managed the single victory against the other teams who made it to the playoffs this season, and as luck would have had it - it came against the UP Yoddhas. Both teams boast of excellent lead raiders with more than decent defensive prowess. It's no surprise then, that the games between the two teams were tight affairs, JPP winning 33-30 on November 5, before the Yoddhas had their revenge on November 28, winning 33-29.
The Panthers are still heavily reliant on Arjun Deshwal who's the third-best raider in the league with 228 points. Ankush Rathee and Reza Mirbagheri lead their defence, but they'll have a tough time stopping the Yoddhas who can attack on multiple fronts via Bhavani Rajput, Gagan Gowda and Bharat Hooda. Coaches Jasveer Singh and Upendra Malik have fashioned a competent defence around Sumit Sangwan and Hitesh, which makes this contest incredibly hard to call. The Yoddhas have a slight advantage when it comes to scoring, and if they shut down Deshwal (which is easier said than done), Jaipur don't have an impressive plan B. However, coach Sanjeev Baliyan has been there and done it twice (winning PKL 3 with Patna Pirates and PKL 9 with the Panthers) and he might have an ace up his sleeve.
The issue for either team, of course, is that their reward for victory is a match against table-toppers Haryana Steelers. Manpreet Singh has continued with his defence-first approach, and it's incredibly hard to beat his side. There's some hope after the Steelers lost to the Yoddhas recently, but that was after the table-toppers had already sealed their semifinal spot and taken their eye off the ball. The spreading out of raiding responsibilities (Vinay, Shivan Patare) as well as defensive onus (Mohammadreza Shadloui, Rahul Sethpal) has meant that's its nigh-on impossible to craft specific strategies against the Steelers. After a runners-up finish last season, it's very likely that Manpreet Singh will complete his coaching journey with the title this year - all thanks to the strength of his all-round collective.
Patna Pirates vs U Mumba - winner faces Dabang Delhi
It's the poster-game for PKL's focus on youth this season, as Patna Pirates take on U Mumba is a battle of franchises that have platformed new-ish faces this season. In 22 games this season, the Pirates have scored 125 points more than U Mumba, topping the league with 884 points. Yet, when it comes to a straight fight between the two, it's U Mumba's Iranian coach Gholamreza Mazandarani who outsmarts Narender Redhu as he's won both games against the Pirates this season - which played a large part in their qualification for the playoffs.
The Pirates are a scoring machine, with Devank the league's top-scoring raider (280 pts), coupled with Ayan Lohchab's 172 points. Ankit Jaglan, Shubham Shinde and Deepak Singh handle defensive duties for the side, but when things get tough, it's often the Pirates' defence that can't keep up. They conceded points at crucial junctures in both losses against U Mumba, and that can prove their downfall. 19% of Ajit Chouhan's impressive 180 points this season have come against the Pirates, and he clearly has their number. This contest could hinge around this battle, as U Mumba have limited the Devank-Ayan combination better than the rest of the league.
The triumph of youth will face up to one of the most threatening sides in PKL history - Dabang Delhi have broken the single-season record for consecutive unbeaten games (14) - and one wonders what records could have been achieved had Naveen Kumar been fit for the first seven games of the season. In his absence at the start of the season, Ashu Malik came to the fore and has even gone on to eclipse the Naveen Express, with his 256 points the second-best in the league. Coach Joginder Narwal also has one of the best defenders in the league in Yogesh Dahiya and will be relying on him to marshal a somewhat underperforming defence. That defence struggled in losses to the Pirates and U Mumba earlier in the season, and a quest for a first title since season 8 could come undone if Dabang Delhi aren't on their A-game.