LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announces the return of world class lacrosse with the launch of the PLL Championship Series Powered by Ticketmaster, a two-week quarantined and fanless tournament scheduled to run from July 25 through August 9. The announcement was first made on NBC’s “Today” by PLL Co-Founder, CMO and Atlas LC midfielder Paul Rabil.
PLL Championship Series will take shape in two parts. Throughout the first week, the league’s seven teams will compete in a fourteen-game group play format to determine seeding for the following week’s single-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament will be crowned the 2020 PLL Champion. All twenty league games will be presented live across NBC, NBCSN or NBC Sports Gold, with all televised games also streaming live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
“The Premier Lacrosse League is excited to be a leader in the return of pro sports this July,” Rabil said. “Although we’ve pivoted our originally scheduled season to a fully quarantined, fanless model, our PLL Championship Series will bring sports fans an innovative and thrilling experience that only the best players in the world can provide. It’s taken a village of top-notch executives to develop, and this is a testament to the forward-thinking prowess that the PLL has become renowned for.”
On “Today,” Rabil added: “We’re hoping that other pro leagues can use this model as an indicator to do something where we can bring sports back that’s medically safe.”
.@PaulRabil Co-founder, Premier Lacrosse League announces a quarantined championship tournament that will air on @NBCSports.
— 3rd Hour of TODAY (@3rdHourTODAY) May 6, 2020
"We have a solution that's both medically safe for our players and all who are involved. That's a 3-week fully quarantined and fan-less event," he says. pic.twitter.com/usY8xtCEqu
To guarantee the safety of tournament participants and staff, the PLL has formed a COVID-19 Medical Committee that will consist of multiple physicians, including infectious disease experts. Throughout the duration of the tournament, the PLL will implement regular COVID-19 preventative measures and restrict all travel in and out of the selected location (venue to be announced at a later date).
“Last month, we made the tough, yet necessary, decision to postpone our 2020 season to ensure the well-being of our players and fans,” PLL Co-Founder and CEO Mike Rabil said. “With the support of our investors, sponsors and our fantastic broadcast partner, NBC Sports, we are delighted to officially unveil the PLL Championship Series. This summer, millions of fans will witness the game’s best players compete for the ultimate prize in an exciting yet, most importantly, safe format. We’ve brought in respected medical experts as the health of our players is of utmost importance.”
The PLL’s 2020 league season was originally scheduled to start May 29 in Foxborough, Mass., but was postponed indefinitely last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are excited to partner with the PLL to broadcast the innovative PLL Championship Series this summer,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports & NBCSN. “With our numerous broadcast, cable, digital and OTT platforms, we are able to present the entirety of this unique tournament — including 20 games in just 16 days — and allow fans to get their fix of the best lacrosse in the world.”
While fans await the PLL Championship Series, they can stream every action-packed game of the 2019 inaugural season with free access to the NBC Sports Gold Premier Lacrosse League Pass through May 31, 2020. Click here for more information.