Pro Kabaddi 2022: 6 teams with the most playoffs appearances in PKL history
Pro Kabaddi 2022 will start in three weeks at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru. Defending champion Dabang Delhi KC will lock horns with season two winners U Mumba in the opening game of the tournament.
The upcoming season of PKL will be the ninth edition of the world's grandest kabaddi league. The tournament started with eight teams, namely Jaipur Pink Panthers, U Mumba, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Dabang Delhi KC, Telugu Titans, Bengaluru Bulls, and Bengal Warriors back in 2014.
Ahead of its fifth season in 2017, the PKL organizers added four new franchises, namely Tamil Thalaivas, Gujarat Giants, UP Yoddhas and Haryana Steelers to make it a 12-team tournament.
Initially, four teams would qualify for the second round of the season, but from the fifth season onwards, the number was increased to six.
Before Pro Kabaddi 2022 gets underway, here's a list of the top six teams with the most playoff appearances in PKL history.
#6 Puneri Paltan - 4 times
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Puneri Paltan have never won the PKL trophy, but they have reached the Pro Kabaddi playoffs four times in eight seasons. After failing to make it to the Top 4 of the first two seasons, Pune qualified for the second round in seasons three, four and five.
They missed out on a playoff berth in seasons six and seven but sneaked into the Top 6 of the standings last season.
#5 UP Yoddhas - 4 times
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UP Yoddhas joined the Pro Kabaddi League in 2017 and have qualified for the playoffs in all the seasons they have played. However, just like Puneri Paltan, they never made it to the final.
Pardeep Narwal and Co. will be keen to end the UP Yoddhas' championship drought in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
#4 Bengal Warriors - 4 times
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Bengal Warriors failed to make it to the playoffs in the initial two seasons but appeared in the season three semifinals. The Kolkata-based franchise completed a hat-trick of playoff appearances from season five to seven.
They even became the PKL champions in the seventh season. However, they could not make it to the playoffs in the previous edition of Pro Kabaddi.
#3 Bengaluru Bulls - 5 times
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Former PKL winner Bengaluru Bulls have been one of the most consistent teams in Pro Kabaddi history. They qualified for the semifinals in the first two seasons but failed to do so in the next three editions of the league.
Bengaluru have made it to the playoffs in the last three seasons. It will be interesting to see if they can continue their streak in Pro Kabaddi 2022.
#2 U Mumba - 5 times
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Another team to have appeared in the PKL playoffs five times is U Mumba. The Mumbai-based franchise finished runner-up in the first season and then won the PKL trophy in season two.
U Mumba made it to the final in season three as well, but they have managed to finish in the upper half of the points table only twice in the last five seasons.
#1 Patna Pirates - 6 times
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3-time champion Patna Pirates unsurprisingly own the record for the most playoff appearances by a team in PKL history. The Patna-based franchise made it to the playoffs in each of the first five seasons.
After missing out on a place in the second round in seasons six and seven, Patna finished runner-up in the previous edition of PKL.