2020 Major League Lacrosse season

2020 MLL season
LeagueMajor League Lacrosse
SportField lacrosse
DurationJuly 18 - 26, 2020
Number of teams6
Steinfeld Cup
ChampionsBoston Cannons
  Runners-upDenver Outlaws
Finals [[1]]Bryce Wasserman
MLL seasons

The 2020 Major League Lacrosse season was the 20th season of Major League Lacrosse. Each of the six teams were slated to play a ten-game regular season starting on May 30, until the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the season. On July 2, the league announced teams would play a five-game regular season over the course of a quarantined week in Annapolis, Maryland at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the home of the Chesapeake Bayhawks. The regular season was scheduled to begin play on Saturday, July 18 with a four-team postseason the next weekend on July 25–26.[1]

The Bayhawks entered the season as defending champions. They claimed their sixth title after defeating the Denver Outlaws, 10–9 in the 2019 Steinfeld Cup Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver.

For the second consecutive offseason, the landscape of the league changed dramatically. On January 14, the league announced the switch from a franchise model to a single-entity structure, meaning they will operate all six teams in 2020.[2] On February 10, the league ceased operations of the Dallas Rattlers[3] and moved the players and team staff to a new franchise, the Connecticut Hammerheads.[4] The next week, the league ceased operations of the Atlanta Blaze[5] and relocated the roster and coaches to relaunch the Philadelphia Barrage.[6]

On the last evening of the shortened regular season, an unnamed player reported to team officials exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. All league players were tested the next day. In result, the semifinal games on July 25 were canceled and the Bayhawks and Hammerheads, who were scheduled to play in the semifinal round, backed out of the postseason. The league announced the canceled semifinal game between the top seed Denver Outlaws and fourth seed and Boston Cannons would be pushed to July 26 and act as the championship game.[7] Boston defeated Denver 13–10 to claim their second championship in franchise history.

On December 16, 2020, the league announced that it had merged[8] with its competitor, Premier Lacrosse League.

  1. ^ "Annapolis to host MLL's 20th anniversary season". Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  2. ^ Major League Lacrosse switches to single-entity model
  3. ^ Dallas Rattlers lacrosse team to cease operations for 2020 season
  4. ^ "MLL announces new franchise". Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  5. ^ "MLL announces it will cease operations of the Atlanta Blaze". Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  6. ^ Atlanta Blaze relocate to Philadelphia
  7. ^ "Official announcement on 2020 MLL playoffs". Archived from the original on 2020-07-25. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
  8. ^ "MLL-PLL merger". wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. Retrieved 2021-03-31.