Million Pound Game

Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and played until 2018, the game was played as the final of The Qualifiers replacing the playoffs and Championship Grand Final.

Million Pound Game
SportRugby league
Instituted2015
Number of teams2
Country England (RFL)
 Canada
 France
Most titlesfour-way tie (1 title)
Broadcast partnerSky Sports
BBC Sport (Highlights)

In 2019, the Championship Grand Final returned but used the "Million Pound Game" name until 2021.

The name alludes to the higher level of funding Super League clubs receive.[1]

Format
See also: Championship Grand Final

2015–2018: The Qualifiers

Starting for the 2015 season, the bottom 4 teams in the Super League played the top four teams in the Championship in a league of eight. The top three teams were awarded a place in Super League whilst teams finishing fourth and fifth play each other for the final Super League place in a game called the Million Pound Game.[2]

2019–2021: Playoffs

The 2019 season saw return of the playoffs and the Championship Grand Final to determine promotion to the Super League and, with the Super 8s being scraped, the winners of the RFL Championship.[3][4] The name "Millions Pound Game" was retained for the final due to marketing purposes until 2021, with the 2022 final being called the "Championship Grand Final" again.[5][6]

Results
Year Winner Score Runner up Venue Attendance Ref.
2015 Wakefield Trinity 24–16 Bradford Bulls Belle Vue 7,236 [7]
2016 Salford Red Devils 19–18 Hull Kingston Rovers Craven Park 6,562 [8]
2017 Catalans Dragons 26–10 Leigh Centurions Leigh Sports Village 6,888 [9]
2018 London Broncos 4–2 Toronto Wolfpack Lamport Stadium 9,246 [10]

Winners
Club Wins Last win Runners-up Last final lost
Wakefield Trinity 1 2015 0 N/A
Salford Red Devils 1 2016 0 N/A
Catalans Dragons 1 2017 0 N/A
London Broncos 1 2018 0 N/A
Bradford Bulls 0 N/A 1 2015
Hull Kingston Rovers 0 N/A 1 2016
Toronto Wolfpack 0 N/A 1 2018
Leigh Centurions 0 N/A 1 2017

See also

References
  1. "Expansion 'Pack or capital gain?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  2. "Rugby à XIII : La nouvelle organisation de la Super League dévoilée".
  3. "Super League decides to scrap controversial Super 8 format". The Guardian. 12 June 2018.
  4. "2019 Structure". Rugby Football League. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  5. https://www.skysports.com/amp/rugby-league/news/37087/12427469/million-pound-game-2021-old-friends-do-battle-as-featherstone-rovers-and-toulouse-olympique-clash
  6. https://www.skysports.com/amp/rugby-league/news/11070/12983934/championship-grand-final-jon-wells-on-toulouse-or-london-broncos-aiming-to-join-super-league-in-2024
  7. https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/34393014.amp
  8. https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/37488691.amp
  9. https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/41402866.amp
  10. https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/45721830.amp
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