Founded 2003 Number of teams 5 | Region England
Wales
France Television broadcasters Sky Sports | |
The League 1 (rugby league) Play-Offs are a series of playoff games that determine the two teams who are promoted to the Championship. The playoffs have included different number of teams since 2009.
Contents
2003-2007:Top Six
The playoffs were introduced in 2003. The top six sides would play in the playoffs to get to the Grand Ginal. The winners would then be promoted. In 2006 and 2007 the team finishing top would be automatically promoted and the teams finishing between 2nd and 7th would qualify for the playoffs.
2008:Top Five
In 2008 the top two teams gained automatic promotion and five teams would qualify for the playoffs finishing between 3rd and 7th
2009-2011:Top Six
The team finishing top of the league gained automatic promotion to the Championship for the next season, teams finishing between 2nd and 7th would then play in the playoffs and the winner of the Grand Final would be promoted.
2012: Championship expansion
In 2012 the RFL wanted to expand the Championship so the top 4 teams in League 1 were automatically promoted. Teams finishing 4th and 5th would then play each other and the winner would be promoted. No teams were relegated from the Championship.
2013-2014:Top Five
In 2013 and 2014 five teams would compete in the playoffs, however one team was automatically promoted in 2013. 2014 was the first year that there was no automatic promotion and the top five teams would play in the playoffs to earn a place in the Grand Final to be able to be promoted.
2015-Onwards:Promotion and Playoff Finals
In 2015 the top 2 teams play each other in the Promotion Final where the winner will be promoted to the Championship. The loser of the Promotion Final will play in the Playoffs against the team that finished 5th and 3rd will play 4th. The winners will play in the Playoff Final to earn promotion.