Premier League Lacrosse (PLL) Championship Series Odds and Betting Preview

• The sophomore season of the Premier Lacrosse League will be contested in a tournament format July 25th-Aug. 9th
• The reigning champion Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club are the +315 favorites to defend their title. Should you go with the chalk, or look elsewhere for value?
• Analysis of the odds and predictions on outcomes can be found below

Perhaps you didn’t originally notice that the sophomore campaign of the Premier Lacrosse League was put on hiatus due to COVID-19.

That’s entirely understandable. There was a lot going on in the sports world. People were busy.

Pandemics tend to have that impact on society.

No worries, though. There’s good news today for fans of field lacrosse. The PLL is back and ready to roll.

The second season of this seven-team pro outfit will be contested in a tournament format from July 25th-Aug. 9th. The entire competition will take place at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, not far from Salt Lake City.

Oddsmakers have established the defending champion Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club as the +315 chalk to maintain their reign.

Premier Lacrosse League 2020 Championship Series Odds

Odds taken July 21st

Originally, the PLL was to begin its season on May 29th, with a championship game slated to take place sometime in September.

Premier Lacrosse League Primer

The concept of the PLL was born in September of 2018. It’s the brainchild of pro lacrosse player Paul Rabil and his brother Mike. Paul Rabril plays in the PLL for Atlas LC

The league launched its inaugural campaign on June 1st, 2019. They played a 14-week season consisting of tour stops in 12 major-market cities across the USA.

There were six founding teams. Waterdogs LC was added as an expansion franchise in 2019.

Rosters feature more than two dozen American and international players. There are 10 winners of the Teewarton Award, NCAA lacrosse’s version of the Heisman Trophy, dotted across the league as well.

The PLL utilizes several differences from traditional field lacrosse designed to increase offense and pace of play. The normal 110-yard field is shortened by 10 yards. The length of games and shot clock duration are also lesser than in traditional matches.

The MVP of the PLL wins the Jim Brown Award. Aside from being perhaps the NFL’s greatest running back when he starred for the Cleveland Browns and a star of the Dirty Dozen, Brown was a two-time All-American lacrosse player at Syracuse.

PLL Championship Series Format

Practices began Tuesday in preparation for the PLL Championship Series. Similar to the MLS, NBA and NHL, the PLL has opted to go with a hub format in the hopes of creating a COVID-19 free bubble.

Players and staff will be tested regularly for COVID-19 and sequestered under strict quarantine during their down time away from the stadium. Games will be played without spectators.

The Whips quest for a repeat has begun. pic.twitter.com/EF6jCoXgzS

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) July 21, 2020

The series begins with a 14-game group play competition to determine seeding for the knockout round. The first-place finisher in group play earns a bye to the semi-finals.

The other six teams play single-elimination matches to determine the three remaining semifinals. Semifinal winners meet in the championship game on Aug. 9th.

Whip It Good

The Whips, as their fans know the Whipsnakes, have Rambo on their side. Are you really going to bet against Rambo?

Okay, so it’s not that Rambo. However, Whipsnakes star Matt Rambo was the league’s inaugural MVP. Much like Hollywood’s version of Rambo, he’s an attackman who gives those around him a helping hand. Rambo led the PLL in points (42) and assists (23).

New Year. Same Goal. 👑 pic.twitter.com/yfkrLeadXJ

— Maryland Whipsnakes (@PLLWhipsnakes) July 21, 2020

Rambo was also named PLL Attackman of the Year. Teammate Matt Ehrhardt won Midfielder of the Year recognition.

Midfielder Mike Chanenchuk led the league with seven two-point goals and the Whips registered a PLL-best 60 two-point tallies. Like the three-point field goal in basketball, there is a two-point arc that is situated 15 yards from the center of the net.

Archers Get Acclimatized

Salt Lake City is basically home turf for Archers players Will Manny, Marcus Holman and Adam Ghitelman.

All three work as assistant coaches with the Utah’s Utes lacrosse team. Last month, to prep for this tournament, they brought seven members of the Archers roster to Utah for a week-long retreat.

Salt Lake City and the surrounding area ranges between 4,000 and 4,500 feet above sea level. Making that adjustment can take days for people not used to the thinner air at such elevation. The Archers see this as a distinct advantage in their corner.

.@GrantAment’s passing is gonna cause problems this summer 🥵 pic.twitter.com/Yi0BbENmka

— TLN 🥍 (@LacrosseNetwork) July 10, 2020

Holman (23) and Manny (22) were 1-2 in the PLL in goals last season. They added Grant Ament, the first overall pick in the 2020 PLL college draft to this offense as well.

While at Penn State, Ament set school career marks for points (274) and assists (183). Both are also Big Ten records. In 2019, Ament established NCAA, Big Ten and Nittany Lions records for assists in a single season (98) while breaking the NCAA tournament record with 25 points.

Where’s the Value?

Redwoods LC isn’t a spectacular, star-laden club but they are solid in attack and on defense. Chaos (7-3) actually finished atop the regular-season standings a year ago. In a COVID-19 world, maybe Chaos is the smart-money play.

We’re back. pic.twitter.com/b5L6SMCKBf

— California Redwoods (@PLLRedwoods) July 21, 2020

No, let’s go with the Archers and not just because they share a name with a really bad Batman villain. Already a serious contender, that training session in Utah should give them just enough of a leg up to hold the edge.

The Whipsnakes lost just enough in the expansion draft to cost them a repeat.

Pick: Archers (+375).