2023 XFL Championship Game
Arlington Renegades
(4–6)		 DC Defenders
(9–1)
35 26
Head coach:
Bob Stoops		 Head coach:
Reggie Barlow
1234 Total
ARL 146123 35
DC 06146 26
DateMay 13, 2023
Kickoff time8:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-4)
StadiumAlamodome, San Antonio, Texas
MVPLuis Perez, Arlington
FavoriteDC by 8.5
RefereeMichael VanderVelde
Attendance22,754[1]
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
AnnouncersTom Hart, Greg McElroy, Cole Cubelic and Katie George
Nielsen ratings0.8 (1.44 million viewers)

The 2023 XFL Championship Game was an American football game on May 13, 2023, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.[2][3][4] The contest determined the champion of the 2023 XFL season and was played between the South Division title winners Arlington Renegades and the North Division title winners DC Defenders.[5] The game began at 8:00 p.m. EDT and was aired on ABC.[2]

Background

The game was the first and only championship game of the second stint of the XFL as a standalone league. In the first stint of the XFL, there was only one championship game held, the Million Dollar Game in 2001. The league folded shortly after the game was played. A championship game was scheduled for the end of the 2020 XFL season but was forbidden from taking place due to stay-at-home orders and gathering restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the premature end of the 2020 season after five weeks of play.[6][7]

Host selection

On February 19, 2023, the Alamodome was selected as host for the first edition of the championship.[2][8] The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat venue in the southeastern fringe of Downtown San Antonio. Opened in May 1993, the stadium is home to one of the XFL's own teams, San Antonio Brahmas. The stadium is also known as the home stadium for the UTSA Roadrunners football program and the annual Alamo Bowl.

XFL playoff

The four teams competing in the Playoff clinched their spot during their regular season during different times of the overall season of the league. The top two placed teams in each division would face against each other for the division title. Whichever division title game team won, would then face the other champion from the other division in the XFL Championship Game. Both DC Defenders and Houston Roughnecks clinched their spot after Week 8.[9] Lastly, both Arlington Renegades and Seattle Sea Dragons clinched their spot after Seattle won their last regular season game and San Antonio lost their last regular season game. [10] Controversy began as St. Louis Battlehawks were eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the season and had a higher overall record than Arlington Renegades (yet being in two separate divisions), the Battlehawks placed third in the North division after failing the tie-breakers against the Seattle Sea Dragons.[11][12]

The Division Finals were played on April 29 and April 30, 2023. In the South Division Final title game, Arlington Renegades upset Houston Roughnecks as 6.5 point underdogs, 26–11. In the North Division Final title game, DC Defenders defeated Seattle Sea Dragons 37–21.[13][14]

Bracket

Division Finals
April 29–30, 2023 		XFL Championship
May 13, 2023
      
N1 DC Defenders 37
N2 Seattle Sea Dragons 21
N1 DC Defenders 26
S2 Arlington Renegades 35
S1 Houston Roughnecks 11
S2 Arlington Renegades 26
This bracket:

Teams

Arlington Renegades

Main article: 2023 Arlington Renegades season

Arlington Renegades finished their second overall season under head coach Bob Stoops, going 4–6 and advancing to their first playoff berth to the division title game against Houston Roughnecks (South Division leaders).[15][16]

DC Defenders

Main article: 2023 DC Defenders season

DC Defenders finished their second overall season under head coach Reggie Barlow, going 9–1 and advancing to their first playoff berth to the division title game against Seattle Sea Dragons.[17][18]

Game summary

Scoring summary

2023 XFL Championship Game
Period 1 2 34Total
Arlington Renegades 14 6 12335
DC Defenders 0 6 14626

at Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas

Game information

Statistics

Aftermath

Renegades quarterback Luis Perez, previously named to the all-XFL team, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

After the game, ABC has officially announced that the league would return in February 2024, featuring the same eight teams that competed during the 2023 season. On December 31, 2023, the XFL merged with a competing league, the United States Football League, to form the United Football League, thereby contracting four of the teams from each league but keeping each entity alive as separate conferences; on February 5, 2024, the league announced along with its schedule that separate USFL and XFL Championship Games would continue to be held as part of its playoff structure, with the winners of each moving on to the 2024 UFL Championship. [19][20]

References

  1. ^ "XFL 2023 Season Attendance Numbers". Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Benjamin, Cody (19 February 2023). "XFL 2023 championship game: San Antonio's Alamodome will host league's title game in May". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023 XFL Championship Game to Be Held at San Antonio's Alamodome on May 13". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "San Antonio to host inaugural XFL Championship Game". XFL.com. February 19, 2023. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Smith, Michael Dave (May 1, 2023). "D.C. Defenders to face Arlington Renegades in XFL championship". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Florio, Mike (13 March 2020). "XFL will release to NFL or CFL players with a "credible contractual offer" - ProFootballTalk". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
  7. ^ "XFL suspends all operations, lays off employees". ESPN. April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Karlis, Michael (20 February 2023). "San Antonio's Alamodome to host first ever XFL Championship game in May". San Antonio Current. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  9. ^ Inabinett, Mark (9 April 2023). "XFL Week 8 roundup: D.C., Houston clinch playoff spots". AL.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. ^ Inabinett, Mark (23 April 2023). "XFL Week 10 roundup: Fifth tiebreaker goes to Seattle". AL.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  11. ^ Hebel, Alli (24 April 2023). "St. Louis Battlehawks eliminated from playoff contention after tiebreakers". KSDK. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  12. ^ Palermo, Gregg (24 April 2023). "St. Louis misses out on XFL playoffs due to tiebreaker rules". Spectrum News. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  13. ^ Josh Lewin. "XFL Rewind: Week 11 Blog (Division Championship Games)". XFL. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  14. ^ ESPN Staff (April 30, 2023). "XFL semifinals: Highlights, game recaps, top players, news". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Marrion, Jack (April 29, 2023). "Renegades take down Roughnecks for XFL South title". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. ^ "Arlington Renegades advance to XFL championship game". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  17. ^ "DC Defenders Earn Spot in First-Ever XFL Championship". WRC-TV. April 30, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "DC Defenders head to XFL championship game". WUSA (TV). May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  19. ^ "UFL unveils 43-game inaugural season schedule". ESPN.com. 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  20. ^ Stansell, Jake (2024-02-09). "Stallions hold social event at Protective Stadium ahead of upcoming UFL season". WBRC. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
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