The first finalists of IPL 2026 have been decided and once again the first team to enter the title match is the current champion Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Bengaluru, captained by Rajat Patidar, defeated Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in Qualifier-1. This one victory has increased the chances of Bengaluru becoming champion for the second consecutive time and the reason for this is the history of the last 8 seasons, where only the team that won Qualifier-1 became the champion.
Last season under the captaincy of Patidar rcb Had won the IPL title for the first time and now it has reached the IPL final for the second consecutive time. Bengaluru, which came to defend its title this season, was considered among the title contenders from the very beginning and the team also performed in the same manner. In the Qualifier-1 played on May 26 in Dharamshala, Bengaluru, batting first, scored a record score of 254 runs and then bowled out Gujarat for just 162 runs.
Will the winner of Qualifier-1 become the champion?
It is clear in the rules of IPL that the team that wins Qualifier-1 gets direct entry into the finals. Last season also, Bengaluru had made it straight to the finals by defeating Punjab Kings in Qualifier-1. Now he has done this for the second time in a row. This one win and the history of the last 8 consecutive seasons indicate that RCB can become champion again.
This trend has been going on since IPL 2018, where only the team that reached the finals after winning the first qualifier became the champion. In this, Chennai Super Kings did this feat in 2018, 2021 and 2023, whereas Mumbai Indians got success in 2019 and 2020. Apart from these, Gujarat in 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 and RCB itself became champion in 2025. Overall, this has happened 12 times in IPL when the team that won Qualifier-1 became the champion.
RCB will become only the third team
If Bengaluru becomes champion this time too, it will become only the third team after Chennai (2010, 2011) and Mumbai (2019, 2020) to win two consecutive titles. But which team Bengaluru will face in the final will be decided by the next two matches which include Eliminator and Qualifier-2. Gujarat is still in the race, and will face the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals are to compete in the eliminator.
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