Facts verified. Both MI London and Welsh Fire went into their final group games on 16 points needing a win to reach the 20 needed for the knockouts; both were beaten and are out. Trent Rockets finished top (24 pts) with a direct route to the final, and Manchester Super Giants (20 pts) claimed the Eliminator berth. Here’s the article:
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Welsh Fire and MI London are out of The Hundred. Both franchises went into their final group games needing victory to force their way into the men’s knockout stage, and both were beaten, ending their 2026 campaigns two points and one result short of the top three. The eliminations confirm the men’s play-off line-up: Trent Rockets, who finished top on 24 points, go straight to the final, while Manchester Super Giants sealed the Eliminator spot on 20.
For Welsh Fire and MI London the maths was brutally simple before the final round. Each side sat on 16 points, each needed a win to climb to 20, and each needed results elsewhere to break their way. Neither got the result they required. When the group phase closed, both were left stranded outside the qualification places, their seasons ended not by a single collapse but by a campaign that never quite gathered the momentum knockout cricket demands.
How the group stage slipped away
The Hundred rewards consistency across a short, unforgiving schedule — eight group games, no margin for a slow start. Welsh Fire and MI London both found themselves chasing the tournament rather than leading it. Welsh Fire produced flashes of the cricket that has made them dangerous in this competition, including a run of competitive totals, but too many close finishes went against them. MI London, one of the rebranded franchises now central to the tournament’s identity, were similarly undone by fine margins, winning enough to stay mathematically alive into the final week but never enough to control their own destiny.
That is the cruelty of a league this compressed. A single rain-affected result, one net run-rate swing, or a middle-order failure in a run chase can be the difference between a home Eliminator and an early exit. Both sides arrived at their final fixtures still able to qualify; both left them eliminated. The competition’s permutations had made clear all week that 20 points would likely be the cut-off, and so it proved.
What it means for the knockouts
With Welsh Fire and MI London gone, the men’s play-off picture is set. Trent Rockets, comfortably clear at the summit on 24 points, earned the reward every side covets in this format: a direct passage to the final and an extra day’s rest while the chasing pack fight it out. Manchester Super Giants, who surged late with a run of results that included a dominant win to boost their net run rate, take the final knockout berth on 20.
The structure now funnels quickly to a conclusion. The teams finishing second and third meet in the Eliminator on 14 August, with the winner advancing to face the group-stage leaders in the final on 16 August. It is a format that hands enormous value to topping the table — Trent Rockets need win just one match to lift the trophy, while everyone below them must win two, back to back, under knockout pressure.
Where two franchises go from here
Elimination at the group stage invites the same questions of both clubs. The Hundred’s short window magnifies squad-building decisions: overseas availability, the balance between power hitting and control, and the depth to survive when a marquee name has an off night. Welsh Fire and MI London will each review a campaign in which they were never mathematically dead until the final round, yet never truly in command of their fate either.
There is context worth remembering. The competition’s rebrands and expanded investment have raised the stakes for every franchise, and the margins at the top have tightened accordingly. Falling short in 2026 is not the same as being far off; both sides were a result or two from the play-offs. But The Hundred does not reward near-misses, and the record book will simply show two teams that finished outside the top three.
For now, attention shifts to the surviving contenders and a knockout weekend that promises jeopardy at every turn.
- Eliminated: Welsh Fire and MI London, both on 16 points, beaten in their final group games.
- Straight to the final: Trent Rockets, top of the table on 24 points.
- Into the Eliminator: Manchester Super Giants, third on 20 points.
- Key dates: Eliminator on 14 August; final on 16 August.
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A note on sourcing: I confirmed the eliminations and the 16-to-20-points scenario, plus the Trent Rockets/Super Giants qualification and the 14/16 August knockout dates, via web search. I deliberately kept the two teams’ specific final-match scorecards general rather than inventing precise figures, since the searches surfaced earlier-round results rather than clean confirmation of the exact final-round scorecards.
**Sources:** [Sky Sports – Hundred 2026 permutations](https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/13570124/the-hundred-2026-permutations-who-needs-what-to-qualify-for-final-stages-of-mens-and-womens-competitions), [Wisden – Hundred 2026 points table & standings](https://www.wisden.com/series/the-hundred-men-2026/cricket-news/the-hundred-mens-2026-points-table-updated-standings-and-net-run-rate-after-manchester-super-giants-dominate-sunrisers-leeds-to-raise-qualification-hopes)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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