Since its inception in 2014, Pro Kabaddi has been instrumental in revolutionizing the sport in the country. The eight seasons of the league have witnessed six champions with Patna Pirates being the only team to win the title on more than one occasion. Jaipur Pink Panthers, U Mumba, Bengaluru Bulls, Bengal Warriors, Dabang Delhi K.C. and Puneri Paltan are the other five teams who have been crowned the PKL champions so far.
Here’s the list of all the Pro Kabaddi winners
PKL Season 1 winner: Jaipur Pink Panthers
Jaipur Pink Panthers were the inaugural champions of Pro Kabaddi in 2014. Topping the league stage of the tournament with 10 wins from 14 matches, the Navneet Gautam-led side beat U Mumba by a 35-24 margin in the final. Maninder Singh starred for Jaipur with 10 points in the final and finished as the third-highest Raid Point scorer with 130 points after Anup Kumar (155) and Rahul Chaudhari (151).
PKL Season 2 winner: U Mumba
After missing out on the title in the inaugural edition, U Mumba made their second final in a row in Season 2 and edged past Manjeet Chhillar’s Bengaluru Bulls 36-30 in the grand finale of Pro Kabaddi in 2015. In a tightly contested final, Shabeer Bappu’s Super Raid in the dying moments sealed the win for U Mumba. Anup Kumar marshalled his troops to the title win with a complete all-round effort. U Mumba scored the most Do-or-Die raid points (81) and Tackle Points (196) in Season 2.
PKL Season 3 winner: Patna Pirates
Patna Pirates were crowned champions of PKL Season 3 in 2016 after beating U Mumba 31-28 in a cliffhanger. Season 3 saw the emergence of young Pardeep Narwal as he topped the raid charts for the season with 116 Raid Points. Overall, Patna scored 324 Raid Points throughout the season with Telugu Titans’ 254 being the second-best. Such was Patna’s dominance that they also ended up inflicting the most All-Outs (30) in Season 3.
PKL Season 4 winner: Patna Pirates
Patna Pirates won their second successive PKL title in Season 4 of Pro Kabaddi after defeating Jaipur Pink Panthers 37-29 in the final. Pardeep Narwal’s 16 Raid Points was the highlight of the final as the ‘Dubki King’ steered his team to back-to-back Pro Kabaddi titles. Pardeep Narwal won the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) for the season for his effort of 133 raid points from 16 matches, including five Super 10s. The defensive unit was led by the brilliance of Iranian Fazel Atrachali who emerged as the best defender of the season with 52 Tackle Points.
PKL Season 5 winner: Patna Pirates
Patna Pirates created history in Season 5 by becoming the first team to win a hat-trick of Pro Kabaddi titles. Patna Pirates steamrolled Gujarat Giants in the PKL final of 2017 to win the match 55-38. Season 5 saw Pardeep Narwal etch his name into the history books by scoring the most number of points by a raider (369) in a single Pro Kabaddi season. Patna Pirates ended the season with a total of 1050 points - the most by any team in Pro Kabaddi. Patna also inflicted a whopping 55 All-Outs on their opponents throughout the season, 19 more than the next-best Gujarat Giants.
PKL Season 6 winner: Bengaluru Bulls
Bengaluru Bulls won their maiden Pro Kabaddi trophy in Season 6 of Pro Kabaddi in 2018 beating Gujarat Giants 38-33 in the final. Pawan Sehrawat led the charge for his team with 22 points in the match - the most by any player in a Pro Kabaddi final. The season, in fact, belonged to Pawan as he won the MVP Award for scoring 271 Raid Points overall with an average of over 11 points per match.
PKL Season 7 winner: Bengal Warriors
Bengal Warriors edged past Dabang Delhi K.C. 39-34 to win their first Pro Kabaddi title in Season 7 held in 2019. Bengal Warriors displayed an all-round effort in the final led by Iranian Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh, who scored 10 points in the match. Maninder Singh was the best raider for Bengal Warriors during the season with 205 Raid Points while their defensive unit was led by the corner duo of Baldev Singh and Rinku Narwal, who accumulated 66 and 64 Tackle Points respectively.
PKL Season 8 winner: Dabang Delhi K.C.
Dabang Delhi K.C. beat three-time champions Patna Pirates 37-36 to win their maiden Pro Kabaddi title in Season 8. Riding on Naveen Kumar and all-rounder Vijay's super 10, Dabang Delhi K.C. edged past Patna Pirates in an intriguing final that was decided off the final raid. Star raider Naveen Kumar was adjusted MVP of Pro Kabaddi Season 8 for scoring 207 raid points across 17 matches.
PKL Season 9 winner: Jaipur Pink Panthers
Jaipur Pink Panthers won their second PKL title in Season 9 of Pro Kabaddi after defeating Puneri Paltan 33-29 in the 2022 final. Star raider Arjun Deshwal and defender Ankush were the standout performers in the 2022 edition for Jaipur Pink Panthers. Arjun Deshwal accumulated 296 raid points while Ankush registered 89 tackle points to guide the Pink Panthers to their second PKL title.
PKL Season 10 winner: Puneri Paltan
Puneri Paltan beat Haryana Steelers in the 10th edition to lift their maiden Pro Kabaddi League Trophy. The low-scoring final featured a scoreline of 28-25. The Paltan's all-rounder, Aslam Mustafa bagged a total of four points with two successful raids and a successful tackle.
Featured photo: PKL / Website
