It's the most exciting time of the EFL Championship calendar -- the playoffs.
With 46 league games in the books, four teams will now compete in the playoffs for the third and final Premier League promotion spot for the 2023-24 campaign.
Burnley became the first team to promote after winning the league under first-year manager Vincent Kompany, who formerly captained Manchester City. The Clarets spent just one year in the Championship after relegating from England's top-flight league just last season.
Sheffield United penned their name after Burnley by claiming second place with 91 points, 10 off the Clarets' 101 in first. The Blades last played in the EPL in 2020-21 when they finished bottom of the 20-team table.
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So, which four teams will duke it out with glory and millions in prize money at stake? Here's what to know:
Which teams are in the 2023 EFL Championship Playoffs?
The four teams, who finished from third place to sixth in the season standings, are as follows:
- Third place: Luton Town (80 points)
- Fourth place: Middlesbrough (75 points)
- Fifth place: Coventry City (70 points)
- Sixth place: Sunderland (69 points)
Seventh-place Blackburn, a former EPL champion, also finished the year with 69 points, but lost out to Sunderland due to goal difference (plus-13 to minus-2). Eighth-place Millwall finished with 68, but blew a 3-1 lead to Blackburn on the final matchday Monday and lost 4-3, thus ending their hopes of playing in the EPL for the first time ever.
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What's the schedule for the 2023 EFL Championship Playoffs?
The format of the playoffs will see third place vs. sixth place and fourth vs. fifth compete in a two-leg showdown -- each team gets a home game -- to determine a winner via aggregate.
The winners of each will then compete in the final, which is only one game. Here's the format for 2023:
- Luton Town vs. Sunderland First Leg: Saturday, May 13 at 12:30 p.m. ET
- Middlesbrough vs. Coventry First Leg: Sunday, May 14 at 7 a.m. ET
- Sunderland vs. Luton Town Second Leg: Tuesday, May 16 at 3 p.m. ET
- Coventry vs. Middlesbrough Second Leg: Wednesday, May 17 at 3 p.m. ET
The final will then take place on Saturday, May 27 at 11:45 a.m. ET.
How much money does the EFL Championship playoff winner make?
Just having the opportunity to play in the biggest league in the world is one benefit of winning the playoffs, but a massive financial boost also arrives with it.
Dubbed "The Richest Game in Football," the playoff winner receives financial injections from multiple avenues: TV rights, sponsorship deals and new revenue streams, among others.
Though the exact amount varies per year, reports suggested that 2022 playoff-winner Nottingham Forest received around 170 million pounds. Such a lucrative total can go a long way in helping a newly promoted team recruit talent to avoid immediate relegation, which is common for at least one of the three clubs that go up every season.
What are the storylines for the four teams in the 2023 EFL Championship Playoffs?
As soon as the four-team bracket is determined, one of the first things the football spectrum gravitates to involves which team has the best storyline of the bunch. Nottingham Forest in 2022 became a compelling story given their history as Champions League winners in the late 1970s before being away from the EPL since the 1998-99 season.
So, what are the storylines for the four teams in the 2023 bracket?
First, third-place Luton Town have never played in the modern iteration of the Premier League when it was created in the 1992-93 season. The Hatters were relegated from the then-first division of English football a year prior. The town itself has a population of under 300,000. USMNT goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, on loan from Nottingham Forest, has been a key figure.
Fourth-place Middlesbrough last played in the EPL in 2016-17, when they finished 19th in their first season after promoting. This year didn't start so well for the Boro, but first-time manager Michael Carrick, former star with Manchester United, revived their hopes by implementing an improved system that led to Chuba Akpom winning the league's Golden Boot for the most goals scored.
Fifth-place Coventry City were one of the founding members of the modern Premier League and stayed there until 2000-01. However, the Sky Blues relegated that year and fell down as low as League Two, the fourth tier of English football. They have not been in the Premier League since the turn of the century. Swedish forward Viktor Gyokeres logged 21 goals and 10 assists in 46 games and will be instrumental in their ambitions.
Sixth-place Sunderland were in the Premier League from 2007 to 2017 until facing consecutive relegations from the Championship to League One and dealt with countless financial woes and managerial changes since. But after promoting to the Championship via the League One playoffs last year, the Black Cats have the chance to make it consecutive promotions while reigniting their rivalry with fellow northeastern club Newcastle, a rising force in the EPL. Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo, 20, has become a potential rising star in the process.
