ArenaBowl XXXI was the championship game of the2018 Arena Football League season.[1] The game was broadcast onCBS Sports Network, AFLNow andTwitter. It featured the fourth-seededWashington Valor and the second-seededBaltimore Brigade at theRoyal Farms Arena in Baltimore. It was the first ArenaBowl championship for both teams as they wereexpansion teams in theprevious season. Both teams were owned byTed Leonsis, giving him his second league championship in six weeks following hisWashington Capitals team's victory in theNHL's2018 Stanley Cup Finals. The title sponsor for the game wasBud Light.
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| Date | July 28, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Arena | Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore, Maryland | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Arvell Nelson, Washington | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 8,183 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Benji McDowell | ||||||||||||||||||
| Losing coach | Omarr Smith | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS Sports Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brent Stover,Sherdrick Bonner andAri Wolfe | ||||||||||||||||||
The paid attendance was 8,183, the smallest in ArenaBowl history.
2018 playoffs
editAll four AFL teams qualified for the 2018 playoffs. The playoffs consisted of a two-game home-and-home semifinal series with the winners determined byaggregate score. With one week remaining in the 2018 regular season and a then three-way tie for first, the league announced the ArenaBowl would be hosted by the semifinal winner with the higher average attendance through the season instead of using any tiebreakers or home field advantage based on records.[2]
The #2 seeded Baltimore Brigade defeated the #3 seededPhiladelphia Soul by a combined score of 110–86 with Baltimore winning both games, 57–45 in the first and game two with 54–41. The fourth-seeded Washington Valor upset the top-seededAlbany Empire by a combined score of 103–97, where Albany won game one 57–56 in overtime and game two was won by Washington 47–40.
Once the semifinals were completed, contrary to the previous league statement on the host team, the higher-seeded Baltimore Brigade, not the higher-attended Washington Valor, hosted ArenaBowl XXXI atRoyal Farms Arena. The Valor's home field,Capital One Arena, had already scheduled summer renovations to begin at that time.[3] The Washington Valor upset the Baltimore Brigade by a final score of 69–55.[4]
References
edit- ^"ArenaBowl XXXI Matchup Set: Baltimore Brigade to Host Washington Valor".arenafootball.com. AFL. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. RetrievedJuly 22, 2018.
- ^"Three Teams Enter the Final Weekend Tied for First".arenafootball.com. AFL. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. RetrievedJuly 23, 2018.
- ^Zielonka, Adam (July 22, 2018)."Washington Valor, Baltimore Brigade to meet in ArenaBowl XXXI".The Washington Times. RetrievedJuly 23, 2018.
- ^Fominykh, Katherine (July 28, 2018)."Valor outrun, outsmart Brigade to claim first ArenaBowl title, 69-55".The Baltimore Sun. RetrievedJuly 29, 2018.