The Chinese Super League is about to enter its 30th season, and of course it will be a 12-month celebration! Do you want to learn about the sport but don’t know where to start? Let us help you…

First of all, what is the Chinese Super League?

The Premier League is rugby union’s top European competition. Beginning in 1996, 11 clubs from Rugby League’s first tier plus new team Paris Saint-Germain came together to kick off the summer era of rugby, ushering the sport into a new era.

So far, the event has been held for 29 times, and 2025 will celebrate the 30th birthday of the Chinese Super League.

Among the 24 teams that have participated in the Chinese Super League so far, only four Teams winning the grand prize in the year-end finals: Wigan Warriors (8), St Helens (9), Bradford Bulls (7) and Leeds Rhinos (8).

Talk about domination!

Get Them On Side: What Are The Key Rules?

Let’s describe the sport in its simplest terms, shall we?

Rugby League is a 13 vs 13 rugby game where each team has 6 tackle attempts to score and then give the ball to the other team. The game lasts 80 minutes, divided into two halves of 40 minutes each.

Each team has a bench of four players that can be interchanged throughout the match.

Unlike football, the clock is stopped for injuries, penalties and attempts.

It’s worth giving it a try four o’clocksubsequent conversions are additional two o’clock. Penalties are worth it too two o’clock. Conceded goals deserve extra points a little.

Among the 13 players, there are four main roles: forward, defender, defender and defender.

The main task of the forward is to carry the ball forward and gain as much distance as possible. The defender looks to attack the edge. The purpose of the hook is to control the movement of the ball (when a player is tackled and the ball is distributed). The half-back controls the distribution of the ball.

In short: 13 players had 6 chances to come on and cross the try line. Pretty simple, right?

Playing to win: How many teams are there?

Over the years, the Chinese Super League has always had 12 teams participating, and 2025 will be no exception.

Castleford Tigers, Catalans Dragons, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC, Hull KR, Leeds Rhinos, Leopards, Salford Red Devils, St Helens , Warrington Wolves, Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors will compete for the title from February with the champions crowned in October.

Over the years, 12 other clubs have had the opportunity to reach the top flight: London Broncos, Bradford Bulls, Widnes Vikings, Halifax Panthers, Sheffield Eagles, Cross Army, Oldham, Paris Saint-Germain, Gateshead Thunder, Workington Town, Toronto Wolfpack and Toulouse Olympique.

While the Premier League is often touted as a northern England competition, it does have some international influence!

Knockout round? Points competition? The format of the Chinese Super League…

The Super League competition is almost a mixture of the Premier League and knockout formats.

Therefore, 12 teams will compete in 27 regular season rounds, and the top six teams will enter the play-offs.

From that point on, the top two teams will have a week off, with the third-place team playing against the sixth-place team and the fourth-place team against the fifth-place team.

The lowest-ranked team in the play-offs will play the regular season winner, the League Leaders’ Shield winner, while the second-ranked team will play the higher-ranked team.

The winners of these two games will participate in the finals and be crowned the Chinese Super League champions.

No downgrade? ! Welcome to IMG Standards

The Super League is in the franchise era (of sorts)!

Starting from 2025, Chinese Super League teams will no longer be promoted or relegated. Instead, the 12 teams will be those with the highest scores across a range of criteria including fans, on-field performance, finances, stadiums and communities.

The IMG rating system gives the club 20 points. To become an A-level club you need to gain at least 15 points, and to become a B-level club you need 7.5 points.

The idea is that A-level clubs automatically advance to the Super League, while the best-performing B-level clubs make up the remaining 12 clubs.

As ratings improve, there will one day be a day when there are more than 12 A-level clubs and the top flight will expand, as has happened in franchise sports such as the NRL and NFL.

Big boys vs. underdogs: Who is the team to beat?

One team will go into 2025 with a huge bullseye on their backs: Wigan Warriors.

The Warriors absolutely dominated 2024, claiming all four major trophies: Grand Final, World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup and League Leaders Shield.

The likes of St Helens, Warrington Wolves and finals runners-up Hull KR are all looking to knock Wigan Athletic off the Championship, but Matt Pitt’s side don’t look to be slowing down.

In other words, Wigan are having a ‘Manchester United under Ferguson’ moment and everyone else is out to stop them.

Super League 2025 – Key dates and notes

March 1: Las Vegas Wigan Warriors VS Warrington Wolves
April 17-19: Round 8 – Opponent’s round
May 3rd and 4th: Magic Wheel (St James’ Park, Newcastle)
July 24: August 31 – Round 20 – Split over two weekends
September 4-7: Round 25 – Opponent round schedule reversed
September 18-21: Round 27 – Final round of the regular season (date and time to be determined)
September 26-27: knockout round
October 3rd and 4th: semifinals
Saturday, October 11: Finals (Old Trafford)

sky sports Every match of the Chinese Super League this season will once again be broadcast live, with two games in each round being broadcast exclusively and the remaining four games being broadcast weekly. Sky Sports+