Very few teams have matched the star power of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history, but that alone has not been enough to translate into trophies.
While they haven't won a title yet, have they ever dominated a season during the league stage and finished in first place, at the top of the table?
📲 Follow The Sporting News India on WhatsApp
As RCB head into the final game of the 2025 season, facing Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium, The Sporting News takes a look at the Bengaluru-based side's league stage finishes across all the 18 seasons.
Have RCB ever finished first at the top of the IPL points table?
In the 17 seasons completed so far in the IPL, RCB have finished at the top of the table just once.
It happened during the 2011 edition when the team was led by New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori, where the team finished with nine wins and a tie (No Result) to end with 19 points in 14 league games, to top the points table.
More: Injured Tim David to miss today's match? Who will replace him?
While they reached the final that season, they eventually fell to the Chennai Super Kings, led by their wily skipper MS Dhoni. Notably, CSK and MI also had 9 wins but suffered five losses, finishing with 18 points, just behind RCB in the league stage.
RCB final position after league stage in each IPL season (2008 to 2025)
RCB have finished first just once, while their next best position is second place, which came during the 2016 season, in which they once again fell short in the final.
During the 2009 season, when they reached and lost the final to the Deccan Chargers, RCB had finished the league stage in third place.
MORE: IPL 2025: RCB predicted playing XI for playoffs
Here is the full list of their final positions on the points table after each IPL season:
| Year | Matches | Won | Lost | NR | Points | Final League Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 7th |
| 2009 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 3rd |
| 2010 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 4th |
| 2011 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 1st |
| 2012 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 5th |
| 2013 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 5th |
| 2014 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 7th |
| 2015 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 3rd |
| 2016 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 16 | 2nd |
| 2017 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8th (last) |
| 2018 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 6th |
| 2019 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 8th (last) |
| 2020 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 4th |
| 2021 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 3rd |
| 2022 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 4th |
| 2023 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 6th |
| 2024 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 4th |
| 2025 | 13* | 8* | 4* | 1* | 17* | 3rd* |
* Subject to change with the RCB vs LSG match still left in the season