It is a third trophy of the season for the side in what has been a campaign that will live long in the memory.
Pirates are champions!
The Buccaneers ended a 14-year wait to win their 10th league title as they halted Mamelodi Sundowns’ run of eight successive championships. They become the first team other than The Brazilians to lift the trophy since Bidvest Wits in 2017.
You would have to say they deserve it. As Sundowns stuttered to too many draws this campaign (eight), Pirates were able to take advantage of those slip-ups.
They finished on 69 points, one ahead of Sundowns, but also recorded the most wins (21), scored the most goals (58) and conceded the fewest (12).
After a run of three successive second-placed finishes in the league, where they never really got close to Sundowns, this is a remarkable campaign for the Soweto side and their coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou.
It is easy to forget they also won the MTN8 and the Carling Knockout, completing a treble for the first time since 2012.
That season was the second in the ‘double-treble’ campaigns in which they won six trophies in two years. Thoughts will already be shifting to next season to see if they can do it again.
Orbit their own worst enemies
Pirates finally took the lead deep into added time at the end of the first half. A corner was swung in and, as Orbit goalkeeper Sabelo Nkomo looked to punch the ball away under pressure from Thalente Mbatha, he succeeded only in directing it into his own net from the edge of the six-yard box.
It was 2-0 four minutes into the second half and, once again, it was an own goal, this time from a former Pirates player.
Ndumiso Ngiba tried to clear the ball away from onrushing Buccaneers forward Yanela Mbuthuma, but only succeeded in toe-poking it over his own goalkeeper and into the corner of the net.
MTN8 line-up complete
The line-up for the 2026 MTN8 quarter-finals is complete, with Pirates set to start the defence of that title at home to Durban City, who ended eighth in the league.
Sundowns will host Polokwane City, with those two having had some tight battles over the years, while Kaizer Chiefs will welcome Lamontville Golden Arrows.
The other quarter-final sees AmaZulu face Sekhukhune United, the teams that finished fourth and fifth in the league respectively.
Orbit College are relegated
Orbit College’s stay in the South African top flight is over after one season following the defeat.
Magesi FC’s 1-0 win over a Richards Bay side with nothing to play for on the final day was enough to lift them off the bottom, though they will compete in the Promotion/Relegation Play-Offs against second-tier Cape Town City and Milford FC.
Orbit College finished on 24 points, the same number as Magesi, but the latter had a goal difference of -19 compared to -26 for Orbit.
Marumo Gallants completed a seventh draw in a row against Stellenbosch FC to finish on 25 points, essentially drawing their way to safety this season.
Gallants stay up despite winning only two of their last 28 league games (D13 L13). Had they not started the season with back-to-back wins against Richards Bay and, ironically, Pirates, they would have been in real trouble.
Chippa United were the other side in trouble going into the final day, but they beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 away and are safe for another season.