Hurling Power Rankings: Six Teams Left Standing In Liam MacCarthy Chase

The provincial championships are complete and just six counties remain in the hunt for the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Limerick reclaimed the Munster crown in dramatic fashion, Galway ended their long wait for a Leinster title, while Cork, Clare, Dublin and Offaly all remain standing heading into the knockout stages.

The draw has thrown up some fascinating possibilities. Clare and Dublin meet in the quarter-finals, while Cork face Offaly with Galway waiting in the semi-finals. Limerick, meanwhile, will take on the winners of Clare and Dublin.

Here's how we rank the remaining contenders.

Until somebody knocks them off their perch, Limerick remain the team to beat.

John Kiely's side reclaimed the Munster title in dramatic fashion and continue to boast the deepest squad in the country. Nickie Quaid is producing some of the best hurling of his career, Diarmaid Byrnes remains hugely influential and Gearóid Hegarty showed once again in the Munster final that he thrives on the biggest stage.

The frightening thing for their rivals is that they still seem to have more in reserve. Adam English, David Reidy, Tom Morrissey and Mike Casey were just some of the options on their bench in the Munster final. With a direct route to the semi-finals, they deserve top spot.

Cork came within a point of beating Limerick in the Munster final and while they didn't show their best there is very little between the sides.

Ben O'Connor's team remain desperate to end a Liam MacCarthy drought stretching back to 2005 and there is no shortage of talent in this group. Brian Hayes continues to excel, the return of Darragh Fitzgibbon will be hugely important and they have shown throughout the championship that they can score heavily at almost any point.

Last year's All-Ireland final defeat to Tipperary still hangs over them somewhat. Until Cork get over the line on the biggest day, there will always be questions. However, they look the most likely challengers to Limerick.

The Leinster champions have quietly built a very convincing case for themselves.

Micheál Donoghue's side secured their first provincial title since 2018 and have a direct route into the All-Ireland semi-finals. Tom Monaghan has emerged as one of the stars of the championship, while Conor Whelan, Aaron Niland and Daithí Burke have all been central to Galway's revival.

The big advantage is that they can now sit back and watch Cork and Offaly battle it out for the right to face them.

Brian Lohan's side have not looked quite as impressive as they did during their All-Ireland title-winning run in 2024, but they remain a hugely dangerous proposition.

Tony Kelly, Shane O'Donnell and company know exactly what it takes to navigate knockout championship hurling. Their route to another final is not straight forward, beginning with Dublin before what would be a semi-final against Limerick, but nobody will be eager to meet The Banner.

If they can build up a head of steam they will prove very tough to stop.

Dublin were having a great year before it all came crashing down with a fairly limp defeat in the Leinster final against Galway.

Injury problems have hit them hard with Cian O'Sullivan, Eoghan O'Donnell, Brendan Kenny, Chris Crummey and Liam Rushe all affected. Brian Hayes has been outstanding while John Hetherton presents a unique proposition for any full-back taking him on.

Last year they caught Limerick cold in the All-Ireland quarter-final before eventually being overwhelmed by Cork in the semi-final. They'll need another upset against Clare, but Dublin have shown they are capable of causing problems for most teams.

The feel-good story of the championship continues.

Offaly's return to the latter stages of the Liam MacCarthy race has been one of the highlights of the season and they thoroughly deserve their place among the final six. They have brought huge energy to the championship and already exceeded many pre-season expectations, with their storied underage success finally imprinting on the adult scene.

The problem is the draw. A quarter-final against Cork is about as difficult as it gets and they will enter the game as clear underdogs. That said, they've earned the right to dream and will travel to Thurles with nothing to lose.