Northern Knights are the current reigning champions, while Leinster Lightning are the most successful team in the competition's history, winning seven titles.

The Ireland cricket team have had huge success recently on the international level which has boosted the popularity of the game in the country.

[1] Nevertheless, one of the main stumbling road blocks for Ireland from getting to play the pinnacle of the game was a lack of a first-class cricket infrastructure at home, among other things.

According to Richard Holsworth's interview to Setanta Sports, three teams would initially participate in the tournament, Leinster, Northern and North West, representing the three historically strongest provincial unions in Irish cricket, as Munster and Connacht Unions were considered still quite far away from fielding a competitive team for provincial tournaments.

They were also given a separate limited overs brands or names familiar to supporters of the systems in England and Australia, Leinster Lightning, Northern Knights and North West Warriors.