MLS
2023 MLS playoffs schedule: brackets, teams, times, dates and favorites to win
Charlotte FC and Sporting Kansas City were the big winners on MLS Decision Day, with the Wild Card round starting on 25 October.
MLS Decision Day 2023 has come and gone, bringing plenty of drama along with it, as had been expected. After crucial victories for Sporting Kansas City and Charlotte FC among others, we now know seven teams of the eight teams that will participate in Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs in the Eastern and Western Conferences. The Wild Card round will determine which additional team in the east and the west still has a chance of claiming silverware come the end of the season.
Which Eastern Conference teams will take part in the MLS Cup Playoffs?
Seven teams have qualified directly for Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs:
- FC Cincinnati
- Orlando City
- Philadelphia Union
- Columbus Crew
- New England Revolution
- Atlanta United
- Nashville SC
Who plays in the Eastern Conference Wild Card round?
New York Red Bulls, who finished eighth, will host Charlotte FC, who sneaked into ninth after defeating Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Decision Day.
The Wild Card match will take place at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday 25 October, with kick-off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Which Western Conference teams will take part in the MLS Cup Playoffs?
Again, seven teams have qualified directly for Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs:
- St. Louis CITY SC
- Seattle Sounders
- LAFC
- Houston Dynamo
- Real Salt Lake
- Vancouver Whitecaps
- FC Dallas
Who plays in the Western Conference Wild Card round?
Sporting Kansas City climbed to eighth in the table after defeating Minnesota United in a winner-takes-all Decision Day clash. They will face San Jose Earthquakes for a place in Roune One, with the Quakes home draw against Austin enough to see them take ninth.
That game will also take place on Wednesday 25 October, with kick-off at Children’s Mercy Park at 9:30 p.m. ET.
MLS Cup Playoffs bracket
In Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the team that finished first in each Conference during the regular season faces the Wild Card winner. Second plays seventh, third faces sixth and fourth takes on fifth. This round will be a best-of-three series, with the team that finished higher in the regular season standings playing at home twice. The first team to record two victories wins, which means a third match may not be played. If a match is tied after 90 minutes, it will go straight to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner.
Subsequent Playoffs rounds (semi-finals and final) are one-off matches, with the team that finished higher in the regular season standings hosting.
MLS Cup Playoffs Round One: Eastern Conference
- No. 1 FC Cincinnati vs. No. 8 New York Red Bulls / No. 9 Charlotte FC
- No. 2 Orlando City vs. No. 7 Nashville SC
- No. 3 Columbus Crew vs. No. 6 Atlanta United
- No. 4 Philadelphia Union vs. No. 5 New England Revolution
Which teams are favourites to qualify for the Eastern Conference semi-finals?
Given their domination of the Eastern Conference this season, FC Cincinnati will be favourites to progress to the semi-finals, whether they face New York Red Bulls or Charlotte.
Orlando City have a superb recent home record (13 games unbeaten), won away to Nashville at the start of October and finished 14 points clear of them in the regular standings.
Columbus Crew went unbeaten against Atlanta United in 2023 and will take a huge amount of confidence from the fact they thrashed them 6-1 at Lower.com Field, even if it was back in March. The Crew are another team with an excellent home record of late, which could prove decisive.
Philadelphia Union only finished ahead of New England Revolution by virtue of having a better goal differential. The Union have been one of the strongest teams in MLS in recent times but suffered from drawing too many games in the final stretch of the season, especially at home. However, they will still be seen as favourites for the tie, despite The Revs winning the meeting between the two sides on Decision Day at Gillette Stadium.
MLS Cup Playoffs Round One: Western Conference
- No. 1 St. Louis City SC vs. No. 8 Sporting Kansas City / No. 9 San Jose Earthquakes
No. 2 Seattle Sounders vs. No. 7 FC Dallas
No. 3 LAFC vs. No. 6 Vancouver Whitecaps
No. 4 Houston Dynamo vs. No. 5 Real Salt Lake
Which teams are favourites to qualify for the Western Conference semi-finals?
St. Louis City made a blistering start to the year and will be favourites to progress, although they have tailed off slightly and would probably rather face Minnesota United rather than Sporting Kansas City, who ended the season on a high.
Nothing to choose between Seattle Sounders and Dallas in their two meetings in 2023, with both ending the season with nine-match unbeaten streaks. The Texans will fancy their chances having proved extremely hard to beat in the last few months.
LAFC and Vancouver Whitecaps were two of the highest-scoring teams in the Western Conference and ended their regular campaign with a draw in Canada. A tough one to call, although the 2022 MLS Cup winners scored nine times in two games prior to that and look to be in good form going forward.
Almost identical regular-season records for Houston Dynamo and Real Salt Lake. However, the Texans are full of belief after losing just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions.
When will Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs be played?
MLS haven’t released exact dates or kick-off times just yet, although Round One games are expected to be played between Saturday 28 October and Sunday November 12.
When will subsequent MLS Cup Playoffs rounds be played?
The Conference semi-finals and finals will take place between Saturday 25 November and Sunday 3 December, with the MLS Cup final set for Saturday 9 December.