MLS Cup Playoffs confirmed: what is the new format?

Just days after Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville complained about being in the dark about the MLS Cup playoffs, the league has responded by announcing a new format for a new era that will be broadcast on Apple TV.

This season, 18 clubs will qualify for the playoffs, nine from each conference. This means that 62% of participating clubs will advance, the second highest percentage among sports in the United States, behind only the NBA (66%).

The new MLS Cup Playoffs format

“Building on the popular single-elimination format, the 2023 MLS postseason will see the addition of a pair of single-elimination Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card matches ahead of an enhanced Round One, which now includes a Best-of-three series”, the MLS have revealed.

The top seven teams in each conference will automatically qualify for the best-of-three series in the first round, while the teams finishing eighth and ninth in each conference will play in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card matches.

In the best-of-three series, the higher seed will play two matches at home, unless the same team wins both fixtures. There will no ties and no aggregate score will be kept; any match which is level after 90 minutes will go straight to a penalty shootout.

The format change means that 24 playoff matches will take place before the MLS Cup winner is crowned, double the amount from previous seasons.

When do the MLS Cup Playoffs begin?

The postseason will begin with the two wildcard matches on 25-26 October and the best-of-three series matches in the first round from 28 October to 12 November. The Conference Semi-finals and Finals will be played between 25 November and 3 December. The the MLS Cup final presented by Audi will be played on 9 December.