MLS’s 2025 playoff field is down to its final eight, and so far, the postseason bracket has almost exclusively churned out chalk.
Following San Diego FC’s ouster of the Portland Timbers Sunday night, every favored seed in the best-of-three first round prevailed except for Charlotte FC, the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference that fell to No. 5 NYCFC. Otherwise, we’re left with the best of the regular season for the conference semifinals, which will take place after the November FIFA international window.
The Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union took care of business against the Chicago Fire to become the East’s only team to go through after two matches, while the Vancouver Whitecaps and LAFC punched the West’s first two tickets to the conference semis, by handling FC Dallas and Austin FC, respectively, in two games. That means a collision course in the second round for two of MLS’s marquee summer signings, LAFC’s Son Heung-min and Vancouver’s Thomas Müller, who are getting their first taste of American-style playoffs to determine a league champion after decorated careers in Europe.
Every other series went to a winner-take-all Game 3 – including that between star-laden Inter Miami and Nashville SC. There was no first-round calamity in South Florida this time around, with the league’s biggest-spending club and highest-paid player prevailing 4-0 a year after an ignominious first-round exit. Lionel Messi’s first-half double ensured Miami would go through, all despite Luis Suárez serving a one-match suspension.
The other decisive matches brought plenty of intrigue, as well, with NYCFC going into Charlotte and winning for a second time – against the club with the most home wins in the league – while Minnesota United outlasted the Seattle Sounders in a lengthy penalty shootout decided by goalkeeper kicks after a six-goal thriller. FC Cincinnati, meanwhile, came from behind to edge Hell Is Real Derby foe Columbus 2-1, thanks to two goals from Brenner – a result that also brought an end to the stellar career of the retiring Darlington Nagbe.
The last place in the conference semifinals went to San Diego FC, with MLS Newcomer of the Year Anders Dreyer and Amahl Pellegrino each scoring clinical doubles in a 4-0 rout in Southern California.
Just as a reminder: In the MLS playoffs under the current format, after the wild card games there’s the first round that is a best-of-three series, with the better team from the regular season having home-field advantage. The first team to win two games (either in regulation or penalties; there are no draws) goes through to the conference semifinals, and if there’s a need for a third game, it’s hosted by the team with the better seed. Aggregate score is not a factor.
From there, it’s a single-elimination battle to the end, and the finalist with the best regular-season record earns the right to host MLS Cup on Dec. 6 – a day after the 2026 World Cup draw.
Here’s what the road to MLS Cup looks like (Updated as of Nov. 9):
Full MLS Cup playoff schedule and results
First round (best of three): Oct. 24-Nov. 9
Game One
Oct. 24: Inter Miami 3, Nashville SC 1
Oct. 26: Philadelphia Union 2, Chicago Fire 2 (Philadelphia wins 4-2 on PKs)
Oct. 26: Vancouver Whitecaps 3, FC Dallas 0
Oct. 26: San Diego FC 2, Portland Timbers 1
Oct. 27: FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew 0
Oct. 27: Minnesota United 0, Seattle Sounders 0 (Minnesota wins 3-2 on PKs)
Oct. 28: Charlotte FC 0, New York City FC 1
Oct. 29: LAFC 2, Austin FC 1
Game Two
Nov. 1: New York City FC 0, Charlotte FC 0 (Charlotte wins 7-6 on PKs)
Nov. 1: Chicago Fire 0, Philadelphia Union 3
Nov. 1: Nashville SC 2, Inter Miami 1
Nov. 1: FC Dallas 1, Vancouver Whitecaps 1 (Vancouver wins 4-2 on PKs)
Nov. 1: Portland Timbers 2, San Diego FC 2 (Portland wins 3-2 on PKs)
Nov. 2: Columbus Crew 4, FC Cincinnati 0
Nov. 2: Austin FC 1, LAFC 4
Nov. 3: Seattle Sounders 4, Minnesota United 2
Game Three
Nov. 7: Charlotte FC 1, New York City FC 3
Nov. 8: Minnesota United 3, Seattle Sounders 3 (Minnesota wins 7-6 on PKs)
Nov. 8: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus Crew 1
Nov. 8: Inter Miami 4, Nashville SC 0
Nov. 9: San Diego 4, Portland Timbers 0
Conference semifinals (one match): Nov. 22-23
Nov. 22, 9:30 p.m. ET: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LAFC
Nov. 23, 5 p.m. ET: FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami
Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET: Philadelphia Union vs. NYCFC
Nov. 24, 10 p.m. ET: San Diego FC vs. Minnesota United
Conference finals (one match): Nov. 29-30
MLS Cup: Dec. 6, 2:30 p.m. ET
