MLS reveals massive changes to its playoff format for this season

Feb 21 2023, 9:15 pm

The MLS Cup Playoffs will look a lot different this season.

Ahead of the 2023 season kicking off this weekend, Major League Soccer announced the expansion of the post-season to nine teams per conference.

Additionally, the playoffs will introduce a best-of-three series, a rare sight for soccer worldwide, as MLS approaches its 29th season.

The 2023 playoffs begin with the top seven teams in each conference clinching spots while the eighth and ninth seeds face off on either October 25 or 26 in a one-game “wildcard” match to enter the full two-conference bracket.

With both conferences, the MLS Cup Playoffs will feature 18 teams for the first time and 62% of the 29-team league, making them the largest playoffs among North America’s top five professional men’s sports leagues.

With the teams facing off 1 vs. 8/9, 2 vs. 7, and so on, the first round of the playoffs introduces a best-of-three series, which is seldom seen in world soccer, with many competitions opting for two-legged draws or one-match knockouts.

In the best of three, no games can end as ties, with any games even at the end of regulation going to a penalty shootout.

The first team to win two matches will advance to the conference semifinal.

After the first round, all rounds will feature one-game knockouts. The highest remaining seed will host the MLS Cup Final on December 9, as has been the case since the league dropped the neutral site after Toronto hosted the 2010 final.

The format shift is far from the first time the league has moved around in its post-season approach. In its infancy, eight of the league’s 10 clubs made the playoffs and played in best-of-three “first to five points” series. After that, the league shifted to a three-division system and an eight-team playoff with two-legged draws before adopting the single-elimination system in 2019, which stuck around until 2022.

With the shift, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC, and CF Montreal all have a good chance of making the playoffs and making some noise when they get there.

The move to introduce best-of-three series will be judged by soccer purists but will offer more teams a chance at a Cinderella run towards MLS glory, as well as a chance for the league to test its playoff structure against more prominent North American leagues such as the NBA and NHL.

The MLS season kicks off on this Saturday, February 25 with 13 games on the schedule.

Amongst Canadian teams, the Whitecaps welcome Real Salt Lake to BC Place, as TFC and Montreal hit the road for matches against DC United and Inter Miami, respectively.

Ben SteinerBen Steiner

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