MLS Cup Playoffs
The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualify for the tournament based on regular-season point totals—the seven highest-placed teams from both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Audi is the title sponsor of this tournament.
Awarding a championship through a postseason tournament differs from most other soccer leagues around the world, where the team with the most points at the end of the season is deemed champion. MLS awards the regular-season champions with the Supporters' Shield and a direct berth in the CONCACAF Champions League, the continental tournament.
Playoff system
Since 2019, the top seven teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs, playing in separate brackets. The top seed in each conference is given a first-round bye, while the remaining six teams compete in the first round of the playoffs. All rounds are single-match eliminations hosted by the higher seed and there is no re-seeding in subsequent rounds, with the winner of the 4th and 5th place match advancing to face the conference leader and the 2nd–7th and 3rd–6th winners in the other semifinal match. The winners of the conference semifinals advance to the conference finals.The conference semifinals and conference finals were formerly conducted in a home-and-away, aggregate-goal format. From 2014 to 2018, the away goals rule was used for these rounds. In both rounds, the lower-seeded team hosted the first game and the higher-seeded team hosted the second. If the teams were tied after two games, the team that scored more goals on the road advanced. If there was still a tie after the away goals rule has been applied, the teams played 30 minutes of extra time, followed by a penalty kick shootout if necessary. The away goals rule did not apply to goals scored in these extra time periods.
Ties after full-time are broken as follows: two straight 15-minute extra time periods will be played; and if the tie persists, a penalty kick shootout will determine who advances.
Qualification
Fourteen teams qualify for the playoffs: the top seven teams from each conference that have accumulated the most points during the 34-game regular season. The highest-placed team in each conference receives a bye to the conference semifinals, while the second- through seventh-placed teams play in the first round.Tie-breaking procedures
If at least two teams finish the regular season with an equal number of points, the following criteria are used to break the tie.- most wins
- goal differential
- goals scored
- fewer disciplinary points
- away goal differential
- away goals scored
- home goal differential
- home goals scored
- coin toss or drawing of lots
- If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tie breaker reverts to step 1 for the two remaining clubs.
- Head-to-head competition results have not been used in tie-breakers since 2012.
History
MLS playoff records
- Records include all knockout playoff matches, individual legs of aggregate-goal rounds, and MLS Cup appearances.
Goals
| Rank | Player | Years | Goals |
| 1 |  Landon Donovan | 2001–14; 2016 | 25 |
| 2 |  Carlos Ruiz | 2002–08; 2011; 2013; 2016 | 16 |
| 3 | Roy Lassiter | 1996–99; 2001–02 | 13 |
| 4 |  Jaime Moreno | 1996–2010 | 12 |
| 5 | Ante Razov | 1996–2009 | 11 |
| 6 | Brian McBride | 1996–2003; 2008–10 | 10 |
| 6 | Preki | 1996–2005 | 10 |
| 6 | Taylor Twellman | 2002–10 | 10 |
| 9 | Jozy Altidore | 2006–08; 2015–present | 9 |
| 9 |  Robbie Keane | 2011–16 | 9 |
| 9 |  Bradley Wright-Phillips | 2013–present | 9 |
| Legend |
| Games to be played |
| Defunct team |
Records
- Matches determined by shoot out counted as win-loss, not draw
| Club | MLS Cups | MLS Cup | Win | Loss | Draw |
| Atlanta United FC | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Chicago Fire | 1 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 5 |
| Chivas USA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Colorado Rapids | 1 | 2 | 15 | 20 | 3 |
| Columbus Crew SC | 1 | 2 | 20 | 24 | 5 |
| D.C. United | 4 | 5 | 29 | 14 | 5 |
| FC Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 1 | 14 | 25 | 6 |
| Houston Dynamo | 2 | 4 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
| LA Galaxy | 5 | 9 | 43 | 25 | 6 |
| Los Angeles FC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Miami Fusion | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Minnesota United FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| New England Revolution | 0 | 5 | 17 | 18 | 7 |
| New York City FC | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| New York Red Bulls | 0 | 1 | 19 | 26 | 8 |
| Orlando City SC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Union | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Portland Timbers | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 5 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 1 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 3 | 19 | 12 | 5 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 2 | 3 | 19 | 23 | 8 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Toronto FC | 1 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Appearances
| Club | MLS playoff appearances | Active streak | Longest streak |
| Atlanta United FC | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Chicago Fire | 13 | 0 | 6 |
| Chivas USA | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Colorado Rapids | 13 | 0 | 5 |
| Columbus Crew SC | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| D.C. United | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| FC Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FC Dallas | 17 | 2 | 7 |
| Houston Dynamo | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| LA Galaxy | 19 | 1 | 10 |
| Los Angeles FC | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Miami Fusion | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Minnesota United FC | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Montreal Impact | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| New England Revolution | 14 | 1 | 8 |
| New York City FC | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| New York Red Bulls | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| Orlando City SC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Union | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Portland Timbers | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Real Salt Lake | 10 | 2 | 7 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 17 | 0 | 8 |
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Toronto FC | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 4 | 0 | 2 |
- Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny folded after completion of the 2001 season
- Chivas USA folded after completion of the 2014 season
MLS playoff shootouts
- MLS began implementing a shootout to determine the winner of a playoff series in 2004.
- From 2014 to 2018 the away goals rule was used.