The moment we've been waiting for is here. After a long break that included the 2022 World Cup, Major League Soccer will take center stage again when the 2023 regular season gets underway this weekend.
The new season will bring new faces, with expansion side St. Louis City SC playing their inaugural campaign this year. But it's safe to say the biggest change will be seen in the MLS Cup playoffs.
With the league expanding the postseason field to nine teams per conference, the playoffs will have a new format this year. Let's take a look at how the 2023 MLS playoffs will work.
What is the MLS Cup playoff format for the 2023 season?
The 2023 MLS playoff format will be different from last year, with 18 teams making the bracket. The most significant changes will be the introduction of two single-legged Wild Card games that precede the Round One Best-of-3 series. The Conference Semifinals, Finals, and the MLS Cup will all have a single-game elimination format. The top 7 teams in each conference qualify for the Round One, while the 8 and 9 seeds set up the Wild Card round.
Wild Card Round
- Single-game elimination match in each conference.
- 8th seed hosts 9th seed
- There's no overtime, penalty kicks are the tiebreaker
- The winner qualifies for Round One, meets the No. 1 seed in its respective conference
Round One
Per Conference:
- No.1 seed vs. Wild Card winner
- No. 2 vs. No. 7
- No. 3 vs. No. 6
- No. 4 vs. No. 5
How it works:
- Played to a Best-of-3 series
- The first team to win two matches advances.
- There will be no ties nor aggregate score: penalties will be the tiebreaker.
- The higher seed has home field advantage (home-away-home format)
- Winners advance to Conference semifinals
Conference Semifinals
Per conference:
- Winner of No. 1 vs. Wild Card team vs. Winner of 4 vs. 5
- Winner of 3 vs. 6 vs. Winner of 2 vs. 7
Format:
- Single-game elimination matches
- Tiebreaker: two extra time periods of 15 minutes each, if tie persists penalty kicks will determine winner.
- Winners advance to Conference Final
Conference Finals
- Single-elimination match per conference
- Higher seed hosts the game
- Tiebreaker: two 15-minute extra time periods, if tie persists penalty kicks will determine the winner.
MLS Cup
- Single match
- Higher seed hosts the final
- Tiebreaker: two 15-minute extra time periods, if tie persists penalty kicks will determine the winner.
When do the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs start?
The 2023 MLS Cup playoffs will get underway on Wednesday, October 25 with the first Wild Card game. The Round One will start that weekend, followed by the Conference Semifinals and Finals. The 2023 MLS Cup will take place on Saturday, December 9.
- Wild Card: Oct. 25-26
- Round One Best-of-3 series: Oct. 28-Nov. 12
- Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals: Nov. 25-Dec. 3
- MLS Cup: Dec. 9.
