2025 MLS Cup playoffs
The 2025 MLS Cup playoffs was the post-season championship of Major League Soccer, the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It was the 30th edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, following the conclusion of the 2025 season. The playoffs began on October 22 and concluded with MLS Cup 2025 on December 6.
Both of the previous year's MLS Cup finalists, champions LA Galaxy and runners-up New York Red Bulls, failed to qualify, the latter for the first time since 2009. San Diego FC qualified for the playoffs as Western Conference champions in their inaugural MLS season, but were eliminated in the conference finals by Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The Philadelphia Union entered as Supporters' Shield and Eastern Conference champions, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals by New York City FC.
Inter Miami CF won their first MLS Cup title after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–1.
Format
Since the 2023 edition, the MLS Cup playoffs had been contested by a field of 18 teams—the top nine teams from each conference. The top seven teams in each conference automatically qualified for round one, while the eighth and ninth-placed teams in each conference played a single wild card match to determine who drew the best-ranked team in their conference, with only a penalty shoot-out occurring if the game was tied.The first round comprised a best-of-three format, with higher seeds playing against lower seeds. The round did not use an aggregate score, and tied matches proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. The remaining three rounds—the conference semifinals, conference finals, and MLS Cup—were single-elimination matches played with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied.
The team with the better regular season record hosted in all rounds except the best-of-three series in round one, where the team with the lower regular season record hosted the second of three possible matches. All matches were broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass, a streaming service operated by Apple. Select matches were available on Fox Sports channels in the US.
Qualified teams
The playoffs was contested by 18 teams. The date listed indicates when each team qualified for the playoffs.;Eastern Conference
- Charlotte FC
- Chicago Fire FC
- FC Cincinnati
- Columbus Crew
- Inter Miami CF
- Nashville SC
- New York City FC
- Orlando City SC
- Philadelphia Union
- Austin FC
- FC Dallas
- Los Angeles FC
- Minnesota United FC
- Portland Timbers
- Real Salt Lake
- San Diego FC
- Seattle Sounders FC
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Conference standings
Eastern Conference'''Western Conference'''
Bracket
The higher seeded teams hosted single-elimination matches, with the MLS Cup host determined by overall points in the Supporters' Shield table. During the best-of-three round, the team with higher seed hosted the first match.Round one
Eastern Conference
Philadelphia Union won the series 2–0.----
FC Cincinnati won the series 2–1.
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Inter Miami CF won the series 2–1.
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''New York City FC won the series 2–1.''
Western Conference
San Diego FC won the series 2–1.----
Vancouver Whitecaps FC won the series 2–0.
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Los Angeles FC won the series 2–0.
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''Minnesota United FC won the series 2–1.''