Major League Soccer (MLS) is entering its most exciting phase: the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. With the bracket set, the league’s top teams will go head-to-head to determine this year’s MLS Cup winner.
Ready to catch all the action on the pitch as the best MLS players vie for the title, from the Wild Card round all the way up to the MLS Cup final? Here’s your complete guide to the 2025 MLS Playoffs.
How to Watch the 2025 MLS Playoffs
The 2025 MLS Playoffs will air on FOX for select games in the U.S., while all of the 2025 MLS Playoffs games will be available to stream on Apple TV.
You can tune into the FOX games on your local FOX channel or FOX Deportes. You’ll need a subscription to Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass to catch the rest of the matches. Fortunately, DIRECTV customers can get MLS Season Pass directly through their subscription.
Learn more about how to get MLS Season Pass from DIRECTV here!
Which Teams Are In? MLS Playoff Picture 2025
After a hard-fought season, only 18 of the MLS’s clubs can advance to the MLS Playoffs. Here’s how the brackets shook out in the Eastern and Western Conferences.
To make the MLS Playoffs, teams must finish in the top nine of their conference’s standings. The first seven teams are automatically entered into the first round, while the eighth and ninth seeds play each other in a Wild Card match to determine which will face the top-seeded team in the first round.
MLS Eastern Conference Playoff Teams
Here are the teams that made the 2025 MLS Playoffs in the Eastern Conference:
Automatic Round 1 Entry Teams
1. Philadelphia Union
2. FC Cincinnati
3. Inter Miami
4. Charlotte FC
5. NYCFC
6. Nashville SC
7. Columbus Crew
8. Chicago Fire (Won Wild Card Match)
MLS Western Conference Playoff Teams
Over in the Western Conference, these nine teams made the cut:
Automatic Round 1 Entry Teams
1. San Diego FC
2. Vancouver Whitecaps
3. LAFC
4. Minnesota United
5. Seattle Sounders
6. Austin FC
7. FC Dallas
8. Portland Timbers (Won Wild Card Match)
How Do the MLS Playoffs Work?
After the regular season ended on Decision Day (Oct. 18), the brackets were finalized and the playoffs move into the first round: the Wild Card matchups. The bottom two teams of each conference play each other, with the winner advancing to Round 1 to play the top seeded team. Not exactly the easiest path to the Cup!
Round 1 features the top eight teams from each conference playing each other in a Best-of-Three series, with the winners advancing to the Conference Semi Finals. The semifinal winners face each other in the Conference Final, and the two conference champs go head-to-head in the MLS Cup, the MLS championship game to determine the league winner.
The Conference Semifinals, Conference Finals and MLS Cup are all single elimination rounds.
2025 MLS Playoffs Full Schedule
Here’s the key dates for the 2025 MLS Playoffs:
Decision Day: Saturday, October 18 (End of MLS regular season)
Wild Card Round: Wednesday, October 22
Round One Best-of-3 Series: Friday, October 24 – Sunday, November 9
Conference Semifinals: Saturday, November 22 – Sunday, November 23
Conference Finals: Saturday, November 29 – Sunday, November 30
2025 MLS Cup: Saturday, December 6
And here’s the full 2025 MLS Playoffs schedule, round-by-round, so you don’t miss a single match:
2025 MLS Cup Final:
Inter Miami vs. Vancouver Whitecaps – 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, Apple TV
Conference Finals:
Inter Miami vs. New York City FC (Inter Miami wins 5-1)
San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (Vancouver wins 3-1)
Conference Semifinals:
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LAFC (Vancouver wins 4:3 on PKs)
Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025
FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami CF (Inter Miami wins 4-0)
Philadelphia Union vs. New York City FC (NYCFC wins 1-0)
Monday, Nov. 24, 2025
San Diego FC vs. Minnesota United FC (San Diego FC wins 1-0)
Wild Card Round Results:
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025
Chicago Fire 3, Orlando City 1
Portland Timbers 3, Real Salt Lake 1
Round One Best-of-3 Schedule
Game 1
Friday, October 24
Inter Miami CF (3) vs Nashville SC (6) – Eastern Conference Game 1 (Miami wins 3-1)
Sunday, October 26
Philadelphia Union (1) vs Chicago Fire (8) – Eastern Conference Game 1 (Philadelphia wins 4-2 on PKs)
Vancouver Whitecaps (2) vs FC Dallas (7) – Western Conference Game 1 (Vancouver wins 3-0)
San Diego FC (1) vs Portland Timbers (8) – Western Conference Game 1 (San Diego wins 2-1)
Monday, October 27
FC Cincinnati (2) vs Columbus Crew (7) – Eastern Conference Game 1 (Cincinnati wins 1-0)
Minnesota United (4) vs Seattle Sounders (5) – Western Conference Game 1 (Minnesota wins 3-2 on PKs)
Tuesday, October 28
Charlotte FC (4) vs New York City FC (5) – Eastern Conference Game 1 (NYCFC wins 1-0)
Wednesday, October 29
LAFC (3) vs Austin FC (6) – Western Conference Game 1 (LAFC wins 2-1)
Game 2
Saturday, November 1
New York City FC (5) vs Charlotte FC (4) – Eastern Conference Game 2 (Charlotte wins 7:6 PK)
Chicago Fire (8) vs Philadelphia Union (1) – Eastern Conference Game 2 (Philadelphia wins 3-0)
Nashville SC (6) vs Inter Miami CF (3) – Eastern Conference Game 2 (Nashville wins 2-1)
FC Dallas (7) vs Vancouver Whitecaps (2) – Western Conference Game 2 (Vancouver wins 4:2 PK)
Portland Timbers (8) vs San Diego FC (1) – Western Conference Game 2 (Portland wins 3:2 PK)
Sunday, November 2
Columbus Crew (7) vs FC Cincinnati (2) – Eastern Conference Game 2 (Cincinnati wins 4-0)
Austin FC (6) vs LAFC (3) – Western Conference Game 2 (LAFC wins 4-1)
Monday, November 3
Seattle Sounders (5) vs Minnesota United (4) – Western Conference Game 2 (Seattle wins 4-2)
Game 3 (if necessary)
Friday, November 7
Charlotte FC (4) vs New York City FC (5) – Eastern Conference Game 3 – TBD on MLS Season Pass
Saturday, November 8
Inter Miami CF (3) vs Nashville SC (6) – Eastern Conference Game 3 – TBD on MLS Season Pass
Minnesota United (4) vs Seattle Sounders (5) – Western Conference Game 3 – TBD on MLS Season Pass
Sunday, November 9
San Diego FC (1) vs Portland Timbers (8) – Western Conference Game 3 – TBD on MLS Season Pass
Who Won the 2024 MLS Cup?
The LA Galaxy won the 2024 MLS Cup, defeating the New York Red Bulls 2-1.
Which Team Has Won the Most MLS Titles?
The LA Galaxy, winner of the 2024 MLS Cup, has the most MLS titles! The Galaxy has brought home a record six titles, winning in 2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2024. Two of those titles came while the legendary David Beckham was rostered on the team. Beckham is now the co-owner and president of Inter Miami, where Lionel Messi plays.
D.C United has the second most titles, with four Cup wins, and the Columbus Crew has three.
Watch Soccer on DIRECTV
In addition to watching select MLS games on FOX, and even more with MLS Season Pass, you can catch UEFA Champions League, English Premier League and more soccer on DIRECTV.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the 2025 MLS regular season start?
The 2025 MLS season kicks off on Feb. 22, 2025.
Who won the MLS Cup last season?
The LA Galaxy won the MLS title last season for a record sixth MLS Cup.
How many MLS teams are there in 2025?
There are now 30 MLS clubs with the addition of San Diego FC in 2025.
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