Sometimes you stumble upon the perfect xeet, and it inspires you. That’s what happened when I found this gem from Golazo America:
MLS Playoff Format
The MLS has catered to that base American love for a post-season show since its inception, though they tweak the format every now and then as the league expands. For the 2023-24 season, the top nine teams from each division (East & West) will qualify for the post-season run. For you math-inclined folks… that’s 68% of the teams.
This is not a high bar.
Anyhoo, there’s a Wild Card round in which the 8th and 9th ranked teams have a single-elimination match. The winner goes on to play the 1st ranked team in the First Round (while 2nd plays 7th, 3rd vs. 6th, and so on…). The First Round consists of Best of 3 matches, with the higher ranked team hosting the first game (and third deciding game if necessary). It pays to have the higher ranking, as it’s almost always better to play at home.
Each conference then has a single-elimination Semifinal and then a single-elimination final. Once again, highest ranked team hosts.
The whole deal is decided on Saturday, Dec. 7
This Seems… Rather Long
And it is. Not content to milk their fanbase for 34 games in the regular season (plus pre-season, Lamar Hunt Open, Champions Cup, etc.) any team making the playoffs can face up to an additional 7 more games. That’s a lot. The whole post-season lasts six weeks from Wild Card to Final.
But who’s complaining, as long as Messi keeps hitting bangers?
Wild Card Round
On October 22 CF Montréal hosted Atlanta United at the Saputo Stadium. It was a taut game, statistically dominated by the hosts, but ended in a 2-2 draw. In the resulting penalty kicks, Atlanta was 5 for 5; Montréal’s single miss by English left-back Tom Pearce sunk them.
The following day another Canadian club, the Vancouver Whitecaps, played host to west-coast rivals the Portland Timbers. Portland is no longer a dominant force, and they got chainsawed by the hosts 5-0. Scotland’s Ryan Gauld earned a hat-trick, including this stunner:
First Round
With the wild card games resolved, we how have the entire first round locked and loaded.
Eastern Conference
- Inter Miami CF (1) vs. Atlanta United (9)
- October 25
- November 2
- November 8 (if needed)
- Columbus Crew (2) vs. New York Red Bulls (7)
- October 29
- November 3
- November 10 (if needed)
- FC Cincinnati (3) vs. New York City FC (6)
- October 28
- November 2
- November 8 (if needed)
- Orlando City SC (4) vs. Charlotte FC (5)
- October 27
- November 1
- November 8 (if needed)
- Get Match Reports Here
Western Conference
- LAFC (1) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (8)
- October 27
- November 3
- November 8 (if needed)
- LA Galaxy (2) vs. Colorado Rapids (7)
- October 26
- November 1
- November 8 (if needed)
- Real Salt Lake (3) vs. Minnesota United FC (6)
- October 29
- November 2
- November 8 (if needed)
- Seattle Sounders (4) vs. Houston Dynamo FC (5)
- October 28
- November 3
- November 10 (if needed)
- Get Match Reports Here
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