The 2024 MLS Cup playoffs (branded as the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) is the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the 29th edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2024 season. The playoffs began on October 22 and will conclude with MLS Cup 2024 on December 7.[1][2]
Format
Similar to the 2023 edition, the playoffs feature a field of eighteen 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 contested a single wild card match for the right to play the best-ranked team in their conference, with only a penalty shoot-out occurring if the game is tied. Round one will comprise a best-of-three format, with higher seeds playing against lower seeds. The round does not have the aggregate score kept, and tied matches proceed directly to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. The remaining three rounds — the conference semifinals, conference final, and MLS Cup — will be single-elimination matches played with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied.[1][3] The team with the better regular season record hosts the match in all rounds except for the best-of-three series in round one, where the lower seed hosts the second of three possible matches. All matches will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass, a streaming service operated by Apple.[1]
Qualified teams
The playoffs will be contested by eighteen teams. The date listed indicates when each team qualified for the playoffs.
The higher seeded teams host 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 hosts the first match and the third match if necessary.
