A closer look at the MLS Cup Playoffs bracket

The 2025 MLS Cup Playoff bracket is set.

18 clubs have sealed their spots into the postseason, with two from each conference kicking things off this week in Wild Card action. Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union and expansion side San Diego FC both topped their respective conferences and will hold the No. 1 seeds heading into the playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Fire and Orlando City will square off for a chance to take on the Union in the next round. Out West, the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake meet for the opportunity to entertain San Diego FC in the next round.

There will also be some highly-anticipated first round showdowns with FC Cincinnati taking on rivals Columbus Crew, the Seattle Sounders facing off with Minnesota United, and high-flying LAFC squaring off Austin FC.

The Wild Card Round will take place on October 22 with Round One projected to begin next weekend. Round One will be a best-of-three playoff series while the conference semifinals, conference finals, and MLS Cup will be one match only.

Here is a rundown of the playoff schedule and a look back at head-to-head season series for each matchup:

Eastern Conference

Wild Card

No. 8 Chicago Fire vs. No. 9 Orlando City – Wednesday, October 22, 8:30 p.m. ET (Winner to face No. 1 seed Philadelphia Union in Round One Best-of-3 series, starting Sunday, October 26 at 5:30 p.m. ET).

• The two clubs played out a 0-0 draw in Chicago back on May 3 before the Fire earned a 3-1 road victory over Orlando City on May 31.

Round One

No. 2 FC Cincinnati vs. No. 7 Columbus Crew – Monday, October 27, 6:30 p.m. ET (Winner will face winner of Inter Miami/Nashville SC series).

• The two clubs played out a 1-1 draw in Columbus back on May 17 before the Crew claimed a 4-2 road win in Cincinnati on July 12.

No. 3 Inter Miami vs. No. 6 Nashville SC – Friday, October 24, 8 p.m. ET (Winner will face winner of FC Cincinnati/Columbus Crew series).

• Inter Miami won both regular season meetings against Nashville SC this season, including earning a 5-2 road victory in Nashville on Decision Day.

No. 4 Charlotte FC vs. No. 5 NYCFC – Tuesday, October 28, 6:45 p.m. ET (Winner will face winner of Philadelphia Union/WC winner series).

• The two clubs split their regular season meetings, with Charlotte FC winning 2-0 at home back on July 12 and NYCFC winning 2-0 at home back on September 20.

Western Conference

Wild Card

No. 8 Portland Timbers vs. No. 9 Real Salt Lake – Wednesday, October 22, 10:30 p.m. ET (Winner to face No. 1 seed San Diego FC in Round One Best-of-3 series, starting Sunday, October 26 at 9:30 p.m. ET).

• The two clubs played out a 0-0 draw in Salt Lake back on May 14 before RSL earned a 1-0 road victory over Portland on July 16.

Round One

No. 2 Vancouver Whitecaps vs. No. 7 FC Dallas – Sunday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. ET (Winner will face winner of LAFC/Austin FC series).

• Vancouver earned a 1-0 road win in Dallas back on March 15 before FC Dallas earned a 2-1 road win in Vancouver on October 18 (Decision Day).

No. 3 LAFC vs. No. 6 Austin FC – Wednesday, October 29, 10:30 p.m. ET (Winner will face winner of Vancouver Whitecaps/FC Dallas series).

• Austin FC won both regular season meetings against LAFC, earning a 1-0 result in Los Angeles on March 15 before winning 1-0 at home on October 12.

No. 4 Minnesota United vs. No. 5 Seattle Sounders – Monday, October 27, 9 p.m. ET (Winner will face winner of San Diego FC/WC winner series).

• Minnesota United won both regular season meetings against Seattle, winning 3-2 away from home on June 1 before earning a 1-0 home result on August 16.