After the excitement of Decision Day decided the playoff field in the Eastern and Western Conferences, the MLS Cup Playoffs are set and the schedule has been released by the MLS.
Structure of the Playoffs
Six teams from each conference make it to the playoffs with the top two seeds getting the luxury of a bye through the knockout round. In the knockout round, the three and four seeds host the six and five seeds respectively for the right to make it to the conference semifinals which are decided on aggregate. Following the semifinals, the winners advance to the conference finals followed by MLS Cup which pits the winner of the Eastern Conference side of the bracket up against the Western Conference champion.
Schedule
Eastern Conference
Knockout round:
- (3) Montreal Impact vs (6) Toronto FC - October 29 at 7 p.m. EST.
- (4) DC United vs (5) New England Revolution - October 28 at 7 p.m. EST.
Conference Semifinals:
- (1) New York Red Bulls vs lowest seed remaining
- Leg 1: Nov. 1 at lowest seed
- Leg 2: Nov. 8 at NYRB
- (2) Columbus Crew vs highest seed remaining
- Leg 1: Nov. 1 at highest seed
- Leg 2: Nov. 8 at CLB
Western Conference:
Knockout Round:
- (3) Portland Timbers vs (6) Sporting KC - Thursday, October 29 at 7 p.m. EST.
- (4) Seattle Sounders FC vs (5) LA Galaxy - Wednesday, October 28 at 7 p.m. EST.
Conference Semifinals:
- (1) FC Dallas vs. lowest remaining seed
- Leg 1: Nov. 1 at lowest seed
- Leg 2: Nov. 8 at FCD
- (2) Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. highest remaining seed
- Leg 1: Nov. 1 at highest seed remaining
- Leg 2: Nov. 8 at Vancouver
Leg 1 of the conference semifinals will take place on Nov. 22 while Leg 2 will be on Nov. 29 with MLS Cup taking place on December 6.
All knockout round matches can be found on TV on UniMas in the US, but following the knockout round, all matches will be on either ESPN or FS1. Match times will be finalized when the teams fill out the bracket.