The 2025 MLS Cup playoffs (branded as the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) was the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It was the 30th edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, following the conclusion of the 2025 season. The playoffs began on October 22 and concluded with MLS Cup 2025 on December 6.
2025 MLS Cup playoffs
Tournament details
Country
United States Canada
Dates
October 22 – December 6
Teams
18
Defending champions
LA Galaxy (did not qualify)
Final positions
Champions
Inter Miami CF (1st title)
Runners-up
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Semifinalists
New York City FC
San Diego FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played
30
Goals scored
99 (3.3 per match)
Attendance
732,916 (24,431 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)
Tadeo Allende (Inter Miami CF) 9 goals
← 2024
2026 →
Both of the previous year's MLS Cup finalists, champions LA Galaxy and runners-up New York Red Bulls, failed to qualify, the latter for the first time since 2009. San Diego FC qualified for the playoffs as Western Conference champions in their inaugural MLS season, but were eliminated in the conference finals by Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The Philadelphia Union entered as Supporters' Shield and Eastern Conference champions, but were eliminated in the conference semifinals by New York City FC.
Inter Miami CF won their first MLS Cup title after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3–1.
Format
Since the 2023 edition, the MLS Cup playoffs had been contested by a field of 18 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 played a single wild card match to determine who drew the best-ranked team in their conference, with only a penalty shoot-out occurring if the game was tied.
The first round comprised a best-of-three format, with higher seeds playing against lower seeds. The round did not use an aggregate score, and tied matches proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. The remaining three rounds—the conference semifinals, conference finals, and MLS Cup—were single-elimination matches played with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied.
The team with the better regular season record hosted in all rounds except the best-of-three series in round one, where the team with the lower regular season record hosted the second of three possible matches. All matches were broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass, a streaming service operated by Apple. Select matches were available on Fox Sports channels in the US.
Qualified teams
The playoffs was contested by 18 teams. The date listed indicates when each team qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference
Charlotte FC (September 13)
Chicago Fire FC (September 30)
FC Cincinnati (September 13)
Columbus Crew (September 27)
Inter Miami CF (September 24)
Nashville SC (September 27)
New York City FC (September 20)
Orlando City SC (September 27)
Philadelphia Union (August 30)
Western Conference
Austin FC (October 5)
FC Dallas (October 18)
Los Angeles FC (September 20)
Minnesota United FC (August 30)
Portland Timbers (October 5)
Real Salt Lake (October 18)
San Diego FC (August 23)
Seattle Sounders FC (September 27)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (September 13)
Conference standings
Eastern Conference
MLS Eastern Conference table (2025)
Pos
Team
v
t
e
Pld
Pts
1
Philadelphia Union
34
66
2
FC Cincinnati
34
65
3
Inter Miami CF
34
65
4
Charlotte FC
34
59
5
New York City FC
34
56
6
Nashville SC
34
54
7
Columbus Crew
34
54
8
Chicago Fire FC
34
53
9
Orlando City SC
34
53
Source: MLS
Western Conference
MLS Western Conference table (2025)
Pos
Team
v
t
e
Pld
Pts
1
San Diego FC
34
63
2
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
34
63
3
Los Angeles FC
34
60
4
Minnesota United FC
34
58
5
Seattle Sounders FC
34
55
6
Austin FC
34
47
7
FC Dallas
34
44
8
Portland Timbers
34
44
9
Real Salt Lake
34
41
Source: MLS
Bracket
The higher seeded teams hosted 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 hosted the first match (and the third match, if required).
The higher-ranked finalist in the overall Supporters' Shield table (Inter Miami CF) hosted the match.
Inter Miami CF
3–1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Ocampo 8' (o.g.)
De Paul 71'
Allende 90+6'
Report
Ahmed 60'
Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 21,556
Referee: Drew Fischer
Top goalscorers
Rank
Player
Club
Goals
1
Tadeo Allende
Inter Miami CF
9
2
Lionel Messi
Inter Miami CF
6
3
Anders Dreyer
San Diego FC
4
4
Amahl Pellegrino
San Diego FC
3
Son Heung-min
Los Angeles FC
6
Tai Baribo
Philadelphia Union
2
Denis Bouanga
Los Angeles FC
Brenner
FC Cincinnati
Hugo Cuypers
Chicago Fire FC
Nicolás Fernández
New York City FC
Hirving Lozano
San Diego FC
Alonso Martínez
New York City FC
Felipe Mora
Portland Timbers
Jordan Morris
Seattle Sounders FC
Danny Musovski
Seattle Sounders FC
Jacen Russell-Rowe
Columbus Crew
Mateo Silvetti
Inter Miami CF
Obed Vargas
Seattle Sounders FC
Kristoffer Velde
Portland Timbers
Brian White
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
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