The 2024 MLS Cup playoffs (branded as the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) will be the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It will be the 29th edition of the MLS Cup playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2024 season. The playoffs will begin on October 23 and conclude with MLS Cup 2024 on December 7.[1]
The playoffs featured a new format from previous years with an expanded field of 18 teams—the top nine teams from each conference. The top seven teams in each conference automatically qualify 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 No. 1 seed in their conference, with only a penalty shoot-out occurring if the game was tied. Round One comprised a best-of-three format with higher seeds playing against lower seeds, for the first time since 1999. The round did not have the aggregate score kept, and tied matches proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. The remaining three rounds — the Conference Semifinals, Conference Final, and MLS Cup — were single-elimination matches played with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if still tied.[1][2] The higher seed hosted the match in all rounds except for the best-of-three series in Round One, where the lower seed hosted the second of three possible matches. All matches were broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass, a streaming service operated by Apple.[1]
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 necessary.
