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Major League Soccer announced the official 2026 Audi MLS Cup playoffs schedule on Monday, confirming a postseason that will run from Nov. 18 to Dec. 18. The 2026 edition marks the 30th MLS playoffs since the league’s inaugural season in 1996.
The playoff schedule begins after MLS Decision Day on Nov. 7, which will determine final seeding and qualification places. That will be followed by an 11-day pause for the FIFA international window before the postseason opens.
Wild Card matches will take place on Nov. 18, with the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in each conference meeting in single-elimination games hosted by the higher seed. The two winners will then advance to face their conference’s No. 1 seed in the Round One Best-of-3 Series.
Round One will run from Nov. 20 to Dec. 2 and feature 16 teams in total. That field will include the top seven clubs from each conference along with the two Wild Card winners.
The conference semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. Those four matches will be single-elimination ties, continuing the knockout format deeper into the competition.
Conference finals will then be played on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, deciding the Eastern and Western Conference representatives for MLS Cup. The 2026 MLS Cup final is set for Dec. 18 and will be hosted by the finalist with the better regular-season record.
The reigning champions are Inter Miami, who won the 2025 MLS Cup against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Lionel Messi will therefore enter the 2026 postseason as part of the title-holding side.
MLS also confirmed broadcast details for the competition. Every playoff match will be shown on Apple TV in the United States and internationally, while select games, including the final, will also air on FOX, TSN and RDS.
In addition to lifting the trophy, the 2026 MLS Cup winner will earn a bye into the round of 16 of the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.