MLS revamps and expands post-season format for upcoming 2023 season

Major League Soccer has revamped its playoff format with two extra teams making the post-season from each conference and an expanded first round featuring best-of-three series.

The Eastern and Western Conference will each send nine teams to the post-season, one up from last year.

At the end of the regular season, the top seven teams from each conference will automatically make the first round of the playoffs. The eighth- and ninth-place teams in each conference will try to join them via a single-elimination wild-card match that will go directly to a penalty shootout if tied after regulation time.

The first round will feature No. 1 versus No. 8 or 9, No. 2 versus No. 7, No. 3 versus No. 6 and No. 4 versus No. 5 in each conference. Like the wild-card matchups, tie games will go directly to a penalty shootout.

The higher seed will host the first game and the third, if required. Game 2 will be played at the lower seed.

The conference semifinals, finals and MLS Cup final will be single-elimination matches hosted by the team with the better regular-season record. Should these games finished knotted after 90 minutes, two 15-minute extra time periods will be played in their entirety, with a penalty shootout to follow if needed

In 2022, the top seven clubs from each conference made the playoffs with the No. 1 seeds in the East and West getting first-round byes. All the post-season games were single-elimination affairs.

The wild-card matches are scheduled for Oct. 25-26 with the first-round series to follow Oct. 28 to Nov. 12. The conference semifinals and finals will be played between Nov. 25 and Dec. 3 with the championship game slated for Dec. 9.

MLS is up to 29 teams this season with the addition of expansion St. Louis City