5 Reasons The Proposed New MLS Cup Playoff Format Actually Works

Filed 4d ago · Via Forbes · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Bass Walker

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: W.carter · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons

A Forbes piece walks through a proposed MLS Cup Playoff overhaul reported by The Guardian, expanding the postseason field to 20 teams with a play-in round, a double-elimination bracket for top seeds, and reseeding after every round.

The writer credits the format to addressing complaints about playoff bloat and diminished stakes, noting that of 87 playoff matches from 2023-2025, only 39 were true win-or-go-home games for both sides. MLS itself has not finalized any postseason structure for 2027, per the original Guardian report.

The piece pitches the new format as more familiar to American fans by comparing it to the NBA play-in tournament, while acknowledging that early online reactions have been mostly negative about yet another expansion.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

A trade publication contributor building a five-point defense of a format the league hasn't even confirmed is optimism doing the work reporting should do. The tell is right there in the piece: fans hate it, but here are five reasons they're wrong.

Source: Read the original at Forbes → Scored: Bass Walker · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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