MLSs new playoff format: Our first impressions after the initial run of games

The MLS playoffs are seven games old, but the format of the competition is continuing to generate discussion.

Starting this year, in an effort to increase the number of games it could offer on Apple TV as part of its 10-year, $2.5 billion media rights deal, MLS gave its playoffs the most significant overhaul in a generation. Whereas for most of the previous 20 years teams have competed in one-off fixtures or two-legged series familiar to the rest of the soccer world, in 2023 MLS introduced a best-of-three structure just for the playoffs’ opening round. The first team to win two games wins the series, the aggregate score doesn’t count, and ties are broken by going straight to penalty kicks without extra time at the end of each match.

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The format is without major precedent in the world of soccer, and it has drawn a strong reaction from most – and that includes our MLS staff (editor Alexander Abnos plus writers Tom Bogert, Elias Burke, Felipe Cardenas, Pablo Maurer, Jeff Rueter and Paul Tenorio).

Here, we discuss our first impressions of the format after all but one series has played its opening game.

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Abnos: I’ll start you all off with this and then hang back: Playoffs are exciting, important and worthwhile because they create situations where every single moment in a given game matters, and where already-great moments are elevated to legendary status. A great example of this is baseball, where regular-season games tend to float along lazily, only for the postseason to create an environment where big crowds are completely invested in every single pitch, where one swing of the bat can make a whole city erupt. I think most of the past versions of the MLS playoffs had an element of this, especially when every game was a one-off at the home of the higher seed. My mind goes to last year’s bonkers Austin FC-Real Salt Lake playoff game as one example.

Watching the opening games of these playoffs, though, I’ve been most struck by how little some of the best moments have mattered – goals in particular. Alvaro Barreal’s brilliant volley; Denis Bouanga’s second; Gadi Kinda’s rocket from distance…those would have either increased their games’ aggregate score in a standard two-legged format, or put a decisive game out of reach in a format involving nothing but one-offs. In this current arrangement, they did neither. With no aggregate score and up to two more games to go, those great moments might as well have never happened. It’s a shame.

Rueter: Even if the format better valued individual goals, I don’t think that momentum would be possible. Take the New England Revolution, for example, which lost 3-1 at Philadelphia. The Revs conceded a penalty in the opening 20 minutes of that one, Philly rode that momentum to a 3-0 annihilation in the first half, and Carles Gil exited after 23 minutes with a lower leg injury.

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The problem? Game 2 won’t take place until Nov. 8 – eleven days after the opener. That’s way too long for the events of the first match to impact what comes next. A smash-and-grab Revs win at home would leave the Union with zero advantage after owning Game 1.

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Bogert: Last season, the playoffs were sandwiched between the October and November international breaks, because the season needed to be done at least a few weeks in advance of the Qatar World Cup. That offered a little breathing room between Decision Day and Round One — some time to put the regular season in perspective and build towards the playoffs, but also a bright spot: A sprint through four rounds in a month that culminated with the best MLS Cup in league history.

This year, MLS again has to honor the November international window, so this first round fills the space beforehand.

Maurer: The pacing sort of eliminates the entire point of the series to begin with, though. Look at the Philly vs New England series Jeff references above. Those two teams played a very, very hostile match and I as a neutral would love to see them play again three days later. By next week, many of those hostilities will have faded, and the narratives associated with them will probably have drifted away as well.

Cardenas: I found myself thinking ‘what’s the point of this?’ after Sporting Kansas City’s 4-1 demolition of Saint Louis SC. I’m not looking forward to game two after FC Cincinnati trounced the New York Red Bulls. And why should Nashville feel too down about losing a playoff game 1-0 to Orlando when they get to go home and a win on PKs counts the same? It feels like the winners should be preparing for their second round opponents. This first round feels eternal and Atlanta United and Columbus haven’t even played yet.

Rueter: And it’s no fault of the players involved — the games have largely been as wide-open and inspired as any other postseason. It’s good, entertaining soccer!

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Cardenas: Former Atlanta United and Inter Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez told me back in 2019 that MLS players have too many days off, and that he didn’t feel like a professional at all times in MLS. So I think this type of schedule is a major adjustment for a lot of international players too. I understand that footballers are playing a lot of games right now, and that rest is important, but sometimes it’s best to just get on with it.

Maurer: Burnout may also be a factor. We’re over eight months into the season now and lived through Messi-mania and Leagues Cup. It was exciting at the time but that particular tournament, and the adrenaline associated with it, has made the rest of the MLS regular season feel a bit like a denouement, not a climax.

Burke: I noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the crowd too. I was at BMO Stadium for LAFC’s impressive 5-2 win over Vancouver Whitecaps, and even ahead of the game there was not the anticipation from the Los Angeles crowd that you might expect from a playoff matchup.

Maybe that’s because it’s Los Angeles, where LAFC is currently competing with the NHL’s Kings, the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the NFL’s Rams and Chargers plus college football for attention, but rows of empty seats is a disappointing reflection on how fans are responding to the change in format. And while the LAFC faithful are always noisy, the atmosphere did not reflect a heightened sense of occasion. In fact, early season MLS games, the CONCACAF Champions League and the recently played Campeones Cup defeat against Tigres felt more like a “playoff atmosphere.”

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Rueter: A friend of mine pointed out that Dallas’ hosting of Game 2 against Seattle could come on the same day as a potential Game 7 of the World Series, which would be hosted by the Texas Rangers. Will Dallas’ players feel the same rabid support of a city behind their team between the long lay-off between games and whatever vibe — positive, negative, or suspenseful — surrounds the Rangers at that point?

Cardenas: Call me a purist but a best-of-three series just doesn’t make sense for soccer. While traditional across other U.S. sports, it’s culturally abnormal for the international game.

Bogert: After the break MLS reverts back to the single-elimination style that worked so well last year. It rewards regular season performance, with the higher seed given hosting rights, and every moment matters. Luckily, only this round will take weeks on end, and then we’re back to that all-out sprint.

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Tenorio: For me, the easiest way to put it is that MLS was so focused on expanding the inventory that it didn’t put enough thought into how the new format might impact the actual on-field product.

Rueter: To paraphrase “Jurassic Park,” their schedule-makers were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.

Tenorio: Would anyone be shocked if we hear about changes to this playoff format after the season and before 2024 kicks off? I’d say it’s a pretty good bet.

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(Photo: Jeff Dean/Getty Images)

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