2020 MLS Cup playoffs

Main article: 2020 Major League Soccer season

The 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. The tournament culminated the 2020 MLS regular season. The playoffs began on November 20 and concluded with MLS Cup 2020 on December 12.^[1]

2020 MLS Cup Playoffs

Tournament details
Country	United States
Dates	November 20 – December 12
Teams	18
Defending champions	Seattle Sounders FC
Final positions
Champions	Columbus Crew SC (2nd title)
Runners-up	Seattle Sounders FC
Semifinalists	Minnesota United FC New England Revolution
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	50 (2.94 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Kevin Molino (4 goals)
← 2019 2021 →

On October 29, the league announced that the final regular season standings and playoff qualification would be determined by points per game rather than by overall points. This was due to eight MLS clubs, all in the Western Conference, being unable to play all of their scheduled 23 regular season matches in time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven postponed matches were cancelled altogether in order for the playoffs to be able to start on the scheduled date.^[2] A 12-day break between Decision Day and the start of the playoffs was added to accommodate an international break; MLS waived quarantine requirements for players who returned on charter flights, but several positive cases affected the opening rounds.^[3][4]

The 2020 regular season Supporters' Shield champions were the Philadelphia Union, who were eliminated in the first round by the New England Revolution.

Seattle Sounders FC were the defending MLS Cup champions, having won their second title in MLS Cup 2019. They were beaten by Columbus Crew SC 3–0 in the MLS Cup final. As a result, Columbus Crew SC earned their second MLS Cup title, and first since 2008.

Qualified teams

Eastern Conference

• Columbus Crew SC
• Inter Miami CF
• Montreal Impact
• Nashville SC
• New England Revolution
• New York City FC
• New York Red Bulls
• Orlando City SC
• Philadelphia Union
• Toronto FC

Western Conference

• Colorado Rapids
• FC Dallas
• Los Angeles FC
• Minnesota United FC
• Portland Timbers
• San Jose Earthquakes
• Seattle Sounders FC
• Sporting Kansas City

Conference standings

The top ten teams in the Eastern Conference and the top eight teams in the Western Conference advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs, with the teams ranked seventh to tenth in the East going through an initial play-in round. Background colors denote playoff teams, with green also qualifying for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League, and blue also qualifying for the 2021 Leagues Cup. The Portland Timbers and non-playoff Atlanta United FC qualified for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the MLS is Back Tournament and 2019 U.S. Open Cup, respectively. Toronto FC qualified after being nominated by Canada Soccer by virtue of being the MLS finalists of the 2020 Canadian Championship.

Eastern Conference Pos Team v t e Pld Pts PPG 1 Philadelphia Union 23 47 2.04 2 Toronto FC 23 44 1.91 3 Columbus Crew SC (C) 23 41 1.78 4 Orlando City SC 23 41 1.78 5 New York City FC 23 39 1.70 6 New York Red Bulls 23 32 1.39 7 Nashville SC 23 32 1.39 8 New England Revolution 23 32 1.39 9 Montreal Impact 23 26 1.13 10 Inter Miami CF 23 24 1.04 Source: MLS[5] (C) Champions

Western Conference Pos Team v t e Pld Pts PPG 1 Sporting Kansas City 21 39 1.86 2 Seattle Sounders FC 22 39 1.77 3 Portland Timbers 23 39 1.70 4 Minnesota United FC 21 34 1.62 5 Colorado Rapids 18 28 1.56 6 FC Dallas 22 34 1.55 7 Los Angeles FC 22 32 1.45 8 San Jose Earthquakes 23 30 1.30 Source: MLS[5]

Play-in round

This round was only applied to the Eastern Conference. The seventh-placed team, Nashville SC, played the tenth-placed team, Inter Miami CF, while the eighth-placed team, the New England Revolution, faced the ninth-placed team, the Montreal Impact. The lowest-ranked team to advance from this round, the New England Revolution, advanced to play the conference's first-placed team, the Philadelphia Union. The highest-ranked remaining team, Nashville SC, advanced to face the conference's second-placed team, Toronto FC.

November 20

6:30 p.m. EST

New England Revolution	2–1	Montreal Impact
Gil 38' Bou 90+5'	Report	Quioto 61'

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Jair Marrufo

---

November 20

8:00 p.m. CST

Nashville SC	3–0	Inter Miami CF
Leal 14' Mukhtar 24' (pen.) McCarty 57'	Report

Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

Attendance: 3,240^[b]

Referee: Ismail Elfath

Playoffs proper bracket

First round November 21–22, 24

Conference semifinals November 29, December 1–3

Conference finals December 6–7

MLS Cup December 12

E1

Philadelphia Union

0

E8

New England Revolution

2

E8

New England Revolution

3

E4

Orlando City SC

1

E4

Orlando City SC (p)

1 (6)

E5

New York City FC

1 (5)

E8

New England Revolution

0

Eastern Conference

E3

Columbus Crew SC

1

E3

Columbus Crew SC

3

E6

New York Red Bulls

2

E3

Columbus Crew SC (a.e.t.)

2

E7

Nashville SC

0

E2

Toronto FC

0

E7

Nashville SC (a.e.t.)

1

E3

Columbus Crew SC

3

W2

Seattle Sounders FC

0

W1

Sporting Kansas City (p)

3 (3)

W8

San Jose Earthquakes

3 (0)

W1

Sporting Kansas City

0

W4

Minnesota United FC

3

W4

Minnesota United FC

3

W5

Colorado Rapids

0

W4

Minnesota United FC

2

Western Conference

W2

Seattle Sounders FC

3

W3

Portland Timbers

1 (7)

W6

FC Dallas (p)

1 (8)

W6

FC Dallas

0

W2

Seattle Sounders FC

1

W2

Seattle Sounders FC

3

W7

Los Angeles FC

1

Note: The higher-seeded team hosted matches in the first three rounds. The team with the better regular season record hosted the final.
Source: 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Bracket

First round

The top four teams in each conference hosted the first round matches.

Eastern Conference

November 21

12:00 PM EST

Orlando City SC	1–1 (a.e.t.)	New York City FC
Nani 5' (pen.)	Report	Chanot 8'
Penalties
Akindele Perea Carlos Urso Nani Jansson Michel	6–5	Moralez Medina Rocha Tajouri-Shradi Castellanos Acevedo Þórarinsson

Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Referee: Allen Chapman

---

November 21

3:00 PM EST

Columbus Crew SC	3–2	New York Red Bulls
Pedro Santos 26' (pen.) Nagbe 46' Zardes 68'	Report	Clark 23' White 90'

Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Alex Chilowicz

---

November 24

6:00 PM EST

Toronto FC	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Nashville SC
	Report	Ríos 108'

Pratt & Whitney Stadium, East Hartford, Connecticut^[c]

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Robert Sibiga

---

November 24

8:00 PM EST

Philadelphia Union	0–2	New England Revolution
	Report	Buksa 26' Buchanan 30'

Subaru Park, Chester, Pennsylvania

Referee: Joseph Dickerson

Western Conference

November 22

3:00 PM CST

Sporting Kansas City	3–3 (a.e.t.)	San Jose Earthquakes
R. Espinoza 4' Ilie 47' Busio 90+1'	Report	Fierro 22' Salinas 34' Wondolowski 90+7'
Penalties
Russell Ilie Shelton	3–0	Alanís Yueill C. Espinoza

Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas

Referee: Nima Saghafi

---

November 22

6:30 PM CST

Minnesota United FC	3–0	Colorado Rapids
Molino 22', 79' Lod 54'	Report

Allianz Field, St. Paul, Minnesota

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Ted Unkel

---

November 22

7:00 PM PST

Portland Timbers	1–1 (a.e.t.)	FC Dallas
Villafaña 82'	Report	Pepi 90+3'
Penalties
Valeri Farfan Župarić Ebobisse Bodily D. Chará Loría Villafaña	7–8	Ziegler Jara Bressan Pepi Hollingshead Hedges Tessmann Twumasi

Providence Park, Portland, Oregon

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Armando Villarreal

---

November 24

7:30 PM PST

Seattle Sounders FC	3–1	Los Angeles FC
Lodeiro 18' Ruidíaz 66' Morris 80'	Report	Atuesta 77'

Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Kevin Stott

Conference semifinals

The higher-seeded teams in each match-up hosted the tie.

Eastern Conference

November 29

3:00 PM EST

Orlando City SC	1–3	New England Revolution
Urso 33'	Report	Gil 17' (pen.) Bou 25', 86'

Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Referee: Alex Chilowicz

---

November 29

8:00 PM EST

Columbus Crew SC	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Nashville SC
Pedro Santos 99' Zardes 103'	Report

Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Armando Villarreal

Western Conference

December 1

6:30 PM PST

Seattle Sounders FC	1–0	FC Dallas
O'Neill 49'	Report

Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Robert Sibiga

---

December 3

7:00 PM CST

Sporting Kansas City	0–3	Minnesota United FC
	Report	Molino 27', 35' Dibassy 39'

Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas

Referee: Drew Fischer

Conference finals

The higher-seeded teams in each conference hosted the matches.

Eastern Conference

December 6

3:00 PM EST

Columbus Crew SC	1–0	New England Revolution
Artur 59'	Report

Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 1,500^[7]

Referee: Armando Villarreal

Western Conference

December 7

6:30 PM PST

Seattle Sounders FC	3–2	Minnesota United FC
Bruin 75' Ruidíaz 89' Svensson 90+3'	Report	Reynoso 29' Dibassy 67'

Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Attendance: 0^[a]

Referee: Ismail Elfath

MLS Cup 2020

Main article: MLS Cup 2020

As the highest-ranked team remaining in the overall table, Columbus Crew SC hosted the match.

December 12, 2020 (2020-12-12)

8:30 PM EST

Columbus Crew SC	3–0	Seattle Sounders FC
Zelarayán 25', 82' Etienne 31'	Report

Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Jair Marrufo

Top goalscorers

There were 50 goals scored in 17 matches, for an average of 2.94 goals per match.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[8]
1	Kevin Molino	Minnesota United FC	4
2	Gustavo Bou	New England Revolution	3
3	Bakaye Dibassy	Minnesota United FC	2
	Carles Gil	New England Revolution
	Raúl Ruidíaz	Seattle Sounders FC
	Pedro Santos	Columbus Crew SC
	Gyasi Zardes	Columbus Crew SC
	Lucas Zelarayán	Columbus Crew SC

Notes

1. The match was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
2. The match was held in restricted capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
3. Toronto FC hosted their playoff match at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. BMO Field was not available due to travel restrictions between Canada and the United States.^[6]