 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada |
| Dates | October 19 – November 10 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Defending champions | Atlanta United FC |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Seattle Sounders FC (2nd title) |
| Runner-up | Toronto FC |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Goals scored | 53 (4.08 per match) |
| Attendance | 442,476 (34,037 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Raúl Ruidíaz(4 goals) |
The 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) was the post-season championship of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. It was the 24th edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating at the end of the 2019 regular season. The playoffs began on October 19, 2019, and concluded with MLS Cup 2019 on November 10.[1]
The playoffs were contested by fourteen teams under a new format, with the top seven teams from both conferences qualifying based on their regular season performances. All rounds used single-elimination matches that were hosted by the higher remaining seed, and no rounds would be re-seeded unlike previous years.[1] As a result, the playoffs were played over a 23-day period without interruptions from an international break, as was previously the case.[2]
The first round (October 19–20) featured the second through seventh-seeded teams in each conference playing each other, with the first-placed teams in each conference receiving a bye. The winners of the first round advanced to the Conference Semifinals (October 23–24) along with the first-placed team from each conference. The winners of the Conference Semifinals then advanced to the Conference Finals (October 29–30) for an MLS Cup berth.[1][3]
Atlanta United FC were the defending MLS Cup champions, having won their first title in MLS Cup 2018, but were eliminated by Toronto FC in the Conference Finals. The 2019 regular season Supporters' Shield champions were Los Angeles FC, but they were also eliminated in the Conference Finals by Seattle Sounders FC. For the first time in league history, the four conference finalists were all expansion teams and did not feature any of the ten original teams from the inaugural season.[4] Seattle hosted MLS Cup 2019 and won 3–1 in their third finals played against Toronto FC.
- ^ a b c Bogert, Tom (December 17, 2018). "MLS announces new playoff format for 2019 season". Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
- ^ Evans, Jayda (October 10, 2019). "Sounders torn on MLS's new playoff format: Some apprehension, yet 'it's going to be super dramatic'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ "MLS announces schedule for Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs". Major League Soccer. August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ Boehm, Charles (October 27, 2019). "Changing of the guard? For first time ever, no founding MLS clubs in Conference Finals". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.