Major League Soccer has been on a steady rise since its formation, but Lionel Messi‘s summer arrival from Paris Saint-Germain has skyrocketed the league’s profile multiple times over.

The regular season has been and gone and the MLS playoffs are all but concluded, other than the final, which takes place on Saturday.

But how does it actually work? Football FanCast provides you with all the necessary information about the MLS Cup playoffs.

How the MLS regular season works

29 teams compete in MLS

MLS comprises of 26 teams from the United States and three teams from across the border in Canada.

It was founded in 1993, with its inaugural season commencing three years later in 1996. The US’s 1994 World Cup was a major catalyst for the league’s formation.

FIFA awarded the US the World Cup in exchange for their commitment to developing a top-level professional soccer league after the National American Soccer League (NASL) was scrapped in the mid-1980s.

How the MLS Eastern and Western Conferences work

15 teams in Eastern, 14 in Western

Each of the 29 teams in MLS play 34 games – 17 at home and 17 away. Sides in the Eastern Conference play each other twice and six cross-conference opponents once.

In the Western Conference, sides play each other twice and one-to-two additional inter-conference opponents. They’re also required to play six-to-seven cross-conference opponents once.

Ranking the best stadiums in the MLS Western Conference

How the MLS playoffs work

The top seven from both conferences automatically qualify

After the regular MLS season has ended, the top seven sides from each conference automatically proceed to a best-of-three series.

The eighth and ninth-placed teams from each conference qualify for the single-knockout MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card match. The two winners from each Wild Card match earn a spot in the aforementioned Round One best-of-three series.

This means that nearly two-thirds of all the teams in MLS remain in contention for the MLS Cup come the end of the regular season. Perhaps understandably, the format has come under fire, with the 34 regular-season matches for each team resulting in not much more than a playoff place – bar the honour of the Supporters’ Shield for the side with the best overall record.

To put this into perspective, Western Conference ‘winners’ St Louis City were knocked out of the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs after being defeated by Sporting Kansas City home and away. Sporting KC finished seven places and 12 points behind the side which only joined as an expansion club this year.

Effectively, the only advantage the Missouri outfit gained from their Western Conference placing was the prospect of having home advantage in each round – something they did not even benefit from after losing in successive matches in their best-of-three tie.

Each match in the best-of-three series must determine a winner, with penalty kicks used as a decider in any drawn game.

The eight winners across the two conferences advance to the semi-finals and then the finals, where an Eastern and Western conference winner are crowned.

The two conference champions then meet at the MLS Cup, on 9th December, 2023. The team with the best regular season record in the regular – or Supporters’ Shield – standings will host the game.

This year, the regular MLS season started on 25th February and ended on 21st October. Here are the two final conference tables:

Ranking the best stadiums in the MLS Eastern Conference

Qualified teams for the MLS playoffs

16 teams qualify for the playoffs

This season’s MLS Cup playoffs were played across seven weeks – the longest campaign since its formation.

All of the rounds have played out now, other than the final, which commences on Saturday the 9th of December between Columbus and LAFC.

Latest MLS Cup playoff results & fixtures

As the MLS Cup draws to a close, FFC takes a look at playoff scorelines over the last couple of months ahead of Saturday’s final at the Lower.com Field in Columbus.

The Conference finals saw Columbus fight back from two nil down to secure a 3-2 away victory at FC Cincinnati whilst the reigning champions LAFC beat the visiting Houston Dynamo 2-0.

The two victors are scheduled to meet this Saturday to determine a winner of the MLS Cup.

The MLS Cup final will get underway this Saturday at 9pm GMT, as the defending champions LAFC make the trip to Columbus’ own patch the Lower.com Field.

MLS Cup history

Los Angeles FC are the reigning champions

27 teams have been crowned MLS Cup winners, and LA Galaxy are the current record holders for the most triumphs with five, closely followed by D.C. United on four.

Los Angeles FC won their first cup last year and have the chance to retain the trophy on Saturday, as they take on two-time winners Columbus.