After winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield, Inter Miami is ready to face Atlanta United on their route to the 2024 MLS Cup. They are team bang in form with Lionel Messi scoring back-to-back hattricks. Hence, no one would want to come their way as the team looks promising ahead of the MLS playoffs. Concerning the European soccer game, the American soccer scenario works differently. The European leagues have a points system where the teams with the most wins lift the league title. However, the MLS playoffs format is unique.

The UEFA Champions League has a league and a knockout system. Notably, the top teams in the league advance to the knockout rounds, where they play two games, both home and away. Hence, the MLS Cup playoffs remain an interesting proposition””the first of its kind Lionel Messi will play in his career. So, how does this work?

The games will begin on October 25th after the Wild Card games. Last year, the Columbus Crew won the competition and will hope to win it again. Yet, Lionel Messi and Co look ready to unleash their wrath on the other US soccer clubs.

With 18 teams qualifying for the playoffs, Atlanta United scored a win against Montreal in the Wild Card game. The organizers kept hold of the post-season format they used for the 2023 MLS and it’s still the same.

The 2024 MLS Playoffs Format

Similar to the NBA and most American leagues, the first round will be the Wild Card round. It starts with the 8th and 9th-placed teams in the western and eastern conferences going against each other in a knockout round. The side that wins the game will face the 1st-ranked team in both conferences. In this case, Atlanta United finished 9th but still won after defeating the 8th-seeded Montreal in penalties. They will face the 1st-rank team that is Inter Miami.

After that, Round One will have a best-of-three series. The top-ranked team will play the first home game, followed by an away game for the top seed to the wild card round-winning team. To put things into perspective, Inter Miami will face Atlanta United at the Chase Stadium first. Later, Inter Miami will travel to Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. If we need a game 3, Inter Miami will play at home again.

Later, we head to the Conference Semifinals. But here’s the catch. Unlike Round One, this will be a win-or-go-home situation for the teams. Where the home match will be played depends on their seedings. Hence, it looks like a tough proposition for the teams. With the team that wins the semis, they advance to the Conference Finals. Similar to the semis, the Conference Finals is a one-game affair. You win it and you advance to the MLS Cup Finals.

Here, the teams with the best regular season record will get the advantage of playing at home. In this case, Inter Miami is in pole position to get this done. Win the game and become champions; as simple as that!

Here are the dates for the upcoming playoffs format:

• Decision Day””Saturday, Oct. 19
• Wild Card””Tuesday, Oct. 22”“Wednesday, Oct. 23
• Round One””Friday, Oct. 25”“Sunday, Nov. 10
• Conference Semifinals””Saturday, Nov. 23”“Sunday, Nov. 24
• Conference Finals””Saturday, Nov. 30”“Sunday, Dec. 1
• MLS Cup””Saturday, Dec. 7

The MLS Playoffs format promises to be exciting and we can’t wait for it to start. Who do you think will go all the way and claim the crown?