How does a club qualify for the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs, and how are ties in the standings broken?

Question

Accepted Answer

Each of the 30 clubs plays 34 regular season matches (17 home, 17 away): conference opponents twice and six different cross-conference opponents once. A win earns three points, a tie one and a loss none.

Seeds 1 to 7 in each conference qualify directly for the Round One best-of-3 series. Seeds 8 and 9 play a single-game Wild Card. Toronto FC and CF Montréal are in the Eastern Conference and Vancouver Whitecaps FC is in the Western Conference.

If clubs finish level on points, the first tiebreakers are total wins, then goal differential, then goals for, then head-to-head (intraconference only). The guidelines continue with further tiebreakers (including fewest disciplinary points and away and home goal measures) and end with a coin toss for two clubs or a drawing of lots for three or more. If a club cannot play its full 34-match schedule because of cancellations, qualification is decided by points per game.

Source: https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/competition-guidelines