MLS Playoff Picture
Updated 2026-10-25T03:38:07.675855+00:00 · ESPN public data
Source: ESPN public standings (records + ESPN playoff seeds). Guide only: not an official clinch or elimination; bubble lines and scenarios use simple wins/points pace and ignore complex tiebreakers.
Your teams
MLS
Top 7 per conference go straight to Round One; 8–9 play the Wild Card match. Ranked by points (3 per win, 1 per draw). 34-game season.
Eastern Conference
1Nashville SC21-7-3Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 32 points clear of the first team out.
2New England Revolution17-4-10Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 17 points clear of the first team out.
3Inter Miami CF15-10-6Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 17 points clear of the first team out.
4Chicago Fire FC15-6-10Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 13 points clear of the first team out.
5Charlotte FC13-8-9In position · No. 5 seed
To make it: Magic number 1: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Columbus Crew totaling 1 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 0 more points in 4 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 9 points clear of the first team out.
6Philadelphia Union13-7-11In position · No. 6 seed
To make it: Magic number 2: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Columbus Crew totaling 2 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 8 points clear of the first team out.
7Orlando City SC12-6-13In position · No. 7 seed
To make it: Magic number 6: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Columbus Crew totaling 6 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 1 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~43 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Columbus Crew passes them — they're 4 points clear of the first team out.
8FC Cincinnati11-9-11Play-in · No. 8 seed
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Orlando City SC (12-6-13). Needs ~1 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~43 points), and to stay ahead of Red Bull New York.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 3 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
9Red Bull New York11-6-14Play-in · No. 9 seed
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Orlando City SC (12-6-13). Needs ~4 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~43 points), and to stay ahead of Columbus Crew.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 2 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
10Columbus Crew11-5-15On the bubble · 1 points back
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Orlando City SC (12-6-13). Needs ~5 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~43 points), and to stay ahead of Red Bull New York.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 2 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
11Toronto FC8-12-11On the bubble · 3 points back
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Orlando City SC (12-6-13). Needs ~7 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~43 points), and to stay ahead of Red Bull New York.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
12New York City FC8-11-12On the bubble · 4 points back
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Orlando City SC (12-6-13). Needs ~8 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~43 points), and to stay ahead of Red Bull New York.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
13D.C. United7-12-12Out · 6 points back
To make it: Out of reach on wins alone.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
14Atlanta United FC8-6-17Out · 9 points back
To make it: Out of reach on wins alone.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 3 makes ~43 points impossible.
15CF Montréal6-7-18Eliminated (math)
To make it: Out of reach on wins alone.
What leaves them out: Max possible points (34) is below the current 9-seed's total — out of reach.
Western Conference
1Vancouver Whitecaps16-7-8Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 16 points clear of the first team out.
2FC Dallas15-9-7Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 15 points clear of the first team out.
3St. Louis CITY SC14-9-8Clinched (math)
To make it: Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 12 points clear of the first team out.
4San Jose Earthquakes13-9-9In position · No. 4 seed
To make it: Magic number 1: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Real Salt Lake totaling 1 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 9 points clear of the first team out.
5Houston Dynamo FC13-9-9In position · No. 5 seed
To make it: Magic number 1: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Real Salt Lake totaling 1 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 9 points clear of the first team out.
6LAFC12-10-9In position · No. 6 seed
To make it: Magic number 3: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Real Salt Lake totaling 3 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 0 more points in 3 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 7 points clear of the first team out.
7Seattle Sounders FC11-9-10In position · No. 7 seed
To make it: Magic number 7: any combination of points by them + points dropped by Real Salt Lake totaling 7 locks a top-9 spot. Keep pace: about 2 more points in 4 games (the current 9-seed pace is ~44 points).
What leaves them out: Falls out if Real Salt Lake passes them — they're 3 points clear of the first team out.
8Colorado Rapids12-6-13Play-in · No. 8 seed
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Seattle Sounders FC (11-9-10). Needs ~2 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~44 points), and to stay ahead of LA Galaxy.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 3 more of 3 makes ~44 points impossible.
9LA Galaxy10-10-11Play-in · No. 9 seed
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Seattle Sounders FC (11-9-10). Needs ~4 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~44 points), and to stay ahead of Real Salt Lake.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 2 more of 3 makes ~44 points impossible.
10Real Salt Lake11-6-14On the bubble · 1 points back
To make it: In the play-in / wild-card round. To skip it, pass No. 7 Seattle Sounders FC (11-9-10). Needs ~5 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~44 points), and to stay ahead of LA Galaxy.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 2 more of 3 makes ~44 points impossible.
11Minnesota United FC8-11-12Out · 5 points back
To make it: Needs ~9 points in their final 3 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~44 points), and to stay ahead of LA Galaxy.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 3 makes ~44 points impossible.
12Portland Timbers9-7-14Out · 6 points back
To make it: Needs ~10 points in their final 4 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~44 points), and to stay ahead of LA Galaxy.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 4 makes ~44 points impossible.
13San Diego FC8-10-12Out · 6 points back
To make it: Needs ~10 points in their final 4 games to reach the current 9-seed pace (~44 points), and to stay ahead of LA Galaxy.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 4 makes ~44 points impossible.
14Austin FC8-10-13Out · 6 points back
To make it: Out of reach on wins alone.
What leaves them out: Every loss shrinks the margin: losing 1 more of 3 makes ~44 points impossible.
15Sporting Kansas City6-4-21Eliminated (math)
To make it: Out of reach on wins alone.
What leaves them out: Max possible points (31) is below the current 9-seed's total — out of reach.
How this is calculated
Seeds and records come straight from ESPN public standings. Remaining games = season length − games played. Floor = current wins (or points); ceiling = floor + every remaining game won. Eliminated (math) = ceiling is below the current last playoff spot. Clinched (math) = already ahead of the first team out's ceiling. Magic number = own wins + that chaser's losses needed to lock it. Official tiebreakers (head-to-head, division, conference record, etc.) are not fully resolved, so ties can go either way.
How we figure it: seeds come straight from ESPN's standings feed. "Bubble" and scenario lines are simple points/wins math (pace of the last playoff spot) and ignore tiebreakers, so treat them as a guide, not an official clinch/elimination. Refreshed with the site's ESPN data cadence.