It all comes down to this. Thirty-four weeks after the regular season kicked off, the 34th match of each club's campaign will be played on Saturday, Oct. 21 in a dramatic Decision Day finale.
The Eastern Conference will kick off the festivities with seven fixtures at 5 p.m. CT followed by seven Western Conference clashes starting simultaneously at 8:15 p.m. CT. All of the action will stream live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, including whip-around coverage on MLS 360.
Of all the match-ups, none are quite as pressure-packed as the battle brewing between Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United FC at Children's Mercy Park in a showdown featuring two clubs tied on 41 points and in need of a victory to vault into playoff position.
Three berths in the playoffs remain up for grabs in the Western Conference and, with three teams tied on 43 points, the winner of SKCvMIN will advance to the postseason if any of that trio slip up.
Team | Points | Decision Day |
Portland Timbers | 43 | vs. Houston |
San Jose Earthquakes | 43 | vs. Austin |
FC Dallas | 43 | at LA Galaxy |
Sporting KC | 41 | vs. Minnesota |
Minnesota United FC | 41 | at Sporting KC |
Note: With a win, Sporting KC or Minnesota United FC would each hold the tiebreaker advantage over Portland, San Jose and FC Dallas should any of those teams finish on 44 points with a draw on Decision Day.
SKCvMIN PLAYOFF SCENARIO
The winner of SKCvMIN will clinch a playoff berth if…
- Portland or Dallas or San Jose draw/lose
SKCvMIN SEEDING SCENARIOS
The winner of SKCvMIN will clinch the No. 7 seed and play in the Round One Best-of-3 series if…
- All three of Portland, Dallas and San Jose draw/lose
The winner of SKCvMIN will clinch the No. 8 seed and host the Wild Card match if…
- Only two of Portland, Dallas and San Jose draw/lose
The winner of SKCvMIN will clinch the No. 9 seed and play away in the Wild Card match if…
- Only one of Portland, Dallas and San Jose draw/lose
SKCvMIN ELIMINATION SCENARIOS
The loser of SKCvMIN will be eliminated from playoff contention.
Both teams in SKCvMIN will be eliminated from playoff contention in a draw.
The winner of SKCvMIN will be eliminated from playoff contention if...
- Portland, Dallas and San Jose all win
