Cesar Hernandez and Joseph Lowery
Nov 9, 2025, 05:20 PM ET
Sixteen days after it began, Round 1 of the MLS Cup playoffs came to a close on Sunday night. With the best-of-three series fresh in mind and the November international break now underway, it’s a good time to recap the opening salvo: favorites largely advanced, the GOAT reached the conference semifinals for the first time in his MLS career, and half a dozen shootouts supplied plenty of drama. ESPN asked Cesar Hernandez and Joseph Lowery to sum up the best and worst of Round 1.
Talk of the round
The favorites march on
For fans hoping for major upsets, this year’s first round offered few. In the West the top four seeds advanced: San Diego FC, the Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC and Minnesota United FC all beat lower-seeded opponents, and both LAFC and Vancouver wrapped their series in two games. In the East there was one lower-seed upset: No. 5 New York City FC eliminated No. 4 Charlotte FC, but most title talk in the East still centers on Philadelphia Union, FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami — all alive and plenty dangerous.
In a league defined by parity, surprises are never far off; but Round 1 mostly looked like the chalk. — Hernandez
MLS stumbles over scheduling
MLS’ playoff format — 60% of the league qualifying, an opening best-of-three round that pauses for an international break, then single elimination — continues to draw debate. The series themselves create interesting narratives, but the scheduling around them was baffling this year.
Inter Miami opened Round 1 on Friday, Oct. 24, and then there were effectively no Saturday games. The rest of the week was scattered: Sunday had three matches, Monday one, Tuesday one and even Wednesday one. The result was a disjointed broadcast slate that likely confused neutral viewers and broke any postseason rhythm. Practically, it created uneven rest: four teams had just three days between games one and two, while others had a full week.
MLS’ postseason should be its showcase; the league missed an opportunity to present it cleanly. — Lowery
MVP of the round
Lionel Messi | Inter Miami
It’s Messi. After an all-time regular season and the odds-on lock to repeat as MLS MVP, Messi carried his form into the playoffs. Across Miami’s three-game series with Nashville SC he scored five goals and added an assist — including a classic Messi through ball — and his pressing from No. 10 helped spark a stout defensive effort in the 4-0 clincher. Even without suspended Luis Suárez for the decisive match, Miami didn’t miss a beat with Messi leading the way. At 38 he remains unplayable and motivated after last year’s early postseason exit. — Lowery
Anders Dreyer | San Diego FC
Messi deserves the top nod, but Anders Dreyer deserves recognition for a brilliant series. He scored the first-leg winner against the Portland Timbers, assisted in game two, and then netted a brace in San Diego’s 4-0 series-clinching victory. Snapdragon Stadium let him know who they thought was the round’s best, chanting “MVP” as he celebrated corners and goals. Dreyer looks set to be a key figure as San Diego hosts Minnesota next. — Hernandez
Moment of the round
Loons-Sounders shootout goes 11 rounds
Round 1 produced six penalty shootouts deciding single-game winners, but the Minnesota United vs. Seattle Sounders series decider stood above the rest. The match went to penalties, Seattle subbed on goalkeeper Andrew Thomas late as a shootout specialist — who dislocated a finger in the shootout’s opening round — and the duel stretched into sudden death. Then the unexpected: Minnesota keeper Dayne St. Clair stepped up and converted his penalty. Thomas followed, struck the ball with confidence, and it smacked the crossbar, ricocheted in and out impossibly, and Minnesota emerged 7-6. It was heartbreaking for Seattle, euphoric for the Loons, and a shootout for the ages. — Hernandez
Brenner comes back to take Cincy forward
Brenner’s Cincinnati tenure has been roller-coaster — a big-money signing in 2021, an unhappy exit in 2023, then a surprise return in the 2025 summer window. In Saturday’s series-deciding Hell Is Real clash with Columbus Crew, Brenner was the hero: he leveled the match in front of a packed TQL Stadium and then delivered the 86th-minute winner. After a high press created the chance, Brenner drifted to the ball, used an outside-of-the-foot touch to shake last year’s Defender of the Year Steven Moreira, and finished clinically. The celebration — shirt off, GPS tracker revealed — capped a dramatic return and sent Cincinnati into the Eastern Conference semifinals. — Lowery
