DECISION DAY 2025: Playoff Positions, Home-Field Advantage, and MLS Golden Boot Presented by Audi All at Stake

MLS Communcations

Decision Day coverage kicks off on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 18

NEW YORK (Tuesday, October 14, 2025) – This Saturday is Decision Day 2025, the final day of the MLS regular season as Audi MLS Cup Playoffs positions, home-field advantage, and the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi are on the line.
All intraconference matches will kick off simultaneously on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV with Eastern Conference matches at 6 p.m. ET and Western Conference matches at 9 p.m. ET.

Click Here for the Decision Day 2025 schedule
Click Here for current MLS standings
Click Here for the Decision Day playoffs scenarios

Race for the MLS Golden Boot Presented by Audi Comes Down to Decision Day
The race for the coveted MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi, awarded to the player with the most goals in the regular season will come down to the final day of games as Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Denis Bouanga (LAFC), and Sam Surridge (Nashville SC) all have a final 90 minutes of action to make their mark.

Messi leads the way with 26 goals, with Bouanga (24 goals) and Surridge (23 goals) closely following behind.

All eyes will be on the Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami CF match Saturday as two of the top prospects in Messi and Surridge go head-to-head in the final match.

For Messi, this would be his first time winning a league top scorer trophy since his Pichichi triumph with Barcelona during the 2020-21 season. Surridge could become the second English player to win the trophy since Bradley Wright-Phillips’ 2016 triumph, while Bouanga would become the fifth member of the exclusive club of two-time Golden Boot winners.

In case of a tie, the first Golden Boot tiebreaker is assists, followed by the player with the fewest minutes played.

At Stake in the East
The Eastern Conference lineup will see battles for seeding, Wild Card positioning, and home-field advantage all kicking off at 6 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Charlotte, New York City, and Nashville Fight for Home-Field Advantage: Boasting one of the league’s strongest home records, Charlotte FC (56 points, 18-13-2) host the Supporters’ Shield winner, the Philadelphia Union (66 points, 20-7-6), knowing that a win would secure them crucial home-field advantage during the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 Series.

New York City FC (56 points, 17-11-5) and Nashville SC (54 points, 16-11-6) will host Seattle Sounders FC and Inter Miami CF, respectively, and are poised to take the No. 4 seed should Charlotte drop points on the final day. With all matches happening simultaneously, teams will throw everything they have at their opponents, knowing that nothing less than a win could impact their chance at making a deep postseason run.

Four Teams Fight for Round One Privileges: After an impressive first season under head coach Gregg Berhalter, Chicago Fire FC (52 points, 15-11-7) enter Decision Day as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, having broken an eight-year playoff drought. The team will now look to climb the standings on the final day of games, as a win could see the team reach as high as the No. 6 seed, avoiding the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Wild Card game, and head straight to Round One.

The other teams fighting to avoid the Wild Card are current No. 7 seed Orlando City SC (53 points, 14-8-11), who could secure their spot in the Round One Best-of-3 Series with a win at Toronto FC, current No. 6 seed Nashville SC (54 points, 16-6-11) who welcome Inter Miami CF to GEODIS Park in a showdown of Golden Boot candidates, and the No. 9 seeded Columbus Crew (51 points, 13-8-12), who host New York Red Bulls at Lower.com Field.

At Stake in the West
Four teams battle for the final two spots in the Western Conference playoff picture, the fight for the No. 1 seed continues, and a Concacaf Championship Cup spot all come down to the regular season finale. All matches kick off at 9 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Final Playoff Spots Still Up for Grabs in the Wild West: Four teams will battle it out for the final two postseason spots in the Western Conference on Saturday. FC Dallas (41 points, 10-12-11) and Real Salt Lake (40 points, 12-17-4) currently hold the 8th and 9th place spots in the table, respectively, and have the advantage of knowing that they control their own destiny: a win for Dallas against Western Conference-leading, Vancouver, could see them confirm their playoff participation, while Salt Lake would clinch Wild Card participation with a win against St. Louis.

Waiting in the wings are the Colorado Rapids (40 points, 11-15-7) and the San Jose Earthquakes (38 points, 10-15-8) who host LAFC and Austin FC, respectively. Both teams will need good performances and good fortune to qualify: only wins paired with a slip-up from Dallas and/or Real Salt Lake would see them enter the postseason.

San Diego Eyes Final Prize in Sensational Expansion Season: San Diego FC (60 points, 18-9-6) have already written history by becoming the most successful league debutants in MLS history, but they will be hungry to add to their debut-season achievements by claiming the conference’s No. 1 seed for themselves. Should San Diego win at Portland paired with a slip-up by Vancouver, they would become the second expansion side in MLS history to finish atop their conference in the regular season (2023 St. Louis CITY SC).

Whitecaps Aim to Secure Western Conference No. 1 Seed: Vancouver Whitecaps FC (63 points, 18-6-9) will look to crown their already historic regular season by clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this Saturday. After an impressive first half of the season that saw a berth in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup final, the signing of FC Bayern Munich and Germany legend Thomas Müller has helped propel the Whitecaps to an equally strong second half of the season, setting a club record for most regular season points in the process. With a win or draw at home against FC Dallas on Decision Day, Vancouver could clinch the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

Fast Facts on the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs

Home-field is Truly an Advantage: Since the introduction of the current Audi MLS Cup Playoffs format in 2023, the home team has won nearly 70% of the Round One Best-of-3 Series, making a top-four seed in each conference of great importance.

Wild Card Winners Have History of Making Noise: History tells us that a hot Wild Card team can cause some serious damage come the playoffs. The winner of a Wild Card match has sprung an upset on a No. 1 seed in the Round One Best-of-3 Series in each of the last two postseasons: Eastern Conference No. 9 Atlanta United in 2024 (vs. Inter Miami CF) and Western conference No. 8 Sporting Kansas City in 2023 (vs. St. Louis CITY SC).

For the full Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs schedule, **Click Here**.

The Final Push in the Landon Donovan MLS MVP Race
Leading the way with 44 goal contributions, Lionel Messi (26 goals, 18 assists) looks to become the second player in league history to win multiple Landon Donovan MLS MVP awards, joining Preki (1997, 2003), and the first ever to win the award in consecutive seasons. The race isn't settled yet, as MLS newcomer and fellow assists leader Anders Dreyer (17 goals, 18 assists) and Denis Bouanga (24 goals, eight assists) both enter Decision Day looking to make a late push to spoil Messi’s party.

A Concacaf Champions Cup Spot On the Line
With seven MLS clubs already qualified for the 2026 edition of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, San Diego FC and Minnesota United FC, and LAFC will battle on Decision Day to climb the standings and to clinch a spot in the continent’s premier competition. While all three teams will continue their pursuit of MLS Cup and the prized Concacaf Champions Cup bye to the Round of 16 that accompanies the league title, whichever club finishes with the most points following Decision Day, will at a minimum clinch as spot courtesy of the Supporters’ Shield tandings.

MLS Clubs Already Qualified for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup