2017 MLS Cup will be played on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 4 pm ET, Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday.
The match will be hosted by the finalist with the best regular season record and will be broadcast live on ESPN and UniMás in the US and on TSN and TVA Sports in Canada. In total, the match will be aired in more than 170 countries around the world.
The league also announced dates for the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. Postseason action will kick off with Knockout Round matches on Wednesday, Oct. 25 and Thursday, Oct. 26 following the close of the regular season on Decision Day, set for Sunday, Oct. 22. All matches in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs will be broadcast nationally across the league's domestic partners: FS1, ESPN and UniMás in the US and TSN and TVA Sports in Canada.
The postseason will follow the same competition format first implemented in 2015, with the top six teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences qualifying. The playoffs will begin with the single-elimination Knockout Round on Oct. 25 and 26, with the third seed from each conference hosting the sixth seed and the fourth seed hosting the fifth seed. All four games will be broadcast on UniMás, while ESPN2 and FS1 will carry one match each on Oct. 26. Complete Canadian broadcast information for the playoffs will be announced at a later date.
Knockout Round winners will advance to the two-legged, aggregate-goal series Conference Semifinals, which will be held between Sunday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Nov. 5. Each conference’s top seed will host the lowest seeded Knockout Round winner, while the second seed will play the higher seeded Knockout Round winner.
The league will take a break to observe the international FIFA window from Nov. 6-14 before resuming the two-game, aggregate-goal format Conference Championship series on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The second legs of the both Conference Championship series will be played between Nov. 28 and Nov. 30.
The 2017 season will then culminate with MLS Cup on Saturday, Dec. 9 at the home stadium of the finalist with the better regular season record. It’ll be the 22nd edition of the one-game, winner-take-all final, and the sixth season in a row that MLS Cup will be hosted by the finalist with the better regular season record.
Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule
*Subject to change. Canadian and international broadcast information to be announced at a later date.
KNOCKOUT ROUND
Conference third seed vs. sixth, and fourth seed vs. fifth seed in a single-game elimination match
- Eastern and Western Conference Knockout Round (4 games)
- Wed, Oct 25 - Times TBD - UniMás
- Wed, Oct 25 - Times TBD - UniMás
- Thu, Oct 26 - Times TBD - UniMás, FS1 or ESPN2
- Thu, Oct 26 - Times TBD - UniMás, FS1 or ESPN2
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Two-game series, aggregate-goal format between conference top seed vs. lowest advancing seed from Knockout Round and conference second seed vs. highest seed from Knockout Round
- Eastern Conference Semifinal Series: Leg 1 (2 games)
- Mon, Oct 30 - Time TBD - FS1
- Tue, Oct 31 - Time TBD - ESPN
- Eastern Conference Semifinal Series: Leg 2 (2 games)
- Sun, Nov 5 - Time TBD - ESPN or FS1
- Sun, Nov 5 - Time TBD - ESPN or FS1
- Western Conference Semifinal Series: Leg 1 (2 games)
- Sun, Oct 29 - 5:00 PM ET - ESPN
- Tue, Oct 31 - Time TBD - FS1
- Western Conference Semifinal Series: Leg 2 (2 games)
- Sun, Nov 5 - Time TBD - ESPN or FS1
- Sun, Nov 5 - Time TBD - ESPN or FS1
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two-game series, aggregate-goal format
- Eastern Conference Championship
- Leg 1: Tue, Nov 21 - 8:00 PM ET - ESPN
- Leg 2: Nov 28 or 29 - Time TBD - FS1
- Western Conference Championship
- Leg 1: Tue, Nov 21 - Time TBD - FS1
- Leg 2: Thu, Nov 30 - Time TBD - ESPN
2017 MLS CUP
Hosted at the home venue of the finalist with the best regular season record
- Sat, Dec 9 - 4:00 PM ET - ESPN, UniMás, TSN, TVA Sports
