Pick-Your-Opponent Selection Shows to Air Live on League Website and Social Media Channels
Six Open Playoff Spots To Be Determined on MLS NEXT Pro Decision Day on October 6
15-year-old Cavan Sullivan Expected to Make Professional Playoff Debut for Philadelphia Union II
MLS NEXT Pro today announced that its Pick-Your-Opponent selection process will be live-streamed, allowing viewers to watch in real-time as Clubs choose who they will face in the opening round of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. On Tuesday, October 8, the Eastern Conference Selection Show will air live at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by the Western Conference Selection Show at 3:00 p.m. ET. Both will be hosted by one of the most renowned voices in American soccer, MLS Season Pass announcer Max Bretos, and will be carried on MLSNEXTPro.com and the League’s X and Instagram channels.
During each Conference Selection Show, the No. 1-3 seeds will choose their opponent from the No. 5-8 seeds, with the No. 4 seed playing the remaining Club. The matchups determined during the Selection Shows will take place in the Conference Quarterfinals the weekend of October 18, with No. 1-4 seeds hosting. The schedule for the Quarterfinals will be announced following the Shows.
MLS NEXT Pro debuted the unique Pick-Your-Opponent Playoff format in 2023 to much fanfare, most notably highlighted by Sporting KC II’s head coach Benny Feilhaber choosing a nontraditional opponent and infamously declaring, “scared money don’t make money.” His choice, Austin FC II, would go on to win four consecutive matches against higher-seeded teams en route to capturing the MLS NEXT Pro Cup in the Club’s first season in the League.
DRAMATIC DECISION DAY EXPECTED
Ahead of the Selection Shows, 28 of the 29 Clubs in the League will compete on the final day of the regular season, Sunday, October 6. Fourteen matches will take place to determine final Playoff positioning, with six open spots remaining.
In the Western Conference, only one of the eight Playoff spots remains; five teams separated by just two points are all vying for the final postseason berth in the West: Real Monarchs, Houston Dynamo 2, defending MLS NEXT Pro Cup Champion Austin FC II, Sporting Kansas City II and Portland Timbers2.
In the Eastern Conference, the five remaining Playoff spots will be contested by seven teams: Inter Miami II, New York City FC II, Crown Legacy FC, Chicago Fire FC II, Carolina Core FC, Chattanooga FC, and 2022 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Champion Columbus Crew 2. With a difference of just three points separating the fourth-placed Inter Miami II and 10th-placed Columbus Crew 2, anything can happen on Decision Day.
All Eastern Conference matches will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by the Western Conference at 4:00 p.m. ET. All Decision Day matches will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
PLAYOFF FORMAT AND SCHEDULE:
The 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs will feature 15 single elimination matches over the course of four consecutive weekends, with three rounds leading to MLS NEXT Pro Cup. This year’s Playoffs will feature more Clubs competing, more matches being played and more Clubs picking their opponents. All MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs and MLS NEXT Pro Cup will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
The round-by-round format and schedule follows:
- Conference Quarterfinals: October 18 – 20 (four matches per conference)
- 1-3 seeds in each conference will host and select their opponent from the No. 5-8 seeds
- 4 seed will host the remaining Club
- Conference Semifinals: October 25 – 27 (two matches per conference)
- The highest remaining seed in each conference will select and host an opponent from the two lowest-seeded teams
- The two remaining Clubs will face each other, with the higher of the two seeds hosting
- Conference Finals: November 1 – 3 (one match per conference)
- The higher remaining seed in each conference will host the other remaining Club
- MLS NEXT Pro Cup: November 8 – 10 (one match)
- The Club with the highest regular season points total will host the other remaining Club
PHILADELPHIA PHENOM IN THE PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia Union II enters Decision Day as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, leading No. 2 seed FC Cincinnati 2 by only one point. Cavan Sullivan, who turned 15 on September 28, is expected to make his professional Playoff debut with Union II during the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. To date, Sullivan has appeared in 17 of Union II’s 27 matches (12 starts) this season, contributing four goals and four assists.
Sullivan made his professional debut with Union II on March 23, 2024, coming on as a substitute early in the second half and almost immediately assisting on the eventual game-winner. He became the second-youngest player to score in MLS NEXT Pro history when he notched his first professional goal on July 6. Eleven days later (7/17/24), Sullivan became the youngest player ever to make his MLS debut at just 14 years, 293 days old, as well as becoming the youngest player ever to debut in one of the top North American professional sports leagues.
