Every 2020 MLS playoff match, three ways: the season race carried on into the postseason, who beat their seeding, and the bracket.
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The same race these clubs ran all season, carried on through the postseason on one scale and on real dates.
Where each club finished the season against how far it went, ranked on record rather than seed.
Who played whom, round by round, which no line chart can say.
Columbus Crew won the 2020 title from a regular season record of 12-6-5. 18 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 5 rounds. Every match below is taken from the MLS stats API; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Round | New England Revolution | 2-1 | Impact de Montréal | November 20, 2020 |
| Wild Card Round | Nashville SC | 3-0 | Inter Miami CF | November 20, 2020 |
| First Round | New England Revolution | 2-0 | Philadelphia Union | November 24, 2020 |
| First Round | Nashville SC | 1-0 | Toronto FC | November 24, 2020 |
| First Round | Sporting Kansas City | 3-3, 3-0 on penalties | San Jose Earthquakes | November 22, 2020 |
| First Round | Columbus Crew | 3-2 | Red Bull New York | November 21, 2020 |
| First Round | Orlando City | 1-1, 6-5 on penalties | New York City Football Club | November 21, 2020 |
| First Round | Seattle Sounders FC | 3-1 | Los Angeles Football Club | November 24, 2020 |
| First Round | FC Dallas | 1-1, 8-7 on penalties | Portland Timbers | November 22, 2020 |
| First Round | Minnesota United FC | 3-0 | Colorado Rapids | November 22, 2020 |
| Conference Semifinals | Minnesota United FC | 3-0 | Sporting Kansas City | December 3, 2020 |
| Conference Semifinals | Columbus Crew | 2-0 | Nashville SC | November 29, 2020 |
| Conference Semifinals | New England Revolution | 3-1 | Orlando City | November 29, 2020 |
| Conference Semifinals | Seattle Sounders FC | 1-0 | FC Dallas | December 1, 2020 |
| Conference Finals | Columbus Crew | 1-0 | New England Revolution | December 6, 2020 |
| Conference Finals | Seattle Sounders FC | 3-2 | Minnesota United FC | December 7, 2020 |
| MLS Cup | Columbus Crew | 3-0 | Seattle Sounders FC | December 12, 2020 |
The left column ranks this field by regular season record, not by seed number: seeding rules differ by era, so this site uses records everywhere instead. The right column groups clubs by the round they went out in, which is not the same as the number of rounds they won, because a bye carries a club further without it winning anything. The figure beside a name is places moved between the two columns, and part of it is only where a club sat inside its band. Nothing here is a prediction. The data notes carry the whole method.