Every 2018 MLS playoff matchup, 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.
Atlanta United won the 2018 title from a regular season record of 21-7-6. 12 teams reached the playoffs and the bracket ran 4 rounds. Every matchup below is taken from the MLS stats API; nothing on this page is estimated.
| Round | Won by | Result | Opponent | Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knockout Round | Portland Timbers | 2-1 | FC Dallas | October 31, 2018 |
| Knockout Round | Real Salt Lake | 3-2 | Los Angeles Football Club | November 1, 2018 |
| Knockout Round | New York City Football Club | 3-1 | Philadelphia Union | October 31, 2018 |
| Knockout Round | Columbus Crew | 2-2, 3-2 on penalties | D.C. United | November 1, 2018 |
| Conference Semifinals | Red Bull New York | 3-1 on aggregate | Columbus Crew | November 4 to November 11, 2018 |
| Conference Semifinals | Atlanta United | 4-1 on aggregate | New York City Football Club | November 4 to November 11, 2018 |
| Conference Semifinals | Sporting Kansas City | 5-3 on aggregate | Real Salt Lake | November 4 to November 11, 2018 |
| Conference Semifinals | Portland Timbers | 4-4 on aggregate, 4-2 on penalties | Seattle Sounders FC | November 4 to November 8, 2018 |
| Conference Finals | Atlanta United | 3-1 on aggregate | Red Bull New York | November 25 to November 29, 2018 |
| Conference Finals | Portland Timbers | 3-2 on aggregate | Sporting Kansas City | November 25 to November 29, 2018 |
| MLS Cup | Atlanta United | 2-0 | Portland Timbers | December 8, 2018 |
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.