It's been a long, strange trip. But on Sunday, we will finally arrive at Decision Day presented by AT&T. And although 2020 has been arguably the most unusual MLS season in history, if there's one constant, it's that the final day always brings big moments and high drama.
Here is what they'll be playing for beginning in the Eastern Conference at 3:30 pm ET, and the Western Conference at 6:30 pm ET (TV and streaming info).
Eastern Conference
Two postseason berths up for grabs: It'll be five teams battling it out for two playoff spots in the East. The Chicago Fire, D.C. United, Inter Miami, Montreal Impact and Atlanta United are all doing battle in simultaneous matches to see which two teams will claim the final two postseason tickets and a spot in the play-in round. D.C. United and Montreal will be going head-to-head. Chicago and Montreal have the inside track as they currently hold the final two spots.
No. 1 seed: It's a two-team race at the top of the Eastern Conference between the Philadelphia Union (1st place) and Toronto FC (2nd place) for the top spot. The Union are currently ahead of Toronto on a secondary tiebreaker. Philly will be at home against the New England Revolution (they're perfect at home at 8W-0L-0D), while Toronto visit the New York Red Bulls.
First-round home games: The top four in each conference will host in the conference quarterfinal stage. New York City FC (5th place) sit just outside the top four and they will have their focus on moving up by beating Chicago Fire FC and hoping Columbus (4th place) falter.
Play-in byes: The East will have two play-in matches to kickstart the playoffs (No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9). Needless to say, teams like New York Red Bulls (No. 7) and the Nashville (No. 8) will be hoping to move out of the play-in zone at New England's expense (No. 6) and gain a few extra days of rest before conference quarterfinals.
Western Conference
No. 1 seed: It's Sporting Kansas City (1.80 ppg), Portland Timbers (1.73 ppg), and the Seattle Sounders (1.71 ppg) fighting for West supremacy and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Sporting hold the edge and head to Utah to face a Real Salt Lake team that has already been eliminated.
First-round home games: Along with the top three, currently FC Dallas (4th place) is slated to host a first round playoff match. But the teams right behind Dallas (Minnesota United FC, LAFC and Colorado Rapids) will still believe they can earn enough points in the final week to overtake FCD for the hosting privileges.
The Supporters' Shield
It comes down to Philadelphia and Toronto competing at a distance on Decision Day for the best regular season record.
Here's the complete picture on the Shield race in greater detail with all the benefits that come with being No. 1 overall.
The Golden Boot pres. by Audi
With 14 goals, Diego Rossi is in pole position in the race for the league's top goalscorer, an impressive feat considering he has missed three of LAFC's 20 games so far. But he will only have one remaining chance against Portland to do damage, while Crew SC's Gyasi Zardes (11 goals), Chicago's Robert Beric (11 goals) and Seattle's Raul Ruidiaz (11 goals) each have a shot.
