Leagues Cup FAQs: Getting to know MLS and Liga MX's summer soccer tournament

36 teams, huh? That’s not every team from both leagues. Which teams are missing?

Liga MX sent all 18 of its top-flight teams. To make things even, MLS sent the best 18 of its 30: the nine teams from each conference that qualified for the MLS playoffs last season.

(The one exception here is Vancouver. The club ceded its spot to newcomer MLS club San Diego after tiring itself out by making a deep, impressive run in the Concacaf Champions Cup.)

That means Philadelphia and Nashville, who were poor last season but exceptional this season, aren’t playing in the Leagues Cup. Surely that’s going to be an advantage for them in the back end of the MLS season, right?

Yes. Philadelphia and Nashville will spend the next four weeks resting while their closest competitors fight through a tournament. It's a huge (if unexpected) boon for both of them.

So, how does the tournament work?

Strap in. It’s complicated.

Round 1 features three intra-league matchups determined through a frankly inscrutable sorting process. What you need to know is this: MLS teams will exclusively face Liga MX teams (and vice versa) for the three matches of Round 1. Teams will get three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.

Despite playing against teams from the opposing league, though, each team will be ranked against its own league peers. Let’s take Inter Miami, for example. If it wins all three of its Round 1 matches — against Atlas, Necaxa and Pumas — it will be one of the top MLS teams in the tournament. If it loses all three, it will be one of the worst. Miami needs to be the former, not the latter, if it hopes to advance.

After all three Round 1 games have finished, the best four teams from each league will be sorted into a traditional bracket. From there, it’s a single-game elimination format to the final.

Wow. Ok. That feels needlessly messy.

Yes. Yes, it does.

Are there any quirks to this tournament?

There are no ties in the Leagues Cup at any stage. If a game ends in a tie, it will move directly to penalty kicks to determine a winner. Crucially, though, winning a game via penalties is worth less than winning it outright. Regular-time winners receive three points for their efforts; teams receive one point each for a tie and an additional point for winning the ensuing penalty shootout.

What’s the prize?

The top three teams in the Leagues Cup will automatically qualify for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, the most prestigious club tournament in North America. The winner of the Leagues Cup goes one step further: it will enter the Champions Cup in the Round of 16, thereby avoiding a whole suite of exhausting early round games.

Which team is favored to win it?

Cruz Azul. It won the Concacaf Champions Cup in grand style just a few months ago and remains one of Mexico’s most dangerous teams.