Major League Soccer unveiled its much-improved playoff format for the 2011 season. 

Not only does it address the major criticisms of the previous playoff format, it increases the importance of regular season games, increasing interest across stratified levels, something MLS has been sorely lacking, and will lead to more competition deep into the season and increased fan interest. 

2011 Major League Soccer Playoff Format

The top three teams in each conference gain an automatic berth.  The next four best teams gain wildcard berths.  The wildcard teams play a seeded one-off game to qualify for the final eight team playoff bracket.

Essentially, it's an eight team tournament, with six guaranteed spots, and a four team play-in. 

This is not only a major improvement; it's a clear winner on several levels. 

It addresses the major criticisms of the previous playoff format, which were that the playoff seeding did not reflect the final standings in the full table, and that a conference not only could be won by a team from the other conference, but that the championship could even be played in the other conference.

Conference Games Now Matter

Conference games now matter.  Winning one of the top three slots in the conference is crucial to avoid a risky one-off wildcard play-in game.

In the 2010 Western Conference, the standings were:

Four teams were within four points of that third place guaranteed playoff spot. 

In the Eastern Conference, the race for third place went late into the season, with Kansas City (39), Chicago (36) and Toronto (35) having a shot at a guaranteed playoff spot.  

More people would have watched MLS if Kansas City, Chicago, and Toronto were still in the hunt, which they weren't in 2010.

The Full Table Matters

Specifically spots seven to 10ish.  If you're not in the top three in your conference, you still have a shot at a play-in for the playoffs.  This increases the importance of the playoff race for the mid-table teams. 

Applying the 2011 format to the 2010 season, we have more teams in the playoff mix.

Guaranteed spots:

Wildcard Contenders:

This puts most of the league in contention.  The fourth wildcard spot could have been won by any of the mid-table teams (10-14). 

Each wildcard team has a chance without discriminating against a better conference. 

In 2010 the wildcard games would have been

10. Chicago Fire @ 6. Seattle Sounders

9. San Jose Earthquakes @ 8. Colorado Rapids.

And the final playoffs would have been:

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

2011 Major League Soccer Playoffs Is the Way Forward

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