Playoffs & the Founders Cup

When the 32-game season ends, the top four clubs in each conference advance to the NSL Playoffs. Everything you built during the regular season comes down to a few knockout rounds and one final.

The bracket

Each conference runs its own bracket, seeded by regular-season finish:

• Conference Semifinals — 1st plays 4th, 2nd plays 3rd.
• Conference Finals — the two semifinal winners meet for the conference crown.
• The Founders Cup — the Eastern champion faces the Western champion in a single winner-take-all final.

Best-of-two series

Both the semifinals and the conference finals are best-of-two series with a twist:

• Game 1 is played at the lower seed’s home.
• Game 2 is played at the higher seed’s home.
• Win both, and you’re through. Split the two games, and a decisive Game 3 is played at the higher seed’s home.

This is where your regular-season seeding pays off: the higher seed hosts the deciding game if the series goes the distance.

The Founders Cup final

The Founders Cup is a single game — no series, no second leg. The Eastern champion hosts. If it’s level after 90 minutes, the final goes to extra time, and only then to a shootout if it’s still tied. Every other playoff game skips extra time and goes straight to a shootout when level.

Seeding matters twice over

A high seed means a weaker semifinal opponent and the right to host any deciding game. Fighting for first place in your conference is worth it right up to the final week.

After the Founders Cup

Winning the Founders Cup isn’t quite the end of the year — as champions, you go on to represent the league in the Continental Champions Cup. Then it’s on to the offseason.