2016 MLS Cup Playoffs
The 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) began on October 26, and ended on December 10 with MLS Cup 2016, the 21st league championship match for MLS. This was the 21st version of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the tournament culminating the Major League Soccer regular season.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States Canada |
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | Portland Timbers (did not qualify) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Seattle Sounders FC (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Toronto FC |
| Semifinalists | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 17 |
| Goals scored | 50 (2.94 per match) |
| Attendance | 472,461 (27,792 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Jozy Altidore (5 goals) |
Twelve teams (the top 6 per conference) competed. The first round of each conference had the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed while the fourth-seed hosted the fifth in a single match to determine who advanced to the Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed played the lowest remaining seed while the second played the next-lowest. The winners advanced to the Conference Finals. Both the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals were played as two-legged aggregate series. The winners advanced to the MLS Cup, a single match hosted by the participant with the better regular season record.
Seattle Sounders FC defeated Toronto FC 5–4 on penalties to win their first-ever MLS Cup. The game ended scoreless after extra time.
It was the first MLS Cup in league history that two expansion teams participated in the final. It was also the first time in the league's history that a Canadian MLS team competed in the MLS Cup.