Template:12TeamBracket-MLS

First round

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

MLS Cup Final

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Template documentation[view] [edit] [history] [purge]

This template is to generate a tournament bracket for the 12-team MLS Cup Playoffs, which began with the 2015 season. It is loosely based on Template:12TeamBracket-NFL and its variations, with modifications for the MLS playoffs.

Re-seeding

The MLS does not use a fixed bracket playoff system. The number 1 seed will face the lowest surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5 or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4 or 5).

Because of the 're-bracketing' done after the first round, second round match-ups are not determined until the 3/6-seed games in the first round are completed. This template will render dotted lines connecting the first round winners to the Conference Semifinals until the first round matches are completed, at which point the lines become solid. If either conference shows dotted lines, there is also a note at the bottom of the template that explains the re-bracketing process.

It is recommended to show the initial pairings under the assumption that the higher-seeded team wins every game. During the course of the playoffs, if the team with the best seed in a round for a particular conference loses, the games for that conference in that round (and preceding rounds if any) need to be "flipped" to show the new pairings:

6              5              6
3              4  4           3  6
   2              2              1  6

5              6              5
4              3  6           4  4  2
   1              1              2

By default, the Eastern Conference is the upper bracket. If the Western Conference champion hosts the MLS Cup final, the "flip" parameter should be used to place the Western Conference label on the upper bracket and the Eastern Conference label on the lower bracket. All Western Conference games should then be moved to the top of the bracket, and all Eastern Conference games to the bottom. This can also be done before the start of the play-offs, if a Western Conference team wins the Supporters' Shield.

Generic bracket example

The following is a generic bracket example:

{{12TeamBracket-MLS
<!--Set to "y" to make the Western Conference the upper bracket and the Eastern Conference the lower bracket-->
|flip=n
<!--Venue/Visitor Seed/Visiting Team/Visitor Score/Home Seed/Home Team/Home Score-->
<!--First round-->
||6|||3||
||5|||4||
||6|||3||
||5|||4||
<!--Seed/Team/1st Leg Score/2nd Leg Score/Aggregate Score/Seed/Team/1st Leg Score/2nd Leg Score/Aggregate Score-->
<!--Conference Semifinals-->
||||||2||||
||||||1||||
||||||2||||
||||||1||||
<!--Seed/Team/1st Leg Score/2nd Leg Score/Aggregate Score/Seed/Team/1st Leg Score/2nd Leg Score/Aggregate Score-->
<!--Conference Finals-->
||||||||||
||||||||||
<!--Venue/Visiting Seed/Visiting Team/Visitor Score/Home Seed/Home Team/Home Score-->
<!--MLS Cup-->
|||||||
}}

	First round					Conference Semifinals							Conference Finals							MLS Cup Final
	6
	3
						2
	See Re-seeding below
						Eastern Conference
	5
	4
						1
	6
	3
						2
	See Re-seeding below
						Western Conference
	5
	4
						1

• Re-seeding: For each conference, the Knockout Round consists of the third-seeded team hosting the sixth seed while the fourth-seed hosts the fifth in a single match to determine who advances to the Conference Semifinals. In the Conference Semifinals, the top seed plays the lowest remaining seed while the second plays the next-lowest.

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:12TeamBracket-MLS/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.