CINCINNATI — Hell is Real is coming back to the Queen City for Round One of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.
No. 2 FC Cincinnati is set to face No. 7 Columbus Crew in a Best-of-3 series of the playoffs.
The Orange and Blue hold home-field advantage over the Crew and will host Game 1 and Game 3, if necessary.
Game 1 is set for Monday, Oct. 27, with kickoff at 6:45 p.m. at TQL Stadium. You can click here to purchase tickets. The match will air on Fox Sports 1, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and Fox Deportes. MLS Season Pass, which is normally a separate subscription, will be made free for Apple TV users.
FCC will travel to Lower.com Field for Game 2, which is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 p.m. That match will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
If the series goes to Game 3, the match is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8, with a to-be-determined kickoff time.
For the Round One Best-of-3 series, all games will end with a winner — which means zero draws and aggregate score. If at the end of regulation both teams are tied, no extra time will be played. Instead, both teams will immediately participate in penalty kicks to determine a winner.
During the regular season, FCC and the Crew settled for a draw in Columbus in May before FCC fell to the Crew in TQL Stadium in July. Cincinnati and Columbus last met in the postseason in 2023, when the Crew came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Cincinnati 3-2 in extra time to take the Eastern Conference Final. The Crew then nabbed the MLS Cup that year.
Ahead of Round One, two Wild Card matches between Chicago Fire and Orlando City and Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake kick off the playoffs on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
All for the Cup. 🏆
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 19, 2025
Bring on the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/ocLzeWmOPB
When If FC Cincinnati wins the Best-of-3 Series, they'll advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which are set for Saturday, Nov. 22, through Sunday, Nov. 23. There, they'll face the winner between Inter Miami and Nashville SC.
The Eastern and Western Conference Finals are then set for Saturday, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Nov. 30. The 2025 MLS Cup championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6.
Philadelphia Union nabbed the Supporters' Shield and the No. 1 Eastern Conference spot.
