Decision Day for the 2025 MLS regular season is set for Saturday, October 18, 2025, with Eastern Conference matches beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET and Western Conference matches at 9:00 p.m. ET. On that day, all 30 teams will play their final regular-season games, and the playoff picture for both conferences will be completely finalized. This date marks one of the most dramatic moments of the season, as teams on the edge of qualification battle for their final chance to reach the postseason.

Philadelphia Union has already secured the Supporters’ Shield and locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, ensuring home-field advantage through the playoffs if they reach the MLS Cup Final. As the top seed, they will face the winner of the Eastern Conference Wild Card match, contested between the 8th and 9th seeds. The 2025 playoff format features 18 qualifying teams — the top nine from each conference. Seeds 1 through 7 advance directly to Round One, while seeds 8 and 9 play a single-elimination Wild Card match hosted by the higher seed. The Wild Card games will take place on Wednesday, October 22, and Round One, played as a best-of-three series, will run from October 24 to November 9. The postseason then shifts to single-elimination format for the Conference Semifinals and Finals, leading up to the MLS Cup Final on Saturday, December 6, hosted by the finalist with the superior regular-season record.

In addition, the race for the 2025 Golden Boot is still active: Lionel Messi leads with 24 goals and 17 assists, holding a slight edge over Denis Bouanga, who has 24 goals but fewer assists, while Sam Surridge follows with 23 goals; tiebreakers are determined first by assists and then by minutes played, meaning Messi’s high assist total gives him a strong advantage, and the final Decision Day matches could determine if Messi secures the Golden Boot outright, if Bouanga catches him, or if Surridge has a slim mathematical chance to overtake both.

Decision Day will determine final seedings and matchups, especially for the teams hovering around the playoff line. With Philadelphia already confirmed as the top seed in the East, their result will not alter that position, but could influence point totals and records. The main focus will be on the battle for the 8th and 9th seeds in both conferences, where a single win or loss can flip positions and decide who hosts the Wild Card and who faces the top seed in Round One. Because higher seeds host both the first and potential third game of the best-of-three series, the difference between finishing seventh or eighth is significant. Every match on Decision Day will kick off simultaneously to ensure fair play and suspense. For teams just below the playoff line, it is their last opportunity to break into the postseason picture — a win combined with the right results elsewhere could change their entire season’s fate.