Columbus Clinches Its Playoff Place, So Decision Day in Bridgeview Now Seeds Both Teams
Sunday's results put the Crew into the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs before they ever reach SeatGeek Stadium. Saturday's finale against the Fire now decides Columbus's seed — anywhere from sixth to ninth — and whether Chicago holds fourth.
Decision Day at SeatGeek Stadium lost its elimination edge on Sunday evening — and kept all of its seeding stakes. The Columbus Crew announced Sunday that they have officially clinched a spot in the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs, the product of their own 3-0 win over D.C. United on Saturday combined with losses by Toronto FC and Red Bull New York on Sunday evening. Columbus will travel to Chicago already in the field when the regular season closes on Saturday, November 7.
What remains at stake is position, for both teams. Chicago Fire FC, 16-10-7 with 55 points after Saturday's 4-2 win at Colorado, hold fourth place in the Eastern Conference with one match left — the spot that opens the playoffs at home in the best-of-three first round, where the No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5. Columbus, depending on its own result in Bridgeview and results involving Orlando, Cincinnati and Philadelphia, could finish anywhere from sixth to ninth: sixth or seventh means opening on the road in the first round, eighth or ninth means the wild-card game just to get there.
Kickoff in Bridgeview is 3 p.m. Central on Saturday, on Apple TV globally and locally on wlsam.com in English and TUDN Chicago 106.7-HD2 in Spanish, per the Fire's match information. The finale is at SeatGeek Stadium rather than Soldier Field because of the Fire's lease — the club cannot host within five days of a Bears home game, and the Bears host Tampa Bay on November 8 — a scheduling quirk that gives the season's last seeding fight a smaller, louder room.
