The 2021 USL Championship Playoffs (branded as the 2021 USL Championship Playoffs presented by TwinSpires for sponsorship reasons) was the post-season championship of the 2021 USL Championship. It was the eleventh edition of the USL Championship Playoffs. The playoffs began on November 5, and concluded with the USL Championship Final on November 28.

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

won the regular season with 71 standings points. They were beaten in the Final by

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games ...

, which won its first league title.

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

, having won the title in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, were the title holders, since the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Final was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Rowdies and the title was not awarded. However, they were eliminated in the regular season as they finished bottom of the Mountain Division table.

Qualified teams

Atlantic Division *

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memorial ...

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

Central Division *

Birmingham Legion FC Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birmin ...

FC Tulsa FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, bro ...

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

Memphis 901 FC Memphis 901 FC is an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Stadium The club currently plays on the grounds of AutoZone Park, a baseball stadiu ...

Mountain Division *

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E Ra ...

El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Club crest and colors The Locomotive brand was unveiled on October 4, 2018, beatin ...

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a ...

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio F ...

Pacific Division *

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, ...

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an advert ...

* San Diego Loyal SC

Format

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. They began to play on the first weekend on November, featuring a single-elimination, 16-team bracket. Under the revised season format, four division winners in each conference earned hosting rights for the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

conference quarter-finals. Following the opening round, hosting rights were determined by regular season record (ranks, then points, then number of wins). All playoff matches were streamed live on ESPN+ except the Championship final on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications ...

, and Sirius XM FC.

Division tables

Atlantic Division Central Division Mountain Division Pacific Division

Bracket

Schedule

Conference Quarter-finals

Conference Semi-finals

Conference Finals

USL Championship Final

Championship Game MVP: Ronaldo Damus (

)

Top goalscorers

Awards

*Goal of the Playoffs: Rodrigo López ( RGV) *Save of the Playoffs: Jordan Farr ( SAN)

References

{{2021 in American soccer 2021 USL Championship season