On Dec. 17 of last year, Major League Soccer announced that it would be switching to a new playoff format and new playoff scheduling starting in 2019. The competitive changes involved 14 teams making the playoffs instead of 12, with only one team receiving a first-round bye; a fixed bracket with no re-seeding; and the switch to a single-elimination format for the entire duration of the postseason. Scheduling-wise the playoffs would now be shorter than in years past, with the entirety of the postseason taking place between the October and November international breaks.
The changes were intended to do a number of different things.