As annoying as it is to see any team not named the Philadelphia Union win the U.S. Open Cup, Atlanta United’s 2-1 win over Minnesota United in Tuesday’s final opens an additional opportunity for the Union to qualify for the Concacaf Champions League in 2020.
In addition to the OpenCup winner, qualification spots are given to U.S.-based teams that win MLS Cup and the two conference winners. If a Canadian team occupies one of those three slots or a U.S. team occupies more than one, the spot then goes to the team with the best regular season record that hasn’t already qualified.