
TAMPA, Fla. (January 28, 2025) – U.S. Soccer today announced the format for the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S Open cup – the 110th edition of the historic tournament. This year’s edition will include 96 teams from the amateur and professional ranks competing from March to October.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies will enter this year’s Open Cup in the Third Round on either April 15 or 16. The Rowdies earned a spot in the Third Round based on their finish in the 2024 USL Championship regular season standings. The Rowdies join all USL Championship clubs in their participation in the historic competition.
The U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer’s club championship and has crowned a national champion annually since 1914 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). The historic tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world’s third-longest continuously run national cup tournament.
For a second year running, the 32 games of the First Round will be played exclusively between amateur teams from the Open Division and professional sides. The field of 64 professional clubs includes 14 from USL League One and 10 sides from MLS NEXT Pro. The tournament will include the 24 teams of the USL Championship and 16 teams from Major League Soccer (MLS).
The eight lowest seeded USLC teams enter in the First Round along with USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro sides. The 16 higher-seeded USLC clubs will enter in the Third Round, and the 16 MLS teams enter the tournament in the Round of 32.
2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule First Round March 18-20
Second Round: April 1-2
Third Round: April 15-16
Round of 32: May 6-7
Round of 16: May 20-21
Quarterfinals: July 8-9
Semifinals: Sept. 16-17
Final: Oct. 1
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Now in its 110th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2025 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.