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 won the regular season with 71 standings points. They were beaten in the Final by Orange County SC, which won its first league title.
Real Monarchs, having won the title in 2019, were the title holders, since the 2020 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 Miami FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Tampa Bay Rowdies
Central Division Birmingham Legion FC FC Tulsa Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC
Mountain Division Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC Rio Grande Valley FC Toros San Antonio FC
Pacific Division Oakland Roots SC Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC 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 and Western conference quarterfinals. 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 Deportes, and SiriusXM FC.
Division tables
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Mountain Division
Pacific Division
Bracket
Schedule Conference Quarterfinals
Conference Semifinals
Conference Finals
USL Championship Final
Championship Game MVP: Ronaldo Damus (Orange County SC)
Top goalscorers RankPlayer ClubGoals1 Ronaldo DamusOrange County SC42 Leo Fernandes Tampa Bay Rowdies3 Lucky MkosanaTampa Bay Rowdies Santiago Patiño San Antonio FC5 Elvis AmohRio Grande Valley FC Toros2 Solomon AsantePhoenix Rising FC Steevan Dos SantosTampa Bay Rowdies Nathan Fogaça San Antonio FC917 players1
Awards Goal of the Playoffs: Rodrigo López (RGV) Save of the Playoffs: Jordan Farr (SAN)
References