U.S. Soccer has announced the format for the 105th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Starting May 9, 94 clubs across all levels of American soccer will compete through a bracket and eight rounds of single-elimination games until a champion is crowned in September. Sporting Kansas City claimed the title in 2017.
United, along with the rest of Major League Soccer, will enter the tournament in the fourth round starting on June 6. In a change of format, USSF has determined that pairings for the Fourth Round will be made by random draw after dividing teams geographically into groups of four and drawing matchups within each group. Each Fourth Round group will have at least one and no more than two Third Round winners, with pairs drawn so that each Third Round winner faces an MLS team.
The winner of the 2018 U.S. Open Cup will receive $300,000, with the runner-up earning $100,000, and the team who advances the farthest in each lower division earning $25,000. U.S. Soccer has also increased the levels of travel reimbursement and the size of the traveling party eligible for reimbursement for all competition rounds.
The complete schedule is as follows:
First Round: May 9
Second Round: May 16
Third Round: May 23
Fourth Round: June 6
Round of 16: June 20 (also June 16-17 if home team chooses and visiting team has at least two rest days on each side of chosen date)
Quarterfinals: July 18
Semifinals: August 8 (date tentative)
Final: September 26 (date tentative)
