Lamar Hunt US Open Cup: Where to watch, quarterfinal bracket and schedule
The 110th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup — which continues play Tuesday, July 8 — is down to its elite eight, with each remaining team representing Major League Soccer as all lower-division clubs have been eliminated.
One of the quarterfinal teams is the Chicago Fire. Helmed by former U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter, the Fire are attempting to become the first MLS club to win five Open Cup trophies. After enjoying success in the U.S. Open Cup early in their existence (winning in their inaugural season of 1998, and then again in 2000 and 2003), the Fire last won the tournament 19 years ago, which represents the last trophy won by the team. A fifth U.S. Open Cup win for Chicago would tie a U.S. Open Cup record, joining Maccabee Los Angeles (1973, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1981) and Bethlehem Steel (1915-16, 1918-19, 1926) as five-time winners. The Fire have three more wins to get there.
Besides the Fire, D.C. United is the only remaining team that has previously won the U.S. Open Cup, and a return to Open Cup glory would be a welcome change of pace from what has been a dismal 2025 MLS campaign. Austin FC, Minnesota United, Nashville SC, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union and San Jose Earthquakes are all chasing their first U.S. Open Cup trophy.
Here's how to watch the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal games:
How to watch US Open Cup quarterfinal games
All games will stream on Paramount+. CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network to air select games.
Tuesday, July 8
Wednesday, July 9
What is the US Open Cup?
American soccer history is a disjointed and often-confusing enterprise, barren of the convenience of the century-long continuity of leagues such as Major League Baseball or the National Football League. However, one thread that ties the game of soccer together in this country through the years has been the U.S. Open Cup (officially known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup). The first U.S. Open Cup (originally called the National Challenge Cup) kicked off in 1913, seven years before the formation of the NFL and 12 years after the opening season of baseball's American League. The U.S. Open Cup — this country's oldest annual tournament for team sports — has been played every year since 1913 with the exception of 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament was modeled after England's FA Cup, so the single-elimination competition is open to U.S.-based amateur and professional clubs. The winner of the U.S. Open Cup — a team that technically is the national champion of American men's club soccer — earns a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
MLS has dominated the competition
Since 1996, MLS teams have won all but one U.S. Open Cup; the Rochester Rhinos beat the Colorado Rapids in the 1999 final. While MLS has competed in the U.S. Open Cup since the league's inception, the old North American Soccer League avoided it. So, you won't see the likes of multiple-time NASL Soccer Bowl winners such as the New York Cosmos or Chicago Sting gracing the historical records of the U.S. Open Cup.
USL sides Indy Eleven (2024 semifinalist), Sacramento Republic FC (2022 finalist) and FC Cincinnati (2017 semifinalist; FC Cincinnati began MLS play in 2019) have made deep tournament runs in recent years as lower division entries.
Who has the most US Open Cup titles?
If the National Association Football League had stood the test of time like MLB or the NFL, perhaps American sports fans would speak of Bethlehem Steel in the same reverence as the New York Yankees or Green Bay Packers. Bethlehem Steel won five U.S. Open Cups in the tournament's first 13 years. Four years after its last U.S. Open Cup championship in 1926, Bethlehem Steel folded. Meanwhile, the National Association Football League folded in 1921 and was essentially replaced by the American Soccer League, which shut down during the Great Depression in 1933. Bethlehem Steel played in both leagues.
Even though its last title came in the 1920s, Bethlehem Steel remains tied for the most U.S. Open Cup championships (five) with Maccabi Los Angeles, a semi-pro soccer club that operated from 1971-1982. MLS teams are catching up to the early repeat champions, with the Chicago Fire, Sporting Kansas City and Seattle Sounders each with four championships.
US Open Cup winners: Tournament champions since 1996
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