US Open Cup Live Scores, Fixtures, Results & Statistics

US Open Cup is the United States’ national men’s football knockout cup, bringing together eligible amateur and professional clubs from across the country. Its current official name is the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and the tournament is organised and sanctioned by U.S. Soccer.

A national cup with an open identity

Founded in 1914, the competition was originally known as the National Challenge Cup before being renamed in 1999 to honour Lamar Hunt, a major figure in the development of American soccer. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and one of the world’s longest-running national cups. Its defining idea has remained consistent: to determine a national club champion through a merit-based tournament in which teams from very different levels of the football pyramid can meet.

Unlike a league, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup does not award points over a season. It is a single-elimination competition, so the loser of each match is immediately eliminated and the winner advances. That structure creates the possibility of amateur sides hosting or defeating established professional clubs, making the cup one of the clearest expressions of the “anyone can dream” principle in American soccer.

Who can enter

Entry is open to professional and amateur clubs affiliated with U.S. Soccer, subject to the competition’s regulations and qualification criteria. The amateur route generally begins with local qualifying rounds held in the autumn. Clubs can also gain access by winning recognised national amateur competitions, such as the USASA National Amateur Cup.

Professional clubs enter through their leagues and division-based qualification arrangements. MLS represents the top professional level, while teams from the USL Championship and lower professional divisions such as USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro may also take part. The precise field and entry points can vary between editions, with places commonly linked to a club’s league status or performance in the previous season.

Recent regulations have also applied a one-club, one-entry principle. In practical terms, a football organisation generally enters its highest-level professional team rather than allowing a first team, reserve side and affiliated team to compete separately in the same edition. This helps preserve the cup’s competitive balance and its purpose as a contest between distinct clubs.

How the tournament works

The competition is played as a series of one-off knockout rounds. Amateur and lower-division teams usually enter earlier, while leading professional clubs typically join at a later stage, often the Round of 32 or an equivalent point in the draw. The number of rounds and the size of the tournament field can change from one edition to another, but the central progression remains straightforward: win to continue, lose and the campaign ends.

Early-round pairings are often organised geographically to reduce travel demands, particularly for amateur clubs operating with more limited resources. Later draws can be more open and nationally based. Depending on the edition and the applicable regulations, higher-ranked or higher-division teams may receive byes or be assigned home status in selected rounds. These arrangements are designed to support logistics while preserving the possibility of meetings between clubs from different levels.

Match rules and deciding ties

A cup match consists of 90 minutes of normal play, plus any applicable added time. There are no league-style draws and no routine replays. If the scores are level after regulation time, the teams play two 15-minute periods of extra time. Should the match remain tied after extra time, the winner is decided by a penalty shootout.

This format gives every fixture immediate consequence. A strong performance over a single evening can carry a smaller club into the next round, while a favoured professional team has no second match in which to correct an unexpected result.

Calendar and competitive purpose

Local amateur qualifying generally takes place in the autumn before the tournament proper. The main rounds usually begin in March and continue through the spring and summer, with the final commonly scheduled for late September or October. Exact dates, participating clubs and entry stages are confirmed separately for each edition, so the annual structure can evolve without changing the cup’s fundamental identity.

The winner is crowned U.S. Soccer’s national club champion and receives the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy. The champion also earns an automatic place in the following year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup, adding a regional sporting reward to the domestic title. Prize money is distributed to the champion, runner-up and leading lower-division performers, although the amounts and allocation can vary by edition.

For supporters, the appeal of the US Open Cup lies in its contrast with the regular league season. It connects local amateur football with the professional game, rewards clubs that can adapt quickly to a single-match challenge and preserves a direct route to national recognition. Its history, open access and potential for giant-killing results make it a distinctive part of the United States football calendar.