MLS rivalry cups

Last updated July 21, 2025

In Major League Soccer, several teams annually compete for secondary rivalry cups that are usually contested by only two teams, with the only exceptions being the Cascadia Cup and the new Copa Tejas, which are contested by three MLS teams, each. Each cup or trophy is awarded to the eligible team with the better regular season record and are comparable to minor trophies played for in college football rivalries. Most cups are deliberately conceived as local derbies between teams in the same region. Rivalry cups are considered a tradition to most MLS fans and players alike. Out of the ten original MLS teams only three have not competed in these rivalry cups: Sporting Kansas City, New England Revolution, and the defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny. The Texas Derby is the only MLS rivalry where the winner does not walk away with a cup trophy but instead they play for "El Capitán", a replica 18th century mountain howitzer cannon. Some derbies only contest for bragging rights of rival supporters groups.

Summary

Official

All records reflect wins made when all participating franchises are MLS teams.

Derby name	Most wins	Titles	Other club(s)	Titles	Recent winner
Atlantic Cup	New York Red Bulls	16	D.C. United	14	New York Red Bulls
Brimstone Cup	FC Dallas	12	Chicago Fire FC	9	Chicago Fire
Cascadia Cup*	Seattle Sounders FC	5	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	Portland Timbers
Cascadia Cup*	Seattle Sounders FC	5	Portland Timbers	4	Portland Timbers
Copa Tejas**	FC Dallas	2	Houston Dynamo FC	0	FC Dallas
Copa Tejas**	Austin FC	2	Houston Dynamo FC	0	FC Dallas
Heritage Cup	Seattle Sounders FC	9	San Jose Earthquakes	8	Seattle Sounders FC
Hudson River Derby	New York Red Bulls	6	New York City FC	4	New York City FC
Rocky Mountain Cup	Real Salt Lake	14	Colorado Rapids	6	Colorado Rapids
Texas Derby	FC Dallas	11	Houston Dynamo FC	8	FC Dallas
Trillium Cup	Columbus Crew	10	Toronto FC	7	Columbus Crew

* Cascadia Cup existed in USL prior to the entry of franchises into MLS by Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.
** Copa Tejas was originally conceived for USL clubs, with an MLS division created in 2021.

Non-official

All records reflect wins made (per regular season, not per matches) when all participating franchises are MLS teams. No cup/trophy contested.

Derby name	Most wins	Win(s)	Other club(s)	Win(s)	Recent winner
California Clásico	LA Galaxy	17	San Jose Earthquakes	10	San Jose Earthquakes
Canadian Classique	Toronto FC	7	CF Montréal	6	Toronto FC
El Tráfico	Los Angeles FC	4	LA Galaxy	4	LA Galaxy
Hell Is Real derby***	Columbus Crew	6	FC Cincinnati	3	FC Cincinnati
POR v SEA †	Portland Timbers	7	Seattle Sounders FC	6	Portland Timbers
POR v VAN †	Portland Timbers	8	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	5	Portland Timbers
SEA v VAN †	Seattle Sounders FC	11	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	3	Seattle Sounders FC
STL v SKC	St. Louis City SC	2	Sporting Kansas City	1	Sporting Kansas City

*** The Hell Is Real Derby existed prior to FC Cincinnati joining MLS.
† The rivalries between the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps have existed in previous teams that are part of their respective legacies, and leagues that have operated prior to MLS.

Discontinued

Derby name	Most wins	Titles	Other club(s)	Titles	Last winner
Florida Derby*	Miami Fusion	2	Tampa Bay Mutiny	2	Miami (2001)
SuperClasico	LA Galaxy	9	Chivas USA	1	LA Galaxy (2014)

* Florida Derby existed prior to creation of MLS franchises for Tampa Bay and Miami, and after teams left MLS in 2001.^[1]

Rivalry cups

Competition	Established	Teams	Series Wins	Years won
Atlantic Cup	1996	D.C. United	14	1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021
Atlantic Cup	1996	New York Red Bulls	16	1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Brimstone Cup	2001	Chicago Fire FC	9	2001, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2025
Brimstone Cup	2001	FC Dallas	12	2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018
California Clásico	1996	LA Galaxy	17	1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024
California Clásico	1996	San Jose Earthquakes	10	1997, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2025
Cascadia Cup (MLS years)	2011^[a]	Portland Timbers	4	2012, 2017, 2022, 2024
		Seattle Sounders FC	5	2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021
		Vancouver Whitecaps FC	4	2013, 2014, 2016, 2023
Copa Tejas	2021	Austin FC	2	2022, 2023
		FC Dallas	2	2021, 2024
		Houston Dynamo FC	0
El Tráfico	2018	LA Galaxy	4	2018, 2019, 2021, 2025
El Tráfico	2018	Los Angeles FC	4	2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Florida Derby (MLS years)	1998^[b]	Miami Fusion	2	2000, 2001
Florida Derby (MLS years)	1998^[b]	Tampa Bay Mutiny	2	1998, 1999
Hell Is Real Derby (MLS years)	2019^[c]	Columbus Crew	5	2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Hell Is Real Derby (MLS years)	2019^[c]	FC Cincinnati	1	2024
Heritage Cup	2009	San Jose Earthquakes	8	2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Heritage Cup	2009	Seattle Sounders FC	9	2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025
Hudson River Derby	2015	New York Red Bulls	6	2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
Hudson River Derby	2015	New York City FC	4	2017, 2020, 2022, 2024
SuperClasico	2005^[d]	Chivas USA	1	2007
SuperClasico	2005^[d]	LA Galaxy	9	2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup	2007	Columbus Crew	11	2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023
Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup	2007	FC Dallas	2	2010, 2015
Rocky Mountain Cup	2005	Colorado Rapids	6	2005, 2006, 2013, 2015, 2020, 2024
Rocky Mountain Cup	2005	Real Salt Lake	14	2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Texas Derby	2006	FC Dallas	11	2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Texas Derby	2006	Houston Dynamo FC	8	2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2021
Trillium Cup	2008	Columbus Crew	10	2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024
Trillium Cup	2008	Toronto FC	7	2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

Notes

↑ The Cascadia Cup was founded in 2004 and contested by clubs outside MLS (in North American Division 2 soccer). 2011 represents the year MLS teams began competition. No Cup was awarded in 2020 by agreement of all 3 teams' supporters' clubs due to the lack of fans present at games due to the Coronavirus.^[2]
↑ The Florida Derby originated in 1977^[3] and has been contested for most of its history by Division 1 and 2 soccer clubs outside MLS.^[4] The years 1998–2001 represent the only era in which MLS teams participated.^[1]
↑ The Hell Is Real Derby was established in 2017 when FC Cincinnati was still a member of the league now known as the USL Championship.^[5] 2019 represents the year when the clubs first met as MLS teams.
↑ The SuperClasico ended in 2014 due to the folding of Chivas USA

References

1 2 "Fusion Eager To Face Rivals From Tampa". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
↑ "2020 Cascadia Cup". Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
↑ "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
↑ "Match Center - nasl.com". nasl.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
↑ "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew SC 0 | 2017 U.S. Open Cup Recap". MLSSoccer.com. 2017. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.

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[3] The Cascadia Cup was founded in 2004 and contested by clubs outside MLS (in North American Division 2 soccer). 2011 represents the year MLS teams began competition. No Cup was awarded in 2020 by agreement of all 3 teams' supporters' clubs due to the lack of fans present at games due to the Coronavirus.^[2]

[6] The Florida Derby originated in 1977^[3] and has been contested for most of its history by Division 1 and 2 soccer clubs outside MLS.^[4] The years 1998–2001 represent the only era in which MLS teams participated.^[1]

[8] The Hell Is Real Derby was established in 2017 when FC Cincinnati was still a member of the league now known as the USL Championship.^[5] 2019 represents the year when the clubs first met as MLS teams.

[9] The SuperClasico ended in 2014 due to the folding of Chivas USA

[sun-sentinel.com-1] 1 2 "Fusion Eager To Face Rivals From Tampa". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2015.

[2] "2020 Cascadia Cup". Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.

[4] "St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2021.

[5] "Match Center - nasl.com". nasl.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.

[7] "FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew SC 0 | 2017 U.S. Open Cup Recap". MLSSoccer.com. 2017. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.

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