An MLS OG club – the Columbus Crew – will host the league's second-newest entry – St. Louis City SC – in the final of the 111th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Both teams are coming into the championship showdown in exceptional form. The Crew have won five of their last six matches, a run that includes a win over Orlando City in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Sept. 16. St. Louis, meanwhile, recently set an MLS record with a 21-match unbeaten streak. That run of excellence that dated back to more than a month before the 2026 World Cup kicked off came to a halt on Saturday, Oct. 17 in a 3-2 road defeat to Minnesota United.

While the Columbus Crew have won multiple trophies in their 30-year history, St. Louis City SC is vying for its first trophy in club history.

Here's what to know for the 2026 U.S. Open Cup final:

How to watch the US Open Cup final

Columbus Crew projected starting 11

St. Louis City SC projected starting 11

Has Columbus ever won the US Open Cup?

The Columbus Crew have won the U.S. Open Cup once, with that triumph coming 24 years ago in the 2002 final against the LA Galaxy. The Crew have reached the tournament final two other times, in 1998 (losing to the Chicago Fire) and 2010 (losing to the Seattle Sounders).

Has St. Louis ever won the US Open Cup?

Yes and no.

While St. Louis City SC is playing for its first trophy, the city has a proud soccer history that includes multiple U.S. Open Cup wins dating back more than 100 years. In all, St. Louis clubs have won 10 U.S. Open Cups, mostly recently in 1988 when the St. Louis Busch Seniors won the Open Cup. Other St. Louis-based clubs to win the U.S. Open Cup are: Ben Millers (1920), Scullin Steel (1922), Stix, Baer and Fuller/St. Louis Central Breweries (1933, 1934, 1935), St. Louis Simpkins-Ford (1948, 1950) and St. Louis Kutis SC (1957, 1986). In the 111-year history of the U.S. Open Cup, only New York City (25) has won more.

What is the US Open Cup?

Pre-MLS 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.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Columbus Crew vs St. Louis City US Open Cup final: How to watch, projected lineups

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