Indian Super League playoffs
Annual postseason elimination tournament of the Indian Super League
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The ISL Cup playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of the Indian Super League (ISL). Unde the current format adopted for the 2022–23 season, six teams qualify based on their regular-season standings. The top two teams advance directly to the semi-finals, while the remaining four compete in single-leg eliminators. The winner of the final is awarded the ISL Cup. Until the 2021–22 Indian Super League season, the ISL Cup winners awarded the ISL championship title.
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Region | India |
| Teams | 6 |
| Current champions | Mohun Bagan (2nd title) |
| Most championships | ATK (3 titles) |
From the 2022–23 Indian Super League season onward, the regular-season League Shield Winners are awarded the championship title in the Indian Super League.
History
| Seasons | League teams | Playoff teams | % of teams | Matches played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 | 4 | 50% | 5 |
| 2015 | ||||
| 2016 | ||||
| 2017–2018 | 10 | 40% | ||
| 2018–2019 | ||||
| 2019–2020 | ||||
| 2020–2021 | 11 | 36.3% | ||
| 2021–2022 | ||||
| 2022–2023 | 6 | 54.5% | 7 | |
| 2023–2024 | 12 | 50% | ||
| 2024–2025 | 13 | 46.1% |
Playoffs system
The top two clubs after the regular season automatically progress to the ISL playoffs. The playoffs culminate with the ISL Final, where the winner is presented with the ISL Cup. In the qualifiers, the third-through-sixth ranked teams play a single-elimination match hosted at the higher-ranked team's venue, with the two winners joining the first and second-ranked teams in two-legged semifinals played over two weeks (since 2022–23). The two winners eventually met in the final hosted at a pre-decided venue, but from 2023–24 onwards, the final is played at the higher-ranked team's venue.
Qualification
After the regular season, the team with the most points is declared the Champions and presented with the League Winners Shield, automatically qualifying for the playoffs along with the runners-up. At the same time, the next best four teams qualify to qualifying playoffs. The position of each team is determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the regular season. If two or more teams are level on points, the following criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:[1]
- Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned;
- Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned;
- Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned;
- Highest goal difference
- Highest number of goals scored
- Lowest number of red cards accumulated;
- Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated;
- Toss of a coin.
List of finals
| Season | Venue | Cup Winners
(Number of titles) |
Score | Runners–up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra | Atlético de Kolkata | 1–0 | Kerala Blasters |
| 2015 | Margao, Goa | Chennaiyin | 3–2 | Goa |
| 2016 | Kochi, Kerala | Atlético de Kolkata (2) | 1–1 (a.e.t) (4–3 p) |
Kerala Blasters |
| 2017–18 | Bangalore, Karnataka | Chennaiyin (2) | 3–2 | Bengaluru |
| 2018–19 | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Bengaluru | 1–0 | Goa |
| 2019–20 | Margao, Goa | ATK (3) | 3–1 | Chennaiyin |
| 2020–21 | Margao, Goa | Mumbai City | 2–1 | Mohun Bagan |
| 2021–22 | Margao, Goa | Hyderabad | 1–1 (a.e.t) (3–1 p) |
Kerala Blasters |
| 2022–23 | Margao, Goa | Mohun Bagan | 2–2 (a.e.t) (4–3 p) |
Bengaluru |
| 2023–24 | Kolkata, West Bengal | Mumbai City (2) | 3–1 | Mohun Bagan |
| 2024–25 | Kolkata, West Bengal | Mohun Bagan (2) | 2–1 (a.e.t) |
Bengaluru |
Appearances by club
Bold indicates they won the ISL Cup that year. Team names in italics indicates the club is defunct or a former Indian Super League member.
| Rank | Club | App | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goa | 8 | 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 |
| 2 | Chennaiyin | 5 | 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2024 |
| Kerala Blasters | 2014, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024 | ||
| Mumbai City | 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 | ||
| 5 | ATK | 4 | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 |
| Mohun Bagan | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 | ||
| Odisha[a] | 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024 | ||
| Bengaluru | 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2025 | ||
| 9 | Hyderabad | 2 | 2022, 2023 |
| NorthEast United | 2019, 2021, 2025 | ||
| 11 | Jamshedpur | 1 | 2022, 2025 |
| Pune City | 2018 |