Waaay back in mid-February, I did my annual “ Tiers of MLS ” season preview piece.

You know the conceit of that one: it’s not straight-up power rankings, but rather groupings of teams that I think are at each other’s general level, everything from pretty bad all the way up to super-elite contenders. It’s a way to give a rough sketch of how good the teams are while leaving room for the unexpected, the unknown unknowns.

The first two teams I mentioned: Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders . Even with the unknown unknowns and the roughest of sketches, it was clear as day, entering this season, that these were two of the best sides MLS had to offer.

And now, six months later, we see them meet Sunday at Lumen Field in the Leagues Cup 2025 final (8:00 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple T

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