St. Louis City SC won its first major trophy on Wednesday night, defeating the Columbus Crew on penalties following a 0-0 draw in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup final.
The Open Cup, the nation’s oldest continuously contested soccer competition, has fallen on hard times in recent years, with MLS attempting to jilt the competition entirely in late 2023 and competing on a limited basis in the years since. (MLS announced it will return to full participation in 2027.)
And the creation of the more commercially lucrative Leagues Cup -- jointly contested between MLS and Liga MX teams since 2023 -- caused some to wonder whether the already niche Open Cup would see its profile shrink even further.
That context could lead critics to shrug off St. Louis’ victory. They would do so at their peril. Even amid the obstacles, Open Cup remains a tremendously important honor for any club to capture, and maybe even more so for St. Louis. Here are three reasons why:
It Means More in St. Louis
While the Open Cup may live on the periphery of most U.S. soccer fans’ minds, that’s hardly the case in St. Louis, which, alongside New York, might be the most influential city in the tournament’s history.
St. Louis City became the eighth club from its city to win the honor, joining a tradition of its amateur and semi-pro sides claiming national superiority over the last century.
And although City had to go on the road for Wednesday’s final, it will return to a market that has hosted 24 U.S. Open Cup final fixtures across various formats, including two-leg and three-leg versions between 1917 and 1968.
And it will return to a fanbase that knows as well as any the history and tradition of the competition, and one willing to accept the victory as evidence the club is moving in the right direction again toward its larger aspirations under first-year manager Yoann Damet.
A Potential Launching Pad
Nothing is guaranteed, but several MLS clubs in recent years have used Open Cup success as a springboard to become a title-winning force at the MLS level.
In the Seattle Sounders’ early years, a run of three consecutive Open Cup crowns from 2009-11 (and a fourth in 2014) sustained the club’s enormous appetite for success while MLS glory continued to elude the Cascadia club.
Eventually, that winning habit of winning carried over to one of the more dominant half-decades in MLS history, in which Seattle won the 2016 and 2019 MLS Cups and reached the 2017 and 2020 finals.
Similarly, Sporting Kansas City won the 2012 Open Cup a year before the Peter Vermes-managed side won the 2013 MLS Cup. And for all practical purposes, it’s a matter of when rather than if the 2025 Open Cup champions Nashville SC lift the 2026 Supporters’ Shield as the best team in this year’s MLS regular season.
A Brightening Future
While the Open Cup has navigated an uncertain recent past, there is a sense that the tide is changing.
On Wednesday night, CBS Sports gave the game big-event treatment, flying in their studio analysts for pitchside pregame and postgame analysis. The return of full MLS participation in the event is sure to bolster vibes in 2027.
And if USL eventually achieves first-division sanctioning as it intends, the tournament could take on additional import as the only venue where first-tier USL clubs compete directly against their first-tier MLS foes.
That could elevate the entire competition to a new level, and its past champions’ profiles in the process.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com