TODAY: Atlético Ottawa, Cavalry FC clash in 2025 Canadian Premier League FINAL
After 116 Canadian Premier League matches in 2025, it has all come down to just one.
The CPL Final in the nation's capital on Sunday will crown a North Star Cup champion, and one of Atlético Ottawa or Cavalry FC will be the last team standing in the league's seventh season.
This year's Final might have a particularly Canadian twist, but a robust crowd is expected to brave potentially snowy conditions to pack TD Place, as Atlético vie to bring the city of Ottawa its first pro sports championship since 2016.
Indeed, the capital has not tasted sporting glory since the Redblacks won the Grey Cup nine years ago. That game was played in Toronto, of course; in fact, it seems none of Ottawa's pro teams have won a title on home turf since the Ottawa Lynx AAA baseball side won the Governor's Cup in 1995.
The capital is therefore elated at the prospect of their young soccer team winning it all at TD Place.
Standing in their way, however, is an equally starving Cavalry FC. Defending champions, perennial CPL heavyweights, and — in the words of their head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. — "dragon slayers."
Cavalry are exceptionally familiar with the CPL Final, this being their third in a row and fourth ever. In 2024, they beat Forge FC on the home soil of ATCO Field to lift their North Star Cup, which has served only to make them more eager to win it again.
The Calgary, Alta.-based side has been one of the best in the CPL every single year, and this year they've proven to be battle-hardened by postseason experience. They finished third in the regular season table, which meant they had a slightly longer route to the Final: a home match against York United, which they won 4-1, followed by a Contender Semifinal clash in Hamilton with Forge FC.
They passed that test with flying colours, though; the Cavs topped Forge 1-0 thanks to perpetual playoff hero Tobias Warschewski. The German striker has now scored a league-record five goals in four CPL Playoff appearances with Cavalry; he has never lost in the postseason, nor has he ever failed to score.
Atleti, meanwhile, are looking to get over the final hurdle. During a tremendous CPL season, where they set a league record for goals with 54, they were one of the most entertaining sides to watch. Head coach Diego Mejía, in his first year with the club, transformed the team into an attack-minded side, and he has been incredibly bullish on just how special his group is. He was a little more reserved than usual on Media Day ahead of the Final, but he did confirm that playing in this game was a goal for his team at the start of the year.
"We’ve worked a lot of months to achieve this goal that we had," he said. "We are enjoying it a lot. This week was an incredible week, the players are enjoying a lot. It was one of our goals in the beginning, so finally we need to enjoy it."
Mejía's side were up near the top of the table the entire season, but they ultimately finished two points back of Forge FC for the CPL Shield this year. They're desperate to have something to show for their success in 2025.
Their confidence grew two weeks ago when they opened their playoff journey by defeating Forge in Hamilton to earn hosting rights for the Final. They hadn't defeated the Hammers yet this season, but doing it on the biggest stage yet sets them up well to enter this championship bout.
As with any final, the first goal looms large — but particularly between these two sides this season. Neither has lost a match this year in which they led in 2025.
Still, the capital club is more comfortable when trailing, as Ottawa collected a league-high 17 points from losing positions this season, the second most in CPL history. They came from behind again in the Championship Semifinal in a 2-1 win over Forge in Hamilton. Cavalry, meanwhile, are 0-2-8 when they fail to score first, but have done so in each of their past five matches.
The winner of this match, as well, will get a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Cavalry will be desperate to get back to the continental competition for a third time after making history last year by become the first CPL team to win a game in the Champions Cup after beating Pumas UNAM in the first leg of round one — before falling on aggregate. Atleti, meanwhile, are looking to book their first spot in a continental tournament.
So much thus rides on this 90 minutes — or 120, or penalty kicks if necessary.
Both managers will therefore be happy they can call on mostly full-strength sides. Ottawa's only major absence is 17-year-old defender Sergei Kozlovskiy, who's away with the Canadian U-17 national team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
Cavalry, meanwhile, offered up a surprise in their Media Day press conference. Player of the Year nominee Sergio Camargo, who has not featured at all in either previous playoff match, revealed that he is training this week, and is in contention to play some part of Sunday's Final. As one of the most dangerous attacking midfielders in the CPL — in fact, Ottawa captain Nathan Ingham called him the best player in the league on Sunday — Camargo would be a huge boost to the Cavs in midfield.
However it shakes out, both sides are firm in their belief that they have each had an incredible season, and these are two remarkably talented, well-coached teams.
It's Ingham versus Carducci. Salter versus Warschewski. Rodríguez versus Musse. Both sides are stacked.
Only one can lift the Cup, though. Will it be Ottawa, in front of their fans? Or can Cavalry win a second straight, and become the first third-place team to win it in this playoff format?
Tune in on Sunday, on OneSoccer and TSN3 across Canada.
