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CHARLOTTE, NC – The MLS All-Stars claimed a 3-2 victory over the Liga MX All-Stars in a closely contested 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge on Tuesday night.
MLS earned victories in the Shooting, Passing & Goalie Wars Challenges, while Liga MX won the Crossbar Challenge & Relay Race.
The 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Truist Field in front of a crowd of approximately 10,000 fans.
MLS All-Star Skills Challenge
MLS Participating All Stars: | Hueng Min-Son – LAFC, Thomas Müller – Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Carles Gil – New England Revolution, Evander – FC Cincinnati, Tim Ream – Charlotte FC, Zavier Gozo – Real Salt Lake, Petar Musa – FC Dallas, Maxime Crépeau – Orlando City SC, Matt Freese – NYCFC, YouTuber FaZe Rug, TikToker/YouTuber Céline Dept, Actor/Producer/Director Danny Ramirez, former NFL player Chad Ochocinco
MLS NEXT Pro All Stars: | Pedro Cruz – Houston Dynamo FC 2, Will Mackay – Huntsville City FC, Edouard Nys – North Texas SC
Liga BBVA MX Participating All Stars: |Fernando Gorriarán – Tigres UANL, Elías Montiel – Pachuca, Javier Ruiz – Club Necaxa, Federico Pereira – Toluca, Carlos Moreno – Pachuca, Carlos Rodríguez – Cruz Azul, José Paradela – Cruz Azul, Kevin Castañeda – Guadalajara
MLS All Stars partaking in the MLS Skills Competition.
The jam-packed event at Truist Field kicked off shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET with the introductions of both the MLS All-Stars and the Liga BBVA MX All-Stars, setting the stage for another edition of the annual MLS All-Star Skills Challenge, where some of North America’s top players competed in a series of technical events showcasing their precision, creativity, and skill.
MLS All-Star Shooting Challenge presented by AT&T
Thomas Müller wears a crown after de-throning Evander as the Shooting Challenge record holder. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
Competing in this year’s MLS All-Star Shooting Challenge were FaZe Rug, Thomas Müller, Kevin Castañeda, Petar Musa, José Paradela, Juan Brunetta, and Evander.
One important caveat: Evander only participated if another competitor surpassed his record of 72 points. If that happened, he would receive one attempt to reclaim the record. However, because he was competing only as the defending record holder, he was not eligible to win the Shooting Challenge itself.
FaZe Rug opened the Shooting Challenge by knocking down four targets to post 22 points within the one-minute time limit.
Thomas Müller followed with a remarkable performance, hitting 11 targets for 79 points to set a new MLS All-Star Skills Challenge Shooting Challenge record.
Juan Brunetta was next up, knocking down eight targets to finish with 47 points, before Petar Musa followed with five targets for 27 points.
José Paradela then delivered a strong performance of his own, hitting eight targets to record 59 points, but it wasn’t enough to surpass Müller’s mark. With his record-setting score, MLS secured the Shooting Challenge victory.
The drama wasn’t over, however, as former record holder Evander stepped up with a chance to reclaim the crown. Matching Müller’s incredible display, Evander also hit 11 targets and finished with 79 points, tying Müller atop the all-time record books as the two now share the Shooting Challenge record.
MLS All-Star Passing Challenge presented by DAWN
Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream looks on during the MLS All Star Skills Challenge. © Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
The MLS All-Star Passing Challenge featured Tim Ream, Elías Montiel, Carles Gil, Carlos Rodríguez, Heung-min Son, and celebrity Danny Ramírez, with competitors tasked with earning points by completing a series of precision passing targets.
Heat 1 saw Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream take on Liga MX’s Elías Montiel. Ream completed five targets, while Montiel managed just one, giving the MLS All-Stars the victory and sending Ream through to the next round.
Heat 2 featured New England Revolution captain Carles Gil against Cruz Azul midfielder Carlos Rodríguez. Gil turned in another impressive performance by completing five targets, while Rodríguez finished with two, earning Gil a place in the semifinals.
Heat 3 matched LAFC forward Heung-min Son against celebrity Danny Ramírez. Son edged Ramírez 5-4 to advance, completing the semifinal field.
With three heat winners, the highest-scoring qualifier, Carles Gil, received a bye to the championship round, while Tim Ream and Heung-min Son met in the semifinal. Ream once again delivered a dominant performance, completing five targets to Son’s one and booking his place in the final.
The championship round featured Ream against Gil in a matchup between two of the day’s best performers. Ream continued his outstanding form, defeating Gil 5-3 to capture the 2026 MLS All-Star Passing Challenge title.
MLS All-Star Goalie Wars featuring MLS NEXT Pro goalkeepers presented by Old Spice
Maxime Crépeau holds his trophy after being crowned Goalie Wars Champion. Image Courtesy of Orlando City SC.
Competing in this year’s MLS All-Star Goalie Wars were Will Mackay, Pedro Cruz, Matt Freese, Maxime Crépeau, and Carlos Moreno, as the goalkeepers squared off in the fan-favorite head-to-head competition that tests both shot-stopping ability and finishing skills.
The play-in round featured Houston Dynamo 2 goalkeeper Pedro Cruz against Huntsville City FC’s Will Mackay, where Pedro Cruz was victorious 4-2 over Will Mackay.
The first semifinal saw New York City FC goalkeeper Matt Freese take on Orlando City SC’s Maxime Crépeau. The match-up was back-and-forth and concluded with Crépeau advancing to the final as Freese was poor with his footing.
The second semifinal featured the winner of the play-in round, Houston Dynamo 2 goalkeeper Pedro Cruz took on Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno where he reigned victorious 5-4 and advanced to the finals in back-to-back seasons.
The Goalie Wars Final was contested between Maxime Crépeau & Pedro Cruz, with Maxime Crépeau emerging victorious 3-2 over Cruz in one of the night’s most entertaining events.
MLS All-Star Crossbar Challenge presented by Gillette
MLS All Star Crossbar Challenge.
Competing in this year’s MLS All-Star Crossbar Challenge were Céline Dept, Javier Ruiz, Evander, Chad Ochocinco, Zavier Gozo, Fernando Gorriarán, Federico Pereira, and Edouard Nys, with participants attempting to strike the crossbar from distance in one of the event’s most entertaining precision-based competitions.
The opening quarterfinal matchups featured Céline Dept against Javier Ruiz, Evander against Chad Ochocinco, Zavier Gozo against Fernando Gorriarán, and Federico Pereira against Edouard Nys.
The winners of the Céline Dept–Javier Ruiz and Evander–Chad Ochocinco matchups advanced to Semifinal 1, while the winners of the Zavier Gozo–Fernando Gorriarán and Federico Pereira–Edouard Nys matchups met in Semifinal 2.
In the semifinals, Javier Ruiz defeated Evander, while Zavier Gozo got past Edouard Nys to set up the championship matchup.
In the championship round, Javier Ruiz defeated Zavier Gozo to be crowned the 2026 MLS All-Star Crossbar Challenge champion & to win the event for LIGA MX.
MLS All-Star Relay Challenge presented by AT&T
MLS All Star Relay Challenge.
Competing in this year’s MLS All-Star Relay Challenge, the MLS squad featured Evander, Zavier Gozo, Hueng Min-Son, Matt Freese, Petar Musa, Thomas Müller, Carles Gil, and Tim Ream.
Representing Liga BBVA MX were Fernando Gorriarán, Elías Montiel, Javier Ruiz, Federico Pereira, Carlos Moreno, Carlos Rodríguez, José Paradela, and Kevin Castañeda, as the two sides went head-to-head in a relay competition testing passing, dribbling, shooting, and teamwork.
The relay consisted of five high-pressure stations that tested each team’s control, passing, shooting, finesse, and finishing as players carried a baton ball through every challenge. Once all eight competitors completed their stations, the contest came down to a decisive crossbar strike, with the first team to hit the crossbar being crowned the MLS All-Star Relay Challenge champions.
In the end, Team LIGA MX started the relay and finished the event in 1 minute & 32 seconds. Team MLS then attempted to complete the relay in a quicker time, however, MLS were unsuccessful and lost the Relay Challenge.
Major League Soccer Logo.
The MLS All-Stars take on the LIGA MX All-Stars on Wednesday, July 28th at 7:30 pm EST at Bank of America Stadium.
For more MLS action, you can find everything via MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
For more Liga MX action, you can find everything via ESPN+.
(Editor’s Note: For more of Adrian Heinsohn’s photos, click on the link)
