The Kansas City Wizards won the Open Cup tournament with a 1–0 golden-goal victory over the defending-champion Chicago Fire at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas City missed out on a domestic double when the Wizards lost MLS Cup 2004.
The Open Cup tournament was highlighted by A-League side Charleston Battery reaching the semifinals, one of four USL teams to beat Major League Soccer teams.
The 2004 tournament was also the final edition contested using golden goal as opposed to more conventional soccer extra time.
Home teams listed on top of bracket Note: Scorelines use the standard U.S. convention of placing the home team on the right-hand side of box scores.