In the 2022 championship game, the North Carolina Courage won their first title, defeating the Washington Spirit 2–1.
As a result, the competition was split into three regional groups of four teams each; East, Central and West.
In the knockout stage, if a match was tied at the end of normal playing time, the game was decided by a penalty shoot-out.
No substitutes could be made after the end of normal playing time (except if a goalkeeper was unable to continue before or during the penalty shoot-out).
The seeding of the division winners was determined by points accumulated in the group stage, followed if necessary by any applicable tiebreakers.