There's no natural reason why Forge FC and CF Montréal should have developed a rivalry, but sometimes familiarity breeds resentment.
The Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer sides, respectively, will meet for a sixth consecutive year on Wednesday night in the TELUS Canadian Championship final, in their most high-stakes matchup yet.
Rarely have contests between these clubs felt pedestrian, though.
That tone was set in 2021, when Montréal visited Hamilton for the first time. Forge, at the time back-to-back CPL champions, had never played an MLS opponent, which put an extra shine on the CanChamp semifinal clash.
It didn't disappoint; Forge showed they could go toe-to-toe with the MLS side, refusing to budge in a scoreless 90 minutes. The ensuing penalty shootout was unforgettable, as Forge recovered from Mo Babouli's miss on the first kick, pushing it to 11 nail-biting rounds.
In the end, Forge goalkeeper Triston Henry wasn't able to score his attempt, while Montréal keeper Sebastian Breza slotted his, and Montréal went to the final — which they won.
That was the closest Forge got to beating Montréal for a couple of years; they made unsuccessful trips to Stade Saputo in 2022 and 2023, so by the time they returned the following year, it was starting to feel like a house of horrors for the Hamiltonians.
It all changed in 2024, though. That's when the Canadian Championship returned to a two-legged format for the quarters and semis, so when Forge met Montréal in the quarterfinals, the journey began in Hamilton again.
The first leg, played at 11 a.m. in Forge's first ever School Day Match with thousands of local children in attendance, was certainly memorable; David Choinière brought the crowd alive with a first-half goal, although Montréal's Bryce Duke ensured they'd head back to Quebec on level footing.
The return fixture was when the real drama started. "A game of two halves" is a too-common cliché, but this certainly was. Forge came out flying, scoring twice in the first half-hour thanks to Daniel Parra and Kwasi Poku.
During halftime, however, a thunderstorm rolled into Montréal, sending the game into a weather delay that lasted more than two hours. By the time the teams returned to the pitch, Forge's momentum was gone; they had no choice but to bunker down and try to stop an onslaught from the hosts.
They managed to do so, conceding just once to finally — with their fifth attempt — get past an MLS opponent in the Canadian Championship.
Having overcome that mental hurdle, Forge rolled into last year's quarterfinal meeting with the bleu, blanc et noir more confident than ever.
Forge shut them out in the first leg, taking the lead thanks to Brian Wright's superb finish late in the second half.
Leg 2 was a little more theatrical. Montréal scored shortly after halftime, tying up the aggregate score and swinging momentum firmly into their favour.
Until, that is, Tristan Borges and Kyle Bekker had their say.
A pair of club icons, both of them the architects of plenty of remarkable moments of the years, delivered two more in quick succession.
Borges, just inside the semicircle above the penalty area, let fly with his left foot and found the back of the net to restore Forge's lead.
Three minutes and 10 seconds later, Bekker one-upped his teammate, leathering an even more powerful strike from a couple metres further out than Borges.
The one-two combo was a potent knockout punch to Montréal, who did score late but couldn't recover from the Hammers' double blow.
Wednesday night's meeting between Montréal and Forge will be the sixth, but undoubtedly the most consequential for both sides.
For Forge, it's a chance to make history — and lay groundwork for even more history later this week.
For Montréal, it's a chance to salvage something from this nightmare season.
There is now considerable history between these sides, who each year have used the other to test their level.
On Wednesday, one of them will come out of it with a trophy, and another chapter will be written in Canadian soccer's budding rivalry.
