It is the stage of the season where the races heat up. The league's final six matchweeks will determine which four clubs reach the playoffs, and who lifts the CPL Shield as regular season winners.
Another race once again coming down to the wire is for the CPL Golden Boot, awarded to the league's leading scorer.
Last year, Atlético Ottawa's Samuel Salter took home the Golden Boot in historic fashion when he scored a single-season record of 19 goals. Other previous winners include Forge's Tristan Borges (2019), Halifax duo Akeem Garcia (2020) and João Morelli (2021), Pacific's Alejandro Díaz (2022), both Atlético's Ollie Bassett and Cavalry's Myer Bevan in 2023, and Cavalry's Tobias Warschewski (2024).
This year's race is heated as ever, with six players within three goals heading into the final six matchweeks. Here is a breakdown of those six players thus far, their seasons to date, and what might set them apart over the final stage.
10 - Loïc Kwemi (FC Supra du Québec)
Loïc Kwemi wrote his name in the history books when he scored FC Supra du Québec's first-ever goal, and he could add a further entry as the CPL's 2026 Golden Boot winner.
The current league leader in goals, Kwemi has been the dynamic centrepiece of the Supra attack this season. His combination of dribbling and direct attacking play, rounded out with a cannon of a strike, led to him becoming the first player to hit double-digit goals in the league this season.
Kwemi leads all CPL players in touches in the box this season with 115 and has completed more dribbles (49) than any other player. He is also tied for the league lead in goals from the penalty spot, with four and has an exceptional 0.66 goals per 90.
9 - Ballou Tabla (Atlético Ottawa)
Following the departure of Sam Salter and David Rodríguez from the nation's capital this off-season, Atlético Ottawa needed someone to step up and lead the attack.
Ballou Tabla has done so brilliantly, leading by example with nine goals this season. One of the most technically blessed and creative players in the league, he is particularly adept at finding ways to create shooting lanes for himself in the box.
This season, especially, his finishing ability has taken a step forward as well -- tied for the league lead in goals from open play, with seven. He also has the most expected goals on target in the CPL, at 8.6.
As Atlético Ottawa continue to put up strong attacking numbers under new head coach Gustavo Leal, Tabla is undoubtedly a player to watch in the Golden Boot conversation.
9 - Isaiah Johnston (Halifax Wanderers)
The Halifax Wanderers' midfielder is having a career year after moving into a more attacking role under new head coach Vanni Sartini.
With nine goals, the 24-year-old is one away from tying the 10 he had scored in the first six seasons of his professional career.
Part of this has been his designation as the team's penalty taker, as he has four goals from the spot this season -- tied for the league lead.
But his excellent reading of the game, movement, and finishing have allowed him to find plenty of goals from open play as well. He consistently gets into dangerous positions on the pitch, often with smart late runs into the box, as emphasized by his league-leading 9.1 expected goals, and 25 shots on target (second in the CPL).
9 - Tobias Warschewski (Cavalry FC)
There is no doubt that the best all-round offensive player this season (and likely player in general) in the league has been Cavalry's #9.
With nine goals and nine assists, he has seven more goal contributions than any other player in the CPL, leading the league's best attack.
Perhaps more than any other player in the CPL, Warschewski can score from anywhere and in any method, be that from distance, in close, headers, set pieces, or acrobatically.
He leads the league in open-play expected goals, with 6.26 this season, has a league-leading 28 shots on target as well and has hit the woodwork three times this season, the second most of any player in the CPL. With the way Cavalry have been playing down the stretch, Warschewski will have plenty more opportunities to find the back of the net.
7 - Julian Altobelli (Inter Toronto)
After a breakout campaign last year in Toronto, Altobelli remains one of the CPL's top strikers in his second season in the league.
Altobelli is one of the league's best pure finishers. Get the ball to him in the box and more times than not it is ending up beyond the goalkeeper. The only thing that has held Altobelli back this season has been injuries, limiting him to just 15 appearances and breaking up his goalscoring rhythm. Still, he has scored an impressive 0.55 goals per 90.
If Inter Toronto can make a late-season playoff push, a big part of that will be Altobelli. If his club can move up the table, it stands to reason he will climb the golden boot leaderboard as well.
7 - Mohamed Amissi (Vancouver FC)
One of the most exciting newcomers to the league this season, Mohamed Amissi quickly established himself as one of the league's top attackers -- holding the Golden Boot lead at stages this season.
Like his club, Amissi's scoring has slowed down a little bit since the start of the campaign. He hasn't scored since August 1.
Nevertheless, it has been an impressive campaign, especially with all seven of the goals coming from open play. His ability to create that many goals, especially being deployed primarily as a winger, only add to how vital he has been to Vancouver FC's turnaround.
Notable mentions
While anyone outside of the current top six is incredibly unlikely to win the Golden Boot, there are a few players who have been in top form lately who could at least put themselves in the picture.
With five goals in his first nine games in the nation's capital, Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau's incredible start to his time in the league has been prolific, and he has more goals per 90 (0.67) than anyone on this list. But it's probably too late for him to make up a full five goals on Kwemi.
Cavalry FC attacker Nathaniel Edwards, meanwhile, has four goals in his past eight matches and is also heating up. He could be a candidate to quickly move his way up the leaderboard as well.