Albany Empire The Empire, led by head coach
Rob Keefe, finished the regular season 10–2 and earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight season. They defeated No. 4
Baltimore home and away in the semifinal to advance to their first ArenaBowl.
Philadelphia Soul The Soul, led by head coach
Clint Dolezel, finished the regular season 7–5 and earned the No. 3 seed for the second straight season. They defeated No. 2
Washington home and away in the semifinal to advance to their sixth ArenaBowl; they are 3–2 in previous appearances.
Series record The all-time series between the Empire and the Soul dates back to the Empire's inaugural game on April 14, 2018. Entering the game, Albany led the series 4–3. ==Game summary==