Hell Is Real derby
| Location | Ohio |
|---|---|
| First meeting | June 14, 2017 U.S. Open Cup CIN 1–0 CLB |
| Latest meeting | November 8, 2025 MLS Cup playoffs CIN 2–1 CLB |
| Next meeting | July 25, 2026 MLS regular season CLB v CIN |
| Stadiums | ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Columbus TQL Stadium, Cincinnati |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 21 |
| Most wins | Columbus Crew (9) |
| Top scorer | Gyasi Zardes (7 goals) |
| All-time series | Columbus: 9 Drawn: 6 Cincinnati: 6 |
| Largest victory | CIN 0–4 CLB MLS is Back Tournament (July 11, 2020) CLB 4–0 CIN MLS Cup playoffs (November 2, 2025) |
Columbus Crew FC Cincinnati Location of the two teams in Ohio (red), as well as the namesake billboard (blue) | |
Hell Is Real is a rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in Ohio: the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati. Under current MLS regular season scheduling, the series occurs twice per season as both teams are members of the Eastern Conference. The teams first met in 2017 in the U.S. Open Cup before Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019.
Hell Is Real takes its name from a Christian highway billboard located on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cincinnati. The two team's MLS Next Pro affiliates, the Columbus Crew 2 and FC Cincinnati 2, parody Hell Is Real for their matches and use the name Heck is Plausible.