If you are new to Mexican soccer, Liga MX can look confusing at first. There are two champions every year, the playoffs do not use away goals, and the team that finishes first in the regular season does not automatically lift a trophy. This guide explains how it all works, using the format in place for the 2026 season.
Two Tournaments, One Season
Liga MX splits each season into two short tournaments.
The Apertura, which means “opening,” is the fall tournament. It usually runs from July to December. The Clausura, which means “closing,” is the spring tournament. It usually runs from January to May. Each tournament crowns its own champion, so Liga MX produces two champions per season.
Eighteen clubs play in Liga MX. In each tournament, every club plays 17 matches, one against each other team, in a single round robin. The fixtures reverse between tournaments, so a club that hosted a particular opponent in the Apertura travels to face that same opponent in the Clausura. Over the full season, each club plays every other club once at home and once away.
The Regular Season Table
Standard rules apply: three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a loss, with goal difference the first tiebreaker when clubs finish level on points.
Finishing first earns you the nickname superlider, but no trophy. It does earn you the top playoff seed, which matters a lot once the postseason begins.
Who Makes the Playoffs
Here is where the format changed recently. Under the 2026-27 competition regulations, the top eight clubs in the regular season table qualify directly for the quarterfinals of the playoffs. There is no extra qualifying round: Article 22 of the regulations defines only two phases, a qualifying phase of 17 rounds and a final phase of quarterfinals, semifinals and final, and Article 26 sends the eight best clubs in the general table straight through. The word play-in does not appear anywhere in the 2026-27 rulebook.
From the Apertura 2023 through the Clausura 2025, Liga MX used a play-in round, an evolution of the older repechaje, in which the clubs finishing seventh through tenth played single-elimination matches for the final two playoff spots. Seventh hosted eighth for the seventh seed, while ninth hosted tenth and the winner faced the loser of the first match for the eighth seed.
If something you read describes seeds seven through ten playing extra matches, it is describing the 2023 to 2025 format, not the current one.
The Liguilla: Mexico’s Playoffs
The postseason is called the liguilla, which roughly translates to “little league.” Eight clubs enter, seeded one through eight by their regular season finish. The bracket is fixed: first plays eighth, second plays seventh, third plays sixth, and fourth plays fifth. The four quarterfinal winners are then re-seeded one through four based on regular season position, so the highest remaining seed faces the lowest and the other two meet in the second semifinal (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 after re-ranking).
Every round is played over two legs, one match at each club’s stadium, with the higher seed hosting the second leg. The winners are decided by total goals across both legs.
The tiebreakers surprise newcomers. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, there are no away goals, no extra time, and no penalty shootouts. If the two legs finish level on total goals, the club that finished higher in the regular season table automatically advances, which is why the top seeds carry a built-in safety net into the playoffs.
The final is different. Table position decides only which club hosts the second leg; it does not decide the champion. If the final is tied on total goals after the second leg, the clubs play extra time, two 15 minute halves. If it is still tied, a penalty shootout decides the champion.
Road to the Title at a Glance
| Round | Clubs | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals | 8 | Two legs. Higher seed hosts second leg. Tied on total goals: higher seed advances. |
| Semifinals | 4 | Re-seeded 1-4 by regular season position: 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3. Two legs. Higher seed hosts second leg. Tied on total goals: higher seed advances. |
| Final | 2 | Two legs. Higher seed hosts second leg. Tied on total goals: extra time, then penalties. |
How the Old Play-In Worked, 2023 to 2025
| Match | Stakes |
|---|---|
| 7th hosts 8th | Winner takes the 7th playoff seed. |
| 9th hosts 10th | Loser eliminated. Winner stays alive. |
| Loser of 7v8 hosts winner of 9v10 | Winner takes the 8th and final playoff seed. |
All matches were single elimination, hosted by the higher seed. The 2026-27 competition regulations contain no play-in provision, so this format does not apply to the Apertura 2026 or the Clausura 2027.
Campeon de Campeones
The Campeon de Campeones decides the champion of champions. It is a single match, usually played in the summer in the United States before the new season, between the Apertura champion and the Clausura champion.
If one club wins both tournaments in a season, there is no match to play: that club is automatically the Campeon de Campeones. The winner represents Liga MX in the Campeones Cup, a one-off match against the MLS Cup champion. It is not the old Supercopa MX, which was a separate competition for cup winners. The Campeon de Campeones is strictly champions versus champions.
No Promotion or Relegation, for Now
This is the fact most sources get wrong, so here is the current status. Promotion and relegation were suspended in April 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic put enormous financial pressure on clubs, and the old second division was replaced by the developmental Liga de Expansion MX.
In July 2026 the Mexican Football Federation published a new Reglamento de Competencia, and Article 35 states that starting with the 2026-27 season, Liga MX clubs will not be relegated and Expansion MX clubs cannot be promoted. The old coefficient table, the tabla de cociente that used to decide relegation, now exists for statistical purposes only, and the fines for the worst clubs were removed.
In practice, Liga MX now works like MLS: a closed league of 18 franchises with no movement between divisions, at least for the 2026-27 season.
How Liga MX Clubs Qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup
The Concacaf Champions Cup is the biggest club competition in North America, and Liga MX has six standard domestic qualification slots.
The two Apertura finalists and the two Clausura finalists take the first four. The other two go to the best non-finalists in the combined aggregate table, the ranking built from points earned across both tournaments, excluding clubs that already qualified.
One more perk for champions: under Concacaf’s qualification rules, the Apertura or Clausura champion with the better regular-season points total across both tournaments receives a bye straight to the Round of 16, while the other five Mexican qualifiers start in Round One.
Duplicates can add to the count. If a Liga MX club qualifies both through domestic play and through the Leagues Cup, the duplicate domestic slot is reallocated to the next-best eligible club in the aggregate table, producing an additional Liga MX replacement slot. Liga MX clubs also earn their own direct berths through the Leagues Cup itself, which is how Mexico sometimes sends more than six teams in a given year.
Where to Watch
Now that you understand the format, you can follow every tournament, every liguilla, and every Campeon de Campeones from the United States. For the current broadcasters and streaming services carrying Liga MX and El Tri, see our guide: How to Watch Liga MX and Mexico Soccer in the USA (2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many champions does Liga MX have each season?
Two, one per tournament: the Apertura champion in December and the Clausura champion in May.
What is the liguilla?
The liguilla is the Liga MX postseason, an eight-club playoff tournament that decides the champion of each tournament. It has three rounds: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final, all played over two legs.
Does Liga MX still have a play-in round?
No. The 2026-27 competition regulations define only two phases (Articles 22 and 26): a 17-round qualifying phase and a final phase, with the top eight clubs in the regular season table going directly to the quarterfinals. The document contains no play-in provision. The play-in round was used from the Apertura 2023 through the Clausura 2025.
Why is there no relegation in Liga MX?
Promotion and relegation were suspended in April 2020 because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2026, the federation’s new competition rules confirmed in writing that there would be no promotion or relegation for the 2026-27 season either. Liga MX currently operates as a closed league.
What is the Campeon de Campeones?
A single match between the Apertura champion and the Clausura champion that decides the champion of champions. It is usually played in the summer in the United States. If one club wins both tournaments, it wins the title automatically. The winner faces the MLS Cup champion in the Campeones Cup.
How does a club qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup from Liga MX?
Six standard berths are awarded through domestic play: the two Apertura finalists, the two Clausura finalists, and the two best non-finalists in the combined aggregate table. The Apertura or Clausura champion with the better regular-season points total skips straight to the Round of 16. If a club qualifies twice, through domestic play and the Leagues Cup, the duplicate slot is reallocated to the next-best eligible club, so Mexico can send more than six teams in a given year.
What happens if a liguilla final is tied?
If the two legs of the final are tied on total goals, the clubs play 30 minutes of extra time, then a penalty shootout if needed. Regular season position does not break the tie in the final. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, a tie on total goals sends the higher-seeded club through automatically, with no extra time or penalties.
