In this guide
Seventeen jornadas build each tableEight places lead directly to the final phaseRead the tournament name before comparing resultsLiga MX is Mexico’s top men’s club football league. Its 2026/27 season contains two named tournaments: Apertura 2026 and Clausura 2027. These are separate title competitions within the season, rather than the first and second halves of one continuous championship table.
The FMF regulations give each tournament a qualifying phase followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. A programme carrying “Jornada 12” therefore describes a different stage from one labelled “Cuartos de Final”.
Seventeen jornadas build each table
Eighteen clubs play each other once across 17 rounds in each short tournament. A win earns three points, a draw one and a defeat none. The standings used for the final phase belong to that particular Apertura or Clausura.
Because opponents meet once in a short tournament, the number of home and away fixtures need not be equal for every club within that tournament. “Jornada” is the round label; it does not mean a separate cup competition.
Eight places lead directly to the final phase
For Apertura 2026 and Clausura 2027, the regulations place the top eight eligible clubs directly in the final phase after Jornada 17. Applying an older Play-In description to these editions would give the wrong entry route.
The eight clubs are ordered by their qualifying-table finish. The knockout phase then determines the tournament champion. Finishing first in the table and winning the final are different achievements, even when the same club does both.
Read the tournament name before comparing results
An Apertura result should stay attached to the Apertura table and bracket. A subsequent Clausura match starts a new tournament context; it does not simply continue the previous points total.
For an archived programme, retain the short-tournament name, year and round together. “Liga MX semi-final” without its Apertura or Clausura identifier can refer to more than one title race within the same season.