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LIGA MX

Pachuca champion of the Liga MX: awards and what international tournaments will they play in next year?

Having demolished Toluca over the two-legged final, what lies ahead for the 2022 Apertura champions?

Calum Roche
Calum RocheEnglish_AS
AME9873. PACHUCA (MÉXICO), 30/10/2022.- Jugadores del Pachuca celebran hoy con el trofeo del torneo Apertura 2022 de la Liga MX, en el estadio Hidalgo en Pachuca (México). EFE/David Martínez Pelcastre
David Martínez PelcastreEFE

An utterly convincing 8-2 aggregate scoreline saw CF Pachuca crowned the 2022 Liga MX Apertura champions. Toluca were effectively out of the contest in the first leg, losing 5-1, and the return fixture ended up being a procession towards the ultimate coronation.

What next for Pachuca?

As you may or may not know, four teams from Liga MX qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League each year. Pachuca, as winners of the Apertura will take their place in the top club competition in North America and they will be joined by runners-up Toluca, as well as the finalists of the Clausura tournament.

“Ah,” I hear you ask, “but what if the same teams end up in both Liga MX finals?” Well, fortunately for us, the Mexican league authorities have also pondered this situation arising and have built a formula to ensure that two teams from each competition progress.

‘If the same two teams qualify for the finals of both tournaments,’ the formula reads, ‘those two teams will qualify along with the non-finalists with the best record in both the Apertura and Clausura.’ And here’s what happens if it’s a little more complicated:

  • If the same team wins both the Apertura and the Clausura (facing two different teams in the finals of each tournament), then the berth reserved for the Clausura champions is passed to the Clausura runners-up and the berth reserved for the Clausura runners-up is passed to the non-finalists with the best record in the Clausura.
  • If the Apertura runners-up win the Clausura (facing two different teams in the finals of each tournament), then the berth reserved for the Apertura runners-up is passed to the non-finalists with the best record in the Apertura.
  • If the Apertura champions are runners-up of the Clausura (facing two different teams in the finals of each tournament), then the berth reserved for the Clausura runners-up is passed to the non-finalists with the best record in the Clausura. This has not happened since Liga MX began using this qualification procedure.

Now, I hope that’s all clear...