Liga MX Clausura 2026 Schedule: Complete Results and Champion

Liga MX Clausura 2026 schedule at a glance

Clausura 2026 was a complete short tournament packed between January and May. The regular season opened on January 9, closed on April 26, and sent eight clubs directly into the Liguilla. The two-leg final concluded on May 24, leaving more than two weeks before the FIFA World Cup opener on June 11.

Start date, regular-season finish, and final

Jornada 1 occupied January 9–11, and Jornada 17 occupied April 24–26. That produced a 108-day regular-season span with international and domestic commitments woven around it. The Liguilla then used May for quarterfinals, semifinals, and the title series. Cruz Azul and Pumas drew the first final leg 0-0 before La Máquina won the return 2-1.

Because the tournament is over, this page treats dates as an archive rather than a countdown. The home page at Liga MX Schedule is the correct switch for the season happening now.

Why the World Cup compressed the tournament

Liga MX needed to finish before the World Cup began across Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The league created space by designating Jornadas 2, 9, and 16 as double-round weeks rather than extending the club season into June. A March 23–31 FIFA window remained protected, so the midweek load was concentrated elsewhere.

The practical effects were fewer long recovery stretches, three rapid turnarounds between weekend and midweek games, and no Play-In round after Jornada 17. The calendar still delivered all 153 regular-season fixtures, but clubs had to manage rotation, travel, and knockout preparation on a tighter rhythm than a normal spring tournament.

Complete Clausura 2026 calendar by Jornada

The table gives the Mexico-calendar window for every regular-season round, so a fan can place any match inside the tournament quickly. It does not repeat all 153 final scores. For one specific game, open the club schedule or completed match page and confirm the opponent, date, venue, and final status; the most notable calendar exception moved one Jornada 9 fixture to March 18.

*One Jornada 9 fixture was reprogrammed for March 18. Date windows above use Mexico's calendar date; a late kickoff may appear on the following date for overseas viewers.

All 17 regular-season round windows

The early calendar moved quickly: three rounds were completed by January 18, followed by a gap before Jornada 4 crossed from January into February. Six consecutive weekend windows then carried the tournament through Jornada 8. The March block paired the midweek Jornada 9 with Jornada 10 that same week, followed by two more weekend rounds.

After Jornada 12, league play paused for the March 23–31 FIFA window. Jornada 13 resumed on April 3, and five rounds fit into the final 24 days. To save a specific historical fixture rather than the whole grid, use the Liga MX calendar and confirm that its tournament label says Clausura 2026.

Three midweek doubles and the FIFA break

Jornada 2 followed immediately after opening weekend on January 13–14. Jornada 9 landed on March 3–4, although one fixture later moved to March 18. Jornada 16 arrived April 21–22, only days before the final regular-season weekend. Each double forced clubs to travel, recover, and prepare twice inside one weekly cycle.

The protected international window is just as important as the extra rounds. No Liga MX Jornada was squeezed into March 23–31, allowing called-up players to leave before the decisive April run. The compression came from using other midweeks, not from ignoring FIFA release dates.

Rivalries and turning points in the regular season

The schedule's major rivalry dates also served as landmarks inside the compressed campaign. They were not collected into one promotional rivalry week: the biggest fixtures appeared from mid-February through mid-April, sometimes beside a rapid turnaround and sometimes immediately before an international pause.

Clásico Nacional, Clásico Regio, and capital rivalries

Guadalajara–América offered the first marquee national comparison before the midpoint. The March 7 double feature was more demanding: Atlas and Chivas played their city derby while Tigres and Monterrey contested the northern rivalry only days after Jornada 9. That placement meant the emotional peak did not arrive with a full week of preparation.

Mexico City's sequence came later. Pumas–América completed the pre-FIFA-window block, and América–Cruz Azul arrived with only three regular rounds remaining afterward. These matches mattered as rivalry events, but their positions in the calendar also influenced table pressure, rotation choices, and how much recovery each squad possessed.

What the compressed rhythm changed for clubs and supporters

For clubs, a double Jornada shortens the normal cycle of physical recovery, film review, tactical training, and travel. The last one was especially severe: Jornada 16 ran April 21–22 and Jornada 17 followed April 24–26. Teams near the eighth-place line had almost no spare week in which to correct a poor midweek result before the qualification decision.

For supporters, the risk was assuming every important match still lived on a familiar weekend cadence. Midweek kickoff, venue, and broadcaster checks became essential. This archived calendar explains what happened; the current weekly schedule is the better tool for the tournament being played now.

Final standings and direct Liguilla qualification

The completed table selected all eight quarterfinalists without a Play-In. Pumas and Guadalajara shared the highest points total, but Pumas took the No. 1 seed through superior goal difference. That narrow ordering later became decisive: seed was both a pairing mechanism and a knockout tiebreaker.

The top eight advanced with no Play-In

The qualification line sat directly below América. Pumas through América entered the Liguilla; everyone below eighth was eliminated after Jornada 17. There was no match between seventh and eighth and no rescue path for ninth or tenth. The result was a clean transition from the final table to 1–8, 2–7, 3–6, and 4–5.

That format is explained in more detail by the 2026 Play-In guide. For the active tournament rather than this archive, use the current standings; short-tournament tables reset, so these Clausura points do not carry into Apertura.

Seeding mattered when aggregate scores finished level

Three completed series demonstrated the value of the regular season. Pumas and América finished their quarterfinal 6-6 on aggregate, sending Pumas through as the higher seed. Guadalajara and Tigres finished 3-3, sending Guadalajara through. Pumas then used its seed again after a 1-1 semifinal against Pachuca.

Those were rule-based advancements, not missing extra-time results. Quarterfinal and semifinal aggregate ties rewarded the better regular-season finish. The final was different: seed could determine home order, but a level aggregate would require extra time and potentially penalties rather than award the trophy automatically.

Clausura 2026 Liguilla results round by round

The top eight entered a three-round, two-leg Liguilla. Quarterfinal first legs were played May 2–3 and returns May 9–10. Semifinals followed May 13–14 and May 16–17, before the final on May 21 and 24. The full path produced three tied aggregates decided by seed and four series won outright.

Quarterfinal and semifinal aggregate results

Pumas and Guadalajara survived high-scoring, level quarterfinals through their top-two seeds. Cruz Azul beat Atlas 4-2, while Pachuca delivered the round's only clean-sheet aggregate in a 3-0 win over defending champion Toluca. Reseeding then paired Pumas with Pachuca and Guadalajara with Cruz Azul.

Pumas again used its regular-season advantage after a 1-1 semifinal. Cruz Azul had no such option against higher-seeded Guadalajara, so it won the series 4-3. Those routes created a final between the No. 1 regular-season team and the No. 3 seed that had won both earlier knockout series outright.

Cruz Azul beat Pumas to win its tenth league title

Cruz Azul hosted the first leg at Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, where the finalists drew 0-0. Pumas then hosted the return at Estadio Olímpico Universitario on May 24. The home side scored first, Cruz Azul equalized, and Carlos Rotondi supplied the late goal that made the second leg and aggregate 2-1.

The victory gave La Máquina its tenth professional-era league championship and sole possession of fourth place in the active-club title table. For a dedicated bracket view rather than the season calendar, use the Liga MX Liguilla archive.

How to use an archived Liga MX schedule accurately

A completed schedule answers historical questions well: when a Jornada occurred, which clubs played, what the final score was, and how a result affected qualification. It is less reliable as a shortcut for today's kickoff or television plan. Liga MX runs two independent short tournaments, and match operations can change even when a broad calendar window remains recognizable.

Find a specific team, Jornada, or result

1. 1. Confirm the tournament.“2026” alone is incomplete. Identify Clausura 2026 rather than Apertura 2026 or the combined 2025–26 football season.
2. 2. Locate the Jornada window.Use the 17-round table above, noting the three midweeks, the FIFA break, and the reprogrammed Jornada 9 fixture.
3. 3. Open the club schedule or completed match.A club-specific page is faster and less error-prone than scanning all 153 regular-season results.
4. 4. Verify final status.Distinguish a completed score from a planned kickoff, postponement, or timezone-converted date.

For example, a search for Cruz Azul's championship route should begin with the Clausura label, move from its Jornada results to the Liguilla aggregates, and end with the 2-1 final. That method prevents an Apertura game against Pumas from being mistaken for the May title match.

Separate historical kickoff data from the live Apertura schedule

The final score, tournament phase, and champion are stable. An archived kickoff time may reflect the original plan, a different timezone, or a listing created before rescheduling. An old broadcaster field is even less transferable because the current outlet depends on the home club, viewer region, and match-specific assignment.

Use the completed Clausura index for what happened, and the live schedule destinations for what happens next. That separation preserves the value of the historical tournament without allowing an old date or channel to become current misinformation.

When comparing match listings across sites, also check the timezone before deciding that two dates conflict. A late match shown on a Mexico calendar can appear after midnight for a viewer in Europe, while a U.S. listing may keep the same evening but use Eastern or Pacific time. The competition, clubs, venue, and final score identify the historical match more reliably than a date viewed alone.