Monterrey has won the tournament once, while Pachuca has won it twice in the Amateur era (1907–1943) but never in the Professional era. Pachuca won the inaugural tournament in 1908 defeating
Reforma 4–0 in the final. Before reaching this final, the last time Monterrey reached a final of any kind was eleven days earlier where they lost to their
arch-rivals UANL in the
Apertura 2017 final. These two clubs last faced each other in a final the previous year when Pachuca won 2–1 on aggregate after a late equalizer in the 93rd minute in the
Clausura 2016 Liga MX Final. Monterrey won three, drew one and scored eight goals during group stage, as they were seeded third. They eliminated
UdeG on penalty kicks in the Round of 16,
Santos Laguna in the quarterfinals and
América on penalty kicks in the semifinals. Pachuca won three, drew one and scored four goals, as they were seeded fifth. They eliminated
Zacatepec in the Round of 16,
Tijuana in the quarterfinals and
Atlante in the semifinals. ==Road to the finals==