Since the launch of the short tournaments, a curious pattern has persisted: a team finishing in sixth place has never claimed the championship. This phenomenon is often labeled the curse of the sixth position, a superstition that haunts the Liga MX season and adds a dramatic twist to the race for the title. In conversations about the league, fans sometimes joke that the “super leader” is followed by a fateful second-place finisher, and the sixth-placed team becomes the target of misfortune. Chivas Guadalajara, for example, could not escape this label during the Closure 2022, when their bid faltered in the crucial moments and the curse seemed to tighten its grip around their campaign.
From the moment the short tournament format began in the mid-1990s, the rule appeared to be rigid: any club that ended the season in sixth place would not lift the trophy. Over more than two decades, seven different teams have reached that exact position yet failed to convert it into championship glory. The pattern has been consistent enough to feel almost inevitable, even when the underdog or an unexpected contender pushed hard for the title.
The curse was first observed in winter 1996, a pivotal season as Necaxa, the reigning champions, lost their crown in the opening round of the current format. The title instead went to Santos Laguna, the second-placed team, which required extra time to clinch its first star. The sequence continued in winter 1999 when Cruz Azul fell to Pachuca, the seventh-placed team of that half-year, in a dramatic golden goal decision decided in the capital. The later summer 2001 final saw a similar fate for the same cup rivalries, with Santos again finishing as runners-up in a tense title bout.
The 2004 season stands out as one of the most remarkable chapters in the history of the curse. Although Toluca participated in the grand “Big Party” by reaching the top of Group 1, they did not win the overall league. Instead, the general table highlighted their ninth-place finish, yet Toluca later learned that the title would evade a team that had performed well in the rounds. In that year, the curse whispered through the stands as Toluca had to confront the reality that glory sometimes slips away from a team even when the path seems clear, especially when the season’s narrative favors the adversaries who finish in the upper mid-table region.
Another notable moment came in the Closing 2014, when Pachuca reached the final and found themselves in sixth place in the standings. The curse struck again as they were defeated by the Monterrey side, the eighth-ranked team in that championship, reminding everyone that position and momentum can diverge in the most unpredictable ways. The pattern repeated with Santos Laguna, who finished eighth and then faced a defeat in the Liga MX final against a team that had finished lower in the regular season standings.
The most dramatic chapters occurred when an eight-placed team rose to the finals yet could not seal the deal, sealing the narrative that sixth is a fragile threshold rather than a guaranteed path to glory. In the Apertura 2019, Monterrey, the eighth seed, carried hopes into the final and defeated the favorite team after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, underscoring that ultimate success is not a simple function of final placement. Most recently, the Apertura 2023 season kept the legend alive as Leon, who had fallen to a 3-1 defeat against Cruz Azul in the closing minutes of the campaign, faced the risk that finishing in sixth again could try to break the spell once more. In that sense, every season arrives with the same question: will the sixth-placed team finally break the curse, or will history repeat itself?
As the current season progresses toward conclusions in the United States and Canada, fans monitor the standings with the belief that the club in sixth will carry extra pressure. The dialogue around the curse remains part sporting superstition, part statistical curiosity, and part reminder that in football, outcomes are shaped by a mix of form, resilience, and moments of luck. The ongoing story invites clubs to defy skepticism, chase consistency, and aim to turn six into a gateway rather than a stumbling block. With each campaign, a new chapter is written in the long-running narrative that has captivated Liga MX supporters and neutral observers alike.
Note: The analysis reflects historical patterns observed by fans and analysts and is attributed to match reports and league summaries from Goal.