For the fourth time in five seasons of the CONCACAF Champions League, the final was played between two Mexican sides. This guaranteed a Mexican champion for the eighth straight year and 29th time since the confederation began staging the tournament in 1962 (including the tournament's predecessor, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup). The final was also a repeat of previous year's final, won by Monterrey over Santos Laguna 3–2 on aggregate. Monterrey were the two-time defending champions, having also won the final in 2011.
Santos Laguna finished top of Group 1 ahead of Toronto FC and Águila in the group stage, and were seeded second for the championship stage, where they eliminated Houston Dynamo in the quarterfinals and Seattle Sounders FC in the semifinals.
Monterrey finished top of Group 7 ahead of Municipal and Chorrillo in the group stage, and were seeded first for the championship stage, where they eliminated Xelajú in the quarterfinals and Los Angeles Galaxy in the semifinals.
The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule was used if the aggregate score was level after normal time of the second leg, but not after extra time, and so the final was decided by penalty shoot-out if the aggregate score was level after extra time of the second leg.[1]