2018 King's Cup (Saudi Arabia) Explained

The 2018 King Cup, or The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, was the 43rd edition of the King Cup since its establishment in 1957, and the 11th under the current format. It started on 3 January and concluded with the final on 12 May 2018. The winner qualified for the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage.

Al-Ittihad won their eighth title after a 3–1 win over Al-Faisaly in the final on 12 May 2018.^[1]

Pro League side Al-Hilal were the defending champions, but they were eliminated by Al-Qadsiah in the Round of 16.^[2] It was the earliest exit by the title holders since the introduction of the new format.

Participating teams

A total of 32 teams participated in this season. 14 teams from the Professional league, 16 teams from the First Division, and 2 teams qualifying from the preliminary stage.^[3]

League	Teams
Pro League	valign=top	Al-Ahli Al-Batin Al-Ettifaq Al-Faisaly Al-Fateh Al-Fayha Al-Hilal TH Al-Ittihad Al-Nassr Al-Qadsiah Al-Raed Al-Shabab Al-Taawoun Ohod
Prince Mohammad bin Salman League	valign=top	Al-Hazem Al-Kawkab Al-Khaleej Al-Mujazzal Al-Nahda Al-Nojoom Al-Orobah Al-Qaisumah Al-Shoulla Al-Tai Al-Watani Al-Wehda Damac Hajer Jeddah Najran
Third Division	valign=top	Al-Bahah Al-Zulfi

Bracket

Note: H: Home team, A: Away team

Source: SAFF^[4]

Round of 32

The Round of 32 matches were played between 3 and 7 January 2018.^{[5] [6]} All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Round of 16

The Round of 16 matches were played between 19 and 25 January 2018.^{[7] [8]} All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Quarter-finals

The Quarter-finals matches were played between 22 and 25 February 2018.^{[9] [10]} All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Semi-finals

The Semi-finals matches were played on 30 and 31 March 2018.^{[11] [12]} All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Final

See main article: article. The final was held on 12 May 2018. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Top goalscorers

As of 12 May 2018^[13]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Carlos Villanueva	Al-Ittihad	4
2	Mohammed Al-Saiari	Al-Ettifaq	3
	Salman Al-Moasher	Al-Ahli
	Rogério	Al-Faisaly
	Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi	Al-Ittihad

Note: Players and teams marked in bold are still active in the competition.

See also

• 2017–18 Saudi Professional League
• 2017–18 Prince Mohammad bin Salman League
• 2017–18 Crown Prince Cup

Notes and References

1. Web site: فيديو | ملخص مباراة الاتحاد والفيصلي - نهائي كأس الملك 2018 | دوري بلس .
2. Web site: الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم - مركز الأخبار. thesaff.com.sa. 25 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171225203313/http://www.thesaff.com.sa/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=15936. 25 December 2017. dead.
3. Web site: الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم on Twitter| تُسحب بعد قليل قرعة #مسابقة_كأس_خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين في القاعة الرئيسة بمجمع الأمير فيصل بن فهد الأولمبي بالرياض.. ماهي توقعاتكم؟ ". twitter.com. 25 December 2017.
4. Web site: نتائج قرعة كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين. Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Cup Draw. ar. SAFF. 25 December 2017.
5. Web site: جدول مباريات #مسابقة_كأس_خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين. Round of 32 of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Cup Dates. ar. saudiff. 25 December 2017. 25 December 2017.
6. Web site: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup 2016 - Round of 32. kooora.com. 25 December 2017.
7. Web site: جدول مباريات دور الـ16 من #مسابقة_كأس_خادم_الحرمين_الشريفين بعد التعديل. Round of 16 of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Cup Dates. ar. saudiff. 8 January 2017. 8 January 2017.
8. Web site: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup 2018 - Round of 16. goalzz.com. 8 January 2017.
9. Web site: جدول مباريات دور الـ8 من. Round of 8 of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Cup Dates. ar. saudiff. 27 January 2017. 27 January 2017.
10. Web site: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup 2018 - Round of 8. goalzz.com. 27 January 2017.
11. Web site: مواعيد مباريات الدور نصف النهائي من مسابقة. Semi-finals of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Cup Dates. ar. saudiff. 27 February 2017. 27 January 2017.
12. Web site: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup 2018 - Round of 4. goalzz.com. 27 February 2017.
13. Web site: Top Scorers -King Cup . goalzz. 2 January 2018.