2018 Campeonato Carioca


The 2018 Campeonato Carioca de Futebol was the 115th edition of the top tier of football of FFERJ. The top four teams in the final standings of the tournament not otherwise qualified competed in the 2019 Copa do Brasil. The top three teams not competing in any level of the national Campeonato Brasileiro qualified for the 2019 Brasileiro Série D.
The format remained unchanged from the 2017 edition. In the First Round, six teams played a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams qualified for the main competition and the bottom four entering the Relegation Round. The main competition was divided into two tournaments, the Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio, each with two 6-team groups. The top two placed teams in each of the groups qualified to contest the state title. The top four teams in the final standings qualified automatically for the Final Round. The Final Round was a knockout-style playoff with a two-legged final played at the Maracanã Stadium. in Macaé was punished with the loss of 26 points by TJD-RJ by irregular escalation of left-side Luke Gabriel in six matches of the Taça Rio.

Participating teams

First round

The First Round was contested in a round-robin format from 20 December 2017 to 13 January 2018 by six teams: the two final teams from the 2017 Campeonato Carioca Série B1, the bottom two teams from the 2017 Campeonato Carioca main competition, and the two surviving teams from the 2017 Campeonato Carioca Relegation Round. The two top placed teams qualified to contest 2018 Campeonato Carioca, one team each placed in Group A and Group B. The remaining four teams contested in the 2018 Relegation Round.

Championship round

The Championship Round was two competitions: Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio. The twelve clubs were into two groups of six, Group A and Group B. The traditional "big four" teams of Rio de Janeiro were separated with two teams placed in each group. Each round had its own four-team playoff featuring the top two teams of each group. The Taça Rio was followed by a four-team Final playoff featuring the top four teams of the combined table across both competitions.

[Taça Guanabara]

The Taça Guanabara was played from 16 January 2018 to 4 February 2018. It was a single round-robin format with each team playing one match with the teams of their own group. The two top point teams qualified for the knockout stage of the competition. The champion of Taça Guanabara qualified to the Final Stage.

Knockout stage

Semi-finals
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Final

[Taça Rio]

The Taça Rio tournament was from 19 February 2018 to 18 March 2018. Group A and Group B remained the same as in Taça Guanabara, but each team played a single match round-robin against the teams of the other group. The top two teams in points in each group qualified for the knockout stage of the competition. The champion of Taça Rio qualified to the Final Stage.

Knockout stage

Semi-finals
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Final

Relegation playoffs

The Relegation Round was played from 20 January 2018 to 4 March 2018 in a double round-robin format. The two top placed teams qualified for the First Round of the 2019 Campeonato Carioca and the two placed bottom teams were relegated to the 2019 Campeonato Carioca Série B1.

Overall table

Final stage

Semi-finals

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Final

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Awards

Team of the year

Pos.PlayerClub
GK Júlio CésarFluminense
DF Yago PikachuVasco da Gama
DF GumFluminense
DF Igor RabelloBotafogo
DF Ayrton LucasFluminense
MF Rodrigo LindosoBotafogo
MF Leandro Luis DesábatoVasco da Gama
MF Lucas PaquetáFlamengo
FW Marcos JúniorFluminense
FW PedroFluminense
FW PaulinhoVasco da Gama
HC Zé RicardoVasco da Gama

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1. PedroFluminense7
2. BrennerBotafogo6
2. Marcos JúniorFluminense6
2. PipicoMacaé6
3. Andrés RíosVasco da Gama5
3. Dija BaianoVolta Redonda5
3. JacksonBonsucesso5