The Primera Categoría Serie B, shortened to Serie B or Primera B, is a professional football league in Ecuador. It is in the second tier of the Ecuadorian football league system. Currently contested by ten clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the top-flight Serie A and the bottom-level Segunda Categoría. The season runs from February to December in two stages. For sponsorship reasons, it is known as the LigaPro Banco Pichincha Pymes.
Serie B has been in place since 1971 and has been held on a yearly basis since (except 1973 and 1983–88), often holding two tournaments a year. The number of teams being promoted or relegated changed through the years because, like the Serie A, the format often changes on a seasonal basis. With the creation of LigaPro for the beginning of the 2019 season, the format consisted of two separate round robin stages. The top four teams with the most points after both stages were placed in a playoffs to determine the two teams who would earn promotion to Serie A the following season. Additionally, the two teams with the fewest points at the end of the season are relegated to the Segunda Categoría.
Thirty two different clubs have won the Serie B, but only twelve have won it multiple times. The most successful team is Técnico Universitario, who won their sixth title in 2017, while the current champion is Guayaquil City.
Current teams There are currently twelve teams in the 2026 Serie B. ClubCityStadiumCapacity 22 de Julio Esmeraldas Estadio Folke Anderson 14,000 9 de Octubre Guayaquil Alejandro Ponce Noboa 5,000 Atlético Rojiblanco Christan Benitez Betancourt 10,152 Cuenca Juniors Cuenca Alejandro Serrano Aguillar 14,500 Cumbayá Cayambe Olímpico Guillermo Albornoz 12,000 El Nacional Quito Olímpico Atahualpa 38,258 Gualaceo Gualaceo Gerardo León Pozo 2,791 Independiente Juniors Sangolquí Banco Guayaquil 12,000 Liga de Portoviejo Portojevio Reales Tamarindos 21,000 Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Etho Vega Baquero 10,172 San Antonio Ibarra Olímpico de Ibarra 18,600 Vinotinto Quito Olímpico Atahualpa 38,258
List of champions Ed.SeasonChampion (title count)Runner-upTop goalscorer 1971Macará (1)Olmedo Ítalo Cavagnari (14) 1972E1LDU Portoviejo (1)Deportivo Quito (24) E2Deportivo Cuenca (1)Universidad Católica 1974E1 LDU Quito (1)América de Quito E2 Aucas (1)Deportivo Quito 1975Audaz Octubrino (1)9 de Octubre Carlos Infantino (26) 1976E1 Carmen Mora (1)Deportivo Quito Carlos Infantino (24) E2 LDU Portoviejo (2)América de Quito 1977E1 LDU Cuenca (1)Manta Sport Angel Guillermo Marin (27) E2 Técnico Universitario (1)Deportivo Quito 1978E1 Bonita Banana (1)Valdez Carlos Spadoni (24) E2 América de Quito (1)LDU Quito 1979E1 Manta Sport (1)Aucas Miguel Adolfo López (20) E2 El Nacional (1)Everest 1980E1 Deportivo Quito (1)LDU Cuenca E2 LDU Portoviejo (3)Deportivo Cuenca 1981E1 Emelec (1)9 de Octubre Enrique Lanza (26) E2 Técnico Universitario (2)LDU Portoviejo 1982E1 Quevedo (1)Aucas Miguel Adolfo López (10) E2 Manta Sport (2)América de Quito 1989E1 Delfín (1)Universidad Católica Rooney de Oliveira (15) E2 Juventus (1)River Plate Riobamba 1990E1 Universidad Católica (1)LDU Portoviejo (14) E2 Juvenil (1)LDU Loja 1991E1 Green Cross (1)LDU Portoviejo José Felix Salazar (19) E2 Aucas (2)ESPOLI 1992E1 LDU Portoviejo (4)ESPOLI Hugo Rivas Mendoza (14) E2Santos (1)Calvi 1993 ESPOLI (1)LDU Portoviejo Johny Quiñonez (21) 1994 Olmedo (1)9 de Octubre (18) 1995 Deportivo Cuenca (2)Técnico Universitario Pedro Valencia (16) 1996 Quevedo (2)Calvi Carlos Guttman Furtado (14) 1997 Panamá (1)Delfín Fernando Lavezzi (13) 1998 Macará (2)Audaz Octubrino (24) 1999 Técnico Universitario (3)LDU Portoviejo José Esterilla (17) 2000 LDU Portoviejo (5)Delfín Aldemar Sanchez (15) 2001 LDU Quito (2)Deportivo Cuenca (27) 2002 Técnico Universitario (4)Manta Martín Gorozo (22) 2003 Olmedo (2)Macará (21) 2004 Quevedo (3)LDU Loja (26) 2005A ESPOLI (2)Manta (17) C Macará (3)Universidad Católica Marwin Pita (13) 2006E1 Deportivo Azogues (1)Universidad Católica Edmundo Zura (18) E2 Imbabura (1)Universidad Católica 2007 Universidad Católica (2)ESPOLI (25) 2008 Manta (1)LDU Portoviejo Narciso Mina (25) 2009Independiente del Valle (1)Universidad Católica (18) 2010LDU Loja (1)Imbabura (28) 2011Técnico Universitario (5)Macará (28) 2012Universidad Católica (3)Quevedo (18) 2013 Olmedo (3)Mushuc Runa Daniel Neculmán (29) 2014 Aucas (3)River Ecuador (22) 2015 Delfín (2)Fuerza Amarilla (20) 2016 Macará (4)Clan Juvenil (22) 2017 Técnico Universitario (6)Aucas Edson Montaño (20) 2018Mushuc Runa (1)América de Quito (18) 2019Orense (1)LDU Portoviejo (17) 20209 de Octubre (1)Manta Ángel Ledesma (9) 2021Cumbayá (1)Gualaceo (18) 2022El Nacional (2)Libertad Ronie Carrillo (16) 2023Macará (5)Imbabura Facundo Callejo (18) 2024CuniburoManta (19) 2025Guayaquil City (1)Leones Patricio Vargas (15)
Titles by club ClubTitlesSeasons won Técnico Universitario 6 1977 E2, 1981 E2, 1999, 2002, 2011, 2017 LDU Portoviejo 5 1972 E1, 1976 E2, 1980 E2, 1992 E1, 2000 Macará 5 1971, 1998, 2005 C, 2016, 2023 Aucas 3 1974 E2, 1991 E2, 2014 Olmedo 3 1994, 2003, 2013 Quevedo 3 1982 E1, 1996, 2004 Universidad Católica 3 1990 E1, 2007, 2012 ESPOLI 2 1993, 2005 A Delfín 2 1989 E1, 2015 Deportivo Cuenca 2 1972 E2, 1995 El Nacional 2 1979 E2, 2022 LDU Quito 2 1974 E1, 2001 Manta Sport 2 1979 E1, 1982 E2 Guayaquil City 1 2025 9 de Octubre 1 2020 América de Quito 1 1978 E2 Audaz Octubrino 1 1975 Bonita Banana 1 1978 E1, 1976 E1 Cumbayá 1 2021 Cuniburo 1 2024 Deportivo Azogues 1 2006 E1 Deportivo Quito 1 1980 E1 Emelec 1 1981 E1 Green Cross 1 1991 E1 Imbabura 1 2006 E2 Independiente del Valle 1 2009 Juvenil 1 1990 E2 Juventus 1 1989 E2 LDU Cuenca 1 1977 E1 LDU Loja 1 2010 Manta 1 2008 Mushuc Runa 1 2018 Orense 1 2019 Panamá 1 1997 Santos 1 1992 E2
Titles by city City Nº of titles Clubs Quito 14 Aucas (3), Universidad Católica (3), El Nacional (2), ESPOLI (2), LDU Quito (2), América de Quito (1), Deportivo Quito (1) Ambato 12 Técnico Universitario (6), Macará (5), Mushuc Runa (1) Manta 6 Manta Sport (2), Delfín (2), Green Cross (1), Manta FC (1) Portoviejo 5 LDU Portoviejo (5) Guayaquil 4 9 de Octubre (1), Emelec (1), Guayaquil City (1), Panamá (1) Cuenca 3 Deportivo Cuenca (2), LDU Cuenca (1) Machala 3 Audaz Octubrino (1), Bonita Banana (1), Orense (1) Riobamba 3 Olmedo (3) Esmeraldas 2 Juvenil (1), Juventus (1) Azogues 1 Deportivo Azogues (1) Cayambe 1 Cuniburo (1) Cumbayá 1 Cumbayá (1) El Guabo 1 Santos (1) Ibarra 1 Imbabura (1) Loja 1 LDU Loja (1) Pasaje 1 Carmen Mora (1) Quevedo 1 Deportivo Quevedo (1) Sangolquí 1 Independiente del Valle (1)
References
External links Official webpage Serie B summary(SOCCERWAY)