That year was established for first time the two-legged tie on a home and away basis, for the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, according to the model of European cups.
In matches between Aris and Panathinaikos and Olympiacos and PAOK, the home teams qualified on penalty shoot-out.
Panionios advanced by eliminating both Aris, in quarter-finals, with a 5–1 home victory after their 5–2 away defeat, and Olympiacos, in semi-finals, with away goals rule.
The surprise of the underdog was completed in the final, held at Karaiskakis Stadium, on 9 June 1979, where Panionios won 3–1,[1] claiming their first title in history.
In the first three rounds and the final, which were played as a single match, if the score was level at the end of normal time, extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if the score was still level.The mechanism of the draws for each round is as follows: