Linfield were the defending champions after their eighth League Cup win last season; a 3–0 victory over Glentoran in the previous final.
The Glens went on to lift the cup for the sixth time by defeating Cliftonville 1–0 in the final.
This was the ninth time in ten years that the cup had been won by one of Belfast's Big Two.
The top two clubs from each group then advanced to the quarter-finals where they played a single knock-out tie against another quarter-finalist.
The semi-finals were played in the same format with the two winners of the ties advancing to the single match final.