For the fourth consecutive season Cliftonville were the defending champions, following their 3–0 win over Ards in the 2016 final.
[1] This season, their four-year grip on the Cup was finally broken by Glenavon, who defeated Cliftonville 3–2 after extra time in the quarter-finals.
[2] This inflicted Cliftonville's first League Cup defeat since December 2011, when they lost 2–1 to Coleraine in the semi-finals of the 2011–12 competition.
Ballymena United were the eventual winners of the Cup, defeating Carrick Rangers 2–0 in the final to win the competition for the first time.
[4] The top 16 league clubs from the previous season were seeded in this round in order to avoid drawing each other.