The winners qualify for the first stage of the following year's Copa Libertadores and the Supercopa Ecuador against the Serie A champions.

This first edition was expected to be contested by the clubs placing from fourth to eighth in the previous league championship, however only three clubs participated: Barcelona, El Nacional, and Everest, who had placed third, fourth and eighth in the previous season.

[3][4] The reinstatement of the Copa Ecuador was approved by the FEF on 18 May 2018, considering that the governing body would stop organizing the first and second tier championships starting from 2019 and that it was needed to both expand the scope of Ecuadorian football to more places within the country and generate new economic resources for the FEF and the lower tiers of domestic football, represented by the provincial associations.

[1] For 2021, the FEF prepared a change of format with the competition having a preliminary stage involving the 10 Serie B teams and the 22 provincial champions, which would be drawn into 16 double-legged ties with the winners joining the 16 Serie A teams at the round of 32.

[6] However, this format had to be implemented starting from 2022 as the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.