Only Ponte Preta, last place in the tournament, is content with just fighting against the fall. Velo Clube, which is also in the relegation zone, can still start and go through to the knockout stages.
The bottom of the table is observed by 11 clubs. Ponte Preta, Velo Clube, Santos, Noroeste, Capivariano, São Paulo, Primavera, Botafogo-SP, São Bernardo, Mirassol and Portuguesa still have mathematical chances of falling.
Among the big ones, São Paulo and Santos have skated. Tricolor is 11th, and Peixe is 14th — the first team outside Z2 of Paulistão. If the championship ended today, both would not fall, but they would be out of the knockout stage.
Corinthians and Palmeiras are classified in the second phase. Verdão is the vice-leader, and Timão appears in fourth place.
Much of this messed up table is due to the new regulations. With the reduction of dates for State Championships, the São Paulo Football Federation adopted the same Champions League dispute format in Paulistão during the first phase. In it, the teams play eight games, facing all rivals from their pots and some from others.
The top eight will go to the knockout stages. The quarter-finals are defined based on the position of the teams: the 1st team faces the 8th team, the 2nd team takes on the 7th team and so on, with the team that had the best classification always in charge. Only the final features round-trip games. The last two in the general table are relegated.
