The 1979 King Cup was the 21st season of the knockout competition since its establishment in 1956. Al-Ahli were the defending champions and successfully defended the title, winning their third one in a row.

Round of 32

The matches of the Round of 32 were held on 9, 10 and 11 May 1979.

Home teamScoreAway team
Al-Nassr7–2Al-Fara'a
Al-Ittihad2–0Okaz
Al-Khaleej2–1Al-Fateh
Al-Sharq0–2Al-Taawoun
Al-Qadsiah12–1Al-Watan
Al-Anwar1–4Al-Tai
Al-Rabi'e3–1Al-Najmah
Al-Riyadh7–1Al-Orobah
Al-Salam3–0Al-Ansar
Al-Wehda3–0Al-Raed
Al-Nakhil1–0Al-Hazem
Al-Rawdhah3–1 (a.e.t.)Ohod
Al-Shabab4–1Al-Nahda
Al-Hilal8–1Al-Jabalain
Al-Ettifaq5–0Hajer
Al-Ahli10–1Al-Wadea

Round of 16

The Round of 16 matches were held on 16, 17 and 18 May 1979.

Home teamScoreAway team
Al-Rabi'e3–1Al-Tai
Al-Riyadh5–1Al-Salam
Al-Wehda0–1Al-Khaleej
Al-Ettifaq1–0Al-Taawoun
Al-Rawdhah3–1Al-Nakhil
Al-Qadsiah1–3Al-Nassr
Al-Hilal2–2 (8–9 pen.)Al-Ittihad
Al-Ahli1–0Al-Shabab

Quarter-finals

The Quarter-final matches were held on 23, 24 and 25 May 1979.

Home teamScoreAway team
Al-Nassr14–0Al-Rabi'e
Al-Ittihad3–0Al-Riyadh
Al-Ettifaq7–0Al-Khaleej
Al-Ahli6–1Al-Rawdhah

Semi-finals

The four winners of the quarter-finals progressed to the semi-finals. The semi-finals were played on 31 May and 1 June 1979. All times are local, AST (UTC+3).

Al-Nassr0–1Al-Ittihad
Al-Shamrani 20'
Al-Ahli2–1Al-Ettifaq
Dabo 3', 33'Yaaqoub 27'

Final

The final was played between Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad in the Youth Welfare Stadium in Riyadh. This was the first final to be played by two teams from the same city. Al-Ahli were appearing in their 11th final while Al-Ittihad were appearing in their 8th final.

Al-Ahli4–0Al-Ittihad
Muraiki 43' Dabo 55', 70' Dhiab 73'

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1Saudi Arabia Amin DaboAl-Ahli10
2Saudi Arabia Majed AbdullahAl-Nassr6
3Saudi Arabia Fareed Al-MoaidiAl-Qadsiah5
Saudi Arabia Saleh Khalifa Al-DosariAl-Ettifaq
5Tunisia Néjib LimamAl-Hilal4
6Saudi Arabia Sultan Bin NassebAl-Hilal3
Brazil RivellinoAl-Hilal