# 1981 Campeonato Gaúcho

The 61st season of the Campeonato Gaúcho kicked off on June 7, 1981, and ended on November 29, 1981. Twelve teams participated. Internacional won their 26th title. Armour and São Gabriel were relegated.

## Participating teams

| Club | Stadium | Home location | Previous season |
| Armour | Miguel Copatti | Santana do Livramento | 1st (Second level) |
| Brasil | Bento Freitas | Pelotas | 10th |
| Caxias | Centenário | Caxias do Sul | 8th |
| Grêmio | Olímpico | Porto Alegre | 1st |
| Guarany | Estrela D'Alva | Bagé | 9th |
| Internacional | Beira-Rio | Porto Alegre | 2nd |
| Internacional | Presidente Vargas | Santa Maria | 4th |
| Juventude | Alfredo Jaconi | Caxias do Sul | 6th |
| Novo Hamburgo | Santa Rosa | Novo Hamburgo | 3rd |
| São Borja | Vicente Goulart | São Borja | 5th |
| São Gabriel | Sílvio de Faria Corrêa | São Gabriel | 2nd (Second level) |
| São Paulo | Aldo Dapuzzo | Rio Grande | 7th |

## System

The championship would have two stages.:
* First phase: The twelve clubs played each other in a double round-robin system. The eight best teams qualified to the Final phase, with the best teams and the best hinterland teams in each round earning one bonus point. the bottom two teams in the sum of both rounds were relegated.
* Final phase: The eight remaining teams played each other in a double round-robin system; the team with the most points won the title.

## Championship
### First phase
#### First round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Grêmio | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 5 | +21 | 18 | Qualified;One extra point |
| 2 | Internacional | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 15 | |
| 3 | Caxias | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 15 | Qualified;One extra point |
| 4 | Brasil de Pelotas | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 12 | |
| 5 | São Paulo | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 11 | |
| 6 | Novo Hamburgo | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 9 | |
| 7 | São Gabriel | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 9 | |
| 8 | Guarany de Bagé | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 9 | |
| 9 | Internacional de Santa Maria | 11 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 9 | |
| 10 | Juventude | 11 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 9 | |
| 11 | Armour | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 8 | |
| 12 | São Borja | 11 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 8 | |

#### Second round

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Internacional | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 2 | +18 | 20 | Qualified;One extra point |
| 2 | Grêmio | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 19 | |
| 3 | Novo Hamburgo | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 14 | Qualified;One extra point |
| 4 | Internacional de Santa Maria | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 14 | |
| 5 | São Borja | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 11 | |
| 6 | São Paulo | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 11 | |
| 7 | Caxias | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 10 | |
| 8 | Brasil de Pelotas | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 9 | |
| 9 | Guarany de Bagé | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 7 | |
| 10 | Juventude | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 17 | −6 | 6 | |
| 11 | São Gabriel | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 6 | |
| 12 | Armour | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 22 | −13 | 5 | |
* 1 2 In case of ties between either the overall best teams or the best hinterland teams, a nextra match would be played. After Novo Hamburgo beat Inter de Santa Maria in the last round, equaling them in points, it was decided that instead of holding the playoff in another date, extra time and penalties to define the 'hinterland champions' would be played after the match; Novo Hamburgo won the penalty shootout.

#### Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Grêmio | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 46 | 8 | +38 | 37 | Qualified |
| 2 | Internacional | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 8 | +26 | 35 | Qualified |
| 3 | Caxias | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 25 | Qualified |
| 4 | Novo Hamburgo | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 23 | Qualified |
| 5 | Internacional de Santa Maria | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 23 | Qualified |
| 6 | São Paulo | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 22 | Qualified |
| 7 | Brasil de Pelotas | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 21 | Qualified |
| 8 | São Borja | 22 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 19 | Qualified |
| 9 | Guarany de Bagé | 22 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 27 | −15 | 16 | |
| 10 | São Gabriel | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 16 | 37 | −21 | 15 | Relegation Playouts |
| 11 | Juventude | 22 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 26 | −13 | 15 | Relegation Playouts |
| 12 | Armour | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 19 | 39 | −20 | 13 | Relegated |

#### Relegation Playouts

São Gabriel relegated

### Final phase

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Internacional | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 9 | +19 | 21 | Champions;1982 Taça de Ouro |
| 2 | Grêmio | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 9 | +8 | 20 | 1982 Taça de Ouro |
| 3 | Internacional de Santa Maria | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 19 | 1982 Taça de Ouro |
| 4 | Novo Hamburgo | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 16 | 1982 Taça de Prata |
| 5 | São Paulo | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 13 | 1982 Taça de Prata |
| 6 | Caxias | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 12 | |
| 7 | São Borja | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 22 | −14 | 9 | |
| 8 | Brasil de Pelotas | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 21 | −16 | 6 | |