2022 CEBL Playoffs Set to Begin August 4 With New Format

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday that the 2022 playoffs will begin Thursday, August 4 with a pair of play-in games featuring four teams vying for a berth in the quarterfinals of the eight-team single elimination CEBL Playoffs. The post-season culminates with the semifinals and Final during CEBL Championship Weekend at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, August 12-14.

By virtue of hosting Championship Weekend, the Ottawa BlackJacks will automatically be seeded into the semifinals. Either Hamilton, 13-4, or Niagara, 12-4, will finish first in the regular season standings and earn a bye into Championship Weekend as the number-one seed to face the BlackJacks, who at 5-12 and with no opportunity to finish the regular season higher than seventh in the league standings, will be the fourth seed. The second and third seeds in Championship Weekend will be determined by preceding playoff games.

New this year is the addition of play-in games that will feature teams seeded fifth through eighth based on the final regular season standings. With the automatic berth into Championship Weekend, Ottawa will force all but the team with the best regular season record down one place for the purposes of playoff seeding. Teams with the third and fourth best regular season record will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals. Both play-in games will be held at the sites of the higher seeded team, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals, August 7. Teams that qualify for Championship Weekend will be seeded according to where they finish in the regular season standings. Tickets to all Championship Weekend games are available here. 

Fans will be able to live stream all playoff games on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. As part of its playoff coverage, CBC Sports will broadcast the quarterfinal games Sunday, August 7, semifinal games Friday, August 12, and the Championship game on Sunday, August 14. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change. 

The CEBL’s fourth season began May 25 and ends August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.