2024 PLAYOFF FORMAT

The top four (4) ranked teams in each conference will make the CEBL playoffs. All lower-ranked teams at the conclusion of the regular season will be eliminated from playoff contention unless it is the host club of Championship Weekend (Montreal Alliance in 2024).

• In the event that the host club of Championship Weekend finishes in last place in their conference, the club that finishes in second-to-last-place in that conference will be eliminated from playoff contention and all other teams in that conference will move down one position in the standings.

• The Championship Weekend host club will receive a bye to Championship Weekend and be ranked as the lowest seed or its actual seed (if higher) based on final regular season conference standings.
  
  
• At the conclusion of the regular season, the first-ranked team in the conference opposite that of the Championship Weekend host club, will be placed in the conference finals to play the winner of their conference's semifinal game. All four teams will be seeded based on their regular season record with tiebreakers following that laid out below:

Play-In games and Conference Semifinals

At the conclusion of the regular season, the third (3rd) and fourth (4th) ranked clubs in each conference, after the Championship Weekend host club has been moved directly into the conference finals, will play in a single elimination play-in game at the third (3rd) ranked club’s home arenas,

• Play-in matchups will feature Three vs Four (3 vs 4) in each conference after the Championship Weekend host club has been moved directly into the Conference Finals, and;

• Winners of both play-in games will face the second (2nd) ranked team after the Championship Weekend host club has been moved directly into the finals in their respective conferences for the conference semifinal games, and;

• The second (2nd) ranked team in their respective conferences after the Championship Weekend host club has been moved directly into the conference finals, will host the conference semifinal games

The winner of the conference semifinal games will then advance to Championship Weekend to join the host club and top-ranked regular season club from the opposing conference as the final four teams.

CEBL Championship Weekend and Finals Format

The CEBL Championship Weekend host club will receive an automatic bye into the conference finals of the playoffs as the lowest seed; unless the host club’s record places them higher in the rankings and they will therefore assume the proper position based on rankings.

The host club will be joined by the first (1st) ranked team from the opposing conference and the winners of the conference semifinal games as outlined above.

Tipoff times and the order of games will be determined by the CEBL in consultation with the CEBL clubs in order to meet the needs of the broadcast partner and host venue.

Championship Weekend Conference Finals

Both conference final games will be single elimination.

In 2024:

Western Conference Final - Western Conference 1st Place Team vs. Winner of Western Conference Semifinal

Eastern Conference Final - Montreal Alliance (Host Club) vs. Winner of Eastern Conference Semifinal

CEBL Championship Game

The winners of the Conference Finals will progress to the CEBL Championship Game with the highest remaining seed becoming the home team. The final will be a one-game single elimination to determine the CEBL Champion.

Tie Breaker Rules:

When two (2) or more CEBL clubs are tied in the final conference standings at the conclusion of the regular season schedule, preferential ranking for playoff purposes shall be determined based on the following priorities and shall be awarded to the CEBL club which:

a) Has won the greater number of games played against the other tied CEBL Club; or

b) Has scored the higher net aggregate of points (i.e., points scored for less points scored against) in games played against the other tied CEBL Club; or

c) Has scored the higher net quotient of points (i.e., points scored for divided by points scored against) in games played against the other tied CEBL Club; or

d) Has scored the higher net aggregate of points in games played against all CEBL Clubs; or

e) Has scored the higher net quotient of points in games played against all CEBL Clubs; or

f) Has won a coin toss against the other tied CEBL Club.

In the event of a tie involving three (3) or more teams, the above tie-breaking criteria are applied one after another until all tied teams have been ranked. This means if the criteria from a) above determines Team X as the higher seed and there is still a tie between teams Y and Z, then the ranking of the remaining teams will be determined by the criteria in b) or c) and so on, if necessary.