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101-705: Durham Flames (previously known as Oshawa Flames) played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League which is the third tier of Canadian football pyramid . The club was founded in 1999 and played their home matches at the Oshawa Civic Stadium in Oshawa . The stadium is able to accommodate 2,000 spectators. The club was affiliated to the Canadian Soccer Association . Durham Flames were originally known as Oshawa Flames and first entered

202-461: A chairman . Originally new a franchisee were given the status of a playing member, and were placed on a probation for a period of three years before they were granted shareholder status as a member club with equity ownership. In 2011, the ownership structure of the league was reformed into an incorporated body as the CSL Association Inc in order to bring about a slow process of equalization to

303-519: A best-of- x series, as it may yield long waits for the teams winning the bye, while the teams that played in the earlier rounds would be spent when they reach the later rounds. The Big East men's basketball tournament used this format in a 16-team, five-round format. The PBA Tour uses a four-player, three-round format (sometimes a five-player, four-round format). College leagues in the Philippines use this format (four teams, three rounds) only if there

404-405: A bye through to week 3 of the tournament to play home preliminary finals, while the losers play home semi-finals in week 2. The bottom four teams play the two elimination finals, where the winners advance to week 2 away games and the losers' seasons are over. The specific advantages gained by finishing in higher positions on the league table are as follows: First and second – These teams receive

505-504: A bye to the division final. The division final winners play in the Grey Cup . The only exception to a strict single-elimination format since the early 1970s was in 1986 (for that season only), when the league amended its playoff format to allow a fourth-place team in one division to qualify in place of a third-place team with a worse record. That year, when only two East Division teams qualified—compared to four Western teams—the rules mandated

606-507: A compete youth structure within the CSL infrastructure with member clubs operating their academy teams in CAF. Shortly following the completion of the 2010 season, De Gironimo announced his resignation from the league citing irreconcilable differences. Additional achievements under De Gironimo term was the sponsorship agreement made with Givova which granted the company the naming rights to the league, and to

707-412: A competition that often uses the stepladder system. The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) uses a double stepladder for its playoffs, giving the top two teams a bye to the semifinals, the third and fourth-place teams a bye to the quarterfinals, and the fifth and sixth-placed teams a bye to the second round. The League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) also used a stepladder bracket for the playoffs, while

808-427: A double-elimination format send only the top eight teams, or a mix of top teams plus the winners of a single-elimination qualifier tournament, to their conference tournament. The NCAA baseball and softball tournaments have used the format since its inception for regional and College World Series play. The Little League World Series adopted a new format in 2010 that involves four double-elimination brackets. In 2010,

909-511: A feeder system to the top tier. In 2008, a Reserve Division was formed to build a developmental structure within the CSL and provide clubs with a larger player pool, sufficient playing time for injured players to recover, and a developmental platform for novice players to transition to the professional ranks. On May 12, 2009, the CSL received conditional approval for membership with the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA). This paved

1010-440: A first-round " bye ". The remaining six teams in each conference play against each other in the wild-card round . The lowest-seeded winner plays the lone "bye" team, and the other two winners play against each other in the divisional round; the winners of those games facing each other in the conference championships. In all cases, the higher-seeded team plays at home. The winners of the conference championships then face each other in

1111-495: A four-team group. In this usage, the format is referred to as "GSL", after the Global StarCraft II League . Dota 2 competitions often use a GSL or round-robin group stage to seed teams into a double-elimination bracket. Super Smash Bros. tournaments, as well as other fighting game competitions, typically use an open double-elimination bracket with no preceding group stage or qualifiers. The Mideast regional of

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1212-582: A higher level. Another effort conducted by the league was in 2003 with the opening of their domestic cup, the Open Canada Cup , to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs to provide a potential candidate for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup . The previous time a Canadian club competed in the Champions' Cup was in the 1976 CONCACAF Champions' Cup , represented by Toronto Italia in the predecessor league to

1313-399: A more traditional playoff system in 2021. The video game Rocket League had a competition that used the stepladder system. The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Winter Split in the 2022–23 season used a Round Robin group stage where places 2 and 3 would go to round 1 of the playoffs , while first place would go to the quarterfinals. The RLCS Season 8 World Championship also used

1414-549: A playoff finals known as the final series. The Pro Kabaddi League and Indian Super League also uses a type of single elimination where the top two teams get byes into the semifinals while the other four teams play in two eliminators like this: Although the Indian Super League follows the UEFA champions league style of two legs in their semi finals. The 2007 AFC Asian Cup knockout stage: The "stepladder", named because

1515-510: A pure knockout format was adopted beginning in 2013 . In the modern top-six system, the first round consists of knockout matches involving No. 3 vs No. 6 and No. 4 vs No. 5, with the No. 1 and No. 2 teams receiving a bye into the next round. After those matches, the format is identical to the Page playoff system. The A-League's former system had the top two teams participating in a two-legged match instead of

1616-709: A round-robin group stage. The Champions League and Europa League do the same, except each single-elimination round consists of a two-legged tie , with the winner determined by aggregate score . Most European domestic cups (e.g. the FA Cup in England or the DFB-Pokal in Germany) use hybrid systems with various round-robin and single-elimination stages. Major League Soccer (MLS) uses a single-elimination format for their playoffs ; since 2023 , all rounds are conducted as single games, except

1717-572: A stepladder bracket. There were 2 groups of 6, and they were double elimination . The groups were also stepladders. 4 teams started in the Winner's Quarterfinal, while 2 teams started in the winner's semifinal. If a team won the winner's final, they went to the semifinal of the playoffs. If they got second (by losing the winner's final), or won the loser's final, they would go to the quarterfinal. See 2023 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament * denotes overtime period A double-elimination format

1818-503: Is Uroš Stamatović , who has been in charge of Serbian White Eagles originally in 2012 and returned in 2019. There have been 17 head coaches who have won the CSL Championship. In addition, 13 foreign head coaches have secured the CSL championship, with 4 Canadians winning the title. Playoff format There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of

1919-437: Is an undefeated team, and if there are seven teams or more participating. Otherwise for tournaments of seven or more teams where no team won all games, it uses a single-elimination two-round, four teams format. While Nippon Professional Baseball 's Climax Series has been called a "stepladder" playoff with only three participating teams (in two rounds), it functions mostly as a single-elimination tournament with three teams, and

2020-527: Is no automatic promotion and relegation between the First and Second Division. Club members of the CSL vote to determine which, if any, applications for admission into the league will be permitted. The Canadian Soccer League previously organized a knock-out cup competition known as the Open Canada Cup (formerly known as the Government of Canada Open Cup for sponsorship reasons) each league season. The competition

2121-683: Is one in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost two matches. The exact schedule shape will change depending on the number of teams per bracket. In the United States, a double-elimination format is used in most NCAA and high school baseball and softball tournaments. Starting in 2010 , the Little League World Series in baseball also adopted this format. Teams are eliminated from contention after incurring two losses in each round of play. Most major collegiate baseball conferences with

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2222-428: Is structurally the same as a six-team, three-round playoff. The KBO League 's Korean Series , on the other hand, is considered a stepladder system: the teams that finish fourth and fifth place play a best-of-three series (the fourth-place team automatically given a 1–0 series lead), meaning that the fourth-place team need to win only one game to advance while the fifth place have to win two. The winner of that round faces

2323-476: The 1975 NCAA Division I baseball tournament : Some playoff systems combine the features of single- and double-elimination tournaments. In these systems, one or more higher-ranked teams have an opportunity to skip a round of the playoffs by winning their first match. Even if they lose that match, they can still advance to the championship final. Lower-ranked teams receive no such break. These are variations of systems developed by Australian lawyer Ken McIntyre for

2424-450: The 1–2 match against the winner of the 3–4 match. The 2006 Tim Hortons Brier , Canada's national men's curling championship: McIntyre's first modification was an expansion to five teams. In this format, the first-round matches No. 2 v No. 3 and No. 4 v No. 5, with the No. 1 seed receiving a bye into the second round. The 4–5 match is played to eliminate one team, while the 2–3 match is played to determine which match they will play in

2525-439: The 2006 Bartercard Cup , the championship of New Zealand rugby league: McIntyre next developed two slightly different systems for six-team playoffs. In each system, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds played to determine the specific semifinal match in which they would compete, while the other four teams played knockout matches in the first week to eliminate two teams and determine the other two semifinal participants. The semifinal in which

2626-590: The Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1999 , as a replacement for the Mississauga Eagles. The club's first head coach was CSL and APSL veteran Jens Kraemer . Notable acquisition were Darryl Gomez , Pat Sullivan , and Hubert Busby, Jr. The club finished in fifth position and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup before going out 2–0 on aggregate to Toronto Croatia , the second match proving decisive at Centennial Park Stadium . The following season

2727-539: The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), but now affiliated with the Soccer Federation of Canada (SFC). As of 2024 , it consists of six teams, all located in Ontario. The season usually runs from May to October, with most games played on the weekend followed by a playoff format to determine the overall champion. The league was formed in 1998 as the Canadian Professional Soccer League ( CPSL ) by an alliance forged by

2828-693: The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) and League of Legends Master Series (LMS) used it to determine the LCS and LMS third representatives at the League of Legends World Championship , which in this case was referred to as "The Gauntlet". The LCS scrapped the Gauntlet in 2020, while the LMS became the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) that year following a merger with Southeast Asia's scene. The LCK moved towards

2929-846: The London Lasers , joined the National Soccer League (NSL), the country's oldest and only exclusively Canadian professional league. After the addition of the Winnipeg Fury , the league changed its name to the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). Though the CNSL was primarily based in Ontario , it operated as a private league for several years after disputes with the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA). The OSA operated

3030-556: The Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) with the Canadian National Soccer League. The new league was meant to provide opportunities for the development of players, coaches, and referees. The intention of the alliance was to form regional divisions across the nation under the CPSL banner with each divisional champion competing in a playoff format for the championship . After the demise of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) in 1992, Canada

3131-755: The Ontario Soccer League which was the top senior amateur league in the province, but Ontario was without a sanctioned professional league (as the CNSL was considered an outlaw league by the OSA). As a result, the OSA completed a study titled Image of the Game in 1995/1996, which led to plans of launching the Ontario Professional Soccer League in 1997 as a Division 3 league in the Canadian soccer league system . As

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3232-633: The Super Bowl for the league championship. Like the NFL, the Canadian Football League (CFL) also uses one-game single-elimination playoffs, and has used them almost exclusively since the 1973 season. In the CFL, six teams qualify for the playoffs, divided into two divisional brackets of three teams each. The second-place teams in each division host the division semi-final, while the division winners each receive

3333-767: The USL First Division by fielding their farm team the Trois-Rivières Attak in the National Division. Toronto FC of the Major League Soccer (MLS), owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment , established a relationship with the CSL in 2008 by entering TFC Academy to the National Division and TFC Academy II to the Reserve Division. As a result, the league became associated with two of Canada's top three professional soccer franchises by providing

3434-513: The 2015 annual general meeting of team owners where restrictions on import players were lifted, and a working relationship was formed with the American Soccer League (ASL) in order to assist in areas of competition and business. A television agreement was made with Ethnic Channels Group, and beIN Sports in order to broadcast their television program, and revived their sponsorship deal with Givova in 2016. Affiliations were formed with

3535-472: The 2015 season potentially had illegal and suspicious betting activity. All 12 teams were alleged to have played in a "suspicious" game on at least three occasions. On February 2, 2016, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced investigations in the alleged match fixing in the CSL. As a result, the CSL cooperated with RCMP investigations and took measures to monitor all matches during

3636-495: The 2016 season. There are currently six clubs in the Canadian Soccer League. Traditionally, during the course of a league season teams usually played a balanced schedule of 18 or 22 games from April/May through October/November with the top eight ranked teams advancing to the playoffs. As of recent seasons a balanced schedule of 10 to 14 games has been played. Each match sees the winning team awarded three points , or in

3737-544: The AFL adopted a modified top-eight playoff in 2000 . The National Rugby League (NRL), Australia's top rugby league competition (also with a team in New Zealand), used this system from 1999 through 2011, after which it changed to the AFL system. The current AFL finals system breaks up the eight participants into four groups of two teams, ranked by their league position after regular-season play. Each group receives an advantage over

3838-497: The CPSL. The league continued its selective, cautionary approach to team expansion, but witnessed a major expansion run in 2001 beyond the GTA and Ontario border to include Quebec and Ottawa franchises. The following season, it expanded to 14 clubs to include a Hamilton and another Toronto territory. Due to the increase of teams, CPSL management split the league into two conferences: Eastern and Western. After firmly establishing

3939-550: The CSA were unreasonable and coercive. The sport arbitrator forced them to reinstate sanctioning to the CSL until the next season in order for the CSA to fairly implement the Easton Report. A notable admission was made by CSA president Victor Montagliani during the SDRCC hearing, where he stated that the decision to de-sanction the CSL was not made on any alleged grounds of match fixing in

4040-498: The CSL Championship. Other major sponsorships included Days Inns – Canada , and a record broadcasting agreement with Rogers TV, which provided additional match coverage to the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick , and Newfoundland and Labrador . Finally, the addition of the Montreal Impact Academy as the second MLS academy club to join the league. Former CPSL president and CSA financial director Vince Ursini returned to

4141-613: The CSL First Division with a single table structure. While the Reserve Division expanded beyond the GTA boundary, and was reorganized in 2011 into the Second Division. Where it continued its traditional support role as a reserve, and entry level division for clubs with limited financial resources to meet the standards for a First Division club. A working relationship was struck with newly formed Canadian Academy of Futbol (CAF), which cemented

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4242-409: The CSL began its operation as a private league for the first time since the 1997 season in its predecessor league. They joined the newly formed Soccer Federation of Canada (SFC), which provided the private soccer entity the services of administration of players, non-playing personnel, match officials and insurance, which they no longer have any affiliation with now. Significant changes were made at

4343-454: The CSL but strictly on the decision made by the CSA board of directors to adopt a new soccer structure in Canada. On February 28, 2014, the CSA officially expelled the CSL from its membership, citing violations of rules and regulations. After failing to specify which rule violations were made and without providing a formal hearing the CSL in response filed litigation against the CSA. As a result,

4444-611: The CSL during the 2024 season: This is a list of all Championship finals played so far. The final was called Rogers Cup from 1998 to 2009. Since 2010 it has been called the Givova Cup due to sponsorship change. Notes on name changes: Since the inception of the Canadian Soccer League it has contributed in the development and supply of head coaches to the Canadian soccer system. The league as it did in its predecessor league managed to attract many prominent head coaches from abroad to provide

4545-560: The CSL was granted full membership in the CSA as a Division 3 sanctioned professional league in the Canadian soccer structure. Meanwhile, the CSL commissioner was awarded a seat on the CSA Professional Soccer Committee to further the planned expansion of the league to a fully national league with regional divisions under the CSL banner. The league was restructured by merging the International and National divisions to form

4646-453: The Canadian Soccer League expired after the 2012 season, and was renewed in 2016. As well as sponsorship for the league itself, the CSL had a number of official partners and suppliers. These partners include companies involved in food and beverage , sports-wear and equipment . Thirty-nine teams have played in the Canadian Soccer League from its inception in 1998, up to and including the 2018 season . The following six clubs contested in

4747-452: The Cup Final weekend before losing 4–1 to London City in a wild card game on 29 August 2003. The Flames last ever match was played on 30 September 2003 when they went down 3–1 away to Vaughan Sun Devils . On October 5, 2003, the organization was awarded their second CPSL Fair Play award for being the most disciplined team. It was reported in the local press that The Flames were excluded from

4848-833: The League in December 2003, their franchise having been revoked following their failure to pay league fees and fines. Durham Storm took over their slot for home games in Oshawa's Civic Stadium on Friday nights. However The Storm bought the Mississauga Olympians franchise and did not take over the Durham Flames franchise. The following players represented Durham Flames in their final season: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The key officials of

4949-657: The MLS playoffs or Liga MX Liguilla , the A-League finals series uses one-off matches throughout, culminating in the A-League Grand Final . This format is a departure from norms in football codes in Australia; previously, the A-League used a hybrid elimination system that allowed top teams in the regular season to lose one finals match but still win the tournament. The Philippines Football League 's inaugural 2017 season also featured

5050-488: The No. 15, and so on. Theoretically, if a higher-ranked team always beats a lower-ranked team, the second game will be arranged No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, etc.; the third will be arranged No. 1 vs. No. 4, No. 2 vs. No. 3; the fourth will be arranged No. 1 vs. No. 2. The brackets are fixed, meaning teams are not re-seeded between rounds. In association football , the World Cup uses single-elimination knockout rounds after

5151-448: The OPSL teams: Glen Shields , Mississauga Eagles , Toronto Olympians , and York Region Shooters . In the initial years of the CPSL, the on-field performance was dominated by Toronto Olympians and Ottawa Wizards , who had the financial support from corporations such as Coffee Time , and Oz Optics Ltd. While St. Catharines, and Toronto Croatia – two well established former CNSL clubs – were

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5252-551: The OSA failed to bring their project to fruition, they reached an agreement with the CNSL and formed an alliance to launch the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL), beginning with an Ontario division in 1998. The CPSL would serve as a link between the provincial senior leagues to the USL A-League / USISL clubs, and provide opportunities for the development of youth players and referees. The intention of

5353-735: The Ontario Youth Soccer Association in order to establish a YSA Division to house the CSL Academy teams, and with the Canadian Corporate Soccer League in developing a structure of competition for the city's corporate clubs in Toronto. While reports of alleged match fixing continued with a report released on October 14, 2015, by the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) claiming that 42% of matches in

5454-552: The U.S. division and the International division were split into two four-team pools, with each pool conducting a double-elimination tournament to determine its winner. After the end of double-elimination play, the U.S. pool winners play one another in single games, as do the International pool winners, with the losers playing a third-place game and the winners playing a final. This was altered in 2011 so that all eight U.S. teams and all eight international teams played in one large bracket each, with each bracket's winner playing each other for

5555-467: The Victorian Football League (VFL), the historic predecessor to today's Australian Football League (AFL), starting in 1931. This system, also bearing the name of its promoter Percy Page, is a four-team playoff first developed for Australian rules football . It has been used in many competitions in that sport and in rugby league , but is most prominent in softball and curling (which use

5656-423: The allegations of match fixing the CSL issued a statement stating that the league would continue to conduct the necessary steps in order to prevent any future tampering of matches. Prior to the 2013 season , the CSA informed the CSL that the league would no longer be sanctioned. CBC reported that the CSA's decision was partially based on their inability to handle the match fixing issue. The CSA later announced that

5757-406: The bracket resembles a step ladder , is a variation of the single-elimination tournament; instead of the No. 1 seed facing the No. 16 seed in the first round, the bracket is constructed to give the higher seeded teams byes , where the No. 1 seed has bye up to the third (or fourth) round, playing the winner of game between the No. 8 seed and the No. 9-versus-No. 16 winner. This setup is seldom used in

5858-466: The case of a draw, the teams receive one point each. No points are awarded for a loss. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned the regular season champion. The playoffs operate as a knockout tournament with single-match legs where the winner of the final is crowned CSL champion . Fourteen clubs have won the CSL Championship including Toronto Croatia (6 titles), York Region Shooters , and FC Continentals (3 titles each). There

5959-578: The champion. The Open Canada Cup eventually expanded to include professional and amateur teams from Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. A notable addition was the Toronto Lynx of the USL First Division at the time the nations top tier division joining the tournament in 2006. In 2008, the CSL increased the prize money to $ 25,000, but shortly after the creation of the Canadian Championship

6060-418: The championship, and each bracket's runner-up playing each other for third-place. All teams are guaranteed at least three games; the first team eliminated from each pool plays a "crossover game" that matches an eliminated U.S. team with an eliminated International team. Many esports , such as Counter-Strike and StarCraft , use a double-elimination bracket in competitions to determine the top two teams in

6161-410: The championship, they may be competing for a bronze medal , like some tournaments in the Olympic Games . Of the big four North American sports leagues , only the National Football League (NFL) uses a single-elimination system for all rounds of its postseason. Since the 2020 season, seven teams are seeded from each conference ( AFC and NFC ), with only the top team from each conference getting

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6262-402: The club during the last season were: Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League ( CSL ; French : Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario , and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously sanctioned by

6363-430: The competition was disbanded. Since the establishment of the Canadian Championship, no CSL teams have participated in the tournament which determines the Canadian entry into the continental competition. The Canadian Soccer League is owned by its member clubs and managed by a board of directors made up of directors from each member club. The board of directors sets out the policy to oversee league operations and selects

6464-406: The conference quarterfinals, which is best-of-three series. Liga MX in Mexico , which splits its season into two phases , uses playoffs known as the Liguilla to determine the champions of each phase. Unlike the MLS system, all Liguilla matches are two-legged ties. Australia 's A-League introduced a six-team knockout playoff, known locally as a "finals series", in the 2012–13 season . Unlike

6565-399: The decision was made in order to implement the James Easton Report (Rethink Management Group Report) for the adoption of a new professional soccer structure. The CSL protested the de-sanctioning and appealed to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC). The sport arbitrator ruled that the CSA had the right to de-sanction the CSL, but ruled that the immediate decisions conducted by

6666-513: The double-chance, and play their first two finals matches at home—their Qualifying Final, and then either a Semi-final (should they lose the QF) or Preliminary Final (should they win the QF). They must win two finals matches to reach the grand final. Third and fourth – Like the top two teams, they receive the double-chance, and must win two finals matches to reach the grand final. However, they only get to play one finals match at home—a Semi-final if they lose their QF, or Preliminary Final if they win

6767-663: The experience needed in the development of coaching. Notable head coaches have included Rudolf Belin , Miroslav Buljan , Manuel Gomes , Rasim Kara , Ivan Markovic , Mladen Pralija , Dragoslav Šekularac , and Ihor Yavorskyi . While at the same time provide the opportunities to produce and develop head coaches as Bijan Azizi , Jason Bent , Jim Brennan , Nikola Budalic , Hubert Busby Jr. , Rafael Carbajal , Danny Dichio , Marc Dos Santos , Philippe Eullaffroy , Dejan Gluščević , Carmine Isacco , Goran Miscevic , Darren Tilley , and Duncan Wilde , who have gone on to higher endeavors. The league's longest-serving head coach

6868-414: The final place in the next season's Top 14. Some knockout tournaments include a third place playoff , a single match to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing in third and fourth place. The teams that compete in such third place games are usually the two losing semifinalists in a particular tournament. Although these semifinalists are still in effect "eliminated" from contending for

6969-446: The governing body in 2008. The outcome of the reforms witnessed a 50% increase in match attendance particularly in the GTA with the ethnic based teams attracting the most attention. Fan support would continue to increase for several seasons, with the Serbian White Eagles FC and Trois-Rivières Attak averaging the most. Media coverage was further increased after an arrangement made with Toronto Community News , which provided coverage to

7070-402: The hopes of forming a Canadian first and second division domestic league. Meanwhile, the CPSL continued in its original mission of providing opportunities to players to a higher platform by striking an agreement with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League. The player agreement deal provided the Lynx access to use any CPSL talent upon request, which provided the players the opportunity to play at

7171-422: The leadership of Danny Stewart the club again failed to reach the championship playoffs in the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Though Durham failed to reach the postseason they received the CPSL Fair Play award in 2001. In their final season in 2003 in the Eastern Conference the club struggled, winning just one of their 18 league matches. This contrasted with their performance in the Open Canada Cup when they reached

7272-572: The league and its member clubs. Rogers TV made additional broadcasting commitments to expand their media coverage to a full season. Several milestones were made in the Open Canada Cup tournament with the participation of the Toronto Lynx in 2006, and the expansion of the tournament to include teams from British Columbia in 2007. The CSL began an affiliation in 2007 with the Montreal Impact of

7373-646: The league earned major sponsorship deals from Primus Canada , and the Government of Canada , which served as the sole sponsor for the CPSL Rookie of the Year Award. In 2001, the CSA originally initiated a task force named the Canadian United Soccer League (CUSL), which formed a working partnership with the CPSL and the Canadian franchises in the USL A-League to forge a unified professional structure in

7474-418: The league was to form regional divisions under the CPSL banner, with each divisional champion competing in a playoff format for the championship. Michael Di Biase , the CNSL president, would serve as the commissioner and OSA administrator Bill Spiers was named league chairman. The founding members included four CNSL clubs London City , North York Astros , St. Catharines Wolves , Toronto Croatia , and four of

7575-544: The league within the Ontario soccer structure, Ursini resigned from his position in order to fully delegate his time to his OSA obligations, and to seek election to the CSA board of directors. Former CPSL management consultant Cary Kaplan with previous experience as president of the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League was named his successor in the capacity of a commissioner . One of his first acts

7676-421: The most common are the single elimination , the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate , and the round-robin tournament . A single-elimination ("knockout") playoff pits the participants in one-game matches, with the loser being dropped from the competition. Single-elimination tournaments are often used in individual sports like tennis . In most tennis tournaments,

7777-460: The name "Page playoff system"). The Indian Premier League , Pakistan Super League in Twenty20 cricket , and NBA play-in tournament use this format as well. In this system, the first round (sometimes called the "quarterfinals") matches No. 1 against No. 2 and No. 3 against No. 4. The winner of the 1–2 match advances directly to the final. The next round, known as the semifinal, pits the loser of

7878-482: The name was made to the Canadian Soccer League (CSL), with a new set of rules, regulations, and constitution established. The schedule format was changed including the relationship between the OSA and the Quebec Soccer Federation (QSF) was revised with the CSL by the signing of a "Memorandum of Understanding", which provided the CSL with an increased level of autonomy and eventual operational independence from

7979-498: The organization as the successor to De Gironimo in 2011. The league's membership under Ursini's administration expanded to record amount of 28 teams in 2012 with 16 in the First Division and 12 in the Second Division. Their media coverage was broaden with a television agreement with CogecoTV , and the reintroduction of their weekly television program was picked up by Rogers TV. On September 12, 2012, accounts of alleged match-fixing

8080-411: The other divisional bracket, thereby preserving the first-place byes. In both the men's and women's NCAA college basketball tournaments, there are 68 teams seeded into four brackets of 16 teams each. Prior to the first round, eight teams (4 No. 16 seeds and 4 other seeds) play a play-in game to gain entry into the "main" bracket. In the first round, the No. 1 team plays the No. 16, the No. 2 plays

8181-584: The players are seeded against each other, and the winner of each match continues to the next round, all the way to the final. When a playoff of this type involves the top four teams, it is sometimes known as the Shaughnessy playoff system , after Frank Shaughnessy , who first developed it for the International League of minor league baseball . Variations of the Shaughnessy system also exist, such as in

8282-591: The present-day Super League in the UK and France. Many lower-level leagues in both Australian rules and rugby league still use the system. A variation of the five-team playoff system has been used by the Big Bash League since its 2019-20 seaeson . In the first round, the fourth- and fifth-ranked teams play each other and the winner goes to the next round as fourth while the loser is eliminated. Then, four-way playoffs will start (1 vs 2 and 3 vs winner 4–5 match.) As used in

8383-465: The prominent challengers in the early years, a change occurred in 2000 within the administration field of the league with Vince Ursini being appointed the president. The league was able to acquire a television deal with Rogers TV , which enabled the launch of its own television program, the CPSL Soccer Show, which garnered the highest ratings of Sunday programs shown on the channel. As a result,

8484-496: The promotion playoffs held by League 1 of the British rugby league. The League 1 playoff does not involve the top four teams; the team that tops the table after the Super 8s phase, which follows a single round-robin phase involving all league teams, is crowned champion and receives automatic promotion to the second-tier championship , while the next four teams contest a knockout playoff for

8585-406: The regular-season league table to eliminate two teams in the first week of the playoffs. The procedure is: The fates of the teams in this round depend on whether they won or lost their Qualifying Final, and on their regular-season position. The four winners and the two losers that finished highest on the regular-season table advance to later rounds, with the two other losers eliminated. It guarantees

8686-523: The second promotion place. A nearly identical format, with the only difference being that the knockout stage followed a full home-and-away league season, was used by the second level of France's rugby union system, Pro D2 , through the 2016–17 season. Since then, Pro D2 uses a six-team playoff with the winner earning automatic promotion to the Top 14 and the runner-up entering a playoff with the 13th-place team in Top 14 for

8787-492: The second round. In the second round, the loser of the 2–3 match plays the winner of the 4–5 match, while the winner of the 2–3 match plays the No. 1 seed. From this point forward, the tournament is identical to the Page playoff system. The SANFL is the highest level league using this system today, it has been used in the past by the VFL and several rugby league competitions, most notably the short-lived Super League of Australia and

8888-525: The semi-finals. The winner of the upper and lower quarter-finals join the two semi-finalists in a single-elimination bracket. This system was further refined into the top-six system used by the Championship and League 1 of European rugby league until being abandoned from the 2015 season forward. A slightly modified version of this system was used in the A-League of Australian soccer starting in 2010 before

8989-400: The single-elimination matches that the other four teams faced. It did not affect the teams' eventual playoff paths. As used in the 2010–11 A-League : McIntyre's final development expanded the concept to an eight-team playoff. This expansion meant that no team received a "second chance" after the first week of the playoffs. The original McIntyre final eight system is notable in that it uses

9090-587: The status of teams, while compensating the equity owners who had heavily invested in league throughout the years The current chairman is Vincent Ursini, appointed in March 2011, and the league administrator is Pino Jazbec with Stan Adamson as Director of Media. Previously the chairman also had the function of a commissioner with Michael Di Biase, Cary Kaplan, and Domenic Di Gironimo serving in that capacity. The Canadian Soccer League originally sold title sponsorship rights to Givova from 2010 to 2012. The Givova deal with

9191-466: The team hired the services of Durham College head coach Stan Bombino to coach the team. Bombino led Durham to a seventh-place finish which reflected the fact that they drew 9 of their 14 matches. Jimmy Kuzmanovski was the club's top goal-scorer with 9 league and cup goals. At the conclusion of the season Kuzmanovski was awarded the CPSL Rookie of the Year award. Under their new title of Durham Flames, and under

9292-536: The team that finished in third place. The winner then plays the second-place team in a best-of-five series, whose winner in turn plays the first-place team in a best-of-seven series for the title. The WNBA , from 2019 to 2021, used to have their playoffs done this way: the No. 5 seed plays No. 8, and No. 6 plays No. 7 in the first round. The top two seeds got double byes, and the next two seeds first-round byes. The first two rounds are single-elimination; all others are best-of-five. The video game League of Legends has

9393-425: The teams directly below it on the league table. These advantages are the so-called "double-chance", where a loss in the first week will not eliminate a team from the finals, and home ground finals. Note, however, that "home" designations are often irrelevant if a finals match involves two teams from the same state. The finals format operates as follows: The top four teams play the two qualifying finals. The winners get

9494-406: The top two seeds advancement, and requires the bottom two seeds to win their qualifying final. The middle four teams' fate is determined by the performance of the other four teams. The two losing teams are eliminated, and the two winning teams progress to week 3. The two losing teams are eliminated, and the two winning teams progress to the grand final. Due to perceived weaknesses of this system,

9595-416: The two Eastern teams play a two-game total-points series over two weekends (the two-game total point series was used as the CFL's playoff format prior to 1973), while the four Western teams played a single-elimination playoff over the same timeframe. The CFL eventually amended this format into the present "crossover rule" in 1997 so as to allow a qualifying fourth-place team to compete as the third-place team in

9696-450: The way for the CSL to create the effective player developmental system needed to provide the missing link between the top provincial amateur level to the MLS/USL on a national level. After 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 years as commissioner, Kaplan resigned following the 2009 season in order to devote more time to his sports marketing company with Domenic Di Gironimo hired as his replacement. In 2010,

9797-483: The winner of the 1–2 match competes directly determines one place in the championship final (often called a "Grand Final", especially in Australia). The other semifinal is an elimination match, with the winner advancing into a "Preliminary Final" to determine the other Grand Final place. There is also one more system. Two teams are in lower-bracket round 1, two teams are in the upper-bracket quarter-finals and two teams are in

9898-459: Was originally formed in 1998 known as the League Cup, and was exclusively open only to CPSL clubs. In 2003, the CPSL opened the League Cup to all Canadian professional and amateur clubs in order to provide a potential Canadian candidate to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup . The competition was renamed with the Government of Canada as the initial title sponsorship, and the inclusion of a $ 10,000 reward for

9999-570: Was reported by the CBC that a CSL game between the Trois-Rivières Attak and Toronto Croatia held in September 2009 was fixed. The report, which aired on the news program The National , revealed court documents showing that €15,000 ($ 18,000 CDN) in bribes were paid to several players on Toronto Croatia. The game was part of a larger match-fixing scandal in Europe in which six people were convicted. In response to

10100-505: Was the creation of a Women's Canada Cup, as a preliminary tournament launched in the hopes of creating a future professional domestic league for women. In 2006, Kaplan began a series of reforms beginning with the creation of the National and International Division to replace the conference system . The intention of the reforms was to re-kindle the spirit of the CNSL days by promoting ethnic rivalries to increase match attendance. A rebranding of

10201-563: Was without a Division 1 national professional league. The Canadian soccer landscape was fractured into several different foreign and regional senior leagues. When the CSL ceased operations, three of their clubs (the Vancouver Whitecaps , Toronto Blizzard , and Montreal Supra ) joined the American Professional Soccer League , which then was the highest-tier league in the United States. The remaining clubs, except for

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