Major reforms to the CBA league! The playoffs will be gradually expanded to 12 teams!

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　　According to reports from Beijing time on June 30, the CBA company held a press conference today to announce a number of adjustments regarding the new season of the CBA league. One of the most notable aspects is the increase in the number of teams in the playoffs. 　　In the upcoming 2017-18 CBA season, 10 teams will make it to the playoffs, and starting from the 2018-19 season, the number of teams in the CBA playoffs will increase to 12. 　　Regarding the specific competition format, in the 2017-18 season, the top six teams in the CBA regular season were exempt from the first round of the playoffs, while the teams ranked 7th to 10th competed in a best-of-three knockout tournament, with the higher-ranked teams having home advantage. In the quarterfinals, eight teams will compete in a round-robin elimination format with a best-of-5 system. Both the semifinals and finals will use a best-of-7 format. 　　In the 18-19 season, the number of teams in the playoffs increased to 12. The top four teams in the regular season are exempt from the first round of the playoffs, while eight teams ranked 5th to 12th compete in a round-robin elimination format with two wins required to advance; the higher-ranked teams have home-field advantage. The quarterfinals are played on a best-of-5 format, while the semifinals and finals are played on a best-of-7 format. 　　Compared to the 16-17 season that ended in April this year, starting with the upcoming season, half of the teams will be eligible to compete in the CBA playoffs of the new season. This will also, to some extent, motivate the teams in the lower half of the regular season to compete for a spot in the playoffs*. And starting from the 18-19 season, there will be two more spots in the playoffs*.