The National Lacrosse League announced a new playoff format and rule changes for the upcoming 2017-18 NLL season on Thursday.

One of the most noticeable changes is the amendment to the league’s playoff format. The new and improved format will now feature sudden-death games throughout both the division semifinals and finals. The Champion’s Cup will remain a best-of-three series between the East and West Division champions. The 2017-18 playoff format is:

• Division Semifinal – single-game elimination
• Division Final – single-game elimination
• Champion’s Cup – best-of-three series

“The Competition Committee meets every off-season to review rules from the previous season and scrutinize any game situations in order to improve the safety and game flow for our players,” said NLL VP of Lacrosse Operations Brian Lemon. “It is our job as a league to continuously provide the highest level of entertainment value for our fans and we believe that is achieved through our new playoff format.”

Also new for 2017-2018 are a variety of rules changes and clarifications. Click here to view the 2017-18 NLL Rulebook.