What to know
- Game 1 of the CEBL Finals was cancelled Wednesday after condensation made the court unsafe for play.
- The originally planned best-of-three championship series will now be decided by a single game.
- The Winnipeg Sea Bears and Brampton Honey Badgers will face off Saturday, August 15, at Canada Life Centre.
- Fans who purchased tickets to the cancelled Game 1 in Brampton will receive refunds.
The 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League Finals will now be decided by a single championship game after Game 1 between the Winnipeg Sea Bears and Brampton Honey Badgers was cancelled due to condensation on the court.
The game at Brampton’s CAA Centre was cancelled Wednesday after condensation left the playing surface unsafe for competition.
The league says the decision was made in consultation with both teams, game officials and venue staff, with the league citing the safety of players, officials and fans as its top priority.
The cancellation also means the CEBL’s first-ever best-of-three Finals series will not be completed as originally planned.
Instead, the Sea Bears and Honey Badgers will meet in a winner-take-all championship game on Saturday, August 15, at Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre, which was previously scheduled to host Game 2.
Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBC, TSN, TSN+, CBC Gem and CEBL+.
The league says the decision to move to a one-game championship was made in consultation with both clubs.
With the best-of-three series no longer able to be completed within the scheduled window, the league opted to decide the championship with Saturday’s game in Winnipeg.
The format also brings the CEBL Finals back to the model used from 2019 through 2025, when the league champion was decided in a single Championship Game. The 2026 season had originally introduced the first best-of-three Finals series in CEBL history.
Fans who purchased tickets to Wednesday’s cancelled Game 1 in Brampton will receive refunds, as previously announced by the league.
