The Big Bash League will use a four-team finals format for the second season in a row at the end of the 2024-25 regular season, with the teams to compete almost locked away.
While the BBL used a five-team finals series for a number of years as part of an expanded competition, the reduction in the competition's number of matches last summer saw the finals series drop back to four games, and four teams.
At the end of the regular season, the bottom four finishing sides automatically fail to qualify for a finals placing, with the top four ranked teams moving onto the next stage of the season.
Here is how the BBL finals work.
Beginning with the Qualifier (Tuesday, January 21), the sides that finish first and second will clash in match which will determine who progresses to - and hosts - the final. The loser will gain a second chance. The match kicks off the knockout stage to aid the loser (who finished in the top two) with an extra day's rest.
The Knockout (Wednesday, January 22) will see the third-placed side clash with the fourth-placed team, with the loser of the Knockout eliminated from the running and the winner progressing.
The Challenger (Friday, January 24) is then played between the winner of the Knockout, and the loser of the Qualifier, and will then decide which club will join the winner of the Qualifier in the BBL Final (Monday, January 27), with the victor moving on to the deciding match while the loser will be eliminated.
The Final will be hosted by the side that won the Qualifier, with all other finals to be hosted by the highest-seeded side.