CFL changes start time for East, West Semi-Final

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The Canadian Football League has moved up the start time for the East and West Semi-Final, it was announced on Monday.

The East Semi-Final will now begin at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 31, while the West Semi-Final will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The league indicated this was done to “(allow) fans to take in the action before heading home for Halloween festivities.”

Previously, the East and West Semi-Final were scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET, respectively.

The East Semi-Final will be played at BMO Field in Toronto. It’s unclear who the visitors will be, though it will be a crossover team from the West Division as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa Redblacks have been eliminated from playoff contention.

It remains unclear who will host the West Semi-Final. The B.C. Lions currently sit second in the West Division standings at 9-6, though the division’s bottom four teams are separated by only four points.

The rest of the playoffs will proceed as originally scheduled.

The East Final will be played at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 7, while the West Final will be played at 6:30 p.m. ET later that same day. The Montreal Alouettes will host the East Final, while it remains unclear which team will host the West Final.

The Grey Cup is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, November 15 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.