Following a CHL Board video conference meeting, the first day of the event has been moved from September 3 to October 6. 

The start of the season is now planned for the original date of game day five, shortening the tournament by four game days. 

As a consequence, the group stage has been scrapped and competition is set to begin with a knock-out contest instead.

Teams will be drawn into pairings and and be entered into a round-of-32, two-game, home-and-away, aggregate score series up to the semi-finals. 

The season will culminate on February 9 with the ultimate one-game final. 

"The Champions Hockey League is a pan-European competition with 13 countries involved, which means that we are dependent on the decisions and regulations set by 13 different Governments," said CHL President Peter Zahner.

"Our participating teams must be able to travel, and our goal is that games will only be played with spectators in the arenas. 

"For this reason, and because of the high degree of uncertainty across the continent, we have decided to be proactive and not to take the risk of requiring urgent changes closer to the original start date."

The CHL Board confirmed Belarus's Neman Grodno as the 32nd participating team in the 2020-2021 CHL season, following the withdrawal of the Slovak National League from the competition. 

"Belarus is by far the best ranked challenger league in the CHL league ranking and, therefore, it was a logical step to invite their runners-up, as a decision based on pure sporting merits is the best solution for our competition," Zahner said.