The Season 03 Starcraft™ Ladder Tournament will be run as a head-to-head, single elimination tournament.

After the close of Regular Season play, Starcraft Ladder Tournament Officials will select the top 16 ranked players, plus 5 alternates, to advance to the Finals. The top 16 players in the Regular season will be selected and seeded by their ladder rankings.

All matches during the Finals will follow a head-to-head, single elimination format. The winner of each round will be the player who wins 2-out-of-3 matches against his opponent that round. The winner of the final pairing to determine the Season 03 Tournament champion will be the player who wins 4-out-of-7 matches against his opponent that round. At least one Starcraft Ladder Tournament Official will be present during all Finals games and will moderate matches, observe matches and ensure that players are using the correct match and map settings.

Should any of the top 16 ranked players be unable to enter into the Finals, or should a single player hold multiple slots among the top 16 rankings, the top ranked alternate will be inserted into that player's slot.

Starcraft Ladder Tournament Officials will audit the rankings data and the Starcraft Ladders before making any public announcement of the qualifiers for the Finals.