For finalists without exception, good wishes (3,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
all the best
'for finalists without exception good wishes' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'without exception good wishes' is the wordplay.
'without exception' becomes 'all' (I've seen this before).
'good wishes' becomes 'thebest' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'all'+'thebest'='ALL THE BEST'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for all the best that I've seen before include "Pick of the bunch" , "flower, every bit of it?" , "Without exception, unsurpassed" , "Cheers" , "every member of the elite?" .)