The "best-of" formats refer to a head-to-head competition where the two competitors compete to first win the majority of the games allotted to win the "series". If a competitor wins a majority of the games, the remaining games are not played (unless the maximum number of games in the series are played). This is a modification of the single-elimination tournament to allow more matches to be held. Moreover, if it can be said that if one competitor has a higher probability of winning a single game (and game results are
i.i.d.), the likelihood that this competitor wins the series increases when more games are played. For example, if team A has a 70% chance of defeating team B in a single game, its probability of winning a best-of-three series against B is 78.4%, and its probability of winning a best-of-seven series is about 87.4%.
One win advantage In a modification of the best-of-three, -five, or -seven game format, leagues may award a
one win advantage where the higher seed has the advantage, where the team with this advantage needs to win one less game than their opponent to advance. In essence, one team is given a
de facto 1–0 lead in a playoff series. This format is prominently used in the
Philippines, where it is commonly known as the "twice-to-beat advantage", with the other team having the "twice-to-win disadvantage". It was first applied in the finals of the scholastic
UAAP basketball and
volleyball championships in 1979, where the team has a 1–0 lead in the best-of-3 series. It has been applied to the UAAP's semifinals since 1994, and was later adopted by their
NCAA counterparts in 1997, and other associations in their mandatory scholastic competitions. The professional
Philippine Basketball Association, its semi-professional
D-League, volleyball's
Premier Volleyball League and the inactive
Philippine Super Liga have adopted the format for the quarterfinal rounds of their conference playoffs. An amendment to the UAAP rules in 2008 gave the undefeated team (the team that won all preliminary round games) a
bye up to the finals, possessing an automatic 1–0 lead in a best-of-five series, or a "thrice (three times)-to-beat advantage". The "twice-to-beat advantage" was adopted by the Philippine NCAA in 2009 for the undefeated team that had a finals berth, but would be abolished by both leagues in 2016, wherein the finals was played in a regular best-of-three format. A similar situation also existed in later versions of the
Argus finals system used commonly in
Australian rules football competitions in the early part of the 20th century: later versions of the system had a right of challenge for the minor premier (the team on top of the ladder) if they lost the Semi-Final or the Final, meaning that the minor premier had to be beaten twice for another team to win the premiership. In the event that the same team played the minor premier in the Semi-Final or the Final and in the Grand Final, the right of challenge became equivalent to the minor premier holding a 1–0 lead in a best-of-three series. In the
KBO League in South Korean baseball, the No. 4 team in the Wild Card game, or the first round of its postseason, has 1–0 lead in the best-of-three series, and can advance with a single win or tie, while the No. 5 team has to win twice in order to advance. In
Nippon Professional Baseball, the
Climax Series second stage, where the top team in the regular season faces the winner of the playoff between the second and third place teams, uses a one-win advantage for a six-game playoff (which is a best-of-seven). In this case, the top seed needs only to win three games, while the lower seed must win four games to advance to the
Japan Series. As discussed below, the
Turkish Basketball League gives a team a 1–0 lead in a best-of-7 series if it defeated its opponent twice during the regular season. Described as a "best-of-two" series in the resumption of the
2019–20 NBA season, if the ninth-ranked team is within four
games behind the eighth-ranked team after the seeding games are done,
play-in games will be held between the two teams. Here, the eighth-ranked team has to win just once while the ninth-ranked team has to beat the eighth-ranked team twice in a row to qualify to the playoffs proper. The
Memphis Grizzlies finishing ninth, half-a-game behind the
Portland Trail Blazers, necessitated the play-in game. The Blazers eliminated the Grizzlies in game one to advance to the playoffs.
Examples • One-win advantage in a best-of-3 series (
2024 KBO League wild card game) • Game 1: (5)
KT Wiz 4, (4)
Doosan Bears 0 • Game 2: (5) KT Wiz 1, (4) Doosan Bears 0 • (5)
KT Wiz won series in 2 games • One-win advantage in a best-of-5 series (
UAAP Season 76 volleyball women's tournament finals) • Game 1: (1)
La Salle 1, (3)
Ateneo 3 • Game 2: (1)
La Salle 3, (3)
Ateneo 1 • Game 3: (1)
La Salle 2, (3)
Ateneo 3 • Game 4: (1)
La Salle 0, (3)
Ateneo 3 • (3)
Ateneo won series in 4 games • One-win advantage in a best-of-7 series (
2018 Pacific League Climax Series final stage) • Game 1: (2)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 10, (1)
Saitama Seibu Lions 4 • Game 2: (2)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 5, (1)
Saitama Seibu Lions 13 • Game 3: (2)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 15, (1)
Saitama Seibu Lions 4 • Game 4: (2)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 8, (1)
Saitama Seibu Lions 2 • Game 5: (2)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 6, (1)
Saitama Seibu Lions 5 • (2)
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks won series in 5 games
Best-of-three playoff A
best-of-three playoff is a head-to-head competition between two teams in which one team must win two games to win the series. Two is chosen as it constituted a majority of the games played; if one team sweeps both of the first two games, game 3 is ignored. When a best-of series is tied (each team having won the same number of games), the bracket is sometimes said to be a "best-of-(number of games left)." This is because for all practical purposes, the teams are starting over. For instance, if a best-of-seven series is deadlocked at , the series can be referred to as a "best-of-three", since the first team to win the next two games advances. Game 7 would only be played if two teams split Games 5 and 6. In
tennis, matches are usually decided with a best-of-three-sets format. Some major tournaments are played in a best-of-five-sets format, most notably the
Grand Slam men's singles and doubles. Also, the 35-and-over Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles and the 35-and-over Ladies' Invitation Doubles at
Wimbledon are both round-robin tournaments.
In North American competitions The first use of the best-of-three playoff was in
Major League Baseball. The
National League authorized a
playoff to be held if two teams ended the season in a tie for first place; the
American League used a single game in this situation. From to , both leagues have used only a one-game playoff as a tie-breaker if only one team can advance; since , a criterion based on regular-season performance is used. Since , a tie-breaker based on regular-season performance can be used only to seed teams. Since , the
Wild Card Series sees the 3rd seed hosts the 6th seed and the fourth playing the 5th, and the two higher seeds play at home for all three games, the third if needed. Both the
National Basketball Association (NBA) and
National Hockey League (NHL) once used best-of-three playoffs (often referred to as a "mini-series"), but today neither league does. Professional basketball first adopted the best-of-three playoff for first-round play starting with its inception as the
Basketball Association of America in
1946, before changing its name to the NBA three years later. Basketball retained the format through the
1959–60 season; the league resumed its use of the best-of-three first-round series in
1974–75, but abolished it again in
1983–84 when the number of teams qualifying for its postseason tournament was increased to 16 (10 teams had qualified during the first two years of the aforementioned period, this number being expanded to 12 in
1976–77; in both instances some of the highest-ranking teams did not participate in the best-of-three round, drawing byes and automatically advancing to the second round, which was best-of-seven, as were all subsequent rounds). In
ice hockey, the best-of-three format was one of two possible types of series that could be held to determine the winner of the
Stanley Cup (the other being a two-legged playoff series). It was used in lower rounds in the NHL up until the
Original Six era. The best-of-three series in the modern era was first used in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning with the
1974–75 season. At that time, the number of NHL playoff teams had been increased to twelve from the previous eight. The format which then took effect called for the first three finishers in each of the league's four divisions to enter the postseason, but the four division winners earn first-round byes and advanced to the best-of-seven quarterfinals, and so did not play any best-of-three series. The postseason then proceeded as the NBA's did, with the second round onwards being best-of-seven. This remained the case until the
1979–80 season, when the NHL expanded its playoff field to sixteen after absorbing four teams from the defunct
World Hockey Association in a semi-merger, whereupon the byes were abolished and all 16 qualifying teams participated in the first round, which was lengthened to best-of-five. In both the NBA and NHL, the team ranked higher in the standings during the regular season played the first and (if necessary) the third games of the series at home, with the lower-ranked team hosting the second game. The
World Cup of Hockey, organized by the NHL, used a best-of-three format in the final round in
1996 and
2016, as did the
Canada Cup. Until 2009, the
WNBA forced the team with the higher record to travel to the lower seed's home court for game 1, then played the final game(s) at home. Because of this perceived inequity, in
2010, the league switched to a more traditional odd-even format, where the higher seed will play the first and (if needed) third games at home. Starting in
2022, this is used in the league quarterfinals. From
2005 to
2024, the league changed the
WNBA Finals to a best-of-five format. By
2016, the league semifinals matched this format. NCAA Division I baseball uses the best-of-three format in the second round and the final round of its 64-team championship tournament. Starting in 1999, when the tournament expanded from 48 teams (eight regionals of six teams each) to 64 teams (sixteen regionals of four teams each), the NCAA introduced the "super regional", in which the 16 regional winners play in eight best-of-three series, with the eight series winners advancing to the
Men's College World Series (MCWS). If a regional winner is also a national seed (one of the top eight seeds of the 64 first-round teams), it is guaranteed to host the super regional. If no national seed makes a particular super regional, the NCAA puts hosting rights up for bidding between the competing schools. In 2003, the MCWS changed from a one-game final to a best-of-three series.
Major League Soccer has the conference quarterfinals in a best-of-three round, with the higher seed playing the odd games, game three if needed.
USA Wrestling's annual
Final X event has individuals competing in a best-of-three series of matches, with the winners qualifying for Team USA at that year's
World Wrestling Championships or
Olympic Games. From approximately the founding of the
Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1936 until the early 1970s, multi-game playoffs series were a regular fixture of professional
Canadian football playoffs. Over the years, both the WIFU (later the
Western Football Conference) and the
Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (later the
Eastern Football Conference) used a combination of best-of-three series, three-game total points series, and two-game total points series to determine both conference final participants and conference champions. The
Grey Cup championship itself has always consisted of a single game. The last best-of-three playoff series (in what by then had evolved into the present-day
Canadian Football League in 1958) consisting of two autonomous conferences was the 1971 Western Conference Final. Since 1972, the West has used one-game playoffs. The Eastern Conference (which by that time had abolished the best-of-three format in favor of two-game total points series) adopted one-game playoffs for the 1973 season.
Competitions held outside North America The
Euroleague, the primary
Europe-wide club competition in basketball, introduced a quarterfinal round for the
2004–05 season which originally employed a best-of-three format. Starting with the
2008–09 season, the quarterfinal round became best-of-five. This is the only point in the Euroleague where a playoff series is used; all earlier rounds are conducted in a league format, and the quarterfinal winners advance to the final Four, where all games are one-off knockout matches. In the
FIBA Oceania Championship, the best-of-three series is used if only both
Australia and
New Zealand play in the tournament. If a team wins the first two games, the last game may still be played. If other teams participate, a regular round-robin or multi-stage tournament is used. In
2009, a
two-legged tie was used, but it was reverted to a best-of-three series in
2011. The best-of-three playoff system was also used in the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for the 1998 and 1999 quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The Brazilian model was unique in that extra time was not used (meaning matches could end in a draw). If neither team won two games, the team with the most victories would qualify (for instance, if one team won the first match before drawing the next two). If both teams had one victory, the team with the best
goal difference would qualify. If the goal difference was the same, the team with the best regular-season campaign would qualify. The Philippine
Premier Volleyball League, uniquely, uses a best-of-three series to determine the third-place team at the end of its conferences' playoffs rather than one game, as did its predecessor Shakey's V-League.
Best-of-five playoff A
best-of-five playoff is a head-to-head competition between two teams, wherein one must win three games to win the series. Three is chosen as it constituted a majority of games played. If one team wins the series before reaching game 5, all others are ignored. At present, only one of the
major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada—Major League Baseball—uses the best-of-five playoff, doing so in its second round, known as the
Division Series. At one time, however, the
League Championship Series (semifinals) was best-of-five, from its birth with both leagues' realignment into two divisions in , continuing until the round was lengthened to best-of-seven in . (This change would have immediate ramifications: In the American League, in each of the first two years where the LCS used the best-of-seven format, the
Kansas City Royals in
1985 and the
Boston Red Sox in
1986 fell behind 3–1, which previously would have eliminated them, before coming back to win the series.) When the
wild card was first used in (it was created for the season, but that year's entire postseason was cancelled due to
a players' strike), the best-of-five format was authorized for the new Division Series, in which eight teams participated. During the time that the League Championship Series was best-of-five, a "2–3" format was used, with one team hosting the first two games, hence "2", the other the last three, hence "3" (the respective roles alternating between the Eastern and Western Division champions, regardless of which one finished with the better regular-season record). This procedure was repeated when the best-of-five Division Series was added in 1995 (except that two of each league's now three division winners hosted three games, and the wild card never do so). Also, that format gives
both teams the home-field advantage in a sense. While one team gets to host three games (including the critical first and last game), the other team does get two chances out of three (games 3 and 4) of winning the series at home. For the 2012 postseason only, the Division Series reverted to "2–3". (This decision was made after the 2012 schedule had been released; due to the addition of a second Wild Card team and the subsequent extra
Wild Card Game, that format was used to minimize the disruption of the schedule by giving the Division Series one off-day instead of two). Starting in 2013, the "2–2–1" format was restored with the Wild Card playoff round now established and schedules adjusted accordingly. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) both formerly used best-of-five series. The NBA did so in its second-round playoff prior to the season, and in the first round from through , and again from until , when it was lengthened to a best-of-seven series. The NHL did so for its first-round series beginning with the season and lasting until increasing its first round to best-of-seven in . The best-of-5 format was reinstated for the
2020 Stanley Cup qualifying round between seeds 5–12. Unlike in baseball, in both NBA and NHL, in a best-of-five series the higher regular-season finisher always hosts the first, second and (if necessary) fifth games. The
AHL has used the best-of-five series in the first round since the
2012 postseason. From
2005 to
2024, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) used a best-of-five format for its
championship series; 2025 & hereafter will be best-of-seven. The league semifinals matched this format starting in
2016. In its inaugural 2023-24 season the
Professional Women's Hockey League used the best-of-five format for the Walter Cup playoffs. Historically, most European domestic basketball leagues have used a best-of-five format in their championship series. The main long-standing exceptions are the
Israeli and
French leagues, which have historically used one-off finals, the
Adriatic League (former Yugoslavia), which has changed from a one-off final to a best-of-three final back to a one-off final in recent years, and the
Lithuanian,
Polish and
Turkish leagues, which use a best-of-seven format.
Italy has gone to a best-of-seven final effective with its
2008–09 season. The
Euroleague quarterfinal round expanded to best-of-five from best-of-three starting in the 2008–09 season. France changed its final from a one-off match to a best-of-five series in
2012–13.
The Ashes, a
cricket series played between
Australia and
England is a five-match series. If the series is tied, the team holding the trophy keeps until the next series. Most
test cricket matches are played under this format, but others extend up to seven matches. Test cricket is typically hosted by one team throughout the entire series. While series such as this have five matches, it is not exactly "best-of-five", as
draws and other results, are possible.
Best-of-seven playoff A
best-of-seven playoff is a head-to-head competition between two teams, wherein one must win four games to win the series. Four is chosen as it constitutes winning a majority of the seven games played. If one team wins the series before reaching game seven, all others are ignored. It is not necessary for the four games to be won
consecutively.
Draws are not permitted, even in sports where they usually would be; play continues until there is a winner. This ensures that a series will never require more than seven games. The schedule is arranged so that the team with
home advantage—the team that had the better regular-season record plays the first game and the decisive seventh game (if necessary) at home. Most best-of-seven series follow a "2–3–2" format or a "2–2–1–1–1" format; that is, in a 2–3–2 series, the first two games are played at the home venue of a team with the home-field advantage (the first "2"), the next three games (the "3", including game 5, if necessary) are played at the home of the team without it, and the final two games (the last "2", if necessary) are played at the home of the team with the advantage. In a "2–2–1–1–1" format, the first two games are played at the team with the better record venue (the first "2"), the next two at the team with the worse record (the next "2"), and then alternating venues for the fifth, sixth and seventh games (the next three "1"s), if necessary. An "odd–even" format is used in the postseason tournaments of the
Liiga in Finland and the
Swedish Hockey League. Major League Baseball (MLB) has used a best-of-seven format for the
League Championship Series since 1985, and for the
World Series between 1905 and 1918, and since 1922. MLB uses the "2–3–2" format. Use of a 2-2-1-1-1 format in baseball would enable teams to only use a few starting pitchers since there is an off day whenever travel to the other team's stadium occurs. (There is an off day because of the rule which requires teams to have an off day when traveling from Pacific Time to Eastern Time, and since the postseason is scheduled without knowing the participating teams, it has to account for that possibility.) Use of 2-3-2 is considered more fair because teams are forced to use most or all of their starting pitcher rotation. The National Basketball Association (NBA) uses a "2–2–1–1–1" format for all playoff rounds including the
Finals. From the Finals' inception in 1947, the championship round used a "2–2–1–1–1" format (except in 1971, 1975, 1978 and 1979). It was changed to a "2–3–2" format between 1985–2013 to reduce travel expenses, as the league's "
East-
West" divisional alignment means the two teams are usually separated by great distances. For instance, the cities represented in the Finals'
most frequent matchup,
Los Angeles and
Boston, are almost apart. The "2–2–1–1–1" format was restored in 2014. Starting in 2025, the WNBA will use the best-of-seven format for the
WNBA Finals. The National Hockey League uses a best-of-seven series for all rounds of its league-championship
Stanley Cup playoffs, but uses the "2–2–1–1–1" format. The
AHL and the
ECHL do not use a set playoff format for their league championship playoff tournaments due to scheduling conflicts. For example, in the
2016 Calder Cup playoffs, due to scheduling conflicts in both arenas, the Pacific Division finals between the
Ontario Reign and the
San Diego Gulls used the "odd-even" playoff format, with Ontario hosting the odd games. The
Chinese,
Italian,
Lithuanian,
Polish and
Turkish basketball leagues use a best-of-seven format in their championship series. The Turkish playoff has one unique feature: if one team in a playoff series defeated its opponent in both of their regular-season games, the winning team is granted a 1–0 lead in the series, and the series starts with Game 2. The
Philippine Basketball Association uses a best-of-seven series for its finals, as well as for most its semifinals of the
PBA Philippine Cup since 2005. Occasionally,
WWE uses this format in some of their matches, such as for the feud between
Chris Benoit and
Booker T in 2005 for the
WWE United States Championship, and for
Antonio Cesaro's rivalry against
Sheamus at August pay-per-view
Summerslam 2016.
Nippon Professional Baseball's final championship round, the
Japan Series, uses a best-of-seven playoff with a 2–3–2+ format. However, since games can end in ties in that league due to innings limits, once further games are necessary, there are no innings limits and starting in 2021, the WBSC two-runner tiebreaker will be used starting in the 13th inning following the normal limit of 12 innings. Through 2022, only one such game has ever been required.
Best-of-nine playoff A
best-of-nine playoff is a head-to-head competition between two teams in which one team must win five games to win the series. Five is chosen as it constituted a majority of the games played; if one team wins the series before reaching game 9, all others are ignored. In Major League Baseball, the World Series was conducted as a best-of-nine playoff in its first year of existence in
1903, then again for three years beginning in
1919, the year of the "
Black Sox scandal." The
Western Hockey League used the best-of-nine playoff series for the Western Division playoffs from the 1983–84 season through the 1990–91 season because of the unequal division alignment of the league at the time. The Eastern division had eight teams, six of which qualified for the playoffs. The Western division only had six teams, four of which made the playoffs. Because of this, the Eastern division had three rounds of playoffs (two teams received a first-round bye), while the Western division only had two rounds of playoffs. The east played a best-of-five, best-of-seven, best-of-seven format for the three rounds, while both rounds in the Western division playoffs were best-of-nine. This was used so that both divisions would finish their playoffs at approximately the same time. The WHL Championship Series was a best-of-seven. These best-of-nine series went the full nine games on two occasions, with the
Portland Winterhawks defeating the
New Westminster Bruins in 1984 and the
Spokane Chiefs in 1986, respectively. The
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League used the best-of-nine playoff series for the 1986 playoffs.
Higher number of games In
snooker, a player must win a certain number of frames to win a
match, often nine (best-of-17) or more. Again, if one player wins nine frames before all 17 are played, all others are ignored. The
world championship final is currently decided in a best-of-35 match. In
9-ball, a player must win a certain number of racks to win a match. In the
WPA World Nine-ball Championship, nine racks are needed to win in the early stages, ten to eleven in the latter stages, and seventeen in the final. As with snooker, if one player wins nine frames before all seventeen are played, all others are ignored. In
chess, the World Chess Championship uses a best-of-fourteen-games format, with the winner needing to attain 7.5 points or more. If both players are tied after 14 games, tiebreaks with rapid time format are used. ==Total points series (aggregate)==