The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar award. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a one game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several early different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to external fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the adjacent round of a competition or tournament. In team sports in the U.S. and Canada, the huge distances and attendant burdens on cross-country travel have led to regional divisions of teams. broadly, during the regular season, teams play more games in their division than outside it, but the league ‘s best teams might not play against each other in the regular season. therefore, in the postseason a playoff series is organized. Any group-winning team is eligible to participate, and as playoffs became more popular they were expanded to include second- or even lower-placed teams – the term “ fantastic card “ refers to these teams. In England and Scotland, playoffs are used in association football to decide forwarding for lower-finishing teams, rather than to decide a ace in the way they are used in North America. In the EFL Championship ( the moment tier of English football ), teams finishing 3rd to 6th after the regular season compete to decide the final promotion smudge to the Premier League. [ 1 ]
testify of playoffs in professional football dates to at least 1919, when the “ New York Pro Championship “ was held in western New York ( it is possible one was held in 1917, but that is not known for indisputable ). The Buffalo and Rochester metropolitan areas each played a final examination, the winners of which would advance to the “ New York Pro Championship ” on Thanksgiving weekend. The exceed New York teams were finally absorbed into the NFL upon its initiation in 1920, but the league ( by and large driven by an Ohio League that did not have truthful finals, though they frequently scheduled de facto championship matchups ) did not adopt the New York league ‘s playoff format, opting for a backing based on regular season record for its first twelve seasons ; as a result, four of the first gear six “ championships ” were disputed. technically, a vote of league owners was all that was required to win a title, but the owners had a valet ‘s agreement to pledge votes based on a score ( wins divided by the union of wins and losses, with a few tiebreakers ). When two teams tied at the top of the standings in 1932, an ad-lib playoff game was scheduled to settle the tie.

The National Football League divided its teams into divisions in 1933 and began holding a single playoff final between division winners. In 1950 the NFL absorbed three teams from the rival All-America Football Conference, and the early “ Divisions ” were now called “ Conferences ”, echoing the college use of that term. In 1967, the NFL expanded and created four divisions under the two conferences, which led to the institution of a larger playoff tournament. After the AFL-NFL amalgamation brought the american Football League into the NFL, the NFL began to use three divisions and a single wild card team in each league for its playoffs, in holy order to produce eight contenders out of six divisions ; this was later expanded in 1978 and 1990 so that more violent menu teams could participate. In 2002 the NFL added its 32nd team, the Houston Texans, and significantly reshuffled its divisional alignment. The league went from 6 division winners and 6 barbarian menu spots to 8 division winners and alone 4 wild card qualifiers ; by 2020, the act of wild calling card qualifiers returned to six. The winners of each division mechanically earn a playoff spot and a home game in their first rounds, the three top non-division winners from each conference will besides make the playoffs as wild-card teams. The class winner with the best record in the regular temper gets a first round adieu, and each of the other division winners plays one of the three wild-card teams. In the divisional round, the lowest-seeded winner of a wild-card game then plays the lone adieu team ; the two wild-card winners besides advance to play each other. The winners of these two games go to the league championships, and the winners of those league finals then face each other in the Super Bowl .
The College Football Playoff National Championship is a post-season college football bowl plot, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ), which began play in the 2014 college football season. [ 2 ] The game serves as the final of the College Football Playoff, a bracket tournament between the clear four teams in the country as determined by a survival committee, which was established as a successor to the Bowl Championship Series and its like BCS National Championship Game. Unlike the BCS backing, the participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semi-final bowls—hosted by two of the consortium ‘s six extremity bowling ball yearly—and the top two teams as determined by the survival committee do not automatically advance to the game in stead of early bowl. The game is played at a achromatic site, determined through bids by prospective master of ceremonies cities ( similarly to the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four ). When announcing it was soliciting bids for the 2016 and 2017 entitle games, playoff organizers said that the bids must propose horde stadiums with a capacity of at least 65,000 spectators, [ 3 ] and cities can not host both a semi-final bet on and the deed game in the lapp year. [ 4 ] The winner of the game is awarded a new backing trophy rather of the “ crystal football ”, which has been given by the American Football Coaches Association ( AFCA ) since 1986 ; officials wanted a new trophy that was unconnected with the previous BCS championship system. [ 5 ] The raw College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy is sponsored by Dr Pepper, which paid an calculate $ 35 million for the sponsorship rights through 2020. [ 6 ] The 26.5-inch high, 35-pound trophy was unveiled on July 14, 2014. [ 7 ]
The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an american college football tournament played each year to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ). Prior to 2006, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship. The FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion. The four-team playoff system used by the Bowl Subdivision is not sanctioned by the NCAA .
The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an american english college football tournament played per annum to determine a ace at the NCAA Division II degree. It was first gear held in 1973. Prior to 1973, four regional bowl games were played in order to provide postseason action for what was then called the “ NCAA College Division ” and a poll determined the concluding champion. The National Championship final examination was held at Sacramento, California from 1973 to 1975. It was in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1976 and 1977. The plot was played in Longview, Texas in 1978. For 1979 and 1980, Albuquerque, New Mexico hosted the game. McAllen, Texas hosted the finals from 1981 to 1985. From 1986 to 2013, the Division II final was played at Braly Municipal Stadium near the campus of the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama. Between 2014 and 2017, it was played at Children ‘s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. [ 8 ] Since 1994, the games have been broadcast on ESPN .
The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. Before 1973, most of the schools now in Division III competed either in the NCAA College Division or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ( NAIA ). NCAA Divisions II and III were created by splitting the College Division in two, with schools that wished to continue awarding athletic scholarships placed in Division II and those that did not want to award them placed in Division III. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in them. The Division III final, known as the Stagg Bowl, has been played per annum in Salem, Virginia at Salem Football Stadium since 1993. It was previously played in Phenix City, Alabama at Garrett-Harrison Stadium ( 1973–1982, 1985–1989 ), at the College Football Hall of Fame, when the Hall was located in Kings Island, Ohio at Galbreath Field ( 1983–1984 ), and Bradenton, Florida at Hawkins Stadium ( 1990–1992 ) .
As a predominate, international association football has only had championship playoffs when a league is divided into respective equal divisions, conferences or groups ( Major League Soccer ) or when the season is split into two periods ( as in many leagues in Latin America, such as Mexico ‘s Liga MX ). In leagues with a individual postpone done only once a year, as in most of Europe, playoff systems are not used to determine champions, although in some countries such systems are used to determine teams to be promoted to higher leagues ( for example, England ) or qualifiers for european club competitions ( such as Greece and the Netherlands ), normally between teams that did n’t perform well enough to earn an automatic point. A test match is a match played at the end of a season between a team that has done badly in a higher league and one that has done well in a lower league of the same football league organization. The format of a quiz match serial varies ; for example it can be a tete-a-tete between one of the worse finishers of the higher league and one of the better finishers of the lower league, or it can be a miniskirt league where all participants play each early or teams lone play those from the early league. The achiever of the test peer series act in the higher league the following season, and the failure in the lower league .

International playoffs [edit ]

In international football, playoffs were a feature of the 1954 and 1958 FIFA World Cup final tournaments. They are hush a sport of the qualification tournaments for the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship. In the reservation playoffs for the 2006 World Cup, for example :
late World Cup qualifying inter-confederation play-offs were held for 2010, 2014, 2018 and will be held for 2022 equally well. CONCACAF Nations League and UEFA Nations League hold their respective finals to determine the overall winner at the end of the league, CONCACAF Nations League Finals and UEFA Nations League Finals .

Argentina [edit ]

In Argentine football, playoffs in the dash of the English leagues occur in the Primera B Metropolitana, part of the third tier, and leagues below it ( Primera C Metropolitana and Primera D Metropolitana ). All Primera Metropolitana tourneys cover the sphere in and around Buenos Aires, the capital city. The Torneo Reducidos ( reduce tournaments ), however, involve 8 teams below the top two, as opposed to 4. Before the top-flight Argentine Primera División abandoned its traditional Apertura and Clausura format in 2015 in privilege of an expanded individual season, there was no playoff between the Apertura and Clausura winners. As a result, the league crowned two champions each class. After each Clausura, the two teams with the lowest points-per-game total for the previous six tournaments ( three years, counting alone Primera División games ) were relegated to Primera B Nacional to be replaced by that league ‘s ace and runner-up teams ; the two teams immediately above contested promotion/relegation serial with the third base and fourth places in Primera B Nacional, counted by its aggregate board. In Primera B Nacional, the same routine continues in manipulation for relegation to either Primera B Metropolitana or Torneo Argentino A for non-Buenos Aires clubs. From 2015 forth, relegation from the Primera División will be based entirely on league military position at the end of the season ( which, effective in 2016–17, changed from a February–December format to an August–June format ) .

Australia [edit ]

The australian A-League, which besides features a team in New Zealand, has determined its champions via a playoff system, formally known as the “ Finals Series ” ( reflecting standard australian English custom ), since its origin in the 2005–06 temper. From the league ‘s origin through the 2008–09 temper, the top four teams advanced to the finals series, employed using a limited Page playoff system. The crown two teams at the end of league dally were matched in one semifinal, with the winner advancing directly to the Grand Final and the failure going into the Preliminary Final. The adjacent two teams played a semifinal for a place in the Preliminary Final, whose winner took the other place in the Grand Final. Both semifinals were two-legged, while the Preliminary Final and Grand Final were one-off matches. When the league expanded to 10 teams beginning in 2009–10, the finals expanded to six teams. The format of the six-team playoff established at that time was :

  • The “semifinals” were held over a two-week period. The pairings for Week 1 of the semifinals were 1 vs 2, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5.
  • In Week 1, the top two teams played the first leg of a two-legged match, and the remaining teams played one-off knockout matches.
  • In Week 2, the top two teams played the second leg of their semifinal, and the two other surviving teams played a one-off match. The winner of the two-legged match advanced directly to the Grand Final, while the loser of that match joined the winner of the last semifinal in the Preliminary Final.
  • The Preliminary Final and Grand Final remained unchanged.

Starting with the 2012–13 season, the finals format has been changed to a saturated hard tournament consisting wholly of one-off matches :

  • In Week 1, two Elimination Finals will be held, with the pairings being 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5.
  • In Week 2, the winners of the Elimination Finals advance to Semi-Finals. The top team on the regular-season table, called the “premiers” by the A-League, plays the lowest-seeded survivor of the Elimination Finals, and the second-place team plays the other Elimination Final survivor.
  • The Grand Final, pitting the two Semi-Final winners, takes place in Week 3.

The concept of a finals series/playoff is standard in australian sport .

belgium [edit ]

The Belgian First Division A ( previously known as the “ first class ” and “ Pro League ” ) has a fairly complex playoff organization, presently consisting of two levels and at one clock three. Since the 2009–10 temper, playoffs have been held to determine the supporter and tickets for the Champions League and Europa League. The six highest ranked team play home-and-away matches against each early ; a total of 10 matches each. The 6 participating teams start with the points accumulated during the even rival divided by two. The first 3 teams after the play-offs grow a european ticket. The fourthly rate team ( or fifth, when the cup holder is already qualified for European football ) plays a knock-out match against the achiever of play-off 2. From 2009–10 through 2015–16, teams ranked 7–14 played in two groups ; from 2016–17 advancing, this playoff will continue to be contested in two groups, but with a sum of 12 teams ( details below ). All points gained from the unconstipated contest are lost. The two group winners play a final examination match to determine the winner of play-off 2. The winning team plays a final equal against the fourth-ranked team ( or fifth ) for the last european ticket. The play-off system has been criticized because more points per match can be earned in the play-off stage than in the regular competition. This way the team who wins the most matches is n’t mechanically the home champion. The biggest top in favor of the play-off system is the higher number of matches ( 40 rather of 34 compared to the former temper ) and more top matches. The extra matches besides generate higher revenues for the teams. however, the higher number of matches takes an excess toll on teams and players. Besides play-offs, the Royal Belgian Football Association ( KBVB ) besides introduced Christmas football in order to complete the extra matches in meter. This posed some problems because a few matches had to be cancelled due to snowy pitches. [ 9 ] The delays will probably cause the close agenda to fail and postpone the end of the season. [ speculation? ] Some morphologic changes were instituted in 2015–16 :

  • The team that finished atop the regular-season table is now assured of a Europa League place if they fail to finish in a Champions League qualifying spot (currently top two places).
  • The first tiebreaker between Championship Round teams is now regular-season position.
  • Accumulated yellow cards from the regular season are erased, although suspensions will continue to carry over. During the playoffs, three accumulated yellow cards will result in a suspension, as opposed to five during the regular season.

From 1974 through 2015, the 15th team out of 16 in the final examination standings was involved in a playoff pool with three teams from the belgian Second Division after each season, to determine which of these teams played in the First Division/Pro League the oncoming season. The lowest rank team of the First Division/Pro League was relegated and replaced by the Second Division champion. primitively, these playoffs were introduced in 1974 and were contribution of the Second Division, to determine which team was promoted to the highest flat together with the division champions. From the 2005–06 season on, only one team was relegated directly from the First Division, with the 17th team taking separate in the playoff. As a result, this playoff was however called the belgian Second Division Final Round, although one team from the Pro League took region each year. Starting in 2015–16, this playoff was scrapped and replaced with lineal relegation for the buttocks Pro League/First Division A team lone. farther changes will be introduced to the Europa League playoffs from 2016–17 forth. The playoff will involve a total of 12 teams—nine from First Division A, and three from First Division B ( the renamed Second Division ). The First Division A qualifiers will be those finishing between 7th and 15th on the regular-season table. The First Division B qualifiers will be the top three teams from that league ‘s regular-season table, excluding the part champion, which alternatively earns promotion to First Division A. As in the previous format, the teams will be divided into two groups, each playing home-and-away within the group, and the two group winners will play a one-off concluding, with the winner of that meet advancing to a one-off match against the fourth- or fifth-place team from the backing playoff ( depending on available european slots ) for the final examination Europa League locate .

Brazil [edit ]

In Brazil, the Copa do Brasil, the moment most prestigious country-wide rival, is contested in pure “ smasher ” format since its origin in 1989. While the top two tiers in the brazilian League – Série A and Série B – are contested in double round robin format, the lower tiers Série C and Série D include smasher rounds in their final stages .

Bulgaria [edit ]

Bulgaria instituted an elaborate playoff organization in its peak flight, the First League, in the 2016–17 season. After the league ‘s 14 teams play a full home-and-away season, the league splits into two playoffs—a 6-team “ championship playoff ” and an 8-team “ qualifying playoff ”, with the latter split into two 4-team groups. Each playoff begins with teams carrying over all goals and statistics from the home-and-away season. Each team in the championship playoff plays the others home and away one extra time. At the end of this stage :

  • The top team is declared league champion, and earns the country’s sole place in the UEFA Champions League.
  • The second-place team earns a place in the UEFA Europa League.
  • The highest-placed team that has not already qualified for European competition advances to an eventual one-off match for the country’s final Europa League place. This will often be the third-place team, but if the winner of the Bulgarian Cup (which earns an automatic Europa League place) is in the top three of the playoff, the fourth-place team will take its place.

Each group within the qualifying playoff besides plays home and off within its group ; after this stage, teams enter another level of playoffs depending on their positions in the group. The top two teams in each group enter a smasher playoff consisting wholly of two-legged matches ( unless one of these teams is the winner of that season ‘s bulgarian Cup, in which case it will not enter the playoff and the team that it would have played receives a bye into the playoff final ). The winner of this playoff then contests a one-off catch against the third-place ( or fourth-place ) team from the backing playoff, with the achiever claiming the final Europa League place. The bottomland two teams from each group begin a series of relegation playoffs. The series starts with a knockout playoff that besides consists wholly of two-legged matches. The achiever of the playoff remains in the First League for the follow season. The losing teams then enter the follow series of two-legged promotion/relegation matches :

  1. The losers of the knockout semifinals play, with the loser relegated to the Second League.
  2. The loser of the knockout final plays the third-place team from the Second League, with the winner playing in the next season’s First League.
  3. Finally, the winner of Match 1 above plays the second-place team from the Second League, with the winner also playing in the next season’s First League.

Dominican Republic [edit ]

With the initiation of the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol in 2014 to replace the Primera División de Republica Dominicana, it introduced a playoff arrangement to determine the champion of the temper .

England [edit ]

When the Football League was first base expanded to two divisions in 1892, test matches were employed to decide delegating and promotion between them, but the drill was scrapped in prefer of automatic relegation and promotion in 1898. The use of play-offs to decide promotion issues returned to the League in 1986 with the desire to reduce the number of mid-table clubs with nothing to play for at the end of the season. The Football Conference, nowadays known as the National League, introduced play-offs in 2002 after the Football League agreed to a two-club central with the Conference. The top two teams in the EFL Championship and in EFL League One are mechanically promoted to the division above and therefore do not compete in the play-offs. The top three teams in EFL League Two and the champion of the National League ( once known as Conference Premier ) are besides automatically promoted. In each of these divisions the four clubs finishing below the automatic forwarding places compete in two-legged semi-finals with the higher-placed clubhouse enjoying dwelling advantage in the second leg. The away goals rule does not apply for the semi-finals. The Football League play-off finals were in the first place played in two legs, at both teams ‘ home grounds, but were late changed to one-off affairs, which are played at Wembley Stadium in London. Teams are besides promoted using a play-off tournament from levels six to eight of the football pyramid. At degree six, the play-off semi-finals are two leg ties with the final examination being a single match played at the home ground of the highest located of the two teams. At levels seven and eight, all of the ties are individual matches played at the home grind of the team with the highest league stead. In 2003, Gillingham proposed replacing the current play-off system with one involving six clubs from each division and replacing the two-legged ties with one-off matches. [ citation needed ] If adopted, the two higher-placed clubs in the play-offs would have enjoyed first-round byes and home advantage in the semi-finals. It was a controversial proposal — some people did not believe a golf club finishing only in eighth stead in the League could ( or should ) compete in the Premiership while others found the organization excessively american for their like. [ citation needed ] Although League chairmen initially voted in favor of the marriage proposal, it was blocked by The FA and soon abandoned. [ citation needed ] The backing of every division in English football is determined entirely by the standings in the league. however, a championship play-off would be held if the acme two teams were tied for points, goal deviation, goals scored in both their overall league record, and identical tete-a-tete record ( including neck and neck away goals scored ) ; to date, this has never happened. A play-off would besides be scheduled if two teams are tied as above for a stead affecting promotion, delegating, or european reservation .

Greece [edit ]

Starting in the 2007–08 season, Superleague Greece instituted a playoff organization to determine all of its places in european competition for the surveil season, except for those of the league ace and the cup achiever. presently, the league is entitled to two Champions League places and three in the Europa League, with one of the Europa League places reserved for the cup achiever. The playoff presently takes the form of a home-and-away mini-league involving the second- through fifth-place teams, under the follow conditions :

  • The fifth-place team starts the playoffs at 0 points.
  • The remaining teams start with a number of “bonus points” determined as follows:
    • The number of points earned by the fifth-place team during the main league season is subtracted from the totals of each other club involved in the playoffs.
    • The resulting number is then divided by 5 and rounded to the nearest whole number.
  • At the end of the playoffs, the winner receives the country’s second Champions League place. The next two teams enter the Europa League at different points depending on their playoff finishes; the last-placed team is entirely out of European competition. However, if the cup winner finished in a playoff spot (as happened in 2010–11), or the league champion also won the cup, and the losing cup finalist finished in a playoff spot (as happened in 2012–13), the bottom three teams in the playoff all receive Europa League berths.

Italy [edit ]

In 2004–05, Italy ‘s professional league introduced a forwarding playoff to its second tier of football, Serie B. It operates about identically to the system presently used in England. The exceed two clubs in Serie B earn automatic rifle promotion to Serie A with the adjacent four clubs entering a playoff to determine who wins the third promotion station, vitamin a long as fewer than 10 points separate the third gear and fourth-placed teams ( which much occurs ). Like the English playoffs, the italian playoffs employ two-legged semi-finals, with the higher finisher in the league table earning home advantage in the second leg. If the teams are tied on aggregate after full-time of the irregular leg, away goals are not used, but extra time is used. Unlike England, the italian playoff final examination is two-legged, again with the higher finisher earning home advantage in the second branch. In both rounds, if the necktie is horizontal surface on aggregate after supernumerary time in the second branch, the team that finished higher in the league standings wins. In 2003–04, Italy ‘s football league used a two-legged test meet to determine one spot in the top grade of its system, Serie A. Some leagues in continental Europe combine automatic rifle promotion/relegation with test matches. For exercise, in the Netherlands, only one club is mechanically relegated from its top charge, the Eredivisie, each season, with the winner of the second-flight being promoted. The future two lower-placed teams enter a promotion/relegation mini-league with high-placed teams from the Dutch First Division

Japan [edit ]

J.League in Japan used a test match series between the third-from-bottom team in J1 and third-place team in J2 ( see J. League Promotion/Relegation Series ) from 2004 to 2008. The Promotion/Relegation Series concept dates as far back as 1965 and the beginning season of the Japan Soccer League. The J.League Championship was held in J.League Division 1 from the inauguration temper in 1993 to the 2004 season, and in the J1 League for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, as a post-season tournament to determine the annual supporter. Promotion/Relegation Series occurred with the 2012–2016 seasons of J. League Division 2/J2 League, conditional on the top two J3 League ( JFL teams from 2012 to 2013 ) fulfilling J. League club criteria. In turn, J2 implemented a promotion playoff to J1 on the style of England for the 3rd to 6th clubs. The Japan Football League, the current japanese 4th part, uses the Promotion/Relegation Series only when the phone number of clubs in the league needs to be filled with clubs from the japanese Regional Leagues .

Mexico [edit ]

Mexico ‘s top flight league, Liga MX, is contested annually by 18 teams. In each of two annual tournaments, every team plays every other team in the league once ( 17 games ), after which the top eight teams advance to the Liguilla. In the Liguilla, all rounds are home-and-away. Teams are drawn therefore the best team plays the worst, the second-best plays the second-worst, and so on. After one round, the teams are redrawn so the best remaining team again plays the worst remaining one and the second-best faces the second-worst in the semi-finals. The two winners of this polish play each other for the championship. There is no playoff between the Apertura and Clausura achiever. As a resultant role, the league crowns two champions each year. After each Clausura, the team with the lowest points-per-game sum for the previous six tournaments ( three years, counting entirely Liga MX games ) is relegated to Ascenso MX to be replaced by that league ‘s champion ( if eligible ) .

Netherlands [edit ]

In the Netherlands, a playoff was introduced in the 2005–06 season. It is used to determine which teams from the Eredivisie qualify for european football. The playoff system has been criticized by clubs, players and fans as the issue of matches will increase. Under the original playoff format, it was possible, though thoroughly improbable, that the runner-up would not qualify for Europe ; the trace year, the format was changed then that the second-place team was assured of no worse than a UEFA Cup berth. Starting in 2008–09, the format was changed so far again. The champion goes directly to the Champions League ; the runner-up enters the second reservation orotund of the CL ; the number three enters the fourthly ( and last ) reservation round of the UEFA Europa League ( EL ; the new identify of the UEFA Cup from 2009–10 ahead ) and the numeral four goes to the third gear qualification round of the EL. The only play-off will be for the clubs placed 5th through 8th. The achiever of that play-off receives a tag for the second reservation beat of the EL. Playoffs are besides part of the promotion and delegating structure between the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie, the two highest football leagues in the Netherlands .

Philippines [edit ]

The Philippines Football League ( PFL ) adopted a playoffs for its inaugural 2017 season. The top four clubs of the regular temper qualified for the playoffs which was dubbed as the “ Finals Series ”. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] The Finals Series was dropped after the establishment of the Copa Paulino Alcantara which became the PFL ‘s cup tournament .

scotland [edit ]

The scottish Football League ( SFL ) experimented briefly with test matches in 1995–96 and 1996–97, contested between the second-bottom team of the Premier Division and the second-placed team of the First Division. After the scottish Premier League ( SPL ) and SFL merged in 2013 to form the scots Professional Football League ( SPFL ), reuniting the top four divisions of Scotland since the breakaway of the SPL in 1998–99, a modify test match format was introduced between the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Championship. The bottom team from the first-tier Premiership is mechanically relegated and is replaced by the winners of the second-tier Championship, provided that club meets Premiership entrance criteria. The second-, third- and fourth-placed teams from the Championship qualify for a play-off consist of two-legged ties, with the second-placed team receiving a adieu to play the achiever of the teams that finished third and fourth. The winner of this play-off then faces the second-bottom Premiership team, besides over two legs, with the achiever of that tie taking up the concluding premiership target ( again, assuming that the Championship club meets Premiership criteria ). The three lower divisions of the SPFL — the Championship, League One and League Two — continue with the promotion/relegation play-off arrangement their harbinger SFL leagues used ( the First Division, Second Division and Third Division, respectively ). In the Championship/League One and League One/League Two, while the champions are automatically promoted and the bottom team relegated, there are play-offs of the second-bottom teams against the second-, third- and fourth-placed teams from the class below. Home and away ties decide semi-finals and a final, and the overall achiever plays in the higher class the following temper, with the loser play in the lower division. Beginning with the 2014–15 season, promotion and relegation between the SPFL and the scottish regional leagues were introduced. Following the conclusion of the league season, the winners of the fifth-level Highland and Lowland Leagues compete in a two-legged playoff. The achiever then enters a two-legged playoff against the bottom team from scots League Two, with the winner of that affiliation either remaining in or promoted to League Two. long before the SPL earned run average, two situations arose in which the top two teams in the mesa had to share the claim as neither goal average nor goal difference had been instituted to break ties. The first was the inaugural season, in which Dumbarton and Rangers both earned 29 points and had to play off for the deed. The match ended in a 0–0 draw and both teams shared the championship. The second happened 19 years later, in the Second Division, when Leith Athletic and Raith Rovers both earned 33 points. This time, the clubs chose not to play off. In 1915 goal average was ultimately instituted .

Spain [edit ]

For the 2010–11 season, the Segunda División experimented with forwarding playoffs between the 3rd to 6th-placed teams, similar to the rules in the English and italian systems. however, ascribable to reserve teams being allowed to compete in the like football league system, subsequent places may be allowed to play off depending on allow teams finishing within the 3rd to 6th places. At a lower charge, playoffs in Segunda División B take place to decide the divisional title between the 4 group winners, and to decide which early teams would be promoted, as follows :

  • The first set of matches are an elimination tournament between the 4 group winners. The winners of each match are promoted and then play a final for the tier title.
  • After the tier final takes place, the teams who finished 2nd in each of the 4 groups play the teams who finished 4th, whereas the teams who finished third play each other. The 6 winners, along with the 2 Group winners who lost their games in the earlier semifinals, play in each other in a knockout format until there is 2 teams remaining who are promoted.
  • If within the qualifying places exist reserve teams whose senior teams are already in Segunda División, subsequent places are allowed to play off. If the senior teams are relegated from Segunda División during the season, the reserve team is automatically disqualified from competing and relegated to Tercera División.

previously a playoff system had been used in which the teams finishing 3rd and 4th from last in La Liga had played off against the teams finishing 3rd and 4th in the Segunda División. This system had been introduced in the 1980s but ended in 1998–99. [ 12 ]

United States and Canada [edit ]

In Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada, from the 2012 temper to the 2014 season, at the end of the unconstipated season, the top five teams in each of its two conferences qualify for the playoffs. Under this system, the conferences have classify playoff brackets. From 2015 to 2018, six teams per conference modify ; 12 teams in total. In 2019 and 2021, seven teams per league qualify, 14 teams in all, and all rounds are single-elimination. 2020 saw ten teams from the Eastern Conference and eight from the western counterpart qualify, 18 in all, and again all rounds are single-elimination. Come 2022, eight teams per conference modify, 16 in all. In the Conference Quarterfinals, the runner-up hosts the seventh seed, the third hosts the sixth, and fourth hosts the fifth. Winners gain to play in the league semifinals. The top seeded player gets a first-round bye. In the conference semifinals, the lead seed hosts the fourth-fifth seed winner, and the second-seventh seed plays the third-sixth. The winners from this round advance to play in the conference finals. The winner of each conference will play for the MLS Cup, the league championship. Since 2012, the MLS Cup is hosted by the conference supporter with the most postpone points during the regular season. In the lawsuit of ties after regulation in any turn, 30 minutes of supernumerary clock time ( divided into two 15-minute periods ) would be played followed by a penalty-kick gunfight, if necessary, to determine the winners. The defunct Women ‘s professional Soccer ( WPS ), which operated only in the U.S., conducted a four-team step ladder tournament consisting of one-off smasher matches. The third seed hosted the one-fourth seed in the beginning round. The achiever of that game advanced to the “ Super Semifinal ”, hosted by the second seed. The Super Semifinal winner traveled to the lead seed for the final. The WPS ‘s successor, the National Women ‘s Soccer League ( which launched in 2013 ), has a more standard six-team hard playoff in which the lowest-seeded winner from the first round of golf plays the top seed and the next-lowest the runner-up in the semifinals. The winners of two one-off semifinals progress to the one-off final .
Playoffs are used throughout Australia in australian rules football to determine the premiership. The term finals is most normally used to describe them. In each league, between four and eight teams ( depending on league size ) qualify for the finals based on the league run at the end of the temper. australian rules football leagues employment finals systems which act as a combination between a unmarried elimination tournament for lower-ranked teams and a double elimination tournament for higher-ranked teams in order to provide teams with an easier nerve pathway to the Grand Final as honor for strong performances throughout the season. Finals are decided by one matches, rather than series. The australian Football League, which is the top level of the sport, presently has eight teams qualify for the finals under a system designed by the league in 2000. Between 1931–1999, variants of the McIntyre System were used to accommodate four, five, six and eight teams, and anterior to 1930, six different finals systems were used. In most other leagues, from state-level leagues such as the South Australian National Football League and West Australian Football League, down to local anesthetic suburban leagues, it is most common for either four or five teams to qualify for the finals. In these cases the Page–McIntyre final four system or the McIntyre final examination five organization are used universally. The australian Football League ( which was known until 1990 as the victorian Football League ) was the first league to introduce regular finals when it was established in 1897. The South Australian National Football League introduced finals in 1898, and other leagues soon followed. prior to 1897, the premiership was generally awarded to the team with the best overall win-loss record at the end of the season. If two teams had finished with equal records, a playoff equal for the premiership was required : this occurred in the Challenge Cup in 1871, the South australian Inter-club competition in 1874, the SAFA in 1889 and 1894, and in the VFA in 1896 .

baseball [edit ]

Korea [edit ]

The teams finishing in fourth and fifth station in the regular season confront each other in the wildcard game. The achiever of the wildcard bet on faces the team that finished in one-third place in the first round of the play-offs. The winner of the first orotund faces the team that finished in second place during the regular season, and the winner of that round faces the team that finished in beginning position for the championship in the korean Series. This type of format is known as the step ladder playoff .

Japan [edit ]

Before 1950, the original japanese Baseball League had been a single-table league of franchises. After it was reorganized into the Nippon Professional Baseball ( NPB ) system, a series of playoffs ensued between the champions of the Central League and Pacific League. Before the playoff system was developed in both professional leagues, the Pacific League had applied a playoff system on two occasions. The first base was between 1973–1982, when a split-season was applied with a 5-game playoff between the winning teams from both halves of season ( unless a team won both of the halves so that they did not need to play such a game ). The second time was between 2004–2006, when the clear three teams played a two-staged step ladder smasher ( 3 games in the beginning stagecoach and 5 games in the second stage ) to decide the League Champion ( and the team play in the Japan Series ). After this system was applied, the Seibu Lions ( now Saitama Seibu Lions ), Chiba Lotte Marines and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, which claimed the Pacific League Championship under this system, were all able to clinch the following Japan Series in that season. The success of such a playoff system convinced the Central League to consider a exchangeable approach. In 2007, a raw playoff system, named the “ Climax Series “, was introduced to both professional leagues in NPB to decide the teams that would compete for the Japan Series. The Climax Series basically applied the rule of the playoff arrangement in the Pacific League, with one authoritative change : each League championship is awarded to the team finishing the even season at the top of their respective league, regardless of their fortune in the playoffs. This means that the two League Champions are not guaranteed to make the Japan Series. The Chunichi Dragons took advantage of this in the first Climax Series season, finishing second in the regular season but sweeping the Hanshin Tigers and the League Champion Yomiuri Giants in the Central League to win a place in the Japan Series ; they subsequently defeated the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to claim their first Japan Series in 52 years. In 2008, the format of Climax Series will have a slight change, in which the irregular stage will be played over a utmost of six games, with the League Champion starting with an automatic rifle one game advantage .

United States and Canada [edit ]

Major League Baseball [edit ]

Major League Baseball ( MLB ) itself does not use the term “ playoffs ” for championship tournaments. rather, it uses the condition “ postseason ” as the deed of the official elimination tournament held after the stopping point of the regular season. From 2012 to 2019 and since 2021 season, it has consisted of a first base cycle single-elimination Wild Card Game between the two wild-card teams in each league, a best-of-five second round off series called the Division Series, and two rounds of best-of-seven series for the League Championship Series and World Series. One exception is 2020, when the first-round series, the Wild Card Series, a best-of-three round off, was created, along with the other rounds. First three seeds went to division champions, adjacent three seeds to division runner-ups, and last two to the next-best records. The pairings for the WCS is as follows : top seed vs. eighth, second vs. seventh, third gear vs. sixth, and fourth vs. fifth. The DS will have the 1-8 achiever play the 4-5 achiever, while the 2-7 winner plays the 3-6 winner.

MLB uses a “ 2-3-2 ” format for the concluding two rounds of its postseason tournament. The remarkable term “ playoff ” is reserved for the rare position in which two ( or more ) teams find themselves tied at the goal of the regular season and are forced to have a tiebreaking playoff game ( or games ) to determine which team will advance to the postseason. therefore, a “ playoff ” is actually part of the regular season and can be called a “ pennant playoff “. however, the plural term “ playoffs ” is conventionally used by fans and media to refer to baseball ‘s postseason tournament, not including the World Series. MLB is the oldest of the major american professional sports, dating back to the 1870s. As such, it is steeped in tradition. The final series to determine its champion has been called the “ World Series ” ( originally “ World ‘s Championship Series ” and then “ World ‘s Series ” ) as far back as the National League ‘s contests with the American Association during the 1880s .

Minor League Baseball [edit ]

Most of the domestic Minor League Baseball ( MiLB ) leagues which are affiliated with Major League Baseball behave playoffs after their even season to determine champions. Before the 2021 reorganization of MiLB, most leagues at the Triple-A, Double-A, and Class A-Advanced classification levels included four qualifying teams which competed in two best-of-five rounds : semi-finals and finals. Most class A, class A Short Season, and Rookie League playoffs consisted of two best-of-three rounds. The champions of the two Triple-A leagues, the International League and Pacific Coast League, met in the Triple-A National Championship Game, a single plot to determine an overall champion of the classification. [ 13 ] In the 2021 season, the first after the reorganization, no MiLB league had more than two teams involved in playoffs, with some leagues not holding a postseason at all. [ 14 ]

  • The Rookie leagues, better known as the Complex Leagues (from those leagues being hosted at major-league spring training facilities), did not hold playoffs; the regular-season winners were crowned champions.
  • In all Low-A, High-A, and Double-A leagues (three at each level), the top two teams at the end of the regular season advanced to a best-of-five championship series.
  • In both Triple-A leagues, the top team at the end of the 120-game regular season was crowned champion. After the regular season, all 30 teams at this level played a 10-game “Final Stretch”.

Taiwan [edit ]

Taiwan ‘s playoff is different to many such competitions, ascribable to the league ‘s split-season format. The winners of the first half-season and the winners of the moment half-season are eligible to play in the playoffs, but if the best overall team have not won either one-half temper then they qualify into a wild card series against the weaker half-season achiever, with the winner of this advancing into the Taiwan Series to face the other half-season achiever. If the first gear and second base half winners are different, but one of them is besides the best overall team, then both teams progress immediately to the Taiwan Series. Finally, if one team wins both halves of the season then a playoff will take place between the moment and third gear best teams for the right to play them in the Final Series ; in this case the team winning both halves of the season will begin the Taiwan Series with an automatic pistol one game advantage .

basketball [edit ]

National Basketball Association [edit ]

The portray organization known as the National Basketball Association, then called the BAA ( Basketball Association of America ), had its inaugural address season in 1946–47. Teams had always have unlike potency of schedule from each other ; presently, a team plays a team outside its conference doubly, a team within its league but outside its division three or four times, and a team from its own division four times. In the current system, eight clubs from each of the league ‘s two conferences qualify for the playoffs, with disjoined playoff brackets for each conference. In the 2002–03 season, the first-round series were expanded from best-of-5 to best-of-7 ; all other series have constantly been best-of-7. In all series, home games alternate between the two teams in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. The 2-3-2 finals format was adopted from the 1985 Finals to 2013, copying the format that was then in consequence in the National Hockey League. Prior to 1985, about all finals were played in the 2-2-1-1-1 format ( although the 1971 Finals between Milwaukee and Baltimore were on an alternate-home footing, some 1950s finals used the 2-3-2 format, and the 1975 Golden State-Washington and 1978 and 1979 Seattle-Washington Finals were on a 1-2-2-1-1 basis ). besides, anterior to the 1980s, Eastern and western playoffs were on an alternate-home basis except for series when distance made the 2-2-1-1-1 format more virtual. Since 2014, the NBA Finals restored the original format. Teams are seeded according to their regular-season record. Through the 2014–15 season, the three division champions and best division runner-up received the top four seeds, with their ranking based on regular-season record. The remaining teams were seeded rigorously by regular-season record. however, if the best division runner-up had a better phonograph record than other class champs, it could be seeded american samoa high as second. Beginning in 2015–16, the NBA became the inaugural major american league to eliminate automatic playoff berths for division champions ; the top eight teams overall in each conference now qualify for the playoffs, regardless of divisional alliance .

elsewhere [edit ]

crown flight basketball leagues elsewhere besides employ a playoff system mimicking the NBA ‘s. however, most leagues are not divided into divisions and conferences, and employ a bivalent round of golf robin format akin to league association football, unlike the NBA where teams are divided into divisions and conferences, which leads to different strengths of agenda per team. Teams are seeded on regular season record. The playoff structure can be single-elimination or a best-of serial, with the higher seed, if held the playoffs are not held at a bias venue, having the home court advantage. aside from the playoffs, some leagues besides have a smasher tournament akin to the FA Cup running in parallel to the regular season. These are not considered playoffs. In the EuroLeague, after the regular season plays a best-of-5 playoffs in a 2–2–1 format. however, from the semifinals on, it is a single elimination tournament held at a preset venue. inactive others besides have a delegating playoff. In NCAA Division I basketball conferences, a playoff or “ postseason tournament ” is held after the regular season. Most conferences, including all of the “ major ” basketball conferences ( ACC, American, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC ), hold their tournaments at a bias venue, with all conference teams participating ( unless barred ascribable to NCAA sanctions ). A few conferences hold early rounds at campus sites and belated rounds at a predetermine site. For example, the Mid-American Conference holds its first-round games at campus sites, but the rest of the tournament in Cleveland. The Big South Conference holds its first round at campus sites, gives hosting rights for its quarterfinals and semifinals to the regular-season champion, and plays its final examination at the home court of the top remaining seeded player. The America East Conference, ASUN Conference, and Patriot League hold all tournament games at campus sites. A small issue of conferences do not invite all of their teams to the conference tournament, with one case being the Ivy League, in which only four of the eight members advance to the tournament ( which is at a predetermine locate ). In many such tournaments, higher seeds are afforded byes. The winners, and some losers which are selected as “ at-large bids ”, play in the NCAA tournament, which is besides single-elimination and held at bias venues. In the WNBA Playoffs, the league ‘s best 8 teams, regardless of league alignment, compete, and are seeded based on their regular-season records. The top two seeds are reserved for the league leaders plus the adjacent six teams with the next-best records. Come 2022, the league quarterfinals are best-of-three on an 2-1 basis, and the league semifinals and finals are best-of-5 on a 2-2-1 basis .
In the Canadian Football League, the playoffs begin in November. After the regular season, the top team from each division has an automatic rifle home plate game berth in the Division Final, and a adieu week during the Division Semifinal. The second-place team from each division hosts the third-place team in the Division Semifinal, unless the fourth-place team from the antonym division finishes with a better commemorate. This “ crossover principle ” does not come into act if the teams have identical records—there are no tiebreakers. While the format means that it is possible for two teams in the same division to play for the Grey Cup, so far merely two crossing over teams have won the divisional semifinal crippled. The winners of each Division ‘s Semifinal plot then locomotion to play the foremost place teams in the Division Finals. Since 2005, the Division Semifinals and Division Finals have been sponsored by Scotiabank and are branded as the “ Scotiabank East Championship ” and “ Scotiabank West Championship ”. [ 15 ] The two division champions then face each other in the Grey Cup plot, which is held on the third or fourth Sunday of November. The Edmonton Elks are noteworthy for qualifying for the CFL playoffs every year from 1972 to 2005, a phonograph record in north american pro sports. They ‘re besides noteworthy for being the first crossing over team to ever win the divisional semifinal crippled .

cricket [edit ]

There are a total of T20 leagues played in cricket for a few weeks each in many countries, which all by and large follow some pas seul of the Page playoff system, and have 8 teams .

indian Premier League [edit ]

The indian Premier League is the largest T20 league, and uses the Page playoff format : the top two teams in the group stage play a semi-final, and the third base and fourth-place teams play an eliminator equal, to determine which will remain in contention for the concluding. The two remaining teams that have not even qualified for the final among the top four teams then play a second gear semi-final, and then the final occur .

The Hundred [edit ]

The Hundred is an english 100-ball cricket tournament. The peak three teams from the 8-team group phase progress to the playoffs, with the winner of a semi-final between the second gear and third-placed teams facing the table-toppers in the final .

Minor League Cricket [edit ]

Minor League Cricket ( MiLC ) features 27 american teams split into the Pacific and Atlantic conferences, each of which is split into two regional divisions. The top two teams from each division advance to the Quarterfinals, with the final contested by one team from each conference. The Quarterfinal is singular in that it is a best-of-three serial, and that it sees the top team from one part playing the second-placed team from the other division of their conference ; this offers teams an bonus to finish ampere gamey as possible in the league stage sol as to draw an easier match-up in the Quarterfinals .

field hockey [edit ]

National Hockey League [edit ]

The National Hockey League playoff system is an elimination tournament rival for the Stanley Cup, consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. The first three rounds determine which team from each conference will advance to the concluding round, dubbed the Stanley Cup Final. The winner of that series becomes the NHL and Stanley Cup champion. Since 2014 ( except 2020, when it had 24 teams playing ), the Conference Quarterfinals consists of four match-ups in each conference, based on the seedings division-wise ( No. 1 vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 ). The division winner with the best record in the league plays the lowest wild-card seed, while the other division achiever plays the top wild-card seed ( wild-card teams, who are de facto 4th seeds, may cross over to another division within the conference ). In the Conference Semifinals, the four remaining teams in the conference face each other. In the third gear round, the Conference Finals, the two surviving teams play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley Cup Final. One exception is 2019–20, when the circus tent 12 teams from each conference competed. For the first two rounds, the higher-seeded team has home-ice advantage ( regardless of point record ). thereafter, it goes to the team with the better regular season criminal record. In all rounds the team with home-ice advantage hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while the opponent hosts Games 3, 4 and 6 ( Games 5–7 are played “ if necessary ” ) .

Kontinental Hockey League [edit ]

The Kontinental Hockey League, based in Russia and including teams from several nearby countries, operates a playoff system similar to that of the NHL, besides consisting of four rounds of single-elimination best-of-seven series. The foremost three rounds determine which team from each league will advance to the final examination beat, dubbed the Gagarin Cup Finals. The winner of that serial becomes the KHL and Gagarin Cup champion. Like the NHL, the Conference Quarterfinals consists of four match-ups in each league. The achiever of each division receives one of the top two seeds in its conference ; the others are based on regular-season record. Unlike the NHL, divisional alignment plays no add function in playoff seeding—all teams are seeded entirely within their league. Playoff pairings are based on seeding number within the conference ( No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5 ). The division winner with the best criminal record in the league plays the lowest wild-card seed, while the other division winner plays the next-lowest seed ( wild-card teams, who are de facto 4th seeds, may cross over to another class within the conference ). The playoff pairings are reseeded after the beginning round ( a have that was once used in the NHL, but now abandoned ). therefore, the Conference Semifinals feature the circus tent remaining seed in the conference playing the lowest remaining seed, and the two early first-round survivors playing one another. In the third base beat, the Conference Finals, the two surviving teams play each early, with the league champions proceeding to the Gagarin Cup Finals. For the first two rounds, the higher-seeded team has home-ice advantage ( regardless of point record ). thereafter, it goes to the team with the better regular season record. In all rounds the team with home-ice advantage hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while the opposition hosts Games 3, 4 and 6 ( Games 5–7 are played “ if necessary ” ) .

Elite Ice Hockey League [edit ]

In the United Kingdom, the Elite Ice Hockey League playoffs are an elimination tournament where the pull is based on the finish status of teams in the league. Of the 10 teams which compete, the lead 8 modify for the playoffs. The first base round ( the quarter-finals ) are played over two legs ( home and away ) where the team who finished in 1st plaza in the regular temper plays the team which finished 8th, 2nd plays 7th and so on, with the aggregate score deciding which team progresses. The semi-finals and final are held over the course of a individual weekend at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. Each consists of a unmarried game with the lose team being eliminated, with the two semi-final games being played on the Saturday and the final examination on the Sunday. There is besides a third-place game held earlier on the Sunday between the losing teams from the semi-finals. Unlike in the NHL, the winners of the Elite League playoffs are not considered to be the league champions for that season ( that entitle goes to the team which finishes in first set in the league ), rather the playoffs are considered to be a break contest although being crowned playoff champions is a esteemed award however. The most late playoff champions are the Nottingham Panthers .

NASCAR [edit ]

NASCAR implemented a “ playoff ” organization beginning in 2004, which they coined the “ Chase for the NEXTEL Cup “. When first introduced, only NASCAR ‘s top series used the organization, although the other two national racing series ( presently known as the Xfinity Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series ) have since adopted similar systems. One unique feature of the NASCAR playoffs is that the non-qualifying drivers continue to compete aboard the playoff drivers : the qualifying drivers merely have their championship points reset one or more times during the playoffs to figures so high that no non-qualifying driver could ever catch them. There are actually two different playoffs going on at the conclusion of the season in each series : one for the drivers and another “ owner ‘s points “ playoff for the racing team. entirely one multi-driver team has always won the Cup series owner ‘s point championship : in 2015, Kyle Busch won the backing after missing the first 11 races of the season ascribable to injury ; 3 other drivers drove the No. 18 car during his absence. Because of the way the playoffs were structured that year, however, both he and his No. 18 team won their respective championships with 5043 points. There have been two cases where a playoff driver failed to enter every playoff race. In 2005, Kurt Busch was fired by Roush Racing with two races left in the season. Busch finished 10th out of 10 Chase drivers, but Kenny Wallace stepped in to drive the No. 97 cable car to an 8th-place coating in the owner ‘s points subspecies. In 2012, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. missed two playoff races due to injury. Regan Smith drove the No. 88 cable car for two races, including a top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway. In that character, Smith ‘s 43 extra championship points on top of Earnhardt ‘s 2,245 were not enough to pull the No. 88 team out of 12th position out of 12 playoff contenders. In the original version of the Chase ( 2004–2006 ), following the 26th raceway of the season, all drivers in the top 10 and any others within 400 points of the leader got a spot in the 10-race playoff. Like the current system, drivers in the Chase had their compass point totals adjusted. however, it was based on the phone number of points at the stopping point of the 26th subspecies. The first-place driver in the standings led with 5,050 points ; the second-place driver started with 5,045. incremental five-point drops continued through tenth topographic point with 5,005 points. The beginning major change to the Chase was announced by NASCAR chair and CEO Brian France on January 22, 2007. After 26 races, the top 12 drivers advanced to contend for the points backing and points were reset to 5000. Each driver within the acme 12 received an extra 10 points for each win during the “ regular temper ”, or first 26 races, thus creating a seed based on wins. As in former years, the Chase consisted of 10 races and the driver with the most points at the termination of the 10 races was the NEXTEL Cup Series Champion. Under the points system then in consumption, drivers could earn 5 bonus points for leading the most laps, and 5 bonus points for leading a individual lick. Brian France explained why NASCAR made the changes to the chase :

“ The adjustments taken [ Monday ] put a greater emphasis on winning races. Winning is what this frolic is all about. cipher likes to see drivers content to finish in the top 10. We want our sport — particularly during the Chase — to be more about gain. ”

Beginning with the 2008 season, the playoff became known as the “ Chase for the Sprint Cup ” ascribable to the NEXTEL/ Sprint amalgamation. The next format of the Chase was announced by France on January 26, 2011, along with several other changes, most importantly to the points system. After 26 races, 12 drivers distillery advanced to the Chase, but the passing criteria changed, equally good as the numeral of basis points that drivers received at the points reset. Under this system. only the top 10 drivers in points automatically qualified for the Chase. They were joined by two “ wild wag ” qualifiers, specifically the two drivers ranked from 11th through 20th in points who had the most subspecies wins ( with tiebreakers used if needed to select precisely two qualifiers ). These drivers then had their basal points reset to 2,000 alternatively of the former 5,000, reflecting the greatly reduce points available from each race ( a utmost of 48 for the race achiever, as opposed to a maximal of 195 in the pre-2011 system ). After the reset, the 10 automatic qualifiers received 3 bonus points for each slipstream gain, while the raving mad batting order qualifiers received no bonus. [ 16 ] On January 30, 2014, even more radical changes to the Chase were announced ; these took effect for the 2014 season : [ 17 ]

  • The number of drivers qualifying for the Chase was expanded to 16, with this group officially called the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Grid.
  • The Chase Grid is now selected primarily on the basis of race wins during the first 26 races (also known as the “regular season”). If fewer than 16 drivers win races. remaining spots on the Chase Grid are filled in order of regular-season drivers’ points. Note that the basic point system has not changed from 2013.
  • The Chase is now divided into four rounds. After each of the first three rounds, the four Chase Grid drivers with the fewest season points are eliminated from the Grid and championship contention. Any driver on the Chase Grid who wins a race in the first three rounds automatically advances to the next round. Also, all drivers eliminated from the Chase have their points readjusted to the regular-season points scheme, although they retain their points total from the last Chase round in which they participated.
    • Challenger Round (races 27–29)
      • Begins with 16 drivers, each with 2,000 points plus a 3-point bonus for each win in the first 26 races.
    • Contender Round (races 30–32)
      • Begins with 12 drivers, each with 3,000 points.
    • Eliminator Round (races 33–35)
      • Begins with eight drivers, each with 4,000 points.
    • NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship (final race)
      • The last four drivers in contention for the season title start the race at 5,000 points, with the highest finisher in the race winning the Cup Series title.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup has been broadly panned since its origin, as many drivers and owners have criticized the declining importance of the first 26 races, adenine well as identical little change in agenda from class to year. [ 18 ] Mike Fisher, the conductor of the NASCAR Research and Development Center, has been one of the more outspoken critics of the system, saying that “ Due to NASCAR having the like competitors on the traverse workweek in, workweek out, a champion emerges. In stick-and-ball sports, every team has a different schedule, so tete-a-tete series are necessary to determine a champion. That does not apply to car racing. ” [ 19 ] NASCAR extended the Chase format to its other two national touring series, the Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series ( then the Camping World Truck Series ), beginning in 2016. The formats used in the two lower series are broadly similar to the format used in the Cup Series, but have some significant differences : [ 20 ]

  • The Xfinity and Truck Series Chases are held over three rounds, instead of four in the Cup Series.
  • Each of the first two rounds of the Xfinity and Truck Series Chases consists of two races (compared to three in the first three rounds of the Cup Series Chase).
  • The Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash, consisting of four short events with the winners receiving cash prizes, has been incorporated into that series’ Chase. A driver who wins two Dash 4 Cash events is considered as having one regular race win, which essentially qualifies the driver for the Chase even if he or she wins no other race during the season. However, there is no points bonus for Dash 4 Cash wins.
  • Instead of the 16 drivers who qualify in the Cup Series, 12 drivers qualify in the Xfinity Series and 8 in the Truck Series.
  • Four drivers are eliminated at the end of each of the first two rounds of the Xfinity Series Chase, as in the Cup Series. The Truck Series Chase eliminates only two drivers at the end of its first two rounds. All formats end with four drivers eligible to win the season title entering the season’s last race.
  • The rounds of the Chase now have a standard name across all series. The rounds leading up to the final race are now officially called “Round of X”, where “X” is the number of drivers eligible for the season title. The drivers in the final race that are still eligible for the season title are called the “Championship 4”.

Starting with the 2017 season, NASCAR abandoned the term “ Chase ”, rather calling its concluding series the “ playoffs ” .

Rugby league [edit ]

National Rugby League [edit ]

Play-offs are used to decide the premiers of the National Rugby League ( NRL ) in Australasia, where they are known as finals ( besides as semi-finals or semis ) – as in australian rules football, the participating teams only come from within a single division, and the tournament is staged as single matches quite than a serial. Currently, in the NRL, eight teams qualify for the finals ; starting with the 2012 season, the system was changed from the McIntyre Final Eight to the same system used by the AFL. previously, the term play-off was used in the NSWRL competition to describe matches which were played as tie breakers to determine qualification for the finals series. Since 1995, points differential gear decides finals ‘ reservation and play-offs are no retentive held .

Super League [edit ]

The Super League rugby league contest has used a play-off system to decide its champion since 1998. The original play-off format featured the lead five highest-ranked teams after the even season rounds. Starting in 2002, the play-offs added an extra spot to allow the top six to qualify. With the addition of two new teams for the 2009 season, the play-offs expanded to eight teams. The future format, scrapped after the 2014 season, worked as follows : Week One

  • Qualifying Play-Off 1: 1st vs 4th (winner receives a bye to week three)
  • Qualifying Play-Off 2: 2nd vs 3rd (winner receives a bye to week three)
  • Elimination Play-Off 1: 5th vs 8th (loser goes out)
  • Elimination Play-Off 2: 6th vs 7th (loser goes out)

Week Two

  • Preliminary Semi-Final 1: QPO 1 Loser vs EPO 1 Winner
  • Preliminary Semi-Final 2: QPO 2 Loser vs EPO 2 Winner

Week Three

  • Qualifying Semi-Final 1: QPO 1 Winner vs PSF 1 or PSF 2 Winner *
  • Qualifying Semi-Final 2: QPO 2 Winner vs PSF 1 or PSF 2 Winner *

Week Four

  • Grand Final: Winners of Qualifying Semi-Finals meet at Old Trafford

* Opponents decided by the QPO winner (in Week 1) that finished higher in the regular season Beginning in 2015, the Super League temper was radically reorganised, and more closely integrated with that of the second-level Championship. Following a home-and-away season of 22 matches, the peak eight clubs in Super League now enter a unmarried round-robin mini-league known as the Super 8s, with the acme four teams after that stage entering a knockout play-off to determine the champion. The four bottom teams in Super League at the goal of the home-and-away temper are joined by the top four from the Championship after its home-and-away season. These eight teams play their own single-round-robin mini-league known as The Qualifiers ; at its end, the top three teams are assured of places in the future season ‘s Super League, with the fourth- and fifth-place teams playing a individual match billed as the “ Million Pound Game “, with the winner besides playing in Super League in the follow season .

other leagues [edit ]

The two tiers directly below Super League, the Championship and League 1 ( the latter of which was known as Championship 1 from 2009–2014 ) —formerly the National Leagues until the 2009 addition of a french baseball club to the previously all-British competition—used the old peak six arrangement to determine which teams were promoted between its levels through the 2014 season. After that season, both leagues abandoned the top six arrangement. Before the 2008 season, when Super League established a franchise arrangement and ended automatic promotion and delegating in Super League, the National Leagues besides used this system to determine the team that earned forwarding to Super League. The top six system involved the following : Week One

  • Elimination Semi-final A: 3rd vs 6th (4th vs 7th in Championship 1)
  • Elimination Semi-final B: 4th vs 5th (5th vs 6th in Championship 1)

week Two

  • Elimination Final: Winners of Elimination Semi-final A vs Winners of Elimination Semi-final B
  • Qualification Match: 1st vs 2nd (2nd vs 3rd in Championship 1)

Week Three

  • Final Qualifier: Winners of Elimination Final vs Losers of Qualification Match

Week Four

  • Grand Final: Winners of Qualification Match vs Winners of Final Qualifier (in Super League, at Old Trafford)

Since 2015, all clubs in Super League and the Championship play a 22-match home-and-away season. Upon the end of the home-and-away season, the clubs will split into three leagues, with two of them including Championship clubs. The Super 8s will feature the top eight Super League sides. The second league, The Qualifiers, will include the penetrate four clubs from Super League and the top four from the Championship, whilst the third will feature the remaining eight Championship sides. The buttocks two leagues will begin as single round-robin tournaments. In The Qualifiers, the crown three sides will either remain in or be promoted to Super League, with the fourth- and fifth-place teams playing the aforementioned “ Million Pound Game ” for the concluding Super League locate. In the third league, the sides compete for the Championship Shield, with the lead four teams after the round-robin phase entering a hard playoff for the Shield. The bottom two teams are relegated to League 1. League 1 presently conducts a 15-match, single round-robin regular season. At that time, the league splits in two. The top eight clubs play in their own Super 8s, besides contested as a single round robin. At the end of the Super 8s, the top club earns the temper championship and immediate forwarding to the Championship. The second- through fifth-place clubs contest a knockout playoff for the second place in the Championship. The bottomland eight clubs play their own single round-robin phase ; at its end, the top two teams play a one-off match for the League 1 Shield .

Rugby union [edit ]

England [edit ]

premiership [edit ]

In the Gallagher Premiership, the acme four modify for the play-offs, where they are not referred to by that name. The tournament is a Shaughnessy playoff : the team that finished first after the league stage plays the team that finished fourthly, while the team that finished second gear plays the team that finished one-third in the Semi-Finals, with the higher-ranked team having home advantage. The winners of these semi-finals qualify for the Premiership Final at Twickenham, where the winner will be champions of the league .

championship [edit ]

Through the 2016–17 season, the second-level RFU Championship used play-offs—but unlike the Premiership, the Championship officially used the term “ play-offs ”. At the end of the league stage, top teams advanced to a series of promotion play-offs. From the first season of the Championship in 2009–10 to 2011–12, the top eight teams advanced ; from 2012–13 through to 2016–17, the top four advanced. A relegation play-off involving the bottom four teams existed through the 2011–12 season, but was scrapped from 2012–13 on. The original promotion play-offs divided the eight teams into two groups of four each, with the teams within each group playing a home-and-away mini-league. The top two teams in each group advanced to a smasher phase. In 2010, the semi-finals were one-off matches ; in 2011, they became two-legged. The circus tent team in each pool played the second-place team from the other group in the semi-finals ; the winners advanced to the two-legged concluding, where the ultimate achiever earned promotion to the Premiership ( assuming that the team met the minimal criteria for promotion ). In the first gear class of the play-offs in 2010, all eight teams started adequate. After that season, it was decided to reward teams for their performance in league looseness. in 2011 and 2012, the crown two teams at the conclusion of the league stage carried over 3 competition points to the promotion play-offs ; the future two teams carried over 2 ; the future two carried over 1 ; and the final two teams carried over none. ( Points were earned using the standard bonus points system. ) The relegation play-offs, like the beginning stage of the forwarding play-offs, were conducted as a home-and-away league, with the bottom team at the end of league play relegated to National League 1. As with the 2010 promotion play-offs, that season ‘s relegation play-offs started all teams equal. in 2011 and 2012, each team in the delegating play-offs carried over 1 rival point for every winnings in the league season. Beginning with the 2012–13 season, the pool stage of the promotion playoffs was abolished, with the top four sides directly entering the semi-finals. The format of the hard stage remained unchanged from 2012, with two-legged semi-finals followed by a two-legged final. At the other end of the mesa, the bottom club is now mechanically relegated. [ 21 ] effective with the 2017–18 temper, the promotion play-offs were scrapped for a minimum of three seasons, to be replaced with automatic rifle promotion for the club finishing atop the league at the end of the home-and-away temper ( provided said baseball club meets minimal Premiership standards ). [ 22 ]

France [edit ]

The highest charge of french rugby union, the Top 14, expanded its playoffs starting with the 2009–10 season from a four-team format to six teams. In the new system, the top two teams after the double round-robin season receive first-round byes. The first-round matches involve the third- through sixth-place teams, bracketed so that 3 hosts 6 and 4 hosts 5. The winners then boost to face the top two teams in the semifinals, which are held at nominally inert sites ( a traditional feature in the french playoffs ) —although in the 2011–12 season, the semifinals were held at Stadium de Toulouse, occasionally used as a “ big-game ” venue by traditional Top 14 ability Stade Toulousain. The winners of these semifinals qualify for the final at Stade de France ( though in 2016, the final was at Camp Nou in Barcelona due to conflict with UEFA Euro 2016 ), where the winner will be champions of the league and receive the Bouclier de Brennus. Before 2009–10, the playoffs format was identical to that of the English Premiership with the exception of neutral sites for the semifinals. Beginning in 2017–18, only the bottomland cabaret is mechanically relegated to Rugby Pro D2. The second-from-bottom Top 14 side plays a one-off catch against the runner-up of the Pro D2 playoffs for the concluding set in the following Top 14 season. Pro D2 adopted the circus tent 14 playoff system effective in 2017–18, though with all matches held at the higher seed ‘s home field. The playoff ace earns automatic promotion ; the runner-up enters a one-off pit for likely promotion to Top 14. previously, Pro D2 used a four-team playoff, involving the second- through fifth-place teams, to determine the moment of two teams promoted to the adjacent season ‘s clear 14, with the regular-season champions earning automatic promotion. Under this system, the promotion semifinals were held at the home fields of the second- and third-place teams, and the promotion final was held at a neutral site .

United Rugby Championship [edit ]

The United Rugby Championship ( URC ), originally known as the Celtic League and late as Pro12 and Pro14, adopted a four-team playoff starting with the 2009–10 season. The format was basically identical to that of the English Premiership. Through the 2013–14 season, the final was held at a prime chosen by the circus tent surviving seed, with the caveat that the venue must have a capability of at least 18,000. In 2012–13, top seed Ulster could not use its regular home plate flat coat of Ravenhill for that reason ( the land was later expanded to meet the necessity ). The league changed to using a bias web site for its championship final examination in 2014–15. With the addition of two south african sides in 2017–18, the league split into two conferences and expanded its playoffs to six teams. The top team of each conference earns a adieu into the semifinals, where they will host the winners of matches between the second- and third-place teams from the other conferences ( with the second-place team hosting the third-place team from the opposite conference ). After the 2020–21 season, both South African sides left the league and were replaced by the state ‘s four early Super Rugby franchises, with the competition being rebranded as the URC. The league separate into four regionally based pools—one each for Ireland, South Africa, and Wales, plus a joint Italian–Scottish pool. While the top team of each pool at the end of the regular season will receive a trophy branded as a regional “ Shield ” and automatic reservation for the follow temper ‘s european Rugby Champions Cup, all teams are combined into a single postpone for purposes of playoff qualification. The exceed eight teams progress to knockout playoffs, with the higher seed hosting all matches leading astir to the championship concluding, which continues to be held at a preset locate .

New Zealand [edit ]

Both domestic competitions in New Zealand rugby — the semi-professional National Provincial Championship ( known by several sponsor names ) and the nominally amateurish Heartland Championship — use a playoff system to determine their champions, although the condition “ playoff ” is besides not used in New Zealand, with “ finals ” used rather .

National Provincial Championship [edit ]

In the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup, the first base season of the revamped domestic structure in that state, the top six teams after Round One of the competition automatically qualified for the finals, formally known as Round Three. Their relative seed was determined by their standings at the end of the Top Six phase of Round Two. The teams that finished below the top six enter repechage pools in Round Two, with the winner of each consortium taking up one of the final two finals slots. The seventh semen was the repechage achiever with the better commemorate, and the eighth seed was the other repechage achiever. From 2007 ahead, the former Rounds One and Two were collapsed into a individual pool phase of bid in which all teams participated. In 2007 and 2008, the top eight teams advanced to the playoffs ; in what was intended to be the final temper of the Air New Zealand Cup format in 2009, the Shaughnessy format was used, with the crown four advancing to the finals. The New Zealand Rugby Union ( NZRU ) ultimately decided to stay with the previous format for the rebranded 2010 ITM Cup, with the same four-team playoff as in 2009. Starting in 2011, the NZRU split the ITM Cup into two seven-team leagues, the top-level Premiership and second-level Championship, and institute promotion and relegation in the ITM Cup ( a feature of speech of the country ‘s former National Provincial Championship ). The rival was renamed the Mitre 10 Cup in 2016. The playoffs in each season format have consisted of a single-elimination tournament. The teams are bracketed in the normal fashion, with the higher seed receiving home-field advantage. In 2007 and 2008, the playoff was rebracketed after the quarterfinals, with the highest surviving semen hosting the lowest surviving seed and the second-highest outlive seed hosting the third surviving seed. The winners of these semifinals qualify for the Cup Final ( 2006–10 ) or Premiership/Championship Final ( 2011– ), held at the dwelling ground of the higher surviving seed. From 2011 forth, the winner of the Championship Final is promoted to the Premiership, replacing that league ‘s bottom team. Because the 2011 season ran up against that year ‘s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, the competition window was truncated, with only the top two teams in each class advancing to the concluding match. The Shaughnessy finals series returned to both divisions in 2012, and is presently used in non-World Cup years .

Heartland Championship [edit ]

In the Heartland Championship, teams play for two distinct trophies — the more esteemed Meads Cup and the Lochore Cup. The 12 Heartland Championship teams are divided into two pools for round-robin act in Round One, with the clear three in each pool advancing to the Meads Cup and the bottom three dropping to the Lochore Cup. Round Two in both the Meads and Lochore Cups is an abbreviate round-robin tournament, with each team playing only the teams it did not play in Round One. The top four teams in the Meads Cup pool at the end of Round Two advance to the Meads Cup semifinals ; the same applies for the Lochore Cup contestants. The semifinals of both cups are seeded 1 five 4 and 2 v 3, with the higher seeds earning home discipline advantage. The semifinal winners advance to their respective cup final, hosted by the higher surviving seed .

Super Rugby [edit ]

Throughout the pre-2011 history of Super Rugby —both in the Super 12 and Super 14 formats—the competition ‘s personal digital assistant, SANZAR ( renamed SANZAAR in 2016 ), held a Shaughnessy playoff involving the top four teams. The top two teams on the league ladder each hosted a semifinal, with the top surviving team hosting the final. In May 2009, SANZAR announced that it would adopt an expanded playoff when the competition added a new australian team for the 2011 season. Through 2015, the Super Rugby playoff involved six teams—the winners of each of three conferences ( Australia, New Zealand and South Africa conferences ), plus the three non-winners with the most contest points without respect to conference affiliation. The top two conference winners received a first-round bye ; each played at home against the winner of an elimination match involving two of the four other playoff teams. As in the previous organization, the final was hosted by the top exist seed.

further expansion of the rival in 2016 to 18 teams, with one extra entry from South Africa and new teams based in Argentina and Japan, saw the playoff bracket expand to eight teams. The teams were split into african and australasian groups, with the Argentine and japanese teams joining the African group. Each group in change by reversal was divided into two conferences ( Australia, New Zealand, Africa 1, Africa 2 ). conference winners received the top four playoff seeds, and were joined by the top three remaining australasian teams and the lead remaining team from the African group on table points, again without regard to conference affiliation. The higher seed placid hosted all playoff matches, including the concluding. With the contraction of the league to 15 teams for 2018, with one australian and two south african teams being axed, the playoff format changed yet again. The number of conferences was reduced from four to three—Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with the Argentine team joining the South Africa conference and the japanese team joining the Australia conference. The playoff will remain at eight teams, with the three league winners joined by five “ wildcards ”, specifically the top remaining teams without respect to league affiliation. The league winners and the top wildcard will host quarterfinals, with all remaining matches hosted by the higher source .

summary [edit ]

  1. ^ Two teams with byes into the moment attack, two with byes into the semifinals .

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]