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BEST-OF-7 SERIES RESULTS 
The master list: Winner and loser of each and every best-of-7 MLB, NBA, and NHL playoff series from 1905 (the year of the first best-of-7 series).
  
BEST-OF-7 HISTORICAL VICTORY PROBABILITIES 
SERIES STATUS IN GAMES 
leading, 1-game-nil 
leading, 2-games-nil 
leading, 3-games-nil 
leading, 2-games-1 
leading, 3-games-1 
leading, 3-games-2
  
WhoWins BEST-OF-7 GREATEST COMEBACK EVER 
Surmounting the 3-games-nil deficit.
  
WhoWins BEST-OF-7 ANNIHILATIONS 
The ultimate ignominy: Sweeps during which the swept team never, ever leads.
  
BEST-OF-7 FRANCHISE SERIES OUTCOMES 
ALL ROUNDS 
Irrespective of Game 1 site 
Game 1 played at home 
Game 1 played on road 
FINALS 
Irrespective of Game 1 site 
Game 1 played at home 
Game 1 played on road 
SEMIFINALS 
Irrespective of Game 1 site 
Game 1 played at home 
Game 1 played on road 
QUARTERFINALS (NBA, NHL) 
Irrespective of Game 1 site 
Game 1 played at home 
Game 1 played on road 
PRELIMINARIES (NBA, NHL) 
Irrespective of Game 1 site 
Game 1 played at home 
Game 1 played on road
  
BEST-OF-7 FRANCHISE GAME OUTCOMES 
ALL ROUNDS 
All | 
Home Games | 
Road Games 
FINALS 
All | 
Home Games | 
Road Games 
SEMIFINALS 
All | 
Home Games | 
Road Games 
QUARTERFINALS (NBA, NHL) 
All | 
Home Games | 
Road Games 
PRELIMINARIES (NBA, NHL) 
All | 
Home Games | 
Road Games
  
BEST-OF-7 FRANCHISE SCORING OUTCOMES 
MLB: all runs for/against  
NBA: all points for/against  
NHL: all goals for/against 
  
BEST-OF-7 SCORING RECORDS 
BEST-OF-7 MLB, NBA, NHL Series and Game Scoring Records
  
RESOURCES 
Societies, books, and other resources.
  
BEST-OF-7 FEATURES 
Articles on best-of-7 series phenomena.
  
FAQ 
Frequently-asked questions.
SEARCH RESULTS 
Related search terms from popular search engines.
  
PROBABILITY FORMULAE 
Mathematical formulae for best-of-7 probability computations.
  
ET CETERA 
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HISTORICAL SERIES VICTORY PROBABILITIES (UP 3-GAMES-NIL)
 Here's what has happened -- in both the series and the following game -- when an MLB/NBA/NHL team led a best-of-7 series 3 games to nil. "Site" means the site (H=home or V=road) where a team played Game 1: For example, the row in which sport=MLB, round=Finals, and site=V refers to MLB teams with a 3-games-nil MLB World Series lead, having played Game 1 on the road; for a second example, the row in which sport=NHL, round=Semis, and site=H refers to NHL teams with a 3-games-nil NHL Stanley Cup Semifinals-round lead, having played Game 1 at home. Theoretical series victory probability for series-leading team = .9375 (based on theoretical game victory probabilities of .5). Table updated through Fall 2024. 
| sport | 
round | 
site | 
Game 4 rec. | 
series rec. | 
 
| all | 
all | 
all | 
255-153 (.625) | 
403-5 (.988) | 
 
| all | 
all | 
H | 
188-122 (.606) | 
306-4 (.987) | 
 
| all | 
all | 
V | 
67-31 (.684) | 
97-1 (.990) | 
 
| all | 
Finals | 
all | 
50-19 (.725) | 
68-1 (.986) | 
 
| all | 
Finals | 
H | 
34-15 (.694) | 
49-0 (1.000) | 
 
| all | 
Finals | 
V | 
16-4 (.800) | 
19-1 (.950) | 
 
| all | 
Semis | 
all | 
58-41 (.586) | 
98-1 (.990) | 
 
| all | 
Semis | 
H | 
38-30 (.559) | 
67-1 (.985) | 
 
| all | 
Semis | 
V | 
20-11 (.645) | 
31-0 (1.000) | 
 
| all | 
Qtrs | 
all | 
73-47 (.608) | 
118-2 (.983) | 
 
| all | 
Qtrs | 
H | 
57-37 (.606) | 
92-2 (.979) | 
 
| all | 
Qtrs | 
V | 
16-10 (.615) | 
26-0 (1.000) | 
 
| all | 
Prelim | 
all | 
74-46 (.617) | 
119-1 (.992) | 
 
| all | 
Prelim | 
H | 
59-40 (.596) | 
98-1 (.990) | 
 
| all | 
Prelim | 
V | 
15-6 (.714) | 
21-0 (1.000) | 
 
| MLB | 
all | 
all | 
31-10 (.756) | 
40-1 (.976) | 
 
| MLB | 
all | 
H | 
16-8 (.667) | 
23-1 (.958) | 
 
| MLB | 
all | 
V | 
15-2 (.882) | 
17-0 (1.000) | 
 
| MLB | 
Finals | 
all | 
21-4 (.840) | 
25-0 (1.000) | 
 
| MLB | 
Finals | 
H | 
14-3 (.824) | 
17-0 (1.000) | 
 
| MLB | 
Finals | 
V | 
7-1 (.875) | 
8-0 (1.000) | 
 
| MLB | 
Semis | 
all | 
10-6 (.625) | 
15-1 (.938) | 
 
| MLB | 
Semis | 
H | 
2-5 (.286) | 
6-1 (.857) | 
 
| MLB | 
Semis | 
V | 
8-1 (.889) | 
9-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
all | 
all | 
95-62 (.605) | 
157-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
all | 
H | 
79-54 (.594) | 
133-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
all | 
V | 
16-8 (.667) | 
24-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Finals | 
all | 
9-6 (.600) | 
15-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Finals | 
H | 
7-6 (.538) | 
13-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Finals | 
V | 
2-0 (1.000) | 
2-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Semis | 
all | 
20-16 (.556) | 
36-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Semis | 
H | 
15-11 (.577) | 
26-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Semis | 
V | 
5-5 (.500) | 
10-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Qtrs | 
all | 
30-21 (.588) | 
51-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Qtrs | 
H | 
24-18 (.571) | 
42-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Qtrs | 
V | 
6-3 (.667) | 
9-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Prelim | 
all | 
36-19 (.655) | 
55-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Prelim | 
H | 
33-19 (.635) | 
52-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NBA | 
Prelim | 
V | 
3-0 (1.000) | 
3-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NHL | 
all | 
all | 
129-81 (.614) | 
206-4 (.981) | 
 
| NHL | 
all | 
H | 
93-60 (.608) | 
150-3 (.980) | 
 
| NHL | 
all | 
V | 
36-21 (.632) | 
56-1 (.982) | 
 
| NHL | 
Finals | 
all | 
20-9 (.690) | 
28-1 (.966) | 
 
| NHL | 
Finals | 
H | 
13-6 (.684) | 
19-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NHL | 
Finals | 
V | 
7-3 (.700) | 
9-1 (.900) | 
 
| NHL | 
Semis | 
all | 
28-19 (.596) | 
47-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NHL | 
Semis | 
H | 
21-14 (.600) | 
35-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NHL | 
Semis | 
V | 
7-5 (.583) | 
12-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NHL | 
Qtrs | 
all | 
43-26 (.623) | 
67-2 (.971) | 
 
| NHL | 
Qtrs | 
H | 
33-19 (.635) | 
50-2 (.962) | 
 
| NHL | 
Qtrs | 
V | 
10-7 (.588) | 
17-0 (1.000) | 
 
| NHL | 
Prelim | 
all | 
38-27 (.585) | 
64-1 (.985) | 
 
| NHL | 
Prelim | 
H | 
26-21 (.553) | 
46-1 (.979) | 
 
| NHL | 
Prelim | 
V | 
12-6 (.667) | 
18-0 (1.000) | 
 
 
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