WhoWins(tm) Best-of-7

HISTORICAL VICTORY PROBABILITIES AND TEAM PERFORMANCE RECORDS FOR BEST-OF-7 FORMAT MLB, NBA, AND NHL PLAYOFF SERIES

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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.

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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 2008.

sport round site Game 4 rec. series rec.
all all all 175-96 (.646) 268-3 (.989)
all all H 132-77 (.632) 207-2 (.990)
all all V 43-19 (.694) 61-1 (.984)
all Finals all 48-12 (.800) 59-1 (.983)
all Finals H 32-9 (.780) 41-0 (1.000)
all Finals V 16-3 (.842) 18-1 (.947)
all Semis all 41-31 (.569) 71-1 (.986)
all Semis H 28-24 (.538) 51-1 (.981)
all Semis V 13-7 (.650) 20-0 (1.000)
all Qtrs all 55-36 (.604) 90-1 (.989)
all Qtrs H 47-29 (.618) 75-1 (.987)
all Qtrs V 8-7 (.533) 15-0 (1.000)
all Prelim all 31-17 (.646) 48-0 (1.000)
all Prelim H 25-15 (.625) 40-0 (1.000)
all Prelim V 6-2 (.750) 8-0 (1.000)
MLB all all 25-6 (.806) 30-1 (.968)
MLB all H 13-4 (.765) 16-1 (.941)
MLB all V 12-2 (.857) 14-0 (1.000)
MLB Finals all 20-3 (.870) 23-0 (1.000)
MLB Finals H 13-2 (.867) 15-0 (1.000)
MLB Finals V 7-1 (.875) 8-0 (1.000)
MLB Semis all 5-3 (.625) 7-1 (.875)
MLB Semis H 0-2 (.000) 1-1 (.500)
MLB Semis V 5-1 (.833) 6-0 (1.000)
NBA all all 51-34 (.600) 85-0 (1.000)
NBA all H 41-30 (.577) 71-0 (1.000)
NBA all V 10-4 (.714) 14-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals all 8-4 (.667) 12-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals H 6-4 (.600) 10-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals V 2-0 (1.000) 2-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis all 14-11 (.560) 25-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis H 10-9 (.526) 19-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis V 4-2 (.667) 6-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs all 19-17 (.528) 36-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs H 15-15 (.500) 30-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs V 4-2 (.667) 6-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim all 10-2 (.833) 12-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim H 10-2 (.833) 12-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim V 0-0 (---) 0-0 (---)
NHL all all 99-56 (.639) 153-2 (.987)
NHL all H 78-43 (.645) 120-1 (.992)
NHL all V 21-13 (.618) 33-1 (.971)
NHL Finals all 20-5 (.800) 24-1 (.960)
NHL Finals H 13-3 (.813) 16-0 (1.000)
NHL Finals V 7-2 (.778) 8-1 (.889)
NHL Semis all 22-17 (.564) 39-0 (1.000)
NHL Semis H 18-13 (.581) 31-0 (1.000)
NHL Semis V 4-4 (.500) 8-0 (1.000)
NHL Qtrs all 36-19 (.655) 54-1 (.982)
NHL Qtrs H 32-14 (.696) 45-1 (.978)
NHL Qtrs V 4-5 (.444) 9-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim all 21-15 (.583) 36-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim H 15-13 (.536) 28-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim V 6-2 (.750) 8-0 (1.000)