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 2-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 2 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 2-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 2-games-nil NHL Stanley Cup Semifinals-round lead, having played Game 1 at home. Theoretical series victory probability for series-leading team = .8125 (based on theoretical game victory probabilities of .5). Table updated through Fall 2022.

sport round site Game 3 rec. series rec.
all all all 389-429 (.476) 724-94 (.885)
all all H 295-349 (.458) 579-65 (.899)
all all V 94-80 (.540) 145-29 (.833)
all Finals all 66-77 (.462) 123-20 (.860)
all Finals H 46-67 (.407) 98-15 (.867)
all Finals V 20-10 (.667) 25-5 (.833)
all Semis all 93-105 (.470) 180-18 (.909)
all Semis H 65-84 (.436) 133-16 (.893)
all Semis V 28-21 (.571) 47-2 (.959)
all Qtrs all 118-123 (.490) 214-27 (.888)
all Qtrs H 93-103 (.474) 178-18 (.908)
all Qtrs V 25-20 (.556) 36-9 (.800)
all Prelim all 112-124 (.475) 207-29 (.877)
all Prelim H 91-95 (.489) 170-16 (.914)
all Prelim V 21-29 (.420) 37-13 (.740)
MLB all all 40-49 (.449) 75-14 (.843)
MLB all H 23-37 (.383) 50-10 (.833)
MLB all V 17-12 (.586) 25-4 (.862)
MLB Finals all 24-30 (.444) 44-10 (.815)
MLB Finals H 16-23 (.410) 32-7 (.821)
MLB Finals V 8-7 (.533) 12-3 (.800)
MLB Semis all 16-19 (.457) 31-4 (.886)
MLB Semis H 7-14 (.333) 18-3 (.857)
MLB Semis V 9-5 (.643) 13-1 (.929)
NBA all all 147-187 (.440) 308-26 (.922)
NBA all H 125-169 (.425) 273-21 (.929)
NBA all V 22-18 (.550) 35-5 (.875)
NBA Finals all 14-22 (.389) 31-5 (.861)
NBA Finals H 12-21 (.364) 28-5 (.848)
NBA Finals V 2-1 (.667) 3-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis all 32-46 (.410) 72-6 (.923)
NBA Semis H 24-39 (.381) 57-6 (.905)
NBA Semis V 8-7 (.533) 15-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs all 51-70 (.421) 113-8 (.934)
NBA Qtrs H 42-66 (.389) 102-6 (.944)
NBA Qtrs V 9-4 (.692) 11-2 (.846)
NBA Prelim all 50-49 (.505) 92-7 (.929)
NBA Prelim H 47-43 (.522) 86-4 (.956)
NBA Prelim V 3-6 (.333) 6-3 (.667)
NHL all all 202-193 (.511) 341-54 (.863)
NHL all H 147-143 (.507) 256-34 (.883)
NHL all V 55-50 (.524) 85-20 (.810)
NHL Finals all 28-25 (.528) 48-5 (.906)
NHL Finals H 18-23 (.439) 38-3 (.927)
NHL Finals V 10-2 (.833) 10-2 (.833)
NHL Semis all 45-40 (.529) 77-8 (.906)
NHL Semis H 34-31 (.523) 58-7 (.892)
NHL Semis V 11-9 (.550) 19-1 (.950)
NHL Qtrs all 67-53 (.558) 101-19 (.842)
NHL Qtrs H 51-37 (.580) 76-12 (.864)
NHL Qtrs V 16-16 (.500) 25-7 (.781)
NHL Prelim all 62-75 (.453) 115-22 (.839)
NHL Prelim H 44-52 (.458) 84-12 (.875)
NHL Prelim V 18-23 (.439) 31-10 (.756)