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 2024.
sport round site Game 3 rec. series rec.
all all all 408-444 (.479) 753-99 (.884)
all all H 310-360 (.463) 602-68 (.899)
all all V 98-84 (.538) 151-31 (.830)
all Finals all 69-78 (.469) 127-20 (.864)
all Finals H 49-68 (.419) 102-15 (.872)
all Finals V 20-10 (.667) 25-5 (.833)
all Semis all 99-108 (.478) 188-19 (.908)
all Semis H 68-86 (.442) 137-17 (.890)
all Semis V 31-22 (.585) 51-2 (.962)
all Qtrs all 120-127 (.486) 219-28 (.887)
all Qtrs H 94-106 (.470) 181-19 (.905)
all Qtrs V 26-21 (.553) 38-9 (.809)
all Prelim all 120-131 (.478) 219-32 (.873)
all Prelim H 99-100 (.497) 182-17 (.915)
all Prelim V 21-31 (.404) 37-15 (.712)
MLB all all 41-52 (.441) 78-15 (.839)
MLB all H 24-39 (.381) 52-11 (.825)
MLB all V 17-13 (.567) 26-4 (.867)
MLB Finals all 25-30 (.455) 45-10 (.818)
MLB Finals H 17-23 (.425) 33-7 (.825)
MLB Finals V 8-7 (.533) 12-3 (.800)
MLB Semis all 16-22 (.421) 33-5 (.868)
MLB Semis H 7-16 (.304) 19-4 (.826)
MLB Semis V 9-6 (.600) 14-1 (.933)
NBA all all 157-194 (.447) 323-28 (.920)
NBA all H 133-175 (.432) 285-23 (.925)
NBA all V 24-19 (.558) 38-5 (.884)
NBA Finals all 15-22 (.405) 32-5 (.865)
NBA Finals H 13-21 (.382) 29-5 (.853)
NBA Finals V 2-1 (.667) 3-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis all 36-46 (.439) 76-6 (.927)
NBA Semis H 26-39 (.400) 59-6 (.908)
NBA Semis V 10-7 (.588) 17-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs all 51-73 (.411) 115-9 (.927)
NBA Qtrs H 42-68 (.382) 103-7 (.936)
NBA Qtrs V 9-5 (.643) 12-2 (.857)
NBA Prelim all 55-53 (.509) 100-8 (.926)
NBA Prelim H 52-47 (.525) 94-5 (.949)
NBA Prelim V 3-6 (.333) 6-3 (.667)
NHL all all 210-198 (.515) 352-56 (.863)
NHL all H 153-146 (.512) 265-34 (.886)
NHL all V 57-52 (.523) 87-22 (.798)
NHL Finals all 29-26 (.527) 50-5 (.909)
NHL Finals H 19-24 (.442) 40-3 (.930)
NHL Finals V 10-2 (.833) 10-2 (.833)
NHL Semis all 47-40 (.540) 79-8 (.908)
NHL Semis H 35-31 (.530) 59-7 (.894)
NHL Semis V 12-9 (.571) 20-1 (.952)
NHL Qtrs all 69-54 (.561) 104-19 (.846)
NHL Qtrs H 52-38 (.578) 78-12 (.867)
NHL Qtrs V 17-16 (.515) 26-7 (.788)
NHL Prelim all 65-78 (.455) 119-24 (.832)
NHL Prelim H 47-53 (.470) 88-12 (.880)
NHL Prelim V 18-25 (.419) 31-12 (.721)