WhoWins(tm) Best-of-7

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

HOME
WhoWins™

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
WhoWins™
Powered by EarthLink®.
Feedback welcomed at feedback@whowins.com.
Copyright © 2023 WhoWins™.
All rights reserved.
Terms of usage.


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 2022.

sport round site Game 4 rec. series rec.
all all all 248-141 (.638) 384-5 (.987)
all all H 182-113 (.617) 291-4 (.986)
all all V 66-28 (.702) 93-1 (.989)
all Finals all 50-16 (.758) 65-1 (.985)
all Finals H 34-12 (.739) 46-0 (1.000)
all Finals V 16-4 (.800) 19-1 (.950)
all Semis all 55-38 (.591) 92-1 (.989)
all Semis H 36-29 (.554) 64-1 (.985)
all Semis V 19-9 (.679) 28-0 (1.000)
all Qtrs all 73-45 (.619) 116-2 (.983)
all Qtrs H 57-36 (.613) 91-2 (.978)
all Qtrs V 16-9 (.640) 25-0 (1.000)
all Prelim all 70-42 (.625) 111-1 (.991)
all Prelim H 55-36 (.604) 90-1 (.989)
all Prelim V 15-6 (.714) 21-0 (1.000)
MLB all all 31-9 (.775) 39-1 (.975)
MLB all H 16-7 (.696) 22-1 (.957)
MLB all V 15-2 (.882) 17-0 (1.000)
MLB Finals all 21-3 (.875) 24-0 (1.000)
MLB Finals H 14-2 (.875) 16-0 (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 90-57 (.612) 147-0 (1.000)
NBA all H 74-51 (.592) 125-0 (1.000)
NBA all V 16-6 (.727) 22-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals all 9-5 (.643) 14-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals H 7-5 (.583) 12-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals V 2-0 (1.000) 2-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis all 18-14 (.563) 32-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis H 13-11 (.542) 24-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis V 5-3 (.625) 8-0 (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 33-17 (.660) 50-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim H 30-17 (.638) 47-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim V 3-0 (1.000) 3-0 (1.000)
NHL all all 127-75 (.629) 198-4 (.980)
NHL all H 92-55 (.626) 144-3 (.980)
NHL all V 35-20 (.636) 54-1 (.982)
NHL Finals all 20-8 (.714) 27-1 (.964)
NHL Finals H 13-5 (.722) 18-0 (1.000)
NHL Finals V 7-3 (.700) 9-1 (.900)
NHL Semis all 27-18 (.600) 45-0 (1.000)
NHL Semis H 21-13 (.618) 34-0 (1.000)
NHL Semis V 6-5 (.545) 11-0 (1.000)
NHL Qtrs all 43-24 (.642) 65-2 (.970)
NHL Qtrs H 33-18 (.647) 49-2 (.961)
NHL Qtrs V 10-6 (.625) 16-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim all 37-25 (.597) 61-1 (.984)
NHL Prelim H 25-19 (.568) 43-1 (.977)
NHL Prelim V 12-6 (.667) 18-0 (1.000)