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 2012.

sport round site Game 4 rec. series rec.
all all all 197-111 (.640) 304-4 (.987)
all all H 148-87 (.630) 232-3 (.987)
all all V 49-24 (.671) 72-1 (.986)
all Finals all 49-13 (.790) 61-1 (.984)
all Finals H 33-9 (.786) 42-0 (1.000)
all Finals V 16-4 (.800) 19-1 (.950)
all Semis all 44-33 (.571) 76-1 (.987)
all Semis H 29-24 (.547) 52-1 (.981)
all Semis V 15-9 (.625) 24-0 (1.000)
all Qtrs all 64-40 (.615) 102-2 (.981)
all Qtrs H 52-33 (.612) 83-2 (.976)
all Qtrs V 12-7 (.632) 19-0 (1.000)
all Prelim all 40-25 (.615) 65-0 (1.000)
all Prelim H 34-21 (.618) 55-0 (1.000)
all Prelim V 6-4 (.600) 10-0 (1.000)
MLB all all 27-6 (.818) 32-1 (.970)
MLB all H 14-4 (.778) 17-1 (.944)
MLB all V 13-2 (.867) 15-0 (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 6-3 (.667) 8-1 (.889)
MLB Semis H 0-2 (.000) 1-1 (.500)
MLB Semis V 6-1 (.857) 7-0 (1.000)
NBA all all 62-41 (.602) 103-0 (1.000)
NBA all H 51-36 (.586) 87-0 (1.000)
NBA all V 11-5 (.688) 16-0 (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 14-12 (.538) 26-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis H 10-9 (.526) 19-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis V 4-3 (.571) 7-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs all 25-18 (.581) 43-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs H 20-16 (.556) 36-0 (1.000)
NBA Qtrs V 5-2 (.714) 7-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim all 15-7 (.682) 22-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim H 15-7 (.682) 22-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim V 0-0 (---) 0-0 (---)
NHL all all 108-64 (.628) 169-3 (.983)
NHL all H 83-47 (.638) 128-2 (.985)
NHL all V 25-17 (.595) 41-1 (.976)
NHL Finals all 20-6 (.769) 25-1 (.962)
NHL Finals H 13-3 (.813) 16-0 (1.000)
NHL Finals V 7-3 (.700) 9-1 (.900)
NHL Semis all 24-18 (.571) 42-0 (1.000)
NHL Semis H 19-13 (.594) 32-0 (1.000)
NHL Semis V 5-5 (.500) 10-0 (1.000)
NHL Qtrs all 39-22 (.639) 59-2 (.967)
NHL Qtrs H 32-17 (.653) 47-2 (.959)
NHL Qtrs V 7-5 (.583) 12-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim all 25-18 (.581) 43-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim H 19-14 (.576) 33-0 (1.000)
NHL Prelim V 6-4 (.600) 10-0 (1.000)