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-1)

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 1. "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-1 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-1 NHL Stanley Cup Semifinals-round lead, having played Game 1 at home. Theoretical series victory probability for series-leading team = .875 (based on theoretical game victory probabilities of .5). Table updated through Fall 2007.

sport round site Game 5 rec. series rec.
all all all 271-192 (.585) 424-39 (.916)
all all H 204-93 (.687) 279-18 (.939)
all all V 67-99 (.404) 145-21 (.873)
all Finals all 53-44 (.546) 91-6 (.938)
all Finals H 36-23 (.610) 56-3 (.949)
all Finals V 17-21 (.447) 35-3 (.921)
all Semis all 76-54 (.585) 120-10 (.923)
all Semis H 54-26 (.675) 75-5 (.938)
all Semis V 22-28 (.440) 45-5 (.900)
all Qtrs all 93-52 (.641) 139-6 (.959)
all Qtrs H 73-26 (.737) 96-3 (.970)
all Qtrs V 20-26 (.435) 43-3 (.935)
all Prelim all 49-42 (.538) 74-17 (.813)
all Prelim H 41-18 (.695) 52-7 (.881)
all Prelim V 8-24 (.250) 22-10 (.688)
MLB all all 34-32 (.515) 55-11 (.833)
MLB all H 19-15 (.559) 28-6 (.824)
MLB all V 15-17 (.469) 27-5 (.844)
MLB Finals all 22-18 (.550) 35-5 (.875)
MLB Finals H 12-7 (.632) 16-3 (.842)
MLB Finals V 10-11 (.476) 19-2 (.905)
MLB Semis all 12-14 (.462) 20-6 (.769)
MLB Semis H 7-8 (.467) 12-3 (.800)
MLB Semis V 5-6 (.455) 8-3 (.727)
NBA all all 102-72 (.586) 166-8 (.954)
NBA all H 86-34 (.717) 118-2 (.983)
NBA all V 16-38 (.296) 48-6 (.889)
NBA Finals all 14-14 (.500) 28-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals H 11-9 (.550) 20-0 (1.000)
NBA Finals V 3-5 (.375) 8-0 (1.000)
NBA Semis all 24-22 (.522) 43-3 (.935)
NBA Semis H 18-10 (.643) 27-1 (.964)
NBA Semis V 6-12 (.333) 16-2 (.889)
NBA Qtrs all 52-29 (.642) 78-3 (.963)
NBA Qtrs H 45-13 (.776) 57-1 (.983)
NBA Qtrs V 7-16 (.304) 21-2 (.913)
NBA Prelim all 12-7 (.632) 17-2 (.895)
NBA Prelim H 12-2 (.857) 14-0 (1.000)
NBA Prelim V 0-5 (.000) 3-2 (.600)
NHL all all 135-88 (.605) 203-20 (.910)
NHL all H 99-44 (.692) 133-10 (.930)
NHL all V 36-44 (.450) 70-10 (.875)
NHL Finals all 17-12 (.586) 28-1 (.966)
NHL Finals H 13-7 (.650) 20-0 (1.000)
NHL Finals V 4-5 (.444) 8-1 (.889)
NHL Semis all 40-18 (.690) 57-1 (.983)
NHL Semis H 29-8 (.784) 36-1 (.973)
NHL Semis V 11-10 (.524) 21-0 (1.000)
NHL Qtrs all 41-23 (.641) 61-3 (.953)
NHL Qtrs H 28-13 (.683) 39-2 (.951)
NHL Qtrs V 13-10 (.565) 22-1 (.957)
NHL Prelim all 37-35 (.514) 57-15 (.792)
NHL Prelim H 29-16 (.644) 38-7 (.844)
NHL Prelim V 8-19 (.296) 19-8 (.704)