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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.
ET CETERA
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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 2025.
| sport |
round |
site |
Game 5 rec. |
series rec. |
| all |
all |
all |
425-325 (.567) |
691-59 (.921) |
| all |
all |
H |
317-167 (.655) |
456-28 (.942) |
| all |
all |
V |
108-158 (.406) |
235-31 (.883) |
| all |
Finals |
all |
69-57 (.548) |
118-8 (.937) |
| all |
Finals |
H |
49-34 (.590) |
78-5 (.940) |
| all |
Finals |
V |
20-23 (.465) |
40-3 (.930) |
| all |
Semis |
all |
103-80 (.563) |
170-13 (.929) |
| all |
Semis |
H |
70-40 (.636) |
105-5 (.955) |
| all |
Semis |
V |
33-40 (.452) |
65-8 (.890) |
| all |
Qtrs |
all |
128-81 (.612) |
197-12 (.943) |
| all |
Qtrs |
H |
98-38 (.721) |
130-6 (.956) |
| all |
Qtrs |
V |
30-43 (.411) |
67-6 (.918) |
| all |
Prelim |
all |
125-107 (.539) |
206-26 (.888) |
| all |
Prelim |
H |
100-55 (.645) |
143-12 (.923) |
| all |
Prelim |
V |
25-52 (.325) |
63-14 (.818) |
| MLB |
all |
all |
48-48 (.500) |
82-14 (.854) |
| MLB |
all |
H |
29-27 (.518) |
49-7 (.875) |
| MLB |
all |
V |
19-21 (.475) |
33-7 (.825) |
| MLB |
Finals |
all |
28-21 (.571) |
43-6 (.878) |
| MLB |
Finals |
H |
17-9 (.654) |
22-4 (.846) |
| MLB |
Finals |
V |
11-12 (.478) |
21-2 (.913) |
| MLB |
Semis |
all |
20-27 (.426) |
39-8 (.830) |
| MLB |
Semis |
H |
12-18 (.400) |
27-3 (.900) |
| MLB |
Semis |
V |
8-9 (.471) |
12-5 (.706) |
| NBA |
all |
all |
179-119 (.601) |
285-13 (.956) |
| NBA |
all |
H |
150-51 (.746) |
197-4 (.980) |
| NBA |
all |
V |
29-68 (.299) |
88-9 (.907) |
| NBA |
Finals |
all |
20-18 (.526) |
37-1 (.974) |
| NBA |
Finals |
H |
16-13 (.552) |
28-1 (.966) |
| NBA |
Finals |
V |
4-5 (.444) |
9-0 (1.000) |
| NBA |
Semis |
all |
33-30 (.524) |
59-4 (.937) |
| NBA |
Semis |
H |
24-11 (.686) |
34-1 (.971) |
| NBA |
Semis |
V |
9-19 (.321) |
25-3 (.893) |
| NBA |
Qtrs |
all |
70-37 (.654) |
102-5 (.953) |
| NBA |
Qtrs |
H |
60-15 (.800) |
73-2 (.973) |
| NBA |
Qtrs |
V |
10-22 (.313) |
29-3 (.906) |
| NBA |
Prelim |
all |
56-34 (.622) |
87-3 (.967) |
| NBA |
Prelim |
H |
50-12 (.806) |
62-0 (1.000) |
| NBA |
Prelim |
V |
6-22 (.214) |
25-3 (.893) |
| NHL |
all |
all |
198-158 (.556) |
324-32 (.910) |
| NHL |
all |
H |
138-89 (.608) |
210-17 (.925) |
| NHL |
all |
V |
60-69 (.465) |
114-15 (.884) |
| NHL |
Finals |
all |
21-18 (.538) |
38-1 (.974) |
| NHL |
Finals |
H |
16-12 (.571) |
28-0 (1.000) |
| NHL |
Finals |
V |
5-6 (.455) |
10-1 (.909) |
| NHL |
Semis |
all |
50-23 (.685) |
72-1 (.986) |
| NHL |
Semis |
H |
34-11 (.756) |
44-1 (.978) |
| NHL |
Semis |
V |
16-12 (.571) |
28-0 (1.000) |
| NHL |
Qtrs |
all |
58-44 (.569) |
95-7 (.931) |
| NHL |
Qtrs |
H |
38-23 (.623) |
57-4 (.934) |
| NHL |
Qtrs |
V |
20-21 (.488) |
38-3 (.927) |
| NHL |
Prelim |
all |
69-73 (.486) |
119-23 (.838) |
| NHL |
Prelim |
H |
50-43 (.538) |
81-12 (.871) |
| NHL |
Prelim |
V |
19-30 (.388) |
38-11 (.776) |
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