Tiebreaker Rules

Two-level tiebreaker system for conference rankings and championship game seeding

Understanding Our Two-Level Tiebreaker System

Our league uses a comprehensive two-level tiebreaker system when teams have identical regular season records:

Level 1 - Conference Tiebreakers: Used to determine order within conferences. The No. 1 team from each conference hosts a semifinal against the No. 2 team from the other conference.

Level 2 - League Seeding (Interconference Tiebreakers): Used for ranking among all teams. This only comes into play for seeding in the final between semifinal winners.

Tiebreakers are applied in order until the tie is broken. Important: If two clubs remain tied after one or more clubs are eliminated during any step, the tiebreaker process restarts at step 1 for the remaining teams.

Conference Tiebreakers

Applied to determine order within conferences

1

Win Percentage

Best regular season winning percentage

2

Head-to-Head (Win Percentage)

Best winning percentage in games between the tied teams

3

Win Percentage Intra-Conference

Best winning percentage in games played within the conference

4

Strength of Victory (SoV)

Combined winning percentage of all teams defeated

5

Strength of Schedule (SoS)

Combined winning percentage of all opponents faced

6

Points Difference in Head-to-Head

Best point differential in games between tied teams (capped at maximum 35 per game)

7

Points Scored Away in Head-to-Head

Most points scored in away games between tied teams (capped at maximum 35 per game)

8

Best Net Points in All Games

Best point differential in all games (capped at maximum 35 per game)

9

Best Points in All Games

Most points scored in all games (capped at maximum 35 per game)

10

Best Points in Away Games

Most points scored in all away games (capped at maximum 35 per game)

11

Coin Toss

Conducted by league operations if all other criteria are equal

League Seeding (Interconference Tiebreakers)

Applied for ranking among all teams for the final

1

Win Percentage

Best regular season winning percentage

2

Head-to-Head

Best record in games between the tied teams (if applicable)

3

Strength of Victory (SoV)

Combined winning percentage of all teams defeated

4

Strength of Schedule (SoS)

Combined winning percentage of all opponents faced

5

Points Difference in Head-to-Head

Best point differential in games between tied teams (capped at maximum 35 per game)

6

Points Scored Away in Head-to-Head

Most points scored in away games between tied teams (capped at maximum 35 per game)

7

Best Net Points in All Games

Best point differential in all games (capped at maximum 35 per game)

8

Best Points in All Games

Most points scored in all games (capped at maximum 35 per game)

9

Best Points in Away Games

Most points scored in all away games

10

Coin Toss

Conducted by league operations if all other criteria are equal

Important Considerations

Point Differential Limits: To maintain competitive balance, point differential and point scoring calculations are capped at 35 points per game.
Restart Rule: If two clubs remain tied after one or more clubs are eliminated during any tiebreaker step, the entire process restarts at step 1 for the remaining teams.
Three-Way Ties: Apply conference tiebreaker first to eliminate all but the highest ranked club per conference, then continue to resolve the two-way tie.
Two-Level System: Conference tiebreakers determine intraconference seeding and playoff matchups. League seeding tiebreakers only apply to championship game positioning.
Final Authority: The League Operations Department has final authority on all tiebreaker applications and interpretations.

Understanding Key Tiebreaker Calculations

Detailed explanations and examples of Strength of Schedule and Strength of Victory

Strength of Schedule (SoS)

The composite record of all opponents in the current season. All cumulated wins of teams on the schedule, divided by the total number of games played by the teams on the schedule.

SoS Formula:
SoS=Wins(All Opponents)Wins(All Opponents)+Losses(All Opponents)SoS = \frac{\text{Wins(All Opponents)}}{\text{Wins(All Opponents)} + \text{Losses(All Opponents)}}
Example (Firenze Red Lions 2024 Season):

84 cumulated wins of all teams that Firenze played against and 68 cumulated losses of all teams that Firenze played against results in a SoS of 0.553.

Example: 8484+68=84152=0.553\text{Example: } \frac{84}{84 + 68} = \frac{84}{152} = \textbf{0.553}

Strength of Victory (SoV)

The composite record of teams defeated in the current season. All cumulated wins of teams that have been defeated, divided by the total number of games played by the defeated teams.

SoV Formula:
SoV=Wins(Defeated Opponents)Wins(Defeated Opponents)+Losses(Defeated Opponents)SoV = \frac{\text{Wins(Defeated Opponents)}}{\text{Wins(Defeated Opponents)} + \text{Losses(Defeated Opponents)}}
Example (Paris Lights 2024 Season):

18 cumulated wins of all teams Paris defeated and 42 cumulated losses of all teams Paris defeated results in a SoV of 0.300.

Example: 1818+42=1860=0.300\text{Example: } \frac{18}{18 + 42} = \frac{18}{60} = \textbf{0.300}

Questions About Tiebreakers?

For clarification on tiebreaker procedures or specific scenarios, contact our operations team.