Tie Breakers
TeamSideline has 18 Tie Breakers. You can set Tie Breakers either by Sport from the "Tie Breaker Order" section on the Schedule>Configurations>Sport Defaults page, or, by Division from the Configuration>Scoring page of any Division. From the Tie Breaker Order section, you can choose to use none of the Tie Breakers, or up to 8 in any order you select. A List of TeamSideline Tie Breakers is listed below. Below the list, a Tie Breaker Definition section describing how the Tie Breaker is calculated follow the Tie Breaker list.
Note: Names of the Tie Breakers change "Points" to "Runs" depending on the Sport the Tie Breaker is being used in. (Example: For Softball, "Average Points For" is automatically changed to "Average Runs For", but uses the same Tie Breaker logic as "Average Points For".)
List of TeamSideline Tie Breakers
Winning Percentage
Head-To-Head
Head-To-Group
Head-To-Head Differential
Head-To-Group Differential
Head-To-Head Points Against
Head-To-Group Points Against
Common Opponents
Strength of Schedule
Total Points Differential
Total Points For
Total Points Against
Average Points Differential
Average Points For
Average Points Against
Total Calculated Points
Lowest Number of Forfeits
Coin Toss
"Winning Percentage" Definition
The Winning Percentage Tie Breaker ranks teams by the percent of games a team has won. To calculate the Winning Percentage for a team divide the total number of games won by a team by the total number of games the team has played. The Team with the highest Winning Percentage wins. If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
Note: A tie or draw counts as a ½ loss and a ½ win.
Click here for the wikipedia definition.
"Head-To-Head" Definition
The Head-To-Head Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of wins against each team involved in the tie. To calculate the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker, list the teams who are tied, then total the number of wins each team has against each team involved in the tie. The team that has beaten the other teams involved in the tie the most is the winner. If the tied teams played each other more than one time then the team that has won more games against the other tied teams wins.
All teams must have played each other at least once for the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker to be used EXCEPT in the following scenario for allowing the system to calculate what it believes to be a dominate team.
If two teams who are tied have not played each other but the Head-To-Head win loss records indicate a hierarchy with a "Dominant Team", then the dominant team wins the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker. (Example: Team A has beaten Team B in calculating the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker. Team C is also tied with A and B. If A has beaten C then A wins the tie breaker. If A has not played C but B has beaten C then A wins the tie breaker.)
In the above Dominant Team scenario, if A has not played C and C has beaten B then the Head-To-Head calculation can not be used. Also, if the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Head-To-Group" Definition
The Head-To-Group Tie Breaker is the same as the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker, except all teams must have played each other at least once for the Head-To-Group Tie Breaker to be used. This means if you choose to use the Head-To-Group Tie Breaker instead of the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker, the Dominant Team scenario will not be used since not all teams will have played each other at least once.
"Head-To-Head Differential" Definition
The Head-To-Head Differential Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of Differential points (or runs) they are ahead or behind each team involved in the tie. To calculate the Head-To-Head Differential Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, total the Differential points by adding up the number of points each team won or lost by against each team involved in the tie. (Example: Team A has beaten Team B 7-3 so Team A has 4 positive Differential points and Team B has 4 negative Differential points.) Third, total the number of Differential points for each team involved in the tie. The team with the highest positive Differential points is the winner.
As with the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker, if two teams who are tied have not played each other but the Head-To-Head Differential points indicate a hierarchy with a "Dominant Team", then the dominant team wins the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker. (Example: Team A has beaten Team B in calculating the Head-To-Head Differential Tie Breaker. Team C is also tied with A and B. If A has beaten C in Differential Points then A wins the tie breaker. If A has not played C but A has more Differential Points then A wins the tie breaker.)
Note: Head to Head Differential will always have the same result as Head to Head if the teams just play one game against each other. Head to Head Differential is only relevant for multiple games against the same team. For example, when two teams play twice and each win one game (head to head = tie), when you look at the differential, you may be able to break the tie.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Head-To-Group Differential" Definition
The Head-To-Group Differential Tie Breaker is the same as the Head-To-Head Differential Tie Breaker, except all teams must have played each other at least once and the same amount of times – then the sum of the differential on all games would be applied. Otherwise, the Head-To-Group Differential Tie Breaker would not be able to be used. This means if you choose to use the Head-To-Group Differential Tie Breaker instead of the Head-To-Head Differential Tie Breaker, the Dominant Team scenario will not be used since not all teams will have played each other at least once.
"Head-To-Head Points Against" Definition
The Head-To-Head Points Against Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of points (or runs) scored against them by each team involved in the tie. To calculate the Head-To-Head Points Against Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, total the Points Against each team by adding up the number of points scored against each team by the other teams involved in the tie. (Example: Team A has beaten Team B 7-3 so Team A has 3 Points Against and Team B has 7 Points Against.) Third, total the number of Points Against for each team involved in the tie. The team with the lower number of Points Against points is the winner.
As with the Head-To-Head Tie Breaker, if two teams who are tied have not played each other but the Head-To-Head Points Against points indicate a hierarchy with a "Dominant Team", then the dominant team wins the Head-To-Head Points Against Tie Breaker. (Example: Team A has beaten Team B in calculating the Head-To-Head Points Against Tie Breaker. Team C is also tied with A and B. If A has beaten C in Points Against then A wins the tie breaker. If A has not played C but A has less Points Against points than Team C, then A wins the tie breaker.)
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Head-To-Group Points Against" Definition
The Head-To-Group Points Against Tie Breaker is the same as the Head-To-Head Points Against Tie Breaker, except all teams must have played each other at least once for the Head-To-Group Points Against Tie Breaker to be used. This means if you choose to use the Head-To-Group Points Against Tie Breaker instead of the Head-To-Head Points Against Tie Breaker, the Dominant Team scenario will not be used since not all teams will have played each other at least once.
"Common Opponents" Definition
The Common Opponents Tie Breaker ranks teams who are tied with each other by the number of wins they have against the same opponents. To calculate the Common Opponents Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, list the teams that have played each of the tied teams at least once. (Note: For a team to be a common opponent it must have played each team involved in the tie.) Third, total the number of wins each tied team has against the common opponents. The team that has the most victories against the common opponent teams wins.
If all teams involved in the tie have the same total the number of wins against the common opponents, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Strength of Schedule" Definition
The Strength of Schedule Tie Breaker ranks teams by the total strength of the teams they played against based on the total winning percentage of the teams played. To calculate the Strength of Schedule Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, for each tied team, total the wins and losses in order to calculate the winning percentage for the teams each tied team played against. (Example: Team A played 5 teams and the total wins and losses of those 5 teams is 6 wins and 3 losses for a winning percentage of .666. This means the Team A Strength of Schedule winning percentage is .666.) The tied team that has the highest Strength of Schedule winning percentage wins.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Total Points Differential" Definition
The Total Points Differential Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of Differential points (or runs) each team involved in the tie has for all games played. To calculate the Total Points Differential Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, total the Total Points Differential points by adding up the number of points each team won or lost in each game. (Example: Team A has beaten teams during all games they played by a total of 50-40 so Team A has 10 positive Differential points.) The team with the highest positive Total Points Differential number is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Total Points For" Definition
The Total Points For Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of points (or runs) each team involved in the tie has scored for all games played. To calculate the Total Points For Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, total the points each team involved in the tie has scored. (Example: Team A has scored a total of 50 points during all games played so the Team A Total Points For is 50.) The team with the highest Total Points For number is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Total Points Against" Definition
The Total Points Against Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of points (or runs) each team involved in the tie has had scored against them for all games played. To calculate the Total Points Against Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, total the points each team involved in the tie has had scored against them. (Example: Team A has had a total of 50 points scored against them during all games played so the Team A Total Points Against is 50.) The team with the lowest Total Points Against number is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Average Points Differential" Definition
The Average Points Differential Tie Breaker ranks teams by the number of Average Differential points (or runs) each team involved in the tie has for all games played. To calculate the Average Points Differential Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, total the Total Points Differential points by adding up the number of points each team won or lost in each game. (Example: Team A has beaten teams during all games they played by a total of 50-40 so Team A has 10 positive Differential points.) Third, divide the Total Points Differential by the number of games used to derive the Total Points Differential. The result is the Average Points Differential. The team with the highest positive Average Points Differential number is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Average Points For" Definition
The Average Points For Tie Breaker ranks teams by the average number of points (or runs) each team involved in the tie has scored for all games played. To calculate the Average Points For Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, calculate the Total Points For of each team involved in the tie. (Example: Team A has scored a total of 50 points during all games played so the Team A Total Points For is 50.) Third, divide the Total Points For by the number of games used to derive the Total Points For. The result is the Average Points For. The team with the highest Average Points For number is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Average Points Against" Definition
The Average Points Against Tie Breaker ranks teams by the average number of points (or runs) each team involved in the tie has had scored against them for all games played. To calculate the Average Points Against Tie Breaker, first, list the teams who are tied. Second, calculate the Total Points Against of each team involved in the tie. (Example: Team A has had a total of 50 points scored against them during all games played so the Team A Total Points Against is 50.) Third, divide the Total Points Against by the number of games used to derive the TotalPoints Against. The result is the Average Points For. The team with the highest Average Points For number is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Total Calculated Points" Definition
The Total Calculated Points Tie Breaker has been retired because there are so many variations by Organization of how total points can be calculated. Thus, TeamSideline has created the ability for you to completely customize the Points calculated for any League in your Site. You can do this by going to Schedules>Configurations>Custom Points and creating a Custom Points configuration. You can implement any Custom Points configuration either by Sport from the "Game Scoring Configuration" section on the Schedule>Configurations>Sport Defaults page, or, by Division from the Configuration>Scoring page of any Division.
Standings are first calculated using Games Back unless the sport type is soccer or indoor soccer (both soccer types use Points) or you have selected a Custom Points Configuration. If there is a tie after the initial calculation, the rest of the tie breaker configurations will be used to break the tie or ties.
"Lowest Number of Forfeits" Definition
The Lowest Number of Forfeits Tie Breaker ranks teams by the Lowest Number of Forfeits for each team involved in the tie. The team with the Lowest Number of Forfeits is the winner.
If the tie breaker does not resolve the tie, then the next tie breaker in the Tie Breaker Order section list is used. If this is the last tie breaker in the list then the teams remain tied.
"Coin Toss" Definition
For Team Sideline, when Teams are created in TeamSideline they are automatically randomly assigned different whole numbers. For a Coin Toss tie breaker, the team with the highest randomly assigned number wins.
It is not possible for 2 teams to have the same randomly assigned different whole number so it is common for this to be the last tie breaker used in the Tie Breaker Order.