One-game playoff
tiebreaker in some sports
A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff, tiebreaker game or knockout game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament. Such a playoff is either a single game or a short series of games (such as best-2-of-3).
This is distinguished from the more general usage of the term "playoff", which refers to the post-season tournament itself.
Major League Baseball
One-game playoffs were used in Major League Baseball (MLB) through the 2021 season. When two or more MLB teams were tied for a division championship or the wild card playoff berth (1995–2011, or starting in 2012, the second only) at the end of the regular season, a one-game playoff was used to determine the winner.
If a tie were (from 1995 to 2011) a two-way tie for a division championship and both tied teams' have records higher than those records of the second-place teams in the other divisions, or (from 2012) between the two division non-champions with the untied best record, no one-game playoff was played. In this scenario, the winner of the season series between the two teams wins the tiebreaker for purposes of playoff seeding. Through the 2008 season, home-field advantage for one-game playoffs was determined by a coin flip, but effective from 2009, home advantage was based on a set of performance criteria, with the first tiebreaker being head-to-head record.
For statistical purposes, one-game playoffs were considered part of the regular season. In a 162-game regular season, a one-game playoff was often referred to as “game 163”.
The public source identifies “One-game playoff” as tiebreaker in some sports. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around One-game, playoff and tiebreaker.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “One-game playoff”, the useful work is to connect “tiebreaker in some sports” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7092315. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2021, 1995, 2011 and 2012.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “One-game playoff”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow One-game playoff primary sources, One-game playoff archive and One-game research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “One-game playoff”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “One-game playoff” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.