Teams to advance into the playoffs will be determined first by their win/loss record. In the event of ties, the tie will be broken based upon "head-to-head points against" for the teams involved in the tie. The lowest number of points against wins the tie. In the event of more than two teams tied for more than one place, the slots will be filled from lowest points against to highest. Every point counts! If after exhausting all points comparisons, two teams are tied on points, then a tie break game will be played to 11 points.

Example #1:

Team A Wins 1 Losses 3
Team B Wins 3 Losses 1
Team C Wins 3 Losses 1
Team D Wins 0 Losses 4
Team E Wins 3 Losses 1

A vs B 8 - 15 Winner B
C vs D 15 - 6 Winner C
E vs A 15 - 7 Winner E
B vs D 15 - 2 Winner B
C vs E 11 - 15 Winner E
D vs A 12 - 15 Winner A
B vs C 16 - 17 Winner C
D vs E 11 - 15 Winner E
A vs C 0 - 15 Winner C
E vs B 10 - 15 Winner B

Since teams B, C and E tied with 3 wins and 1 loss, the three underlined games are used to calculate points against. (The underlined games are the ones where the three tied teams played each other... "head-to-head") "Points-against" are the number of points the team gave up/allowed the other teams to score.

Team B points against = 17 + 10 = 27
Team C points against = 15 + 16 = 31
Team E points against = 11 + 15 = 26

Team E had the fewest points against and therefore makes the playoffs as the court's 1st place team. Team B has the next lowest points against and therefore makes the playoffs as the court's 2nd place team. Team C does not make the playoffs.

Example #2:

Team A Wins 2 Losses 2
Team B Wins 2 Losses 2
Team C Wins 2 Losses 2
Team D Wins 4 Losses 0
Team E Wins 0 Losses 4

A vs B 15 - 10 Winner A
C vs D 6 - 15 Winner D
E vs A 12 - 15 Winner A
B vs D 3 - 15 Winner D
C vs E 15 - 8 Winner C
D vs A 15 - 7 Winner D
B vs C 15 - 11 Winner B
D vs E 0 - 15 Winner D
A vs C 10 - 15 Winner C *
E vs B 6 - 15 Winner B

Since team D has the best win/loss record, team D make the playoffs as the court's 1st place team.

Since teams A, B and C tied for second, the three underlined games are used to calculate points against as the first step in determining who is the court's 2nd place team.

Team A points against = 10 + 15 = 25
Team B points against = 15 + 11 = 26
Team C points against = 15 + 10 = 25

Team B has the most points against and is eliminated. Since teams A and C tied on points in the three-way tie and team B has been eliminated, we now have a two-way tie between teams A and C. We then recalculate points against in the games where teams A and C played head-to-head. There is only one such game, the one with an asterisk.

Team A points against = 15
Team C points against = 10

Team C was the winner of that game and not surprisingly had the fewest points against in the two-way tie with team A. Team C makes the playoffs as the court's 2nd place team.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Why only the "head-to-head" games? Why not take all the games when calculating points against?

A: Remember that "points against" are used to break ties. To break the tie we want to know how the tied teams performed against one another, not all the teams. This way teams not involved in the tie do not affect the outcome of the tie breaker.

Q: Why "lowest points against"? Why not use "highest points for"?

A: We use "points against" so that teams are not penalized for things they cannot control (i.e. games where they do not play). Take the following example where teams A, B and C are in a three-way tie. The head to head game results are as follows:

A vs B 12 - 15 Winner B
B vs C 11 - 15 Winner C
A vs C 15 - 13 Winner A

Team A points against = 15 + 13 = 28
Team B points against = 12 + 15 = 27
Team C points against = 11 + 15 = 26

Using lowest points against, Team C is 1st, Team B is 2nd and Team A is eliminated.

Team A points for = 12 + 15 = 27
Team B points for = 15 + 11 = 26
Team C points for = 15 + 13 = 28

Using highest points for, Team C is still 1st, but Team A would be 2nd and Team B would be eliminated. Team B would be eliminated even though they beat Team A in their head to head match!

Why the switch? Using "points for", 2nd place was determined in favor of how Teams A and B scored against Team C. In "points against" 2nd place was determined in favor of how Teams A and B scored against each other. Using "points against" is the fairer system.

If all this seems too confusing, just remember this... EVERY POINT COUNTS !! WIN YOUR GAMES QUICKLY GIVING UP AS FEW POINTS TO YOUR OPPONENTS AS POSSIBLE !!!