In the event of a tie in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season the following rules are applied.
By these rule if Hamilton and Montreal tie in the standings Hamilton will need to win the final game vs Montreal by 8 pts.
The rule states:
When two or more member Clubs are tied in the final Division standings at the conclusion of the regular season schedule, preferential ranking for playoff purposes shall be determined on the basis of the following descending-order priorities and shall be awarded to the Club that:
has won the greater number of games played against all member Clubs of the League, then,
has the higher winning percentage in all games played against all of the other tied Club(s), then,
has scored the higher net aggregate of points (i.e. points scored for less points scored against) in all games played against all of the other tied Club(s), then,
has scored the higher net quotient of points (i.e. points scored for divided by points scored against) in all games played against all of the other tied Club(s), then,
has the higher winning percentage in all games played against all member Clubs of the Division, then,
has scored the higher net aggregate of points in games played against all member Clubs of the Division, then,
has scored the higher quotient of points in games played against all member Clubs of the Division, then,
has scored the higher net aggregate of points in games played against all member Clubs of the League, then,
has scored the higher net quotient of points in games played against all member Clubs of the League, then,
has won a coin toss against the other tied Club.
Note: If two Clubs remain tied after other Club(s) are eliminated during any step, tie breaker reverts to step a).
So does that last part mean, if there is a three way tie, after first place is determined, we run through the formula again. If so, next week a win lets us clinch.
I’m trying to do this math in my head. If we beat Toronto, they can’t beat us in a two-way tie. Even if they win their last two games and we lose our last two, we’d both be 8-10 but we have the season series.
But let’s say it’s a three-way tie at 8-10, with the following outcomes:
We beat Toronto but lose our last two
Toronto wins its last two against Montreal and Ottawa
Montreal loses to Ottawa and Toronto but then beats us
In that case, the tiebreaker becomes wins in games among the three teams. We have two wins (both against Toronto). Toronto has three (one against us, two against Montreal - including an Aug 1 game). Montreal has three (two against us, one against Toronto). They can’t award first place in that scenario, but they could determine third place - and drop us.
You would then get into points for and against. It is possible to go through all the various steps outlined in the rule and still have a tie. Maybe if there is they go “to the command center” for a final decision! LOL
Is that true? My guess is no because of the scenario laid out by ExPat that even winning next week we could still end in a three way tie and be eliminated. But I’m not sure.
If we beat the Argos on Saturday - is it still possible for us to miss the playoffs? Does anybody know the answer to that for sure?
If HAM beats TOR on Saturday, the best TOR could do would be to tie HAM in the final standings. And, if that occurred, HAM would win the tie-breaker with their 2-1 record vs. TOR. For this to occur, HAM would have to lose their final two games and that means MTL would beat HAM for the 2nd time. If MTL also won their game next week in OTT, MTL would then end up with one more win than HAM and TOR and they’d get 1st place, while HAM would get 2nd, winning the tie-breaker with TOR.
ONLY if all of the above happens, with the exception that MTL LOSES in OTT, would there be a 3-way tie at the end of the season. In that case, the win-loss records of the three teams in games against each other would be the tie-breaker and MTL (3-2 /.600) would get 1st, TOR (3-3 /.500) 2nd, and HAM (2-3 /.400) would be out.
That scenario of how the 3-way tie would be decided is my understanding of the tie-breaking rules. However, I can’t say for sure that it’s fact.
I previously believed, and posted in another thread, that a HAM win in TOR on Saturday would guarantee HAM a playoff spot and a home playoff game. “After further review,” I now believe that was incorrect because of the, still-remaining, possibility
of a three way tie at the finish.
So basically, it works out like this, we run through the worst case scenario with us winning over Toronto. That being we lose out and Toronto beats Montreal @home and wins out. All teams are at 8-10 so tiebreaker comes to play.
Montreal - 1/3 vs Toronto, 2/2 vs Hamilton
Toronto - 2/3 vs Montreal 1/3 vs Hamilton
Hamilton - 2/3 vs Toronto, 0/2 vs Montreal
So, step 1 takes effect (has the higher winning percentage in all games played against all of the other tied Club(s)) Hamilton gets eliminated. We revert back to step 1. Toronto beats Montreal and wins the division. Hamilton and Montreal remain tied, step 1 occurs again, we get knocked out.
Hmm…so this is getting confusing and nebulous, so lets shift the focus not to winning the division and how we clinch, and move onto how we beat the Argos this week.
Now I am just more confused. My understanding was even with a three way tie Hamilton by winning next Saturday would finish ahead of Toronto based on the season series. BUT I dunno after reading the rule a few more times. LOL
Confusion reins!
Tcmik
Well that would be true of Montreal too since we only play each other twice. Argos only play Ottawa twice and they aren’t even in contention. Problem this year is that we only play 8 games within our own division because of the extra team in the west. Be nice if they could adjust the schedule so that we at least play the same number of inter-divisional games as extra-divisional games (9 and 9).
Well the solution is clear for the Ticats - just win the final three games !!!
