Tournament Tie Breaking Criteria

Division Rank

A set of tie breaking procedures and criteria are used to rank polo teams within a division during tournament play.

The teams in a division are ranked, from top to bottom, according to their win-loss record of play within the same division.

Five Criteria

Whenever a tie exists, the following 5 criteria are applied in order. Each time a tie is broken, the now untied teams are ranked and the criteria are applied anew to any remaining tied teams:

1. If a tie exists between two teams with equivalent win-loss records, the team that won when the two teams played each other is ranked above the team that lost.
2. If a tie exists between three or more teams with equivalent win-loss records, the tiebreaker is the win-loss records of the tied teams in games against each other. The teams are ranked in descending win-loss order.
3. If a tie remains between three or more teams with equivalent win-loss records, in games against each other, the tiebreaker is the total of each team’s net goals (the sum of a team’s winning margins less losing margins) earned in games against the remaining tied teams. The teams are ranked in descending order of net goals earned.
4. If a tie remains between three or more teams with equivalent net goal records, in games against each other, the tiebreaker is gross goals (the sum of all goals scored by the team, including Penalty No. 1 and handicap goals) scored in games among the remaining tied teams. The teams are ranked in descending order of gross goals.
5. If a tie remains between three or more teams with equivalent gross goals, in games against each other, the Tournament Committee determines the ranking by:
   • Scheduling a playoff game,
   • Using a coin toss,
   • Or any other equitable test as determined by the Tournament Committee.

As the ranking continues through the division, the tie breaking procedures continue to be applied until a final ranking of teams is achieved.