Tiebreaker Rules
How BUSTRS determines standings order when teams have identical records.
Regular Season Standings
In Head-to-Head leagues, ties in matchups are allowed — both teams receive half a win. The tiebreaker chain below determines seeding order in the standings, which affects playoff positioning.
Win Percentage
The team with the better overall win percentage ranks higher. Ties count as half a win.
Total Points For (PF)
If win percentage is identical, the team that scored more total points across the season ranks higher.
Head-to-Head Record
If still tied, the team with more wins in games between the two tied teams ranks higher.
Point Differential (PF − PA)
If head-to-head is also tied, the team with the larger margin between points scored and points allowed ranks higher.
Coin Flip
If all four criteria are identical, order is effectively random. This is extremely rare with decimal scoring.
Example: 2-Way Tie
Team Alpha and Team Bravo finish the regular season with identical 7-7 records.
| Team | Record | PF | PA | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | 7-7 | 412.5 | 398.2 | +14.3 |
| Bravo | 7-7 | 412.5 | 410.1 | +2.4 |
Note: Even though Alpha and Bravo had identical PF, Alpha won more of their head-to-head matchups. If H2H were also tied (e.g. 1-1), it would fall to point differential where Alpha's +14.3 beats Bravo's +2.4.
Example: 3-Way Tie
Three teams — Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie — all finish 8-6. This is a playoff cutline scenario: only 4 teams make the playoffs and the 4th seed is up for grabs.
| Team | Record | PF | PA | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | 8-6 | 445.8 | 401.2 | +44.6 |
| Bravo | 8-6 | 431.0 | 418.5 | +12.5 |
| Charlie | 8-6 | 445.8 | 440.3 | +5.5 |
Now it's a 2-way tie between Alpha and Charlie (both 445.8 PF):
The sort processes pairs: when comparing Alpha vs Bravo, PF breaks it. When comparing Alpha vs Charlie, it falls through PF (tied) → H2H (tied 1-1) → point differential.
Playoff Matchup Ties
Single Elimination
If a playoff matchup ends in a tie, the higher seed advances. Seeds are determined by the regular season standings (using the tiebreaker chain above).
Example: #3 seed ties #6 seed in Round 1 → #3 seed wins and advances.
Shoot-Out
All playoff teams compete across every playoff week. The team with the highest cumulative score across all playoff weeks wins the championship. No bracket, no elimination — just total points.
If two teams have identical cumulative scores, the higher seed wins — just like single elimination.
Roto Leagues
Roto leagues have no matchups — standings are based purely on total points. If two teams have identical season totals, this chain breaks the tie:
Total Points Scored
The team with more cumulative bust points across the season ranks higher.
Highest Single-Player Score
The team whose single best player performance (one player, one week) was higher ranks first.
Highest Single-Week Team Total
The team with the best single-week team score across all weeks ranks higher.
Coin Flip
If all three criteria are identical, order is effectively random. Extremely rare with decimal scoring.