History Main / TiebreakerRound

* In UsefulNotes/{{tennis}}, the US Open between 1970 and 1974 implemented a sudden-death tiebreaker in which the first player to reach 5 points won the set. During that time, most tournaments other than the Grand Slams moved to a "lingering death" tiebreaker at 6–6 in which the first to score at least 7 points, and with at least a 2-point lead, winning the set. The US Open adopted this format in 1975. Note that many tournaments won't use the tiebreaker for the final set, requiring a clear winner by at least 2 games. From 2019–2021, the Australian Open used a tiebreaker to 10 points instead of the standard 7 (but still with a 2-point lead needed to win), and Wimbledon used the standard 7-point tiebreaker for the final set if it reached 12–12 instead of 6–6. The French Open was the last remaining Grand Slam event to not use a tiebreaker for the final set. In 2022, all four Grand Slams adopted the 10-point tiebreaker, implemented when any set reaches 6–6.

* In the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':

** In TournamentPlay, the built-in Sudden Death [[ObviousRulePatch is ignored]] due to how it works severely tilting the balance in favor of certain characters[[note]]Most notably [[VideoGame/StarFox Fox]], who is a LightningBruiser and thus has a much easier time getting in the first fatal attack, while also thwarting many other characters' best tools for hitting first with his AttackReflector. In later games, characters who get a CriticalStatusBuff at high damage such as [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Lucario]] or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] exacerbate it even further[[/note]]. Instead, a separate tie-breaker round is played, with the same character and stage choice, but only one stock and a much shorter time limit.

* In ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games, Sudden Death only started from the second game onwards. It typically only occurs in objective gametypes like CTF or Assault. In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'', when the time would run out, if a player was still holding the flag or bomb, the game would continue endlessly until a player scored or if no one was holding the flag or bomb for a set amount of time. After some time, Bungie released an update that removed Sudden Death from certain gametypes on Matchmaking because players were holding up games by hiding during Sudden Death. In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' and onward, Sudden Death usually has a time-limit (typically from 30 seconds to one minute), but the game still ends if the flag/bomb isn't being held.

** The 2020 incarnation of the XFL used a series of five two-point conversion plays, similar to penalty kicks in soccer or the shootout in hockey. If the score remained tied after each team takes five turns, the procedure is repeated until the tie is broken. The 2022 incarnation of the USFL also uses a series of conversion plays; however, "sudden death" begins after each team takes three turns.

* If the score is tied after sixty minutes of regulation play during the regular season, the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague NHL]] uses a five-minute sudden-death overtime period. Beginning with the 1998–99 season, the teams played four-on-four hockey (normally it's five-on-five, not counting goalies); starting in 2015–16, it changed to three-on-three. Should the game still be tied, teams go to a shootout (before 2005 it was just left as a tie). In the playoffs, though, teams skate five a side for an unlimited number of twenty-minute periods until someone scores, which can take a while - the record is six overtime periods before someone scored.
* In UsefulNotes/{{tennis}}, the US Open between 1970 and 1974 implemented a sudden-death tie-breaker in which the first player to reach five points won the set. Since then, the US Open and most other associations have used a "lingering death" tie-breaker at 6-6 in which the first to at least seven points with at least a two-point lead is needed to win the set. Note that many tournaments won't use the tiebreaker for the final set, requiring a clear winner by at least two games. Starting from 2019, the Australian open will use a tiebreaker to ten points instead of the standard seven, and Wimbledon will use the standard seven point tiebreaker for the final set if it reaches 12-12 instead of 6-6. The French Open is the last remaining Grand Slam event to not use a tiebreaker for the final set.

* The blitzball game of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' uses the same golden goal rule as Association Football -- if the score is tied at the end of normal play, first to score in overtime is the winner.

** Secondly (most common, from the syndicated version), tie games necessitated an entirely new game with nine new categories, with the pot continuing to increase from where it was (on the first season in 1978-79, there was no bonus to the losing player for any ties, while starting with the second season [1979-80] and continuing to the end of the run in 1986 w/Jim Caldwell, a $250 consolation was awarded to the losing player times the number of ties the losing player caused before the champion won [provided that the challenger did indeed lose; if the challenger became the new champion, this did not apply]; Pete Cooper, one of Thom [=McKee=]'s challengers, had four of these, and received $1000 for the four ties).

** In the later part of the Eubanks era if both contestants won one game each, the "tiebreaker round" went from 3 questions to just 1 Sudden Death one; both contestants then got to see their base card but only the one who won the question got to determine who would play. The same above rules applied.

** Secondly (most common, from the syndicated version), tie games necessitated an entirely new game with nine new categories, with the pot continuing to increase from where it was (on the first season in 1978-79, there was no bonus to the losing player for any ties, while starting with the second season [1979-80] and continuing to the end of the run in 1986 w/Jim Caldwell, a $250 consolation was awarded to the losing player times the number of ties the losing player caused before the champion won; Pete Cooper, one of Thom [=McKee=]'s challengers, had four of these, and received $1000 for the four ties).

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16879955530.96277500 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Used in ''Anime/GundamBuildFightersTry'', when the final round of the national tournament, between Team Try Fighters and Team Celestial Sphere, goes over the time limit. Each team then takes a three-minute break to select a representative (Sekai and Wilfred, respectively) and perform quick patchwork repairs on their Gunpla before the two representatives duke it out in a one-on-one duel. [[spoiler:Sekai wins.]]
[[/folder]]

* Happens as the result of a "double fault" in the climax of ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory''.
* ''Film/SuddenDeath'' is also the name of a Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme film, essentially [[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard at a hockey playoff]]. Incidentally, the game all the fighting takes place around goes into overtime, which becomes plot-relevant as the bomb that was set to blow up the entire arena at the end of the game is allowed to tick onward since the BigBad decides to let the game finish beyond the regular sixty minutes, which gives [=McCord=] more time to stop the whole thing while at the same time ratcheting up the pressure even more since the game can end at any moment.

* ''Series/{{Whew}}'' also had this with the [[{{Lifelines}} "Longshot!"]] If a Charger thought he or she couldn't reach Level 6 of the board before time was up, he/she could yell "Longshot!" This stopped the clock and brought the action to Level 6. The Blocker then got to place a "Secret Block" on Level 6 with one of three secret buttons (host Tom Kennedy reminded the Charger a previously placed Block might be up on Level 6 too). The Charger got one final chance to solve a blooper from Level 6 -- if he/she could find one AND solve it, the Charger won. If a Block was found or the blooper wasn't solved, the Blocker won.

* In ''Series/NickArcade'', when time is running out for the Round, Mikey is sent straight to the Goal, and a sudden death Pop Quiz question is asked, where the first team to buzz in and give the correct answer wins the points and the Goal for the round.

* ''Series/{{Lingo}}'':
** On the Chuck Woolery-hosted era, ties were broken by a seven-letter word being revealed one letter at a time until a team rang in with the right answer.
** The Creator/{{CBS}} revival uses a ten-letter word (in the style of the "Super Lingo" round, with similar mechanics).

* ''TabletopGame/{{Bang}}'': The last "event" card is always High Noon, which stays active until the end of the game since there are no event cards behind it.[[note]]It is explicitly removed before shuffling the event cards at the start of the game, and set as the bottom card.[[/note]] And while it is active, all remaining players each lose one Health per turn.

* "Last Man Standing" in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3''. If you get downed, but still have painkillers, the game goes into BulletTime and you get one last chance to shoot the mook before he finishes you off.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'''s Battle Mode, the arena will shrink once the timer gets low. Indestructible blocks will fall into open spaces and crush any players below them. Normally, this will stop at a certain point leaving a compressed arena; however, there is an option called Sudden Death that will make the blocks continue to fall until every last square is covered. Subverted, however, in that there still can be a draw if multiple players end up surviving until the very last block is dropped and it kills them all at once.

* The blitzball game of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' uses the same golden goal rule as Association Football - if the score is tied at the end of normal play, first to score in overtime is the winner.

** Sudden Death is active in every round of should the round reach the last question and no one has finished their cards. The contestant who wins the question can choose to play (with the option of changing his/her card) or pass (the opponent must play and cannot change cards); whoever plays must complete their row and one mis-guess means the opponent automatically wins.

[[folder:Comedy]]
* Lampshaded by George Carlin in "Baseball/Football":
-->Baseball has no time limit. You don't know when it's gonna end! (''deeper voice'') Football is rigidly timed and will end even if we have to go into '''sudden death!'''
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/GetThePicture'' has Sudden Death if both teams were tied at the end of Round 2.

* Sudden Death is active in every round of ''Series/CardSharks'' should the round reach the last question and no one has finished their cards. The contestant who wins the question can choose to play (with the option of changing his/her card) or pass (the opponent must play and cannot change cards); whoever plays must complete their row and one mis-guess means the opponent automatically wins.

* ''Series/WheelOfFortune'':
** While it's extremely rare, ties have happened a few times. Originally on the nighttime version, ties were broken by a Speed-Up round played only between the two tied contestants. The introduction of the Toss-Up puzzles in 2000 means that ties are now broken by a fourth Toss-Up puzzle between the tied contestants.
** {{Averted|Trope}} on the daytime version prior to the 1989 move to CBS. A tie meant that no BonusRound was played and all three contestants returned the next day. If one of the contestants was a returning champion, the next episode would not count toward their three-game limit. A daytime contestant in 1987 ended up playing ''five'' games due to two consecutive ties. Some recollections mention a tie happening on the Goen era which was decided with a tiebreaker Speed-Up.

* In one Numberwang sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'', after three days with nobody getting Numberwang, they go to Sudden Death, in which the first person to [[ExactWords die from the deadly Numbergas]] wins.
** The Quiz Broadcast (remain indoors) also has a sudden death round, but the third contestant, Unknown Male 282, promptly screams and drops dead before it even begins. Evidently, the show does not operate under the same rules as ''Numberwang''.

* More examples of "sudden death" in sports can be found in Website/TheOtherWiki article [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_death_(sport) here]].

* ''TabletopGame/TwentyTwo'': While the game normally ends when all but one player hits 22 points or greater, with ties being broken by having the lowest score, in the event there is a tie for lowest score, standard tie breaking procedure is to run one last hand between the tied players - winner takes all.

* In the ''[[TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}} Pokemon Trading Card Game]]'', sudden death is played with only one prize card, so whoever grabs the prize card first wins.

* In the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, in the event of a tie, rankings are decided by a round in which everybody starts with 300% damage and only one stock. Last one to get knocked off the stage wins. If a Sudden Death match goes on for too long, [[StuffBlowingUp Bob-ombs]] start raining from the sky. Additionally, in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', flames appear on the sides of the screen and it starts zooming in, making the "blast zones" closer and closer until it stops. If by some freak occurrence another tie manages to occur, the player with the lowest controller port number is declared the winner.

* ''VideoGame/{{Worms}}'' has this, which can manifest in a few ways, depending on the selected options. Poison, set HitPoints to 1, no change to hit points. Usually including the water rising.

A rule in sports, {{Game Show}}s and VideoGames where an end-of-match tie is broken by playing a special round. As Sudden Death is intended to bring a swift conclusion to the contest, the victory conditions for this final round are usually highly abbreviated - often, the first score wins the match.

For an actual sudden death of a character, see DroppedABridgeOnHim or SurprisinglySuddenDeath. For Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme film, see ''Film/SuddenDeath''.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama Island's]]'' penultimate episode, "[[Recap/TotalDramaITripleDogDareYou I Triple Dog Dare You!]]", the final three campers, Heather, Gwen, and Owen, must complete dares devised by the 19 campers who were eliminated before them, either completing the dare themselves to earn a freebie, allowing them to skip a future dare without penalty, or passing the dare to an opponent, with the first to chicken out of a dare automatically losing. After Gwen and Owen team up to take down their mutual enemy Heather, she is forced into a HumiliationConga, doing dare after dare. Eventually, Heather faces a SadisticChoice: either have her head shaved and stay in the game or keep her hair and lose out on the chance for $100,000. As the razor approaches her, Heather panics and kicks the razor in the air...only for it to land on her head and give her a TraumaticHaircut. When Chris announces that Heather is eliminated, she protests, saying that [[ExactWords she got her head shaved]], but Chris retorts that by her kicking the razor, she showed her ''intention'' of refusing the dare.
[[/folder]]

* While it's extremely rare, ties have happened a few times on ''Series/WheelOfFortune''. Originally on the nighttime version, ties were broken by a Speed-Up round played only between the two tied contestants, while the introduction of the Toss-Up puzzles in 2000 means that ties are now broken by a fourth Toss-Up puzzle between the tied contestants. {{Averted|Trope}} on the daytime version, where a tie meant that no BonusRound was played and all three contestants returned the next day (and, if one of the contestants was a returning champion, the next episode would not count toward their three-game limit; according to one recollection, a daytime contestant in 1987 ended up playing ''five'' games due to two consecutive ties.)

** The CBS revival uses a ten-letter word (in the style of the "Super Lingo" round, with similar mechanics).

* On the Chuck Woolery-hosted era of ''Series/{{Lingo}}'', ties were broken by a seven-letter word being revealed one letter at a time until a team rang in with the right answer.

* ''Series/DoubleDare1986'', If both teams are tied at the end of round 2, They would do a ''Tie-Breaker Challenge''.
* ''Series/LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'' If both teams were tied on final temple game. They would bring in the ''Tie-Breaker Gongs'' (Similar to the ones used in Crossing a Moat). Olmec will ask the teams a question. When 1 team rings in the gong and gives out the correct answer will advance to Olmec's temple. Originally, if they get an incorrect answer, their opponents automatically win. Starting in Season 2, the opponents would have to give the correct answer to go to the temple.
* ''Series/{{Whew}}'' also had this with the "Longshot!" If a Charger thought he or she couldn't reach Level 6 of the board before time was up, he/she could yell "LONGSHOT!" This stopped the clock and brought the action to Level 6. The Blocker then got to place a "Secret Block" on Level 6 with one of three secret buttons (host Tom Kennedy reminded the Charger a previously placed Block might be up on Level 6 too). The Charger got one final chance to solve a blooper from Level 6--if he/she could find one AND solve it, the Charger won. If a Block was found or the blooper wasn't solved, the Blocker won.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' invokes this after retiring veteran Strip 'The King' Weathers, perennial runner-up Chick Hicks, and hotshot rookie Lightning [=McQueen=] simultaneously win the scheduled season finale while they were already tied on points. Hicks ended up winning after intentionally wrecking Weathers, which led to Lightning opting not to win despite leading in favor of helping Weathers finish his final race. [[HistoryRepeats Weathers' accident looking eerily similar to Doc Hudson's wreck in '54 helped make Lightning's decision.]]