The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
- One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentrated into a relatively short time interval.
- A competition involving a number of matches, each involving a subset of the competitors, with the overall tournament winner determined based on the combined results of these individual matches. These are common in those sports and games where each match must involve a small number of competitors: often precisely two, as in most team sports, racket sports and combat sports, many card games and board games, and many forms of competitive debating. Such tournaments allow large numbers to compete against each other in spite of the restriction on numbers in a single match.
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of September. In other team sports, like association football or basketball, it is generally from August or September to May although in some countries - such as Northern Europe or East Asia - the season starts in the spring and finishes in autumn, mainly due to weather conditions encountered during the winter.
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County teams compete against each other and the winner is declaired All-Ireland Champions.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
The 1983 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 1982–83 DFB-Pokal, the 40th season of Germany's knockout football cup competition. It was played on 11 June 1983, and was the first and to date the only cup final between two teams from the same city, which was contested between Cologne clubs 1. FC Köln, playing in the Bundesliga, and Fortuna Köln, playing in the 2. Bundesliga. Fittingy, the match took place in Cologne, at the Müngersdorfer Stadion. 1. FC Köln won the derby match 1–0 to claim their 4th cup title.
The 1999 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the 1998–99 DFB-Pokal, the 56th season of Germany's premier knockout football cup competition. It was played on 12 June 1999 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Werder Bremen won the match 5–4 on penalties against Bayern Munich, following a 1–1 draw after extra time, to claim their 4th cup title.
The 1937 Tschammerpokal Final decided the winner of the 1937 Tschammerpokal, the 3rd season of Germany's knockout football cup competition. It was played on 9 January 1938 at the Müngersdorfer Stadion in Cologne. Schalke 04 won the match 2–1 against Fortuna Düsseldorf, to claim their 1st cup title.
The Western German football championship was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principality of Lippe, later to become the Free State of Lippe. The competition was disbanded in 1933 with the rise of the Nazis to power.
The 2003 DFB-Ligapokal Final decided the winner of the 2003 DFB-Ligapokal, the 7th edition of the reiterated DFB-Ligapokal, a knockout football cup competition.
The 1905 German football championship was the third time clubs in Germany competed for the national title under the auspices of the German Football Association (DFB). There were eleven entries into the competition, marking a new record. For the first time, the holders were given an automatic spot in the competition, taken by VfB Leipzig who had won the 1903 German football championship and had reached the final in the year before, when the competition was annulled.
The 1910 German football championship, the eighth edition of the competition and organised by the German Football Association, was won by Karlsruher FV, defeating Holstein Kiel 1–0 in the final.
The 2015–16 EHF Champions League was the 56th edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament and the 23rd edition under the current EHF Champions League format. FC Barcelona Lassa was the defending champion.
The 1959 German football championship Final decided the winner of the 1959 German football championship, the 49th edition of the German football championship, a knockout football cup competition contested by the regional league winners to determine the national champions.
The 1903 German football championship Final decided the winner of the 1903 German football championship, the 1st edition of the German football championship, a knockout football cup competition contested by the regional league winners to determine the national champions. The match was played on 31 May 1903 at the Exerzierweide in Altona. VfB Leipzig won the match 7–2 against DFC Prag to become the first national champions in German football history.
The 1932 German football championship Final decided the winner of the 1932 German football championship, the 25th of the German football championship, a knockout football cup competition contested by the regional league winners to determine the national champions. It was played on 12 June 1932 at the Städtisches Stadion in Nuremberg. Bayern Munich won the match 2–0 against Eintracht Frankfurt, to claim their 1st German title.
The 1904 German football championship Final was to decide the winner of the 1904 German football championship, the 2nd edition of the German football championship, a knockout football cup competition contested by the regional association winners to determine the national champions.
The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
