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.
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.
The Rugby Football League Championship, is the second highest division of rugby league in Britain after the Super League.
Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each university's internal champions competing in the Koshuis Rugby Championships. In 2011, a second tier competition called the Varsity Shield was added, increasing the number of participating universities to thirteen. A Young Guns tournament for the Under-20 side of the Varsity Cup teams was launched in 2012. A further expansion for the 2017 season saw three additional universities added to the Varsity Shield, totaling sixteen teams.
This is a list of the 2010 Super League season results. Super League is the top-flight rugby league competition in the United Kingdom and France. The 2010 season started on 29 January, when Crusaders RL played their rearranged round 4 fixture against Leeds Rhinos, and will end on 2 October with the 2010 Super League Grand Final.
This is a list of the 2011 Super League season results. Super League is the top-flight rugby league competition in the United Kingdom and France. The 2011 season started on 12 February, with the Magic Weekend at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and ended on 8 October with the 2011 Super League Grand Final.
The 2012 Varsity Cup was contested from 6 February to 9 April 2012. The tournament was the fifth season of the Varsity Cup, an annual inter-university rugby union competition featuring eight South African universities.
This is a list of the 2012 Super League season results. Super League is the top-flight rugby league competition in the United Kingdom and France. The 2012 season started on 4 February and ended on 6 October with the 2012 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford. The Magic Weekend was scheduled over the weekend of 26 and 27 May and was played at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester for the first time, having previously been played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.
This is a list of the 2013 RFL Championship season results. The Championship is the second-tier rugby league competition in the United Kingdom. The 2013 season started on 31 January and ends on 29 September with the Grand Final at Leigh Sports Village in Leigh, Greater Manchester, which replaces the previous venue of the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington. 2013 is the first season to consist of a 14-team division, with the league expanding from 10 teams following the promotion of the top 4 teams from the 2012 Championship 1 season, Barrow Raiders, Doncaster, Whitehaven and Workington Town.
The 2015 Rugby Football League Championship, known as the Kingstone Press Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the Super League.
The 2015 St Helens R.F.C. season is the club's 141st in its history; its 120th in rugby league. The Saints entered the season as defending champions after winning the Super League XIX title against Wigan Warriors 14-6 at Old Trafford after also winning the minor-premiership by topping the Super League ladder. Following the departure of previous head coach Nathan Brown, Saints entered the season with a new coach, former Saints player Keiron Cunningham
The Rugby League Super 8s were a feature of the British rugby league system, between 2015 and 2018, and were played in the top three professional divisions. Following the completion of the regular season home-and-away fixtures in the Super League, the Championship and League 1, teams split into smaller divisions of 8 based on their finishing positions on the league table; the teams then played an additional fixture against each of the seven other teams in their division to determine the final standings.
The 2016 Rugby Football League Championship, known as Kingstone Press Championship due to sponsorship by Kingstone Press Cider, was a rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2016 season was the second to consist of a new structure combining the championship and super league divisions three quarters of the way through the season.
The 2016 Super 8s were a feature of the British rugby league system, between 2015 and 2018, and were played in the top three professional divisions.
The 2017 Rugby Football League Championship, known as Kingstone Press Championship due to sponsorship by Kingstone Press Cider, is a rugby league football competition predominantly played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2017 season was the third to consist of a new structure combining the championship and super league divisions three quarters of the way through the season.
The 2017 League 1, known as the Kingstone Press League 1 for sponsorship reasons, was a professional rugby league football competition played in England, Wales and Canada, the third tier of the sport for RFL affiliated clubs.
The 2017 Super 8s were the third season of the Rugby Football League domestic competition in which the format of splitting teams after a certain number of games have been played.
The 2018 Rugby Football League Championship is a rugby league football competition played primarily in the United Kingdom, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2018 season is the fourth to consist of the Super 8s structure combining the Championship and Super League three-quarters of the way through the season.
This is a list of the 2018 RFL Championship season results. The Championship is the second-tier rugby league competition in the United Kingdom. The season is scheduled to begin on February 2.
Dewsbury Rams 
Sheffield Eagles 
Batley Bulldogs 
Workington Town 
Leigh Centurions 
Bradford Bulls 
London Broncos 
Doncaster 
Whitehaven 
Halifax 
Featherstone Rovers 
Hunslet Hawks