Sudden death ( sport ) In a sport or game , sudden death ( or a sudden - death round ) is a form of competition where play ends as soon as one competitor is ahead of the others , with that competitor becoming the winner . Sudden death is typically used as a tiebreaker when a contest is tied at the end of the normal playing time or the completion of the normal playing task . An alternative tiebreaker method is to play a reduced version of the original ; for example , in association football 30 minutes of extra time ( overtime ) after 90 minutes of normal time , or in golf one playoff round ( 18 holes ) after four standard rounds ( 72 holes ) . Sudden - death playoffs typically end more quickly than these reduced replays . Reducing the variability of the event ' s duration assists those scheduling television time and team travel . Fans may see sudden death as exciting and suspenseful , or they may view the format as insufficiently related to the sport played during regulation time . Sudden death provides a victor for the contest without a specific amount of time being required . It may be called " next score wins " or similar , although in some games , the winner may result from penalization of the other competitor for a mistake . Sudden death may instead be called sudden victory to avoid the mention of death , particularly in sports with a high risk of physical injury . This variant became one of announcer Curt Gowdy ' s idiosyncrasies in 1971 when the AFC divisional championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins went into overtime . North American professional sports using a sudden - death method of settling a tied game include the National Football League , the National Hockey League and , in a modified sense , the PGA Tour ( golf ) . Baseball uses a unique method of tie - breaking that incorporates elements of sudden death . In some goal - scoring games sudden - death extra time may be given in which the first goal scored wins ; in association football it is called the " golden goal " . In American sports , the winning score is a walk - off , as the players can immediately walk off the field . Ice hockey . Sudden - death overtime has traditionally been used in playoff and championship games in hockey . It has been used in the National Hockey League throughout the league ' s history . The first NHL game with sudden - death overtime was game four of the 1919 Stanley Cup Finals . Currently , the NHL , American Hockey League , and ECHL also use the sudden - death system in their regular seasons , playing a five - minute overtime period when the score is tied at the end of regulation time . In 2000 , the AHL reduced the teams to four players each during the five - minute overtime . ( But any two - man advantage is administered with five - on - three play rather than four - on - two . ) The ECHL and NHL both changed to the four - on - four overtime format in 2001 , with the International Olympic Committee following by no later than 2010 . If neither team scores during this period , the teams use a penalty - shot shootout , consisting of three players in the NHL or five players in the minor leagues ( AHL , ECHL , UHL , Central ) , to determine the winner . In the NHL , if no team wins this shootout , a 1 - by - 1 , sudden - death shootout ensues . No player may shoot twice until every non - goaltender on the bench has taken a shot . During championship playoffs , however , all games are played to a conclusion resulting in a victory for one team and a loss for the other . These are true sudden - death games , which have gone on into as many as six additional full 20 - minute periods with five players , instead of the five - minute period with four players . International hockey uses a penalty - shot shootout for knockout rounds if neither team scores after one 20 - minute , sudden - death overtime period . The shootout is decided round by round ( in other words , if one team scores in the first round and the other does not , the game is over , unlike most professional leagues ) , and players can shoot as many times as the team desires . ( There is no overtime in round - robin games . ) American football . The National Football League uses a modified sudden - death system in the regular season . Prior to 1974 , an NFL regular - season game tied at the end of regulation time ended as a tie . Sudden - death overtime was used only in playoff games , with the 1958 NFL championship ending in overtime . In 1974 , however , the NFL adopted a 15 - minute sudden - death overtime period . The game ends as a tie if neither team scores in overtime . When a team gets near the end zone , it typically tries to kick a field goal . An overtime game can also be won by scoring a touchdown . This usually happens on a play that begins far enough away from the end zone to make a field goal difficult , but it can also result from a team exercising solid ball control and simply never getting to a fourth - down situation . ( The touchdown ends the game and no extra point is attempted . ) Only twice has an overtime game been won by a safety . In recent years , sportscasters have referred to such scoring plays as " walk - offs , " as both teams can walk off the field after the play . During championship playoffs , all games are played to a conclusion resulting in a victory for one team and a loss for the other . Any game tied after 60 minutes goes into an overtime period . Prior to the 2010 NFL season , all overtime games played during playoffs used the same format as the regular season : sudden death overtime . Starting with the 2010 NFL playoffs , if the team that wins the coin toss only scores a field goal during its first possession , the opposing team will get a possession ; if the coin toss winning team scores a touchdown , the game ends . If the game remains tied after the opposing team ' s possession , then the game will go into sudden death . Overtime periods will be played until the tie is broken . For information on games that have taken a long time under sudden death , see Overtime . Arena football . In arena football , each team is allowed one overtime possession , after which the team with the most points is the winner . If the score is still tied , however , sudden death goes into effect . ( A similar , sudden - death format , with a 10 - minute limit , was used in the NFL Europa League . ) Prior to the 2006 season , if the score was tied at the end of regulation , the arena leagues used extra time ; one additional 15 - minute quarter of sudden death was played . If the score was still tied , the game would be declared a tie game . A game between the Dallas Desperados and the Nashville Kats ended in a 41 - 41 tie on April 8 , 2005 . Golf . In individual match play , players level after the regulation 18 or 36 holes will play extra holes in sudden death . In team tournaments , players may gain half a point each for a tie rather than play sudden death ; this is the case in the Ryder Cup , for example . In the Presidents Cup , there was provision for a single - player sudden death shootout if the entire competition ended in a tie . When this came to pass in 2003 , the tiebreak was unfinished at dusk . There was no provision for an extra day ' s play , and both team captains agreed to declare the match tied and share the trophy . Traditionally , professional stroke play golf tournaments ending in a tie were played off the next day with an eighteen - hole match . Modern considerations such as television coverage and the tight travel schedule of most leading golfers have led to this practice being almost entirely abandoned , and in all but the most important tournaments , the champion is determined by sudden death . All players tied after the completion of regulation play are taken to a predetermined hole , and then play it and others in order as needed . If more than two players are tied , each player who scores higher on a hole than the other competitors is immediately eliminated , and those still tied continue play until one remaining player has a lower score for a hole than any of the others remaining , and that player is declared the winner . Of the four men ' s major championships , only The Masters uses a sudden - death playoff format . The U . S . Open still uses an 18 - hole playoff at stroke play on the day after the main tournament , with sudden death if two ( or more ) contestants remain tied after 18 holes . The Open Championship uses a four - hole total - stroke playoff , while the PGA Championship uses a three - hole total - stroke playoff . In both cases , sudden death is used if a tie exists at the end of the scheduled playoff . Baseball and softball . Baseball and softball are not true sudden - death sports , but they have one comparable situation . Baseball and softball games cannot end until both teams have had an equal number of turns at bat , unless further play cannot affect the outcome . In the final scheduled inning ( typically , the ninth ) , if the visitors complete their turn at bat and still trail the hosts , the game ends . If the visitors lead or the game is tied , the hosts take their " last ups " at bat . If the hosts should exceed the visitors ' score , the game ends at the moment this occurs . ( If the final scheduled inning ends in a tie , one or more extra innings are played with the same implications as the final scheduled inning . ) The ability to bat last is an advantage of being the home team . It is said that " visitors must play to win ; hosts need only play to tie " because tying forces an extra inning . A tied game in the bottom of the final scheduled inning puts pressure on the visitors . For example , with a runner on third base and fewer than two outs , the visitors cannot afford even to get certain types of out that would let the game - ending run score after the out . A scoring play that ends the game is called a walk - off , because after the runner scores the winning run everyone can walk off the field . A walk - off home run is an exception to the rule stated above ; the game does not end when the winning run scores , but continues until the batter and all runners score ( provided they run the bases correctly ) . Association football . Sudden death has a controversial history in football . Important matches were traditionally resolved by replaying the entire match , however in the era of television and tight travel schedules this is often impracticable . Replays are still used in some major competitions ( like the FA Cup ) . In many matches , if the score is tied after the full 90 minutes , a draw results ; however , if one team must be eliminated , some form of tie - breaking must occur . Originally , two 15 - minute halves of extra time were held and if the teams remained equal at the end of the halves , kicks from the penalty mark were held . To try to decrease the chances of requiring kicks from the penalty mark , the IFAB , the world law making body of the sport , experimented with new rules . The golden goal rule transformed the overtime periods into sudden death until the periods were over , where shootouts would occur . As this became unpopular , the silver goal rule was instituted , causing the game to end if the scores were not equal after the first 15 minute period as well as the second . The silver goal has also fallen into disrepute so Euro 2004 was the last event to use it ; after which the original tie - breaking methods were restored . The main criticism of golden goal is the quickness of ending the game , and the pressure on coaches and players . Once a goal is scored , the game is over and the opponent cannot attempt to answer the goal within the remaining time . Therefore , teams would place more emphasis on not conceding a goal rather than scoring a goal , and many golden goal extra time periods remained scoreless . Sudden death would have made many legendary matches of the past impossible . Many historical matches have been settled in flamboyant extra - time play , with multiple goals scored by each team , such as the unforgettable " Game of the Century " between Italy and West Germany in Mexico 1970 , with Italy winning 4 – 3 after extra time . Following a 1 – 1 draw in regular time , the remaining five out of seven scores happened in the extra time . If sudden death had been in effect , the game would have ended on Gerd Müller ' s goal at 95 ' , giving West Germany the victory instead of Italy . In NCAA collegiate play in the United States , however , sudden death , adopted in 1999 for all championship play in addition to regular season play , remains . In 2005 , the Division II Women ' s Championship game ended in sudden death as a goal was scored three minutes into the overtime to end the championship match . Sudden death is also prevalent in youth play , for the safety of players . If the teams are still tied after the initial allocated number in a penalty shootout , the game goes to sudden - death penalties , where each team takes a further one penalty each , repeated until only one team scores , resulting in the winning of the game . Rugby league . Drawn National Rugby League and State of Origin games are subject to sudden death extra time after 80 minutes of play , called the golden point . Golden point consists of two five - minute halves , with the teams swapping ends at the end of the first half . Any score ( try , penalty goal , or field goal ) in golden point wins the game for the scoring team - no conversion is attempted if a try is the winning score . In the NRL , the victor in golden point receives two competition points , the loser none . In the event that no further scoring occurs , the game is drawn , and each team receives one point each . Rugby union . In the knockout stages of rugby competitions , most notably the Rugby World Cup , a match drawn after 80 minutes does not proceed immediately to sudden death conditions . 20 minutes of non - sudden death extra time are played first , if scores are level after 100 minutes then the rules call for 20 minutes of sudden - death extra time to be played . If the sudden - death extra time period results in no scoring a kicking competition is used to determine the winner . However , no match in the history of the Rugby World Cup has ever gone past 100 minutes into a sudden - death extra time period . Tennis and volleyball . In contrast with the usual sudden - death procedure of awarding the victory to the next side to score , tennis and volleyball require that the margin of victory be two . A volleyball game tied at the target score continues until one team ' s score exceeds the other ' s by two points . The traditional requirement that a tennis set be won by two games sometimes resulted in five - set matches lasting six hours or longer , which is a major disruption to a television schedule . To shorten matches , sets tied at six games each can now be broken by a single tiebreaker game . This is awarded to the first player to score seven points . The winner must lead the loser by two points , so tiebreaker games can become lengthy in their own right . Tiebreakers are not used in major tournaments in the final set , except at the US Open . Fencing . An individual fencing bout lasts for five touches in a poule match , or 15 touches in a direct elimination ( DE ) match . In épée and foil , matches are also timed ( three minutes for a poule match , and three periods of three minutes for a DE ) . If neither fencer has reached five or 15 points within the time limit , the leading fencer is deemed the winner . However , if the fencers are tied after the allotted time , one minute of extra time is added . Before resuming the bout , one fencer is randomly awarded " priority " . The first fencer to score a valid hit within extra time wins the match ; if no valid hits are scored within the time , that fencer with priority is declared the victor . In the normal course of a match , there is a de facto sudden death situation if both fencers are tied at four ( or 14 ) touches each . The final hit is called " la belle " . The fencers may salute each other before playing for the final point . Computer gaming . Sudden death also occurs in computer gaming when both teams have the same score and a method of breaking a tie is needed . For example , in a Capture the Flag area for " Quake III Arena " , when neither team has gotten a score , or if no team leads , a sudden death match will decide who will be the victor . All the teams have to do is get the flag and deliver it to the base one time only in order to win automatically . In other games , players have some handicap in order to end the game faster ; for example , in a Super Smash Bros . sudden death round , players fight beginning at 300 % damage , which usually causes the game to end almost immediately after a blow is dealt . If not then bombs start to rain . Board games . In board game s such as chess where there is a time limit , " sudden death " refers to a requirement that " all " the remaining moves , rather than a fixed number of moves , be played within the remaining time allotted . This ensures an upper limit for how long games can last . Some games are played with an immediate sudden death time control , others have one or more regular time controls before the sudden death control . Game shows . In most international versions of the game show " Duel " , if two contestants do not cover the correct answer to a regular question when the duel is in process , the duel goes to a sudden death question called a " Shootout " . For this sudden death question , the contestants who are participating get 4 new chips each , and there are no accelerators or presses available . If only one contestant answers correctly , the contestant who has the answer wins . If both contestants get the answer correct , the contestant who covered fewer choices wins , but if both contestants do not cover the correct answer to the shootout question , they are both eliminated ( that happens automatically if both contestants are wrong during the duel in international versions that do not have sudden death ) . In a situation in which both contestants covered the same amount of choices during sudden death , both contestants win the duel , and one of the contestants , picked at random , must leave the show . In some instances , if a winner cannot be determined on the question , multiple Shootouts may occur until a winner is determined . In that case , the tie - breakers that do not determine a winner may be edited out of the final broadcast . In the game show BrainSurge , the last two players standing will match pictures . When someone gets one wrong , host Jeff Sutphen declares the game to be in " sudden death territory " . At that point , the next person to make a valid match wins the game . In " The Weakest Link " , if the final round of questions ends in a tie ( usually after three or five questions ) , the players will go into a sudden death round . If a player successfully answers a question and his opponent does not in the round , they win the game . If both miss or are successful in a round , they go to another question . Again , tie - breakers that do not produce a winner may be edited out of the final broadcast . On " Wheel of Fortune " , in the relatively rare event of a tie , the tied contestants square off in a Toss - Up round to determine which player goes on to the bonus round . Previously , in the event of a tie , the game was declared a draw and the bonus round was not played . On " Jeopardy ! " , games are allowed to end in ties , except in tournament play . In the event of a tie in a tournament round , a sudden - death " ring - in " clue is given . Many other game shows feature a sudden - death playoff ; usually , the next player to answer a question correctly wins . Often , the rules of sudden death provide that in the event a wrong answer is given , the opposing team wins , even though wrong answers may otherwise not be penalized . Occasionally , the format is a numeric question , with the player making the closer guess winning . Professional wrestling . Sudden death in wrestling is most commonly seen in Real Canadian Wrestling tournament matches , in which a victor must be decided . This happens in the case of a double knockout or double countout . In the United States , Sudden Death rules occurs mainly in an Iron Man match when there is a tie after the time limit have expired . An example that invoked sudden death occurred in the 2005 Royal Rumble . John Cena and Batista were left , and both men ' s feet touched the ground at the same time . A comparable draw leading to sudden death might happen if the shoulders of a wrestler applying a submission move are on the mat . Judo . In the case of a tie in competition judo , the match proceeds to Golden Score , another form of Sudden Death . Sudden Death in competition Judo consists of a 5 minute long match , during which the first competitor to achieve a score is awarded the match . Penalties in Judo award points to the other competitor , making fair - play of absolute importance . If no victor is decided in Golden Score , the match is decided based on a Referee ' s Decision . A Referee ' s Decision is a vote amongst the Referee and both Judges of the match . Mixed martial arts . In mixed martial arts competitions that consist of an even number of rounds , a type of sudden death is sometimes used in the event that each competitor wins an equal number of rounds . This is not a true sudden death that ends on the first point scored , since MMA competitions do not generally score individual points . Rather , it is a final round of combat , the winner of which is declared the winner of the match . This particular rule , known as " Sudden Victory " , has been commonly seen in previous seasons of the reality television show " The Ultimate Fighter " when the competition has consisted of two rounds .