The McIntyre system, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher (usually by allowing higher qualified teams to lose more games or series before being eliminated compared to lower qualified teams). The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lecturer, for the Victorian Football League in 1931.
The first McIntyre system, the Page–McIntyre system, also known as the McIntyre final four system, was adopted by the VFL in 1931,[1] after using three systems since its foundation in 1897, the major system and predecessor to the Page–McIntyre system being the "amended Argus system" that had operated from 1907 to 1923 and 1925 to 1930.
McIntyre also devised the McIntyre final five system for the VFL for 1972, the McIntyre final six system for 1991 (which was revised for 1992) and the McIntyre final eight system for the 1994 season.
The AFL and its fans grew dissatisfied with some of the outcomes the McIntyre final eight system might allow, and replaced it with another final eight system in 2000.
McIntyre finals systems are used prominently throughout Australia. Most Australian rules football leagues, from professional down to suburban, use a McIntyre finals system. The New South Wales Rugby League/National Rugby League has used the McIntyre final four and final five at different times throughout its history, and used the McIntyre final eight system from 1999 until 2011. The Page–McIntyre system is also used in the ANZ Championships (netball), the Australian Baseball League and Women's National Basketball League. It was also used in the A-League (soccer) before that competition expanded its finals series to a top-six format. It is also used in the Indian Premier League (cricket).
Under the name Page playoff system, the McIntyre final four is commonly used in softball and curling events, especially in Canada. The system was also used in the Rugby League National League Three in Great Britain for the 2004 season.
A hybrid version of the Page–McIntyre system has been in used the Big Bash League in Australia since the 2019–2020 season, the difference between the original version and the hybrid version is a fifth game is played between 4th and 5th placed team playing in an elimination final with the winner playing 3rd in the first semi-final, a game that is usually played between 3rd and 4th in the original version of the system.
In North America, since 2021, it has been used as the preliminary round of the NBA Playoffs as a 'play-in tournament' to determine the seventh and eighth seeds for the main playoff tournament, with seeds 7 and 8 playing, then seeds 9 and 10, with the winner of the 7/8 game being the seventh seed, and the loser of the 7/8 game and winner of the 9/10 game competing for the eighth seed.
See main article: Page playoff system.
| Round | Match | Name | Team 1 | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 1st semi-final[2] | Rank 3 | v | Rank 4 | |
| B | 2nd semi-final | Rank 1 | v | Rank 2 | ||
| 2 | C | Preliminary final | Loser B | v | Winner A | |
| 3 | D | Grand final | Winner B | v | Winner C |
Assuming that each team has an even chance of winning each match, the probability for both the highest ranked teams winning the competition is 37.5%, compared to 12.5% for the third and fourth placed teams.
See main article: Top five play-offs.
| Round | Match | Name | Team 1 | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Elimination final | Rank 4 | v | Rank 5 | |
| B | Qualifying final | Rank 2 | v | Rank 3 | ||
| 2 | C | 1st semi-final | Loser B | v | Winner A | |
| D | 2nd semi-final | Rank 1 | v | Winner B | ||
| 3 | E | Preliminary final | Loser D | v | Winner C | |
| 4 | F | Grand final | Winner D | v | Winner E |
In this case, if all teams have an even chance of winning each match, the highest ranked team has a 37.5% chance, ranks two and three have a 25% chance and the lowest two ranked teams have a 6.25% chance of winning the competition.
| Round | Match | Name | Team 1 | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 1st elimination final | Rank 5 | v | Rank 6 | |
| B | 2nd elimination final | Rank 3 | v | Rank 4 | ||
| C | Qualifying final | Rank 1 | v | Rank 2 | ||
| 2 | D | 1st semi-final | Loser C | v | Winner A | |
| E | 2nd semi-final | Winner C | v | Winner B | ||
| 3 | F | Preliminary final | Loser E | v | Winner D | |
| 4 | G | Grand final | Winner E | v | Winner F |
| Round | Match | Name | Team 1 | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 1st elimination final | Rank 4 | v | Rank 5 | |
| B | 2nd elimination final | Rank 3 | v | Rank 6 | ||
| C | Qualifying final | Rank 1 | v | Rank 2 | ||
| 2 | D | 1st semi-final | Loser C | v | Lower ranked winner from A, B | |
| E | 2nd semi-final | Winner C | v | Higher ranked winner from A, B | ||
| 3 | F | Preliminary final | Loser E | v | Winner D | |
| 4 | G | Grand final | Winner E | v | Winner F |
However, both McIntyre final six systems had another weakness: the loser of the qualifying final (which is the most difficult game of the first round), ended up facing elimination in the first semi-final, while the higher-ranked elimination final winner (who has had the easiest game of the first round) has a double chance in the second semi-final.
See main article: McIntyre final eight system.
| Round | Match | Name | Team 1 | Team 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 1st qualifying final | Rank 4 | v | Rank 5 | |
| B | 2nd qualifying final | Rank 3 | v | Rank 6 | ||
| C | 3rd qualifying final | Rank 2 | v | Rank 7 | ||
| D | 4th qualifying final | Rank 1 | v | Rank 8 | ||
| 2 | E | 2nd semi-final | 4th highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D | v | 2nd highest ranked loser from A, B, C, D | |
| F | 1st semi-final | 3rd highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D | v | Highest ranked loser from A, B, C, D | ||
| 3 | G | 2nd Preliminary final | 2nd highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D | v | Winner F | |
| H | 1st Preliminary final | Highest ranked winner from A, B, C, D | v | Winner E | ||
| 4 | I | Grand final | Winner G | v | Winner H |
The McIntyre final eight bears little in common with the other McIntyre systems. At no stage does it follow the Page–McIntyre structure, and at no stage after the first week does any team retain a double chance. The system allows for 26 of the 28 combinations of the eight finalists to feature in the grand final (the two combinations not possible are 1st v 7th and 2nd v 8th). It gives 18.75% to 1st and 2nd, 15.625% to 3rd, 12.5% to 4th and 5th, 9.375% to 6th and 6.25% to 7th and 8th.