What is sudden death in sports?
How Sudden Death Works
In sudden death, play continues from a tied score, and the next point, goal, or score wins the game. This differs from extra time, where a full period is played. Sudden death is designed to produce a quick and dramatic finish.
In soccer, sudden death is often called 'golden goal' and was used in some tournaments; now it is less common, with extra time and penalty shootouts preferred. In ice hockey, sudden death is used in overtime during the regular season (5 minutes) and playoffs (20-minute periods). In American football, sudden death overtime was used in the NFL until 2010, when modified rules were introduced.
Examples in Different Sports
In the NFL, regular-season overtime is now 10 minutes, and if the first team with possession scores a touchdown, the game ends; a field goal allows the other team a possession. In the playoffs, overtime periods are 15 minutes, and the same rules apply. In college football, overtime uses a possession-based format, not sudden death.
In tennis, a tiebreak is not sudden death because a player must win by two points. In golf, sudden death playoffs are common, where players play extra holes until one wins. In cricket, sudden death can refer to a super over.
- Soccer: golden goal (rare now).
- Hockey: sudden death overtime.
- NFL: modified sudden death (touchdown wins, field goal allows possession).
- Golf: playoff holes until a winner.
- Cricket: super over.
Common mistakes
- Confusing sudden death with extra time; sudden death ends immediately upon a score, while extra time plays a full period.
- Thinking all overtime is sudden death; many sports play full extra periods.
- Believing sudden death always means the first score of any kind wins; in some sports, only certain scores (like touchdowns) end the game.
