The Dodram 2024~2025 V-League postseason kicks off. In the women's division, Heungkuk secured a direct path to the championship match as the regular season champion, and the playoffs will begin on the 25th with Hyundai E&C facing Jeonggwanjang in the first match.
In the men's division, Hyundai Capital earned a direct ticket to the championship match as the regular season champion, with the playoff first match (KB Insurance vs. Korean Air) starting on the 26th, initiating the race for the championship.
Establishing an early advantage is more important than ever. There is a reason for this. Historical probabilities indicate that in the 19 playoffs held in the men's V-League (the 2019~2020 season was not conducted due to COVID-19), the team that won the first match had a 89.4% (17 out of 19) chance of advancing to the championship match.
In the 2007~2008 season, Korean Air won the first match against Hyundai Capital but lost the second and third matches consecutively, failing to advance to the championship match. In the 2017~2018 season, the second-place team, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, reversed swept the third-place Korean Air, leading Korean Air to advance to the championship match as the third-place team in the regular season.
In particular, in the women's division, 18 playoffs were held (the 2019~2020 and 2021~2022 seasons were not conducted due to COVID-19), and every team that won the first match advanced to the championship match. As the 100% success rate remains in the records, the importance of the first match becomes even greater.
There is another interesting point. In the 19 playoffs conducted in the men's V-League, the second-place team in the regular season advanced to the championship match 14 times (73.6%). In the women's division, out of the 18 playoffs, the second-place team advanced to the championship match 12 times, with a 66.66% success rate. Unlike the third-place team, the second-place team enjoys a home advantage in the best-of-three format, playing the first and third matches at home.
Meanwhile, in the championship match conducted in a best-of-five format, the probability of winning if the first match is won is 14 out of 19 (73.6%) for the men's division and 10 out of 18 (55.5%) for the women's division.
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