Winning streak

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(Redirected from
Winning streak (sports)
)

For other uses, see Winning Streak.
For lists of winning streaks, see List of winning streaks.
"Hot streak" redirects here. For other uses, see Hot streak (disambiguation).

A winning streak, also known as a win streak or hot streak, is an uninterrupted sequence of success in

sports, it can be applied to teams, and individuals. In sports where teams or individuals represent groups such as countries or regions, those groups can also be said to have winning streaks if their representatives win consecutive games or competitions, even if the competitors are different.[citation needed] Streaks can also be applied to specific competitions: for example, a competitor who wins an event in three consecutive world championships has a winning streak at the world championships, even if they have lost other competitions during the period.[citation needed
]

Distinction from unbeaten streak

A winning streak is different from an unbeaten streak in sports where tied results are possible, and so a result is neither a win nor a loss, as in association football. Unbeaten streaks are still considered significant achievements and their length may be compared directly to winning streaks.[1][2] In games where tied results are not possible, and an overtime loss is scored similar to a draw (as in the National Hockey League, which has two points for a win and one point for a regulation tie which that team loses), an unbeaten streak is extended if a team wins or is tied at the end of regulation.

It is possible to achieve both an unbeaten streak and a winless streak, with an all-ties record.

Causation

Psychological momentum

Most quantitative studies of winning and losing streaks, and the associated concept of psychological momentum, have failed to find any evidence that "streaks" actually exist, except as a matter of random chance.[3] A team with low ability is more likely to lose frequently, and a team with high ability is more likely to win, but once ability is controlled for, there is no evidence that a "winning" or "losing" streak affects the result of the match.[4] One study of European association football matches using a Monte Carlo methodology found that, once ability was accounted for, a team was actually slightly less likely to win or lose when it had experienced the same result in the previous match.[4] A study of streaks in Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association concluded that the actual results were similar enough to predictions with no momentum effect, that the effect was of limited importance.[5] Despite the apparent nonexistence of streaks in quantitative terms, many scholars in the field have pointed to the importance of understanding qualitative, psychological aspects of streaks.[3] Studies in sports management suggest that some managers are able to prolong winning streaks through managerial strategies.[6][7]

Team planning

In

team sports, winning streaks may be achieved through planning a team based on Steiner's Taxonomy of Tasks. Teams may attempt to win through using star players (disjunctive), managing their weakest members (conjunctive), and/or aiming for squad depth (additive). Using one or a few star players, the team can suffer if the player has a bad game, or if they play a turn-taking sport such as baseball.[2]

Longest streaks

The longest (in terms of time) recorded winning streak in any professional sports is

squash from 1981 to 1986 is also of significant note. In 2013, the Dutch wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer retired with an active 10-year-long winning streak of 470 matches, including a streak of 250 consecutive sets won.[8]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-77684-803-4
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59797-718-0
    .
  3. ^ a b Crust, Lee; Nesti, Mark. "A Review of Psychological Momentum in Sports: Why qualitative research is needed". Athletic Insight. 8 (1). Archived from the original on 2014-12-25. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  4. ^
    doi:10.1016/S0377-2217(02)00681-1
    .
  5. ^ Vergin, Roger C. (2000-06-01). "Winning Streaks in Sports and the Misperception of Momentum. | Journal of Sport Behavior | EBSCOhost". openurl.ebsco.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  6. ISBN 9780275963309
    .
  7. ISBN 9780415670579
    .
  8. New York Times
    , February 12, 2013
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