The system requires teams to be ranked in some way, as the top two teams have an advantage over the bottom two. This is usually accomplished through a round-robin tournament, which eliminates all but the top four teams.
Round-robin
A standard round-robin tournament is used, in which all teams play each other once. Because the number of total games increases quadraticallywith respect to the number of teams, scheduling too many teams will result in an unwieldy number of games, particularly when there are a limited number of playing surfaces. Therefore, the number of teams is usually capped at around a dozen; if this is not possible or desirable, teams may be separated into groups playing separate round-robins and either having the top teams combining for the Page playoff or playing separate ones in each group and having the winners play each other after.
Page playoff system
The system was invented in Australia in the early 1930s and adopted soon after by the Victorian Football League. The top four teams advance to the playoffs, which are played over three rounds with one team being eliminated in each round. The format progresses as follows:
In Game 1, the third- and fourth-placed teams play against each other. The loser is eliminated.
In Game 2, the first- and second-placed teams play against each other. The winner qualifies directly for the final.
In Game 3, the winner of Game 1 plays against the loser of Game 2. The loser is eliminated.
Game 4 is then played between the winners of Games 2 and 3.
This system gives the top two teams a double chance, in that they can lose their first game and still go on to win the title, producing a similar though not identical effect to a double-elimination tournament. This gives the top two teams a significant advantage over the next two, since winning the title from third or fourth place requires winning one more game than winning from first or second, and also requires defeating every other team in the playoffs. Additionally, the higher ranked team in any pairing will play as the home team to provide an additional advantage; in the case of curling teams, where teams rarely play national or international tournaments at their home rink, the advantage is that the first-placed team is given the hammer in the first end, which is a reasonable advantage between comparably skilled teams. In the 2008 World Women's Curling championship, a fifth match was added to the format: a bronze medal playoff match, which was played between the two teams which did not qualify for the final. This game is normally scheduled between Games 3 and 4. Previously, the bronze would have automatically been awarded to the team which lost Game 3, so this game provides a chance for the loser of Game 1 to still receive a medal. This was also introduced at the national level at the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier. The bronze medal game was heavily criticized for being "meaningless" in part because simply winning a "medal" does not carry the same sort of prestige it does in the Olympic Games. The bronze medal game was eliminated prior to the 2018 Canadian championship curling season.
Names of matches
In Australia, Games 1 and 2 are known as Semi-Finals; Game 3 is called the Preliminary Final, and the final is known as the Grand Final. To distinguish between the two Semi-Finals, which are different in nature, the match between 3rd and 4th is known either as the First Semi-Final or the Minor Semi-Final; and the match between 1st and 2nd is known either as the Second Semi-Final or the Major Semi-Final. In Curling, Games 1 and 2 are usually known as the 3-4 game and 1-2 game, respectively ; Game 3 is called the Semi-Final, and the final is known by that name. In India, Game 1 is known as the Eliminator, Games 2 and 3 are called Qualifiers, and the final is known by that name.
Examples
1931 Victorian Football League playoffs The first-ever use of the system was in Australia in 1931 after the Victorian Football League adopted it. The regular season ended with Geelong winning the minor premiership, followed by Richmond, Carlton and Collingwood. The finals proceeded as follows: Page playoff results from the 2004 Nokia Brier: Page playoff, including a bronze medal match, from the 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Reaction
Players and fans alike have had a mixed reaction to the system. Broadcasters enjoy it as it produces one more game than the single elimination format.
