Sudden Death (sport) - Game Shows

Game Shows

In most international versions of the game show Duel, if two contestants do not cover the correct answer to a regular question when the duel is in process, the duel goes to a sudden death question called a "Shootout". For this sudden death question, the contestants who are participating get 4 new chips each, and there are no accelerators or presses available. If only one contestant answers correctly, the contestant who has the answer wins. If both contestants get the answer correct, the contestant who covered fewer choices wins, but if both contestants do not cover the correct answer to the shootout question, they are both eliminated (that happens automatically if both contestants are wrong during the duel in international versions that do not have sudden death). In a situation in which both contestants covered the same amount of choices during sudden death, both contestants win the duel, and one of the contestants, picked at random, must leave the show. In some instances, if a winner cannot be determined on the question (regardless if both contestants tie or would be eliminated), multiple Shootouts may occur until a winner is determined. In that case, the tie-breakers that do not determine a winner may be edited out of the final broadcast.

In the game show BrainSurge, the last two players standing will match pictures. When someone gets one wrong, host Jeff Sutphen declares the game to be in "sudden death territory". At that point, the next person to make a valid match wins the game.

In The Weakest Link, if the final round of questions ends in a tie (usually after three or five questions), the players will go into a sudden death round. If a player successfully answers a question and the opponent does not in the round, they win the game. If both miss or are successful in a round, they go to another question. Again, tie-breakers that do not produce a winner may be edited out of the final broadcast.

On Wheel of Fortune, in the relatively rare event of a tie, the tied contestants square off in a Toss-Up round to determine which player goes on to the bonus round. Previously, in the event of a tie, initially the game was declared a draw and the bonus round was not played with the two players returning for a second episode. In later years before the Toss-Up was installed, a second speed-up round between the two players was played.

On Jeopardy! tournament games, the players who tied after Final Jeopardy! participate in a final sudden-death answer. The player who answers correctly advances to the next round of the tournament. (In regular matches, tie games stand, with all tied players returning to the show if there is a score of $1 or higher.)

On The Price Is Right, if a Showcase Showdown is tied, the players will spin the wheel once; the higher score wins. If the spin is a tie, the procedure is repeated until a winner is found. In case of a Bonus Spin spinoff, only the first spin is a bonus spin. No bonuses are awarded for subsequent rounds.

Many other game shows feature a sudden-death playoff; usually, the next player to answer a question correctly wins. Often, the rules of sudden death provide that in the event a wrong answer is given, the opposing team wins, even though wrong answers may otherwise not be penalized. Occasionally, the format is a numeric question, with the player making the closer guess winning.