playoff spot
Tournament entry earned
A playoff spot is a position in a postseason tournament, earned by a team's regular-season performance.
Teams compete to clinch a playoff spot or fight to avoid elimination from contention.
The phrase appears constantly in sports coverage as the season winds down: With two games left, six teams are still fighting for the final playoff spot.
- berthSleeping space on transport
- clinchSettle beyond doubt
- wild cardUnpredictable factor in play
- wildcardUnpredictable factor in play
- standingsComparative position list
contender · on the bubble · seeding · postseason · tournament · bracket · race · chase · tiebreaker · division · champion · qualify · magic number · stretch run · home stretch · final push · late season · September
- standingsrankings, leaderboard, league table, ladder, seeding
- tournament bracketsbracket, seed, seedings, second seed, top seed
playoff spotelimination
Act of removing entirely
early exit · last place · bye · lottery pick · offseason
playoff spotlast place
Lowest rank achieved
cellar dweller · wooden spoon · basement · also-ran · futility
playoff, spot, play, playoffs, spots, spotted, spotting, spotless, spotter