<Li> Game 4 (the final) is then played between the winners of Games 2 and 3 . </Li> <P> 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 (which, in the final, is automatically the team which won Game 2) 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 (last rock) in the first end, which is a reasonable advantage between comparably skilled teams . </P> <P> 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 (the losers of Games 1 and 3). 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

What is the meaning of playoff in ipl