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When two players finish a Magic tournament on the same number of match points, three tiebreakers decide who places higher, always in this order: OMW% (opponents' match-win percentage), then GW% (game-win percentage), then OGW% (opponents' game-win percentage). Every percentage has a floor of 33%, and byes don't count toward your opponents' percentages.
Below we go through how each one is calculated, with examples, and why you can finish 9th on the same record as the player in 8th.
What is a tiebreaker in Magic?
After a few rounds of Swiss, lots of players end up on the same score. That's fine in the middle of the standings. It's a problem when the line falls between two players on 9 points and only one of them makes the top 8 or gets the last prize.
Most sports have a secondary measure for this. Soccer uses goal difference, and the NFL looks at head-to-head results first. Magic uses three percentages, defined in the Magic Tournament Rules (MTR Appendix C). Casual events and store nights use the same system, so it's worth knowing even if you never play a Pro Tour.
The order of tiebreakers in Magic
| Order | What's compared | Short name | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Match points (3 per win, 1 per draw) | Points | Your record |
| 2 | Average match-win % of your opponents | OMW% | Playing tougher opponents |
| 3 | Your own game-win % | GW% | Winning your games cleanly |
| 4 | Average game-win % of your opponents | OGW% | Opponents who won their games |
You only move down the list when the step above doesn't separate the players. In practice OMW% settles almost every tie.
Your own match-win percentage isn't on the list. Players on the same points already have nearly the same record, so it wouldn't separate anyone.
What does OMW% mean?
OMW% stands for Opponents' Match-Win Percentage. It's the average match-win percentage of everyone you played. Two players on 9 points who faced different opponents didn't have equally hard tournaments, and OMW% gives the edge to the one who faced the stronger field.
Step 1: each opponent's match-win percentage
A player's match-win percentage (MW%) is their match points divided by the maximum they could have earned:
MW% = match points ÷ (3 × rounds played)
A player who went 2-1-1 (two wins, one loss, one draw) has 7 match points out of a possible 12, so their MW% is 58.3%.
If a player's MW% is below 33%, it counts as 33%. A player who went 0-4 counts as 33% for their opponents' OMW%, not 0%.
Step 2: average them
OMW% = (sum of each opponent's MW%) ÷ number of opponents
Byes are left out. A bye isn't an opponent, so it doesn't drag your OMW% up or down.
OMW% example
After four rounds, Alex is 3-1. Here are Alex's opponents:
| Opponent | Record | MW% | Counted as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3-1 | 75% | 75% |
| 2 | 2-2 | 50% | 50% |
| 3 | 1-3 | 25% | 33.3% (floor) |
| 4 | 0-4 | 0% | 33.3% (floor) |
Alex's OMW% = (75 + 50 + 33.3 + 33.3) ÷ 4 = 47.9%.
If Sam is also 3-1 but faced opponents who finished 3-1, 3-1, 2-2 and 2-2, Sam's OMW% is (75 + 75 + 50 + 50) ÷ 4 = 62.5%, and Sam places above Alex.
What does GW% mean?
GW% stands for Game-Win Percentage. It's the second tiebreaker, and the only one based on your own results. A match is usually best-of-three, so going 2-0, 2-0, 2-0 is a cleaner run than going 2-1 three times, and GW% reflects that.
The official formula uses game points: 3 for a game win, 1 for a drawn or unfinished game, 0 for a loss.
GW% = game points ÷ (3 × games played)
When none of your games were drawn, this is simply games won divided by games played.
GW% example
A player finishes a three-round event 2-1 in matches, with these game results: 2-1, 2-0, 0-2.
That's 4 games won out of 7 played, so their GW% is 4 ÷ 7 = 57.1%.
GW% also has a 33% floor. A bye counts as a 2-0 match win for your own GW%.
What does OGW% mean?
OGW% stands for Opponents' Game-Win Percentage. It's the average GW% of everyone you played, worked out exactly like OMW% but with game-win percentages:
OGW% = (sum of each opponent's GW%) ÷ number of opponents
Each opponent's GW% is floored at 33%, and byes are left out. OGW% is the last tiebreaker and rarely comes into play, because OMW% and GW% split most ties first.
Why is there a 33% minimum?
Without a floor, getting paired against a player who goes 0-4, or who drops after round one, would hurt your tiebreakers badly. That's a matter of pairing luck, not skill. The 33% floor caps that damage so one unlucky pairing can't ruin your OMW% or OGW%.
How do byes and drops affect tiebreakers?
A bye is a match win (3 match points) and counts as 2-0 in games for you. It's left out when your OMW% and OGW% are calculated, because there's no opponent to average.
A player who drops keeps the record they had, based on the rounds they actually played. That record still counts for everyone who played them, with the 33% floor applied.
What happens if players are still tied after OGW%?
The tournament rules stop at OGW%. In small casual events a full tie after all three tiebreakers can happen, especially early on. Decide before the event how you'll settle it, for example by a random draw or a quick playoff, and tell players at the start.
Tiebreakers in Commander pods
OMW%, GW% and OGW% assume 1v1 matches. Commander events score points per pod game instead, so they need their own order. In MTGevent, Commander standings go by points, then opponents' average points per game, then wins, then a random tiebreak. Pod scoring and the rest of the setup are in our guide to running a Commander tournament.
Do you need to calculate tiebreakers by hand?
You can, with a spreadsheet and some patience. After every round, each player's OMW% changes because their opponents' records changed, so you redo the whole table each time. That's slow work in the middle of an event.
We built MTGevent so organizers don't have to. You enter results (or players submit their own from their phone) and the app updates match points, OMW%, GW% and OGW% right away, using the same order and 33% floors as above. It handles Swiss pairings with automatic byes and no rematches, and it's free for events up to 8 players.
If you're planning your first event, read our guides on how to host a Magic tournament at home and how booster draft works.
Tiebreaker FAQ
What does OMW mean in MTG?
OMW means Opponents' Match-Win Percentage. It's the average match-win percentage of all the opponents you played, with each one counted as at least 33% and byes left out. It's the first tiebreaker between players with the same match points.
What is a good OMW%?
Above 50% means your opponents won more than half their matches, so you faced a strong field. It can't go below 33% because of the floor. What matters is how yours compares with the players on the same points as you.
Why did I finish below a player with the same record?
They had a higher OMW%, meaning their opponents won more matches than yours did. If OMW% was equal, they had the higher GW% or, after that, the higher OGW%.
Is GW% the same as match win percentage?
No. Match-win percentage counts matches (a 2-1 win is one match win). GW% counts individual games, so a 2-0 win helps your GW% more than a 2-1 win.
Do byes count toward tiebreakers?
A bye gives you 3 match points and counts as a 2-0 win for your own GW%. It's ignored when your OMW% and OGW% are calculated.
Does an intentional draw affect tiebreakers?
An intentional draw gives each player 1 match point, the same as any drawn match. That point counts toward their match-win percentage, and through that toward the OMW% of everyone they played.
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