Third place playoff

The third place playoff, bronze medal game or consolation game is a single match that is included in many sporting knockout tournaments to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. The teams that compete in the third place playoff game are usually the two losing semi-finalists in a particular knockout tournament. Many tournaments use the third place playoff to determine who wins the bronze medal. In tournaments that do not award medals, a third place playoff is a classification match that serves little more than as a consolation to the losing semi-finalists. A consolation game also allows teams to play more than one game after having invested time, effort and money in the quest for a championship. In some tournaments, a third place playoff is necessary for seeding purposes if all four semi-finalists advance to another tournament.