# Winning streak > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Winning_streak > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Winning_streak.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_streak > Source revision: 1347937678 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|none}} {{Other uses|Winning Streak (disambiguation){{!}}Winning Streak}} {{for|lists of winning streaks|List of winning streaks}} {{Redirect|Hot streak}} A '''winning streak''', also known as a '''win streak''' or '''hot streak''', is an uninterrupted sequence of success in [games](/source/Game) or [competitions](/source/Competition), commonly measured by at least three wins that are uninterrupted by losses or [ties](/source/Tie_(draw)).{{fact|date=February 2024}} In [sports](/source/sports), it can be applied to [teams](/source/team_sport), and [individuals](/source/individual_sport). In sports where teams or individuals represent groups such as countries or regions, those groups can also be said to have winning streaks if their representatives win consecutive games or competitions, even if the competitors are different.{{fact|date=February 2024}} Streaks can also be applied to specific competitions: for example, a competitor who wins an event in three consecutive world championships has a winning streak at the world championships, even if they have lost other competitions during the period.{{fact|date=February 2024}} == Distinction from unbeaten streak == A winning streak is different from an unbeaten streak in sports where [tied](/source/Tie_(draw)) results are possible, and so a result is neither a win nor a loss, as in [association football](/source/association_football). Unbeaten streaks are still considered significant achievements and their length may be compared directly to winning streaks.{{Cite book |last=Mercer |first=Elias Z. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Th_REAAAQBAJ |title=Soccer: Football History, Skills, Strategies, and Performance |date=2023-07-04 |publisher=Xspurts.com |isbn=978-1-77684-803-4 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Reifman |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ncJ36IgFZUC |title=Hot Hand: The Statistics Behind Sports' Greatest Streaks |date=2012 |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc. |isbn=978-1-59797-718-0 |language=en}} It is possible to achieve both an unbeaten streak and a [winless streak](/source/Losing_streak), with an all-ties record. == Causation == === Psychological momentum === Most quantitative studies of winning and losing streaks, and the associated concept of [psychological momentum](/source/The_Big_Mo), have failed to find any evidence that "streaks" actually exist, except as a matter of random chance.{{Cite journal |last=Crust |first=Lee |author2=Nesti, Mark |title=A Review of Psychological Momentum in Sports: Why qualitative research is needed |url=http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol8Iss1/Momentum.htm |url-status=live |journal=Athletic Insight |volume=8 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225181742/http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol8Iss1/Momentum.htm |archive-date=2014-12-25 |access-date=2015-01-10}} A team with low ability is more likely to lose frequently, and a team with high ability is more likely to win, but once ability is controlled for, there is no evidence that a "winning" or "losing" streak affects the result of the match.{{Cite journal |last1=Dobson |first1=Stephen |last2=Goddard |first2=John |year=2003 |title=Persistence in sequences of football match results: A Monte Carlo analysis |journal=European Journal of Operational Research |volume=148 |issue=2 |pages=247–256 |doi=10.1016/S0377-2217(02)00681-1}} One study of European association football matches using a [Monte Carlo](/source/Monte_Carlo_method) methodology found that, once ability was accounted for, a team was actually slightly ''less'' likely to win or lose when it had experienced the same result in the previous match. A study of streaks in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) and [National Basketball Association](/source/National_Basketball_Association) concluded that the actual results were similar enough to predictions with no momentum effect, that the effect was of limited importance.{{Cite web |last=Vergin |first=Roger C. |date=2000-06-01 |title=Winning Streaks in Sports and the Misperception of Momentum. {{!}} Journal of Sport Behavior {{!}} EBSCOhost |url=https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd:3193802?sid=ebsco:plink:crawler&id=ebsco:gcd:3193802 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=openurl.ebsco.com |language=en}} Despite the apparent nonexistence of streaks in quantitative terms, many scholars in the field have pointed to the importance of understanding qualitative, psychological aspects of streaks. Studies in sports management suggest that some managers are able to prolong winning streaks through managerial strategies.{{Cite book |last=Fort |first=Rodney |title=Sports Economics: Current Research |author2=Rosenman, Robert |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=1999 |isbn=9780275963309 |page=119 |chapter=Streak management |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zc4I59XJ0v0C&pg=PA119}}{{Cite book |last=Cotterill |first=Stewart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SM0kXAqTj4C |title=Team Psychology in Sports: Theory and Practice |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=9780415670579 |page=117 |chapter=Momentum in Sport}} === Team planning === In [team sports](/source/team_sports), winning streaks may be achieved through planning a team based on [Steiner's Taxonomy of Tasks](/source/Steiner's_Taxonomy_of_Tasks). Teams may attempt to win through using star players (disjunctive), managing their weakest members ([conjunctive](/source/Conjunctive_tasks)), and/or aiming for squad depth (additive). Using one or a few star players, the team can suffer if the player has a bad game, or if they play a turn-taking sport such as [baseball](/source/baseball). ==Longest streaks== The longest (in terms of time) recorded winning streak in any professional sports is [Spain](/source/Spain)'s [Antoni Bou](/source/Antoni_Bou), having won 38 consecutive [FIM Trial World Championship](/source/FIM_Trial_World_Championship) (19 outdoor and 19 indoor) starting in 2007 and continuing through 2024 (as of March 2025, he is still active in the sport). [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan)'s [Jahangir Khan](/source/Jahangir_Khan)'s 555 consecutive wins in [squash](/source/squash_(sports)) from 1981 to 1986 is also of significant note. In 2013, the Dutch [wheelchair tennis](/source/wheelchair_tennis) player [Esther Vergeer](/source/Esther_Vergeer) retired with an active 10-year-long winning streak of 470 matches, including a streak of 250 consecutive sets won.Ben Rothenberg, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/sports/wheelchair-tennis-champion-esther-vergeer-retires.html Unbeaten Since 2003, Wheelchair Champ Retires], [New York Times](/source/New_York_Times), February 12, 2013 ==See also== * [Losing streak](/source/Losing_streak) * [Perfect season](/source/Perfect_season) * [List of unbeaten football club seasons](/source/List_of_unbeaten_football_club_seasons) * [Bagel (tennis)](/source/Bagel_(tennis)) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Winning Streak (Sports)}} Category:Sports terminology 1 Category:Terminology used in multiple sports --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Winning streak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_streak) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_streak?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.