SoftBank clinched - Pacific League Odds

Pacific League

Leader: SoftBank - Pennant odds 100%

end of Sep 20, 2026 / npbc.media

NPB standings are decided by winning percentage, with ties excluded from the denominator. This page runs repeated statistical simulations of the remaining schedule to estimate each club's championship and Climax Series odds. The numbers are model estimates, not official announcements.

In the Last 10 column, a tall dark bar is a win, a short light bar a loss, and a thin line a tie - the same encoding as the win-loss calendar.

'In control (pennant) / Needs help (pennant)' shows whether a club can still clinch the pennant on its own by winning out - separate from controlling a top-three (CS) berth; M is the lit magic number.

Pacific League

The figure under each probability is the change since Sat, Sep 19. The reference is the most recent date on which that league played, so dates without games are not used as a reference. Small movements are shown as plain numbers without color.

Scroll right for W-L, PCT and more

Rank Team Pennant odds Climax Series odds W - L - T PCT GB (1st) Left Last 10
1 SoftBankClinched 100%±0.0 pt 100% 84 - 47 - 3 .641 9 8 - 2
2 SeibuEliminated 0%±0.0 pt 100% 74 - 56 - 4 .569 9.5 9 5 - 4 - 1
3 Nippon-HamEliminated 0%±0.0 pt 100% 73 - 59 - 3 .553 11.5 8 3 - 6 - 1
4 ORIXEliminated 0%±0.0 pt 0% 63 - 70 - 2 .474 22.0 8 4 - 6
5 LotteEliminated 0%±0.0 pt 0% 58 - 68 - 3 .460 23.5 14 4 - 6
6 RakutenEliminated 0%±0.0 pt 0% 52 - 78 - 1 .400 31.5 12 5 - 5
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All probabilities are model estimates and do not guarantee outcomes. The table below is reference data compiled by this site, not an official announcement.

Season highlights

Pacific League Longest win streak: SoftBank, 9 in a row Best games over .500 (in-season peak): SoftBank at +39 Days in first place: SoftBank (94 days)

Days in first place are counted per day with games played.

When will the pennant be decided?

Pacific LeagueMedian clinch date: Clinched

All probabilities are model estimates and do not guarantee outcomes.

Games over .500

Pacific LeagueBest W−L balance (current): SoftBank +37

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Pennant odds over time

The same model re-run on each day's data, backfilled to opening day.

Pacific League Pennant odds over time end of Sep 20, 2026 npbc.media Interleague 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep H 100% B 0% E 0% F 0% L 0% M 0%

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Pacific League Pennant odds over time end of Sep 20, 2026 npbc.media Interleague 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Apr Jun Aug H 100% B 0% E 0% F 0% L 0% M 0%

Final-rank probability matrix

Each cell is the share of simulated seasons that ended at that rank (blank under 0.5%). The range column shows the best and worst ranks that appeared at least once.

Gray shading marks ranks that can no longer be reached, whatever the remaining results.

Plain gray cells mark ranks that did not occur in any simulated season, though they are not proven unreachable.

Pacific League Final-rank probability matrixend of Sep 20, 2026npbc.media

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Team #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 Range
SoftBank 100% #1-#1
Seibu 82.4% 17.6% #2-#3
Nippon-Ham 17.6% 82.4% #2-#3
ORIX 71.9% 28.1% #4-#5
Lotte 28.1% 71.7% #4-#6
Rakuten 99.9% #5-#6

All probabilities are model estimates and do not guarantee outcomes.

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Games-behind ladder

Current positions measured in games behind the leader.

Scroll right to see the full chart

Pacific League Games-behind ladder end of Sep 20, 2026 npbc.media 0 10 20 30 GB SoftBank 0.0 / 84 - 47 - 3 Seibu 9.5 / 74 - 56 - 4 F 11.5 / 73 - 59 - 3 ORIX 22.0 / 63 - 70 - 2 Lotte 23.5 / 58 - 68 - 3 Rakuten 31.5 / 52 - 78 - 1

Pennant and Climax Series win lines

Pacific LeagueMedian pennant line: 89 wins / Median CS line: 77 wins

All probabilities are model estimates and do not guarantee outcomes.

True strength (Pythagorean)

Pacific LeagueLargest gap vs expectation: ORIX +8.0 wins (overperforming)

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Team strength rating (Elo)

Pacific LeagueLeague leader: SoftBank 1569.8

Remaining head-to-head games

Derived from the official standings (25 games per league opponent and 3 per interleague opponent, minus games played).

Pacific League

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H L F B M E Interleague Total
SoftBank 2 0 2 2 3 0 9
Seibu 2 0 1 4 2 0 9
Nippon-Ham 0 0 2 3 3 0 8
ORIX 2 1 2 2 1 0 8
Lotte 2 4 3 2 3 0 14
Rakuten 3 2 3 1 3 0 12

Pace projection for the remaining matchups

A projection of each club's final record if its head-to-head pace so far continued through the remaining games. All remaining games are assumed to end in a decision (the tie count stays at its current value).

Pacific League

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Team Current record Left Projected final Projected PCT
SoftBank 84 - 47 - 3 9 89.1 - 50.9 - 3 .637
Seibu 74 - 56 - 4 9 78.8 - 60.2 - 4 .567
Nippon-Ham 73 - 59 - 3 8 78.0 - 62.0 - 3 .557
ORIX 63 - 70 - 2 8 66.8 - 74.2 - 2 .473
Lotte 58 - 68 - 3 14 64.4 - 75.6 - 3 .460
Rakuten 52 - 78 - 1 12 56.9 - 85.1 - 1 .400

Each matchup so far is a small sample of at most a couple dozen games, so this extrapolation is a reference value only. Nothing here guarantees results.

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Impact of the next game

Shows how each team's pennant odds and Climax Series odds would change after a win or a loss in its next game on the published schedule. Teams whose schedule is not yet published are marked (schedule TBA), and the opponent with the most games remaining stands in as a placeholder.

In the Current columns, darker cells mean higher odds.

Pacific League

Scroll right for Climax Series scenarios

Team Next opponent Pennant odds Climax Series odds
Current After a win After a loss Current After a win After a loss
SoftBankvs Rakuten Mon, Sep 21 vs RakutenMon, Sep 21 100% 100% ±0.0 pt 100% ±0.0 pt 100% 100% ±0.0 pt 100% ±0.0 pt
Nippon-Hamvs ORIX Mon, Sep 21 vs ORIXMon, Sep 21 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt 100% 100% ±0.0 pt 100% ±0.0 pt
Seibuvs Lotte Sun, Sep 20 vs LotteSun, Sep 20 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt 100% 100% ±0.0 pt 100% ±0.0 pt
ORIXvs Nippon-Ham Mon, Sep 21 vs Nippon-HamMon, Sep 21 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt
Rakutenvs SoftBank Mon, Sep 21 vs SoftBankMon, Sep 21 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt
Lottevs Seibu Sun, Sep 20 vs SeibuSun, Sep 20 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt 0% 0% ±0.0 pt 0% ±0.0 pt

Pennant race simulator

Pick one club and adjust how many of its remaining games it wins; the pennant and Climax Series odds recalculate instantly. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Inputs for this date

  • Tie rate (Pacific, observed)1.8%
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Standings are decided by winning percentage

An NPB regular season is 143 games per club: a 25-game round robin against each league rival (125 games) plus 18 interleague games. Standings are decided by winning percentage, computed as wins divided by decisions; tied games are not replayed and drop out of the denominator (per the Pacific League Agreement).

That is why a club can lead in wins yet trail in the standings: a team with more ties has a smaller denominator, so the same win total yields a higher percentage. Down the stretch, the tie count often becomes the decisive variable.

Tiebreakers differ between the two leagues

Tied winning percentages are resolved differently by league. The Central League ranks clubs by (1) most wins, (2) head-to-head record between the tied clubs, (3) record within the league, then (4) the previous season's standings. When three or more clubs tie in both percentage and wins, their combined head-to-head records are compared (per the 2015 agreement amendment).

The Pacific League has no wins criterion: it goes straight to (1) head-to-head record, (2) intra-league record over the 125 league games, then (3) the previous season's standings. The simulation on this page implements these official rules exactly when ranking each simulated season.

Climax Series qualification: finish in the top three

The top three clubs in each league reach the Climax Series. Second and third place meet in the First Stage (best of three), and the winner faces the pennant winner in the Final Stage (a six-game format in which the league champion receives an advantage; the exact form is set in each year's tournament outline). The Final Stage winner advances to the Nippon Series.

The Climax Series odds on this page are simply the share of simulations in which a club finishes third or higher. Even for clubs whose pennant hopes have faded, a top-three finish keeps a route to the Nippon Series open - which is why the race for third stays meaningful deep into the season.

What these numbers mean

The 'pennant odds' on this page are the share of simulated seasons in which a club finished first; the 'Climax Series odds' are the share finishing in the top three. Each simulated season is ranked according to the official standings rules, including tiebreakers.

The numbers are estimates from this site's own statistical simulation, not official announcements. Each club's underlying strength is read from its runs scored and runs allowed this season together with its win-loss record, because runs give a truer picture of a club than the win-loss column alone (the true-strength page shows what the run difference implies). Home advantage is taken into account from the published remaining schedule (games without a fixed date are treated as neutral). Individual player numbers, starting pitchers, injuries, trades, this season's head-to-head records, recent form and the actual order of the schedule are not modeled.

Disclaimer: what these numbers do not promise

Every probability on this page is a statistical model estimate and does not guarantee actual outcomes. This is not gambling or betting information and is not intended for such use. The numbers depend on the model's assumptions (strength estimates, tie rates, schedule handling) and do not reflect real-world factors such as injuries, trades or weather.

This page is reference material based on this site's own statistical simulation. Where standings or results differ from the official records, the official records take precedence.

Frequently asked questions

How are the pennant odds computed?

The remaining schedule is simulated repeatedly with this site's own statistical model, each simulated season is ranked using the official rules, and the share of simulated seasons finishing first is shown as the pennant probability. The numbers are model estimates, not official announcements.

Which clubs qualify for the Climax Series?

The top three in each league. Second and third meet in a best-of-three First Stage; the winner faces the pennant winner in the Final Stage (six-game format with an advantage for the champion), and that winner goes to the Nippon Series.

How are ties in winning percentage broken?

Central League: most wins, then head-to-head record, then intra-league record, then the previous season's standings. Pacific League: head-to-head record, then intra-league record, then the previous season's standings. If three or more CL clubs tie in both percentage and wins, their combined head-to-head records are compared.

Do 100% or 0% mean it is mathematically decided?

Not necessarily. The percentages are simulated shares rounded to one decimal place, so 100% does not mean a mathematical clinch and 0% does not mean elimination. Magic numbers and whether each club still controls its own fate, however, are computed exactly and shown on this page's board. See the magic number page and the projected clinch date page for the details of formal clinches. Each club's win-out and lose-out bounds are shown in the 'Reachable win ranges' chart on the win-line table page.

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Sources and references

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