Points per game

See also: points per tossup heard

PPG (or points per game), is a statistic used to determine the average scoring ability of an individual player or team at a tournament. PPG is computed by taking the total number of points scored by a player (tossup points only) or team (all points) and dividing by the number of games played.

Variations

A common variation is PPTUH (or PPTH), meaning "points per tossup heard", used to account for teams or players hearing different numbers of questions (in timed tournaments and/or if overtime is played)

PP20TUH, or points per 20 tossups heard, equals PPTUH times 20, effectively presenting the number of points a team or player would score in a "typical game". It is used primarily by NAQT to standardize scoring records, as the existence of the clock results in games of varying lengths at many of its championships.

Criticism

Most individuals in the quizbowl community no longer subscribe to the idea that the player with the highest PPG is the best player at a given tournament. There are a number of reasons why a player's PPG may be artificially inflated; these include non-existent or weak teammates, weaker competition, and vulturing. PPG also does not account for the shadow effect, and so players' PPG may be artificially depressed due to strong teammates or unbalanced team composition. A wackier statistic called PATH was developed by Samer Ismail to help resolve the impact of the shadow effect on perceived player ability.