What happens if a taekwondo match is tied after three rounds?
I · Intermediate · The contest and the score · 1 of 7A fourth round of one minute is fought, and the scores from the first three rounds are wiped. The first athlete to score two points, or whose opponent is given two gam-jeom, wins at once. If neither reaches two points, the winner is decided by a list of superiority tests.
How it works
- When: after a tied third round and a one-minute rest, in the standard system.
- A clean start: "all scores awarded during the first three (3) rounds shall be void".
- Winning it: the first to "two (2) or more points", or the athlete whose opponent receives two gam-jeom.
- A single punch is not enough: a punch is 1 point, so a second score is needed.
- Nobody reaches two: superiority decides, in this order.
- First test: the athlete who scored a point by a punch in the golden round.
- Second test: more hits registered by the electronic system in the golden round.
- Third test: more rounds won in the first three.
- Fourth test: fewer gam-jeom across all four rounds.
- Last test: the referee and judges decide on the content of the golden round. If they are split evenly, the referee decides.
- How officials judge it: on dominance through attacking, the number of techniques, their difficulty and the better manner.
The glossary has the golden round, the superiority entry, gam-jeom, the valid points entry, the corner judges and the referee.
Tricky cases
An athlete lands one punch in the golden round and nothing else is scored. Who wins?
The athlete who punched, but on superiority at the end of the minute. One point does not end the round.
One athlete is given a single gam-jeom in the golden round and nothing else happens. Who wins?
The opponent has one point from it, which is not two. The round runs its full minute and superiority then decides. A point from a gam-jeom is not a point "by a punch", so the first test does not settle it.
Does the 20-point lead from earlier rounds count for anything?
Only late in the list: rounds won in the first three is the third superiority test. The scores themselves are void.
Is there a golden round in best-of-three contests?
No. A tied round there is settled by its own superiority tests.
Why the rule exists
Wiping the scores makes the golden round a fresh, short contest that either athlete can win with one good kick. Two points and not one means a lone penalty cannot end a match: something has to be landed, or two fouls committed.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard system | Golden round of one minute | WT Article 15.1 to 15.4 |
| Best of three | No golden round; a tied round goes to superiority | WT Article 7.1.2; 15.5 |
| One, two or three corner judges | Who votes on the last test changes | WT Article 15.5.4 |
From the rule book
World Taekwondo, Competition Rules & Interpretation (in force 1 June 2026), Article 15 with its explanations. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: WT Competition Rules & Interpretation, 1 June 2026 (PDF).