| 100% | DEFEAT | 6 | To beat an opponent; a loss in a sporting event |
| 57% | UPSET | 5 | Surprise loss in a sporting event |
| 49% | TACKLING | 8 | In sport, taking down an opponent to stop the ball |
| 47% | WALKOVER | 8 | Result when an opponent in sport fails to turn up |
| 45% | TEAM | 4 | Side in a sporting event |
| 45% | AHEAD | 5 | Leading, in a sporting event |
| 45% | EJECTS | 6 | Tosses in a sporting event? |
| 45% | GOLD | 4 | Top prize in a sporting event |
| 45% | ATTEND | 6 | Go to an event... or a word that ends in "end" |
| 44% | DEFEAT | 6 | To beat or win over someone in a contest |
| 44% | GAME | 4 | Event in a sports stadium |
| 44% | DEFEAT | 6 | Beat, like in a sports match |
| 43% | DEBUFF | 6 | Use a power to give an opponent a penalty |
| 42% | ENDPLAY | 7 | Tactical play in the last few tricks of a game of bridge forcing an opponent to make a particular lead |
| 42% | HAMMER | 6 | Swing your thoughts overhead and throw your attempt to guess this nail-securing tool used in a throwing sport event |
| 42% | CLINCH | 6 | In boxing, to hug an opponent to avoid blows |
| 42% | ERIN | 4 | ___ Jackson, first Black woman to win a Winter Olympics gold medal in an individual sport (2022) |
| 42% | RODEO | 5 | Sporting event in a ring |
| 41% | EGG | 3 | Prefix with "head" to mean an intellectual geek (used in a negative sense) |
| 41% | SPECTATOR | 9 | A fan or someone in the crowd at a sports event |
| 41% | BLIMP | 5 | Inflated airship in the sky over a sporting event |
| 41% | TUBER | 5 | Disprove, as an opponent’s argument in a debate |
| 40% | BADMINTON | 9 | Sport played with a shuttlecock where players hit it back and forth in an attempt to make the other side miss |
| 40% | STUB | 4 | Torn-off part of a ticket to a sporting event |
| 40% | ANALYST | 7 | Expert in an investment firm or on a sports show |
| 40% | GOALPOSTS | 9 | It's unfair to move them, in a sports metaphor |
| 40% | SNUG | 4 | Like a bug in a rug, according to an expression |
| 40% | CCS | 3 | Adds to an email chain, in a way |
| 40% | CLINCH | 6 | A hold in boxing with arms around an opponent |
| 39% | RISES | 5 | Responds to an alarm, in a way |