Draw, tie, stalemate, deadlock, standoff mean an indecisive ending to a contest or competition or a contest or competition ending indecisively.
Draw usually implies equally matched contestants who compete (as in fighting, performing, or playing) with equal skill and between whom there can be no clear decision as to the superiority of one or the other.
Tie implies a numerical equality (as in the scores attained by competitors or contestants, or in the votes obtained by candidates for office); usually a tie does not remain indecisive, since provisions are often made (as by law or by the rules of a game) for reaching a decision when a tie occurs.
Stalemate is fundamentally a term of chess which designates the position of a player when his king, although not in check, cannot be moved without being placed in check and the game is thereby drawn; in extended use, stalemate represents a condition from which neither contestant can derive an advantage.
Deadlock implies a counteraction or neutralization of the efforts of contending elements (as parties, forces, or factions) that leads to a stoppage of action; it connotes an immobilization because of the equal power of the opposing elements usually in a situation other than a formal competition or contest.
Standoff is an informal term usually for a draw or tie but sometimes for a situation where two opponents counteract or neutralize each other, so evenly are they matched.