How a survivor pool works

Pick one team to win each week. Pick wrong and you’re out. Last one standing wins.

How it works

These are the same in every league.

  1. 1

    Pick one team to win, every week

    One pick per week, no more. You are picking the team you think will win their game.

  2. 2

    Your pick locks at kickoff

    You can change it right up until that team's game starts. After that it is final. If we don't know when a game kicks off, it is treated as already started — missing data can never let a pick in late.

  3. 3

    You can take a pick back

    Clicking the team you already picked clears it and leaves you with no pick for the week. Picking a different team just moves the pick. Either way, only before kickoff.

  4. 4

    Nobody sees your pick until it's locked

    The league sees that you have picked, never what. Your team is revealed once its game has started. Withdrawing puts you back to showing no pick at all, so the roster can't be used to signal.

  5. 5

    Each team only once

    You cannot pick the same team twice. Spend the good ones wisely — that constraint is what turns an easy week 3 into an impossible week 14.

  6. 6

    Lose and you're out

    If the team you picked loses, your season is over. There is no buy-back.

Rules each league sets for itself

Every league starts with these defaults, and its admin can change them.

A tieEliminates youset by your league admin

You are picking a team to WIN, and a tie is not a win. If your game ends level, your season is over.

Missing a weekEliminates youset by your league admin

If you have no pick once the week's last game has kicked off, you are out. Set a reminder — nobody is going to chase you.

Extra livesNoneset by your league admin

Lose your pick and your season is over. Some leagues hand out a second chance or two — this one does not.

PostseasonThe pool ends after week 18set by your league admin

Whoever is still alive at the end of the regular season wins. Playoff games are not pickable.

JoiningCloses when the season startsset by your league admin

Nobody new can join once the first week 1 game kicks off. A league created after the season has already started is not affected.

When a game doesn’t go to plan

Rare, and worth knowing before it happens to you.

A cancelled or abandoned game voids your pick

No win, no loss — and the team goes back into your pool, because they never actually played. You can pick them again later.

A postponed game is not a missed week

While a game is still to come, its week stays open. A postponement moves the kickoff rather than cancelling the game, so it never counts against you.

Weeks before you joined don't count

If you join partway through the season, only weeks that begin after you join can be missed.

Money

This site does not collect, hold or pay out money. A league admin can display a prize pool figure so everyone sees the same number, but it is a note, not an account. Anything you settle up is between you and the other players.

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Rules — Stay Alive Sports