Highly Custom League: Elimination

With draft season kicking into full gear, this may be the last highly custom league I highlight this winter. Today we’re here to talk about elimination leagues including my own Top Tout Beta. Previous entries in this series covered 2×2 Roto, Split Auctions, Roto-to-Head, Rotating Divisions, WAR wars, Category Wars, Public Trade Negotiations, and If Only.

Design Aesthetic

Draft Type: Snake

Teams: Any number, best with around 20

Positions: Any configuration

Hitter Categories: R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG or desired

Pitcher Categories: W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP or desired

Waivers: Weekly FAAB, refreshes every week

Trades: None

An elimination league is designed to function like a game show. Think Top Chef (hence the Top Tout name for my only variation). Every week, owners are tasked with the important job of not finishing in last place. The standings reset to zero after every scoring period. I’ve explored FanTrax’s settings to ensure this is possible – I can’t speak to other platforms.

What happens in an elimination league if you finish a period in last place? Well… you’re eliminated. Good game. See ya next year. The league continues along these lines until a winner is crowned. When a team is eliminated, the remaining owners can cannibalize the losing roster.

Like with many of these highly custom leagues, the biggest issue with this format is time commitment – for both the commissioner and the owners. A full blown version would include a fresh draft every Monday morning. The weekly challenges would change – perhaps announced last minute by Padma Lakshmi. Participants would bunk together in one giant house. Your friends (and their significant others) are totally on board.

I’ve attempted to address the time issue in the Top Tout Beta through a variety of measures which I hope will make the league viable. There’s a reason I’m labeling it as beta. Instead of redrafting every week, we’re expanding our original rosters. Owners must submit a pref list to the commissioner every Monday morning. They receive the top available player on their list. I’ve also announced the roster expansion scheme.

Weekly Roster Expansion Schedule

Week 1: 20 teams, 20 man rosters, 1 each of C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, UT, 3 OF, 7 P, 4 BN, 1 DL

Week 2: 19 teams, 21 man rosters, add 1 P (8 P total)

Week 3: 18 teams, 22 man rosters, add 1 OF (4 OF total)

Week 4: 17 teams, 23 man rosters, add 1 MI

Week 5: 16 teams, 24 man rosters, add 1 CI

Week 6: 15 teams, 25 man rosters, add 1 P (9 P total)

… so and and so forth

When the dust clears, three teams are left to compete in a multi-week finals.

There are many ways to customize or spice up this format. Here are just a few examples:

1. Weekly winners receive immunity in the following week
2. Draft order hijinks for specific accomplishment, i.e. top rated player, winning a category, etc.
3. Shifting scoring rules, i.e. rotate between points and 5×5 scoring.
4. Cuts! Mandate owners to cut a certain number of players after each week.

The beauty of the game show style format is that you can get away with trying almost anything over a given week.

If you’d like to participate in an elimination league, might I recommend becoming a patron? The Top Tout Beta is open to patrons and still has at least nine spots available.