Navigating the Guillotine League Season: Week-to-Week Expectations
Paul Charchian walks through how to approach each specific month of the Guillotine League fantasy football season and how managers should adjust as the season progesses.
What to Expect Week-To-Week from a Guillotine League
As I’m going about my daily routine, at the yacht club or at the laundromat, people will approach me, asking what they should expect from their first year in a guillotine league.
In a guillotine league, your season can end any week. You’re going to experience playoff-level anxiety every week.
Fortunately, the odds of survival are strongly in your favor.
| Week | Teams left | Your Survival Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 94.40% |
| 2 | 17 | 94.10% |
| 3 | 16 | 93.80% |
| 4 | 15 | 93.30% |
| 5 | 14 | 92.90% |
| 6 | 13 | 92.30% |
| 7 | 12 | 91.70% |
| 8 | 11 | 90.90% |
| 9 | 10 | 90.00% |
| 10 | 9 | 88.90% |
| 11 | 8 | 87.50% |
| 12 | 7 | 85.70% |
| 13 | 6 | 83.30% |
| 14 | 5 | 80.00% |
| 15 | 4 | 75.00% |
| 16 | 3 | 66.70% |
| 17 | 2 | 50.00% |
Until the championship week, you can roll into any week, secure in the knowledge that you’re probably not going to be the person who gets chopped.
But that won’t stop you from periodically having a Monday Night episode of existential dread, as you’re pleading with your tight end to keep you from the chopping block.
You’ll be upgrading your roster constantly. At GuillotineLeagues.com, we run waivers on Wednesday afternoon, and it'll reshape your weekly habits. There's massive anticipation around the unveiling of the weekly waiver wire results--Did you bid just enough to get that sneaky guy you wanted?
And, you'll love teasing the other owners when you see how they overpaid for their winning bids.
Speaking of the emotions of a guillotine league, get ready for some serious anxiety attacks.
Mostly, I mean that in a good way, because you're going to fight to stay alive, and when you enter a Monday night game needing 12 fantasy points from your tight end, it's intense. Get 11.9 points and your season is over. Get 12.1 points and you're alive, no different from the team that finished with the weekly high score.
As the weeks go on, you’re going to realize that your draft was waaay less important than your traditional leagues. Because of the large number of teams, every roster will start the season with some gaping holes. But, you'll plug those holes with high-quality free agents—even some superstars.
If you're alive in December, you'll be benching superstars in tough matchups for different superstars in easier ones. Benching guys like Tyreek Hill [gasp!] is surreal. But it can happen late in a guillotine league season.
The Guide to Guillotine Leagues Fantasy Football
- An Introduction to Guillotine Leagues
- What to Expect Week-to-Week in a Guillotine League
- Unique Challenges of a Guillotine League Draft
- Draft Day Mistakes to Avoid in a Guillotine League Draft
- Reversing the Strength of Schedule Dynamic in Guillotine Leagues
- The Perfect Fantasy Football Draft for Guillotine Leagues
- The Most Dangerous Fantasy Football Draft for Guillotine Leagues
- How to Manage your FAAB in a Guillotine League (Month by Month)
- Answering Strategy-Based Guillotine League Questions
