One team a week. Lose once, you're out.
Pick one team to win each week. No team twice. Last entry alive takes the pool. PikSheet handles the rules, pick submission, lock timing, field reveal, standings, and commissioner controls from one place.
How it works
The format stays familiar to your league; PikSheet keeps the weekly mechanics clear and consistent.
- 1Each week, pick one team you think will win outright.
- 2You cannot reuse a team for the rest of the season.
- 3A correct pick advances you. A loss or a tie eliminates you.
- 4Missed picks count as a loss — submit early; you can change your pick until it locks.
- 5Last entry standing wins. If all remaining entries lose in the same week, the longest-surviving entries typically split — commissioner's call, decided up front.
Member flow
Members see the current week, make the required picks, and can edit anything that has not locked yet.
Field reveal
After lock, the pool can see who picked what without chasing text threads or screenshots.
Scoring
Game results update the leaderboard according to this format's rules and history.
Week 4
A quick scoring example for this format.
- 1.You pick the 49ers. They win — you advance.
- 2.Three other members picked the Cowboys, who lost. They're out.
- 3.Eliminated column: +3. Alive column: you and 11 others.
- 4.You still can't pick the 49ers again this season.
How to win a Survivor pool
Strategy that separates the season winners from the pack.
- 1Think in expected value, not just survival odds. Surviving a week on the same team as everyone else gains you nothing — the good favorite the field ignores is often the better pick.
- 2Plan three to four weeks ahead. Burning a top team in a week with other safe options is how entries die in week 10 with nothing left.
- 3Weeks 1–3 knock out a big chunk of most pools. Don't get cute early; save contrarian plays for when the field has thinned and differentiation actually pays.
- 4Missed picks eliminate more entries than upsets do. Submit early in the week — you can change your pick any time before it locks.
What the commissioner controls
Every setting is configurable at pool creation and editable until the pool opens.
- Multiple entries per member (default 1)
- Straight-up or against-the-spread survival
- Spread source: auto or commissioner-set (ATS pools)
- Lock mode: week, day, or per-game
Survivor pool FAQ
What is an NFL survivor pool?+
An elimination pool: each week you pick one team to win — straight up in the classic version, though pools can also play against the spread. Win and you advance; lose and you're eliminated. You can't reuse a team all season, and the last entry standing takes the pool. Also called a knockout, eliminator, or last-man-standing pool.
What happens if my survivor pick ties?+
A tie counts as a loss — the team didn't win, so the entry is eliminated. On PikSheet that rule is fixed, so there's nothing to argue about after it happens.
Can I have multiple survivor entries?+
Many pools allow 2–5 entries per person, which lets you diversify picks in dangerous weeks. On PikSheet the commissioner sets max entries per member, and each entry picks and survives independently.
What happens if everyone left loses in the same week?+
Commissioner's call, decided before the season: most pools split the pot among the longest-surviving entries. PikSheet's standings track exactly when each entry was eliminated, so the split is unambiguous.