We’re crowning a world champion of fantasy football with a free contest. The Fantasy Index Open gives you the opportunity to prove you know more than everyone else (and win a gigantic trophy at the same time).
The format is the same as in previous years. Just submit a top 20 at each position (using standard scoring) before the August 9 deadline, and we’ll do all the rest. The higher you rank a player the more he counts towards your score.
The overall champion will take home an impossibly large trophy from the team at Affordable Trophies. They’ve been partnering with us on this venture for years.
The top 2 finishers also win berths in the Experts Poll in next year’s magazine.
Harold Simons of Torrance, Calif., won last year’s championship, with Patrick Chance of Dallas finishing second.
The 2018 version of the contest is now live. To access the entry, log into the site and then click on “YOUR STUFF”. The contest is one of the pull-down options, under “Fantasy Index Open 2018”. Those who are already logged in can get to the contest by clicking here.
The contest is free, but to be eligible to win you must sign up on the website, providing a name and mailing address. If you were to sign up without supplying a name, you wouldn’t be eligible to win the trophy (which is huge).
This contest is different than a typical fantasy league. There are no rosters, starting lineups or waiver moves. Instead, you list 120 players in order – 20 at QB, RB, WR, TE, K and DEF. You select those players by using the easy drag-and-drop interface at the website.
Attrition is important in this contest. If you select a player who misses a good chunk of games, it can really hurt your score. At running back, for example, those selecting Mark Ingram will get no credit for his work while he’s suspended for the first four weeks. It makes sense to pick him only if he’s good enough in his remaining 12 games to finish as one of the league’s 20 most productive running backs. Similarly, quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck and Carson Wentz aren’t as certain as others to play in all 16 games.
Entries are due before the start of the first game of the first full week of the preseason. That’s Thursday, August 9 this year, at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Until then, feel free to start on your picks, coming back to make adjustments for injuries and holdouts. But once that deadline hits, all entries are locked.
Scoring on this system is standard. That’s 6 points for touchdowns, 4 for TD passes, 1 for every 10 run/rec yards and 1 for every 20 passing yards. Defenses receive 2 points for takeaways, 1 for sacks and 6 for every touchdown scored on a return of a takeaway or kick.
Entries are due in 12 days. Good luck to all.