Congratulations to Mark Christie of Fairport, N.Y., our Fantasy Index Blackout champion for the 2022 season. He wins a free subscription to everything we publish for the 2023 season -- Fantasy Football Index magazine and the SuperFanatic newsletter package -- and he will be invited to join the professional fantasy analysts in the 2023 Fantasy Football Index magazine Experts Draft. Click through to see the overall Top 50 for the year.

Christie finished 35.75 points ahead of runner-up Steve Klitzner of Miami -- a difference of about 1 percent.

Want to do battle with the experts and have your picks published in Fantasy Football Index magazine? Then do what Mark did: Outwit hundreds of entrants in Fantasy Index Blackout or the Fantasy Index Open. (Results for the 2022 Fantasy Index Open will be published soon.) Both competitions are free of charge and open to all comers.

Christie had a remarkably consistent season. He vaulted to 14th in Week 3, and for the remainder of the year he was never lower than 6th in the standings. He took the overall lead Week 14 and held it to the finish.

We asked Christie how he did it, and he had a lot to say:

"The first couple weeks I probably picked more 'chalk' players as we learned who teams and players were this season. Week 3 was a big one -- I've always tended to favor the running QBs and Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson put up huge numbers. The one I really remember was Week 4, when most of the Lions WRs were out. I subbed in T.J. Hockenson late in the week, and he had a career day. As you mentioned, I was in the top 6 most of the year after that. T.J. was a regular feature in my lineups most of the way, as was Amon-Ra St. Brown. He was one of those guys who never seemed to be blacked out but always had great matchups. Aside from that, I always used the stud guys like Austin Ekeler, Christian McCaffrey, and Patrick Mahomes whenever they were available. Week 17 was the big one, as I had just a 1 point lead over the guy in 2nd place. I probably changed my lineup a million times during the week, but decided to take both Justin Fields and Jared Goff banking on a high scoring game and sticking with my guy Ekeler even though Dalvin Cook was tempting me. It all worked out, and that gave me the breathing room heading into week 18."

We encountered a couple of hiccups along the way. The terrifying Week 17 injury to Damar Hamlin led the NFL to abandon the Bills-Bengals game, causing all players in that game to receive zeroes. Tee Higgins appeared in more than one third of Blackout lineups that week, and many other players were affected. And we had a self-inflicted wound in Week 9, when we failed to properly account for the switch from daylight saving time to standard time. That caused rosters to lock an hour too early, which hurt a handful of contestants who otherwise would have entered or changed their rosters.

Blackout is free to play. We pay for the programming and spend several hours each week working on it because we want to play it ourselves. With that said, we think the game has gotten a little stale, and we're contemplating changes for next year. In the comments, please tell us how you would change/improve the game next year -- and don't forget to congratulate Mark!

Fantasy Index Blackout - Top 50 overall for the 2022 season
RkPtsTeamOwnerHometown
1.3550.20RenegadesMark ChristieFairport, NY
2.3514.45Steve K.Steve KlitznerMiami, FL
3.3511.55#EvilGeniusKen EdwardsSalinas, CA
4.3507.55CrushersJames ZabloudilPlainfield, IL
5.3505.85Bob R.Bob ReckMukwonago, WI
6.3480.35Steven H.Steven HeckerPowell, OH
7.3478.90Ralph C.Ralph CunninghamOwasso, OK
8.3473.60Travis P.Travis PerryCoeburn, VA
9.3467.30Mike T.Mike TaylorMeridian, ID
10.3464.3018 rocksBrad DenglerMorton, WA
11.3459.40DT BOMBERSDennis ThomasRoyal Oaks, CA
12.3457.15CRAIG MACHINECraig SmithHumble, TX
13.3452.35Henne to ManninghamMichael GarvesLa Crosse, WI
14.3450.30Bellview BashersTreavor PhippsSalem, IN
15.3450.25SHAMROCKSRobert CassidyFlorence, OR
16.3440.70Steven T.Steven TorresNipomo, CA
17.3439.20SA MaddogsMicahel EspinosaHelotes, TX
18.3436.10FIUSER0824Victor KitzesBlack Diamond, WA
19.3431.25David D.David DiGregorioNorristown, PA
20.3428.65Manifest DensityMike McIlraithLivingston, TX
21.3426.40Paulie's PlayhousePaul GrubbTimnath, CO
22.3421.15Scott KScott KaliskaWinnipeg, MB
23.3420.60For Who? For What?Steve KnightWest Chester, PA
24.3418.90Last CallSteve BrunBeavercreek, OH
25.3416.30Matt G.Matt GarvesLa Crosse, WI
26.3411.50O ClubJohn SokoloskyWilburton, OK
27.3410.80Joe KappDavid WeissmillerMount Carroll, IL
28.3409.55GamebreakersGary BauerMarinette, WI
29.3409.40BUCXPRESSRobert BuckmannMount Dora, FL
30.3404.85PDXHawkFanEric LiljenbergPortland, OR
31.3399.80DeutschlandEXPRESSPaul DeutschSioux Falls, SD
32.3390.80Saquon DestroyMichael LivengoodWard, AR
33.3386.30Troy's BoysLarry WeinhauerAndover, NY
34.3385.40CCBluecatsBud HenryDallas, TX
35.3382.35HeadbangersChad HensleeNederland, TX
36.3381.65Dam GuyDave GarnerMossyrock, WA
37.3380.50Mighty Grimmace'sTodd BlinnObetz, OH
38.3379.80FlashCody HagerPortland, OR
39.3374.25Team Schads-FITim SchadelbauerFarmingville, NY
40.3372.70MilesBrent MilesPasco, WA
41.3369.25RelmRob ElmlingerCincinnati, OH
42.3366.20The CrushersJoe CliffordCumberland, RI
43.3365.80Benton's BulliesBenton HittLorton, VA
44.3364.35Brian B.Brian BrugeNiles, MI
45.3359.40Math ManiaSteven MathAustin, TX
46.3356.25Los Pollos HermanosDave SjogrenLeland, NC
47.3354.90Sophie's choiceDennis SnyderModesto, CA
48.3352.40Rookie TomThomas MignoneOdenton, MD
49.3351.35Cardiac KidsScott ArmbrusterPenfield, NY
50.3350.95@AngryMoose1Ben MacLeodConcord, NH