Fantasy football games have become an essential part of the season for many football fans but now there's another soccer-based game of skill that's rapidly growing in popularity - Last Man Standing.
It's a fun way of competing with family, friends or work colleagues and provides an interest in each week's fixtures. The concept of the game is so simple that even if you've never heard of it before, it will only take a few minutes for new players to get up to speed.
In this article we'll explain the basics of how the game works and provide some tips of the strategies that could give you an edge when you take up the challenge yourself.
The basic idea of the game is simple. Each player picks a team to win their match in each round of fixtures. If that team win, the player progresses to the next week, but if their selected team lose or draw, they are eliminated. The process goes on until only one person still has a 100% record with their picks and they are the last one standing.
What makes it more difficult is that once a player has chosen a team, say Liverpool, to win the first match in the competition, they can never choose the Reds again in that competition. Their second selection would have to be one of the other 19 Premier League teams, and so on.
The concept will be familiar to anyone who is aware of the long-standing survivor pools that have been staple entertainment for NFL fans in the United States for decades.
As the weeks go on, players have fewer and fewer teams to choose from and, having started out with picks they are massively confident in, it may not be long until they are forced into taking more risky selections that they would have happily left alone earlier in the competition.
Rules for competitions will vary depending on the platform being used for the game, which now include bookmaker sites offering free-to-play competitions.
Be sure to be aware of the relevant information you need for the game you are playing, particularly whether it is free entry (hosting companies may provide a jackpot prize for the winner), or paid entry, in which case the stake money from each player will usually be pooled and given to the Last Man Standing as prize money.
Another variation is that some games may offer players more than one life before they are eliminated, resulting in a longer competition, but the basic concept is for a high-risk, lose-and-you're-out battle.
Games may also vary in how they treat players who fail to make a selection by the gameweek deadline. In many, that would result in instant elimination, but more generous leagues may instead put players who don't select on either a random team or more likely the lowest-placed remaining team on their selection list, giving them a slim chance of progressing but at least giving them a sporting chance.
While a player's competition can be ended on the first day, smart operators will be looking at the long-term game and poring through the fixture list to see when might be the best times to deploy the top teams and when it could be worth taking a risk on a lower-ranked side.
Getting through a week with an underdog selection can stand you in good stead, especially if your team takes out one of the big guns and some of your opponents with them!
Even the worst teams can play a spoiler role in these contests. While Southampton were one of the worst top-flight teams in history in the 2024-25 Premier League season, they still picked up points in eight of their 38 league games and would have taken out anyone who thought they were safe picking against the weakest team in the league in each of those fixtures. The Saints' goalless draw at home to Manchester City in May 2025 would have been one of the most painful results in the competition all season.
Players should be aware of key injuries and suspensions and also take into account team's schedules - it could pay to back teams who are playing in Europe outside the windows of their continental competitions as they can often struggle when playing league matches in between two European games, either through fatigue, lack of focus or fielding weaker line-ups.
Like betting, a player's strategy will depend on their attitude to risk - an early gamble could pay off but also lead to a quick elimination, but then again sticking with favourites may not pay in the long run - even champions Liverpool failed to win 13 Premier League games last season - and it's also likely that more of your opponents will go through with you if you pick the top teams and they win.
William Hill offers a variation of Last Man Standing as a free-to-play game known as Final One Standing, which features weekly jackpots. The entertainment keeps coming as players can enter a new competition the following week whenever they are eliminated with new pools starting each match week.
