What Happens If Your Pick Is Postponed in Last Man Standing?
Postponed fixtures are one of the most common sources of confusion in Last Man Standing. The short answer: a postponed match does not eliminate you and does not void your pick. But it does affect how you plan future rounds. Here is everything you need to know.
The KwickPicks Team has spent years running and playing Last Man Standing competitions across the Premier League, Championship, and lower leagues. We write about LMS strategy, fixture analysis, and pick advice to help players at every level survive longer — and win.
The Basic Rule: Postponed Fixtures Are Excluded
On Kwick Picks, postponed and cancelled fixtures are excluded from the available picks list entirely. You cannot select a postponed team as your pick — and if a fixture is postponed after you have already made a pick, your pick is not voided. The round simply continues without that fixture.
This means postponements do not eliminate you. If you were planning to pick a team whose match gets called off, you will need to choose a different team. But you will not lose your entry because of something outside your control.
Key point
Postponed matches are simply not included in the round. They do not count as a win, a loss, or a draw. Your pick must come from the fixtures that are actually played.
What Happens to the Postponed Team?
A team whose fixture is postponed is not added back to your available pool as if you never used them. In Last Man Standing, each team can only be used once per season regardless of whether their fixture was played or postponed.
If you selected a team and their match was postponed before the round closed, you will typically be able to change your pick to a different team. Once the round is locked and a fixture is postponed, the round settles based on the results of all other fixtures that were played.
Why Fixtures Get Postponed
In English football, the most common reasons for postponement are:
- →Weather. Waterlogged or frozen pitches, particularly in the lower leagues during winter months.
- →Cup competitions. When a team progresses deep into an FA Cup or League Cup run, league fixtures get rescheduled to avoid clashes.
- →International breaks. Rarely causes postponements but can affect squad availability around international windows.
- →Safety issues. Police or ground safety concerns, particularly for high-risk fixtures.
- →Bereavement or tragedy. Fixtures are occasionally postponed out of respect following significant events.
How to Plan Around Postponement Risk
Postponement risk is generally low in the Premier League — the top flight has strong infrastructure and pitches that rarely become unplayable. The risk increases significantly in the Championship, League One, and League Two, where grounds are older and pitch quality varies more widely.
In practice, the postponement risk worth monitoring in LMS is cup competition congestion. When a team is in an FA Cup semi-final or League Cup final, the league will often move their upcoming fixtures. This can affect your pick availability unexpectedly — a fixture you were counting on for a future round may be pushed back by two or three weeks.
Practical advice
- →Check the full fixture list for your chosen team before locking in a pick for a future round
- →Be aware of which teams are active in cup competitions — their fixtures are most likely to move
- →In the lower leagues, check weather forecasts close to matchday during winter
- →Do not build a multi-week strategy around a specific team without checking their fixture schedule is confirmed
The Bigger Strategic Impact
The indirect effect of postponements on LMS strategy is often more significant than the direct effect. When a popular team has their fixture postponed, the field suddenly has fewer picks available. If half the remaining players were planning to use the same team and that fixture is called off, everyone scrambles for alternatives — and the alternatives are typically lower-probability picks.
Players who already have a confirmed pick for that round are at a significant advantage. This is one of the underrated reasons to pick early in the week rather than waiting until the last moment — you lock in your choice before any postponement can disrupt your planning.
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