How to Win at Last Man Standing

1. Don't Panic-Use Your Big Teams Early

The single most common mistake in Last Man Standing is burning Manchester City, Arsenal, or Liverpool in the first few weeks just because it feels safe. Yes, they're likely to win — but so will they be in weeks 12, 18, and 24. You have all season to use them.

The real question isn't "which team is most likely to win this week?" — it's "which team gives me the best return relative to the alternatives I'm giving up?" If you can find a solid mid-table side with a comfortable home fixture this week, use them instead. Save City for when your options are genuinely difficult.

2. Plan Several Weeks Ahead, Not Just One

Good Last Man Standing players are always looking at the fixture list 3–5 rounds ahead. Before making this week's pick, ask yourself: if I use this team now, what does my available pool look like in three weeks? Is there a round coming up where everyone else will struggle and I'll need a reliable option?

Fixture congestion periods — FA Cup weeks, international breaks, winter schedules — often produce difficult rounds where many teams have tough away games or are resting players. If you can see those coming, plan to have a strong team still available for them.

3. Read the Fixture Difficulty Carefully

A home fixture against a relegation-threatened side is very different from an away fixture against a top-six rival. When assessing whether a pick is "safe", consider:

• →Home vs away: Home teams win roughly 45% of matches in the Premier League. That gap matters when you're picking.
• →Current form: A team that's won five straight is a different proposition from one that's drawn three in a row — even if their league position looks strong.
• →Motivation: A team mid-table with nothing to play for might not show the same intensity as one chasing the title or fighting relegation.
• →Fixture congestion: Teams playing twice in a week often rotate. A weakened XI makes a safe-looking pick a lot riskier.
• →Head-to-head history: Some fixtures are historically tight regardless of league position. Check recent meetings.

4. If Draws Eliminate — Avoid High-Draw Teams

In competitions where draws count as eliminations, some teams become significantly less attractive even if they're good. A team that wins 60% and draws 20% is fine when draws are safe. When draws eliminate, that same team is only truly "safe" 60% of the time — the draw risk becomes a live threat.

In draw-eliminates competitions, you want teams with a high win rate and a low draw rate. In the Premier League, historically this has meant the top-two or three teams with the best attack. Mid-table teams that grind out draws frequently are a trap.

5. Don't Copy the Field — Think Independently

In a large competition, many players will make the same pick. If everyone backs Chelsea at home and Chelsea draw, everyone loses together — which might trigger a rollover. But if you can find a slightly less obvious pick that still wins, you'll still be standing while others have burned a popular option.

The scores tab on Kwick Picks shows how many entries have backed each team. Use this information strategically. If 80% of the field has backed the same team and that team draws, you might survive while most of the competition is eliminated — a huge advantage. Sometimes a slightly riskier but contrarian pick is worth it for exactly this reason.

6. Multiple Entries — Run Different Strategies

If the competition allows multiple entries, use them to diversify. Don't just make the same pick across all your entries — that provides no additional protection. Instead:

• →Use one entry conservatively (always pick the odds-on favourite regardless of team value)
• →Use another entry for strategic play (saving strong teams, reading the fixture list several weeks ahead)
• →Use a third entry for a higher-risk, contrarian strategy — backing the field's least popular pick

If your conservative entry gets eliminated on a bad result, you still have your strategic entry alive. Spreading risk across strategies is smarter than doubling down on one approach.

7. Late Season — When the Game Gets Serious

The final weeks of a long competition are where Last Man Standing becomes genuinely tense. Your remaining team pool is small. Your opponents are in the same position. Everyone is making uncomfortable picks.

At this stage, a team's record matters less than their specific upcoming fixture. A relegation-battling side at home to the league leaders might be your only option — and sometimes they win. Football is unpredictable. What you can control is making the best decision with the options you have, not lamenting the teams you've already used.

If you've planned well, you should still have one or two reliable picks held in reserve for exactly this moment. That's the reward for patience early in the season.

8. The Rollover Round — Treat it as a Fresh Start

If all remaining players are eliminated in the same round, many competitions trigger a rollover: all players are reinstated, and the game resets — often with team availability reset too. Rollovers happen most often in tight competitions late in the season when everyone is picking from a small pool of remaining teams.

After a rollover, treat it as a clean slate. Your previous picks no longer count against you (depending on the rules), your team pool resets, and you're back to square one with everyone else. The same strategic principles apply — don't burn your best teams too fast in the reopened season.