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The Eliminator Tournament Rules
Underdog contests are governed by our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the rules listed below. For AZ users, please refer to our Terms of Use here.
Entrants into Underdog contests compete to accumulate points based on athletes' statistical performance in sporting events. Contest results are determined by the total points accumulated by each individual lineup entry according to the relevant scoring rules.
General Contest Information
Entrants select players through a snake draft. In a snake draft, the pick order is reversed each round. In other words, the entrant with the first pick in round 1, will have the last pick in round 2 and the first pick in round 3.
Entrants are required to pay an entry fee of $10 per entry to enter The Eliminator (the "Tournament").
Entrants are only allowed to enter a maximum of 150 entries in the Tournament.
Entry to the Tournament will be closed prior to the 1st game of the 2026 season. This means that the Tournament closure time would move if the timing of the first game were to change for any reason.
Entrants draft a team of players who accumulate points throughout the duration of the contest period.
Once entrants draft, their rosters are set—there are no waivers, substitutions, or trades during the contest period.
At the end of each week, Underdog automatically selects the entrant's highest scoring players at the designated positions to be "starters" and only those players' statistics over that week are counted toward the entrant's accumulated score. This means entrants do not need to set their lineups.
Entrants compete in groups ("Groups") over the course of multiple rounds ("Rounds").
The Tournament will have 17 Rounds, with each round consisting of player groups as seen below:
Round 1 - 12 person groups
Round 2 - 14 person groups
Round 3 - 12 person groups
Round 4 - 667 person final group
Round 5 - 2 seat groups
Round 6 - 2 seat groups
Round 7 - 2 seat groups
Round 8 - 2 seat groups
Round 9 - 2 seat groups
Round 10 - 2 seat groups
Round 11 - 2 seat groups
Round 12 - 2 seat groups
Round 13 - 2 seat groups
Round 14 - 2 seat groups
Round 15 - 2 seat groups
Round 16 - 2 seat groups
Round 17 - 3 seat final group
The Tournament will consist of 196,608 total entries in the first Round, and a total of 16,384 12-person Groups.
At the end of Round 1, the top six (6) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 2. Round 2 will consist of 98,304 entries in 49,152 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 2, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 3. Round 3 will consist of 49,152 entries in 24,576 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 3, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 4. Round 4 will consist of 24,576 entries in 12,288 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 4, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 5. Round 5 will consist of 12,288 entries in 6,144 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 5, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 6. Round 6 will consist of 6,144 entries in 3,072 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 6, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 7. Round 7 will consist of 3,072 entries in 1,536 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 7, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 8 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 8 will consist of 1,536 entries in 768 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 8, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 9 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 9 will consist of 768 entries in 384 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 9, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 10 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 10 will consist of 384 entries in 192 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 10, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 11 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 11 will consist of 192 entries in 96 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 11, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 12 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 12 will consist of 96 entries in 48 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 12, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 13 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 13 will consist of 48 entries in 24 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 13, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 14 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 14 will consist of 24 entries in 12 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 14, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 15 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 15 will consist of 12 entries in 6 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 15, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 16 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 16 will consist of 6 entries in 3 2-seat Groups.
At the end of Round 16, the top one (1) performing entries in each Group will advance to Round 17 and be awarded a prize (as described below). Round 17 will consist of 3 entries in a single 3-seat Group.
At the end of Round 17, the top one (1) performing entry from the Group will be the Grand Prize Winner and prizes will be awarded to all entries in Round 17 (as described below).
Rounds
Round 1 - NFL Week 1
Round 2 - NFL Week 2
Round 3 - NFL Week 3
Round 4 - NFL Week 4
Round 5 - NFL Week 5
Round 6 - NFL Week 6
Round 7 - NFL Week 7
Round 8 - NFL Week 8
Round 9 - NFL Week 9
Round 10 - NFL Week 10
Round 11 - NFL Week 11
Round 12 - NFL Week 12
Round 13 - NFL Week 13
Round 14 - NFL Week 14
Round 15 - NFL Week 15
Round 16 - NFL Week 16
Round 17 - NFL Week 17
In the event of season postponement, any missed weeks will lead to a shortening of Round 1.
Roster Makeup
The roster makeup and scoring will follow the details below.
Position | Roster |
Quarterback (QB) | 1 |
Running Back (RB) | 2 |
Wide Receiver (WR) | 3 |
Tight End (TE) | 1 |
Flex | 1 |
Bench | 10 |
Prize Breakdown
1st | $200,000 |
2nd | $100,000 |
3rd | $76,000 |
4-6th | $50,000 |
7-12th | $20,000 |
13-24th | $10,000 |
25-48th | $5,000 |
49-96th | $2,000 |
97-192nd | $1,000 |
193-384th | $500 |
385-768th | $200 |
769-1536th | $102 |
1537-3072nd | $52 |
3073-6144th | $31 |
6145-12288th | $20 |
12289-24576th | $10 |
Scoring
Underdog uses official statistics provided by reputable partners and only includes statistics from sporting events the relevant league deems to be official.
We endeavor to promptly settle contests and distribute prizes, but it is also important to us to make sure we do so accurately. On a weekly basis, final scores will be confirmed within 72 hours after the final game of the week is played. Following each specified contest round, entries will be advanced within 72 hours after the final game for that World Cup Week is played. Once entries are advanced, scores will be considered final and no changes will be made. Normally, any scoring changes or stat corrections provided by our partners after a contest has ended and Underdog has settled the contest will not impact the already-settled contest. However, Underdog reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to revise scores after they are released in the unlikely event of a potential scoring error by a provider or Underdog. In those circumstances, the contest results may be altered, payments may be reversed, and redone based on the correction.
If a league declares a game "postponed" or "suspended", then the statistics generated in the sporting event before that point will count toward the contest. Any statistics generated when the sporting event takes place or resumes will count only if it occurs before the relevant contest period or Round closes.