The league switched to FAAB waivers this year, replacing the old standard waiver system with a blind bidding format where everyone gets a budget and spends it on free agents throughout the season. It rewards strategy, punishes panic spending, and was immediately used by Scott Langer to assemble a 5-8 team that won the championship. So that went well.
Scott Langer. Five wins. Eight losses. The seventh seed in an eight-team playoff field. A man who by any rational measure had no business in the title game, let alone winning it. He beat Bernard Lynn 143.68-102.02 in the championship anyway and collected his $275 with the serene confidence of someone who has never once worried about his point differential. This league has seen some bracket chaos, but a 5-8 champion is a new personal best.
Ryan Wingerson went 11-2. Eleven wins. The best regular season record in the league. The regular season championship title. He finished 5th. At this point Ryan's regular season dominance is less a pattern and more a personality trait, and that personality trait has never once resulted in a ring. Matthew Beyer led the entire league in scoring at 1,684 points and finished 6th. The top two teams by every meaningful regular season metric combined for exactly zero playoff wins. The bracket remains one of nature's great mysteries.
Derek Burns, who finished last in 2012 and has been a reliable bottom-half presence ever since, at least managed the season's biggest blowout, a 164.02-71.14 dismantling of Paul Loveland in Week 12. Derek Burns: not a championship contender, but occasionally capable of violence.
And speaking of Paul Loveland, the season low of 69.5 in Week 7 was his, because of course it was. Paul Loveland and the basement of this league have maintained a long and consistent relationship. Derek Burns finished last at 3-10, which is fitting given that blowout he handed out on his way there. You don't get to slap someone with a 93-point loss and then claim the moral high ground from 12th place.
And with that, Grant Andersen closed out his league career in 3rd place, which is a genuinely respectable exit after back-to-back last-place finishes. He came back, competed, and finished on the podium. Grant Andersen, 2014-2016. Gone but not forgotten. Mostly forgotten.
Wk12
Wk2
FINAL STANDINGS
| Finish | Owner | Record | Points For | Points Against | Reg. Finish | Net Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Langer | 5-8 | 1,570.6 | 1,527.7 | 7 | +$275 | |
| 2 | Bernard Lynn | 5-8 | 1,489.9 | 1,579.4 | 8 | +$100 |
| 3 | Grant Andersen | 8-5 | 1,472.5 | 1,460.3 | 5 | $0 |
| 4 | Derek Hilmer | 6-7 | 1,421.9 | 1,540.9 | 6 | $-50 |
| 5 | Ryan Wingerson | 11-2 | 1,577.9 | 1,314.9 | 1 | $0 |
| 6 | Matthew Beyer | 10-3 | 1,684.6 | 1,391.0 | 2 | $-50 |
| 7 | Dennis Lynn | 9-4 | 1,469.2 | 1,329.4 | 3 | $-50 |
| 8 | Jarod Hilmer | 8-5 | 1,615.2 | 1,477.2 | 4 | $-50 |
| 9 | Jeft Cavey | 5-8 | 1,472.8 | 1,533.3 | 9 | $-50 |
| 10 | Andrew Vinz | 5-8 | 1,382.3 | 1,537.9 | 10 | $-50 |
| 11 | Paul Loveland | 3-10 | 1,363.6 | 1,616.6 | 11 | $-50 |
| 12 | Derek Burns | 3-10 | 1,342.8 | 1,554.6 | 12 | $-50 |