


PlayoffComputer sub-reddit has tips and info

APP INFO
PlayoffComputer (the “App”) takes a league’s standings, schedule, and tiebreaker data to analyze its playoff race. For fantasy sports players this provides valuable information on their teams regarding their playoff chances as well as giving commissioners a treasure trove of content to share in weekly recaps and newsletters. For fans of professional teams and leagues, data from several pro-leagues can now be imported.
The App contains no ads and does not collect any data outside of device use for performance monitoring and analytics.
There are minor differences in the presentation, features, and access level capabilities between the android and iOS version, but the overall functional aspects are the same. Differences will be noted within.
Latest Release
android version 1.40 was released on 29Mar2025. iOS version 1.5.1 was released on 26Mar2025.
Current Issues
android: Locating the PDF report is the most asked about. The default location is Internal storage -> documents -> playoff_computer but this may vary depending on device. Apparently some older devices may not have an Internal storage folder, an alternative is in works.
Features
There are two access levels, Basic and Premium. The App upon installation includes the Basic Level. The Premium Level is available on an annual subscription basis for about the price of a beer. It is recommended to insure that basic functionality for a particular league(s) can be accomplished before upgrading to the Premium Level as there may be a complex league set-up that is not compatible (please advise if that occurs).
Features in ALL Levels
- Data transfer from popular fantasy sports hosting sites such as ESPN, Yahoo, MyFantasy, Sleeper, Fleaflicker, NFL Fantasy, Fantasy Premier League* (iOS – “Draft” leagues only), and Fantrax**. Additionally, data transfer from a Google Sheets spreadsheet template available HERE for other leagues. This spreadsheet takes a little bit of time to initially set-up but only a few minutes to update each week/round (advanced users can automate this for many leagues). More instructions for using this option are below in the TMI section. (* See below for important info regarding FPL; ** See below for important info regarding Fantrax)
- For some hosting sites, playoff race details such as number of playoff teams, tiebreakers, when the playoffs start, etc. are automatically transferred. For others some details may need to be manually input.
- Accepts multiple-division leagues and even multiple-conferences (My Fantasy, Sheets).
- Customizable set-up allows many options for analysis.
- Popular tiebreakers can be included in calculations, such as: Head-To-Head (several options that should cover varying hosting site rules), Division Record, Conference Record, Points, Points-Against-High (schedule toughness), All-Play, and Points/Goals Difference.
- Can utilize “Best-in-Division” (e.g. My Fantasy, Fleaflicker) methods as desired.
- Customizable sorting of analysis results display (android version only).
- The android version allows all users to import data from several popular professional leagues (premium feature on iOS).
- The android version allows all users to create their own scenarios with a “what-if” component (premium feature on iOS).
Calculations in BASIC Level
- Approximate odds for each team to win their division and/or to make the playoffs.
Calculations in PREMIUM Level
Note the presentation of these features as well as what requires Premium access may vary slightly between the android and iOS versions.
- The famous “paths-to-clinch” which provides NFL-style listings of what needs to happen in upcoming games for teams to clinch a division and/or playoff spot (e.g. “Bananas clinch a spot with a win and a Dragons loss”).
- Clinched / Eliminated status info for each team for division and/or playoff spots.
- Increased-accuracy odds.
- Minimum number of wins/points each team would need to have any chance.
- Projected targets for each team to aim for to make the playoffs and/or win division.
- The number of wins each team needs to guarantee making the playoffs.
- Whether or not a team must win out to have any chance.
- Whether or not a team controls their own destiny.
- PDF reports for printing or sharing the intel with the league.
- “What-If” component to see what the picture would look like with user-created scenarios (aka similar to the ESPN NFL playoff machine). Available at all levels in android version.
- Data import from the NFL, Premier League, and other Professional sports leagues.
League Requirements
In order to function as intended, a league must:
- Play head-to-head games, where each game either results in a win, loss, or tie for the teams, or for “points-based” leagues (e.g. soccer) each game results in “league-points” as a result of a win, loss, or tie. There is very limited support for Median scoring in the android version, see below for more info).
- Determine all playoff spots firstly by either overall winning percentage or by “league points” (e.g. soccer). For leagues that award an additional spot to the leftover highest-scoring team, the App can only calculate the wildcard spots available by record or “league points”. FWIW this shouldn’t diminish the enjoyment of the App as generally speaking this additional spot is so in flux in most leagues that it doesn’t matter if it is not included in the calculations.
- Leagues that play double-header schedules are accommodated but note that depending on league size and various other factors for the situation at the time of analysis, the “paths-to-clinch” report may become fairly complicated and almost indecipherable and the mathematical accuracy of some calculations may be impaired.
- Have all teams play the same number of games.
- Leagues that play uneven schedules (e.g. not the same number of games per week/round) are accommodated as long as each team plays the same number of games for the season, with the same possible impacts as described above depending on the specific circumstances.
- Single conference leagues with more than 32 teams or multi-conference leagues with more than 16 teams per conference are likely to experience difficulties during calculations depending on the exact scenario presented at the time of analysis, which is difficult to quantify ahead of time.
Terms & Disclaimers
There is a reason that this type of App exists nowhere else. The formulas, methods, and processes used are both unorthodox and complicated in order to achieve the desired results. The App requires a tremendous amount of computing resources from a user’s device for sometimes an extended amount of time. It is completely the user’s responsibility and their discretion as to whether to subject their device to this type of use. Additionally, for maximum ease of use with fantasy sports leagues the App requires access to league data through a fantasy sports hosting site’s API. There is no implied warranty, statement, or promise that access to any particular fantasy hosting site will continue for any amount of time. The relevant fantasy hosting sites completely control their own APIs and they may make modifications or change access policies at any time that would cause the App’s ability to gather data from them to cease temporarily or, if a remedy is not possible, permanently. As such, it is completely at the user’s risk to use this App with a particular fantasy sports hosting site.
Note that with the almost infinite amount of league settings and options ranging from the numerous hosting sites the App can get data from, to different sports, to league size, to division and even conference options, to tiebreakers, all of which may alter the formatting of the data as accessed through the hosting sites, it is a virtual certainty that some particular league set-up hasn’t been tested yet and will cause unforeseen issues when attempting to import data or when performing calculations. If that happens, kindly report via email (apps(@at)zelapeak.com) for good karma to your fantasy teams and it will be investigated as soon as possible.
See complete Terms of Use HERE
APP INSTRUCTIONS
Note, on occasion, particularly during the (American) football offseason, there may be differences between the instructions here and the App as changes and improvements are made or in the early stages of being released.
Home Page
From the Home page, the following options are available:
- Import: Select to import league data from the various sources available.
- Update Access Level: Use this after upgrading, if desired, to the Premium Level for the App to recognize the change in Access Level (iOS – not required).
- Get Premium Access: This opens up a window to purchase the Premium Level annual subscription. Before doing so it is recommended to test the data import and basic calculations with your league(s) to make sure they are accomplished satisfactorily.
Import Page
To import data from a league, follow these steps (note some only apply to specific data sources):
- Insure hosting site privacy settings allow data to be read (ESPN, MyFantasy, perhaps others). For ESPN the league setting ‘..viewable to public’ must be ‘yes’. For MyFantasy the league setting ‘..league reports private..’ must be ‘no’.
- Select Import Source: Choose between the available fantasy sports hosting sites, the companion Google Sheets template, or even the Test data. All android users and iOS Premium users can also select “Professional Leagues”. Currently English Premier League, Australian Nation Rugby League, Chinese Super League, Hong Kong Premier League, German Bundesliga, Indian Premier League (cricket), Japanese J1 League, Spanish La Liga, and the NFL are accessible (requests for others accepted). The various leagues will show up in the League ID section described below.
- Choose Sport (ESPN, Fleaflicker): Select the relevant sport for the league.
- MFL URL Prefix (MyFantasy only): Input the two-digit number that follows “www” when the league is displayed on the web.
- Standard or Draft league (FPL only): Select the FPL type of league, standard or “fantasy draft” (iOS – “draft” league only).
- League ID: Input the League ID. For most hosting sites this is a 4-10 digit number. For some it is more complex (and longer). For Google Sheets data import, see below for full details.
- To help with ease-of-use, once a League ID is input, it can be saved as either “#1” or “#2” and then inserted from memory as needed in the future (iOS – one league ID can be saved).
- Select League Year (ESPN, MyFantasy, Fleaflicker): Select the league year. For leagues that traverse two calendar years this is usually the year in which the season began.
- Enter Current Week (MyFantasy, Sleeper, NFL Fantasy, FPL, Fantrax): Input the current upcoming (un-played) week of the season.
- Enter Last Week of Season (MyFantasy only): Enter the number of weeks in the regular season (e.g. usually 13-15 for ff).
- Display Team Name or Abbreviation (ESPN, MyFantasy, Fleaflicker, Fantrax): Choose whether the display results and paths-to-clinch reports (if applicable) should use team names or abbreviations/initials. The reports are much cleaner with abbreviations but only if they are easily identifiable (e.g. leagues that use NFL names/abbreviations).
- Click on the Import League button. Depending on hosting site, sport, and current point of season, the time necessary may range from a few seconds to a minute or two.
- The league data will be imported into the App. IMPORTANT: Depending on hosting site and options chosen for the particular league within the hosting site, tiebreakers that are used by the league to sort teams may or may not be automatically included in the data. Please doublecheck the tiebreakers shown are accurate for the league and change them if they are not (see next section). Additionally, again depending on hosting site, the number of wildcard spots shown for calculations may or may not be transferred. If they are not accurate see the Analysis Options section to change.
Team Info / Edit Team Info
Once league data has been imported into the App, the Team Info section will be the main source of data for each team. See the Analysis Results sections below for full details.
The Edit Team Info section can be used to add/edit some team details/records as necessary (e.g. if using Fantrax whose API does not supply details outside of W-L records). Pro-tip: Edit the often long and colorful team names to a more standardized format to make the Paths-to-Clinch reports more readable.
Remaining Games / What-Ifs
The Remaining Game section will list upcoming games.
A What-If feature is available for all android access levels and for Premium users in iOS. This serves two purposes: 1) To allow users to see what the picture would look like with user-generated scenarios, and 2) To perform mid-week updates, for example after the Sunday games in fantasy football where some teams may have already definitively won their matches. To use, click on individual teams to pre-select them as “winners” (the color of their name will change to green). To undo, click again. One game from the upcoming week/round must be left unchanged. TMI note: This feature is processed in different ways by the android and iOS versions. In the android version the records shown in the Team Info section will change accordingly as if the game has already been played.
For Premium users, after Analysis an additional display is available that will show “relevant” games. This will list games that were actually relevant to the calculations. For example, if a remaining game involves two teams that are easily identifiable as both being eliminated through simple “magic number” methods, that game will not be listed as relevant. TMI note: This allows for increased accuracy with a larger number of remaining games.
Past Games
The iOS version shows a listing of recently completed games for reference.
Tiebreaker Info
Note the presentation of the Tiebreaker sections and options in the App varies significantly between the android and iOS versions, but the overall functionality is the same.
The iOS version will show which tiebreakers, if any, were automatically imported from the applicable league source at the top of the screen after import, as well as show which tiebreakers will be applied in Calculations above the Analyze button. The android version will show applicable tiebreaker information when the Tiebreaker Info section is opened.
Both versions allow user-selected tiebreakers to be saved for future use (e.g. if the league hosting site API does not provide tiebreaker info during the Import process). The exact location of the Save and Load functions varies between the android and iOS versions.
Manually Set Tiebreakers
Note in the android version this is a sub-section of the Tiebreaker Info section.
If the tiebreakers shown as from the Import Process do not match the league rules, they can be manually selected. The process to do so varies between the android and iOS versions, as follows:
android:
- If the league is multi-division, division tiebreakers must be set first. If the league is not multi-division, the following step can be skipped.
- If the division tiebreakers shown in the Tiebreaker Info section are correct, select “Skip” and proceed to the next instruction. Otherwise, select, in order of priority, the appropriate tiebreakers from the list presented. Once a tiebreaker is selected, it will appear in the “Div tiebreakers selected” list. If a mistake is made, click the “Clear” button to start over. Once all the division tiebreakers have been selected, click the “Done” button. Note that a tiebreaker “FORCE” will always be added to the division tiebreaker list, it is necessary for division calculations.
- If the wildcard tiebreakers shown in the Tiebreaker Info section are correct, click the “Skip” button and the process is completed. Otherwise, select, in order of priority, the appropriate tiebreakers from the list presented. See the Tiebreakers section below for explanations if needed. For leagues that award wildcard spots using an NFL-style “best-in-division” method (e.g. MyFantasy, Fleaflicker), firstly choose the “BID..” tiebreakers that determine which team among those tied in a division will be the “best-in-division” representative, then select the tiebreakers that are used to determine the actual wildcard spot among those “best-in-division” teams. For example, if a league sorts division standings by head-to-head, division record, and points, and sorts wildcard spots by head-to-head and points (no division record), then the proper order for wildcard tiebreakers would be “BIDH2H..”, “BIDDIVRECORD”, “BIDPOINTS”, “H2H..”, “POINTS”. Once a tiebreaker is selected, it will appear in the “Wild tiebreakers selected” list. If a mistake is made, click the “Clear” button to start over. Once all the wildcard tiebreakers have been selected, click the “Done” button.
- If desired, save the selected tiebreakers for future use.
iOS:
- Reference the instructions above for the general theme of the process. Select the division (if applicable) and wildcard tiebreakers in order. Note for multi-division leagues, BOTH the division and wildcard selections must be chosen, even if only one is needing to be changed. Once the selections have been made, if desired click the appropriate “Save” button to reference the selection in the future, then click the “Set Selections” button. If an error is made, click the “Reset” button.
Analysis / Calculation Options
The following settings and options are available to be used in the Calculation process (note the order as displayed may vary between the android and iOS versions):
- Points League? Select Yes if the league standings are sorted by “league-points” (e.g. soccer type rules). Additional options will appear to select the amount of “league-points” awarded per win and tie.
- Consider tie games? If the possibility of a tie-game should be considered in the calculations, select Yes. Note that because this would equate to 3 possibilities for each game to work through, rather than 2, and the formula for the number of possible remaining scenarios is (possible outcomes of each game) ^ (number of remaining games), the difference in the number of possible remaining scenarios that the App would have to work through is vastly increased when tie games have to be considered. For example, given 8 remaining games, without ties being considered there are 256 remaining scenarios, with ties being considered as a possibility there are 6,561 remaining scenarios. Thus the limit to the number of games remaining before the App has to include randomization methods is reduced when this option is selected. Additionally, note that the “paths-to-clinch” reports (Premium Level) may be basically unreadable for something that usually has a low probability of occurrence. It is suggested to not select this option for the majority of fantasy leagues where a tie game is only a remote possibility, and even if tie games are a distinct possibility to only select this option for the last week of the season.
- Div. winners automatically in playoffs (multi-division leagues only). Usually Yes for multi-division leagues. If division winners are not automatically granted a playoff berth, select No and the league for this App’s purpose will be considered as a non-division league. If this is the case, insure the number of wildcard spots to be used in calculations (see below) accurately reflect the total number of playoff spots.
- Wildcard spots: For some hosting sites, this number will be automatically transferred from the league data. If not, select the appropriate number of wildcard spots. For non-division leagues this is the total number of playoff spots. For most multi-division leagues, this is the number of wildcard spots only. For example, in a two-division league with a playoff field of 6 teams and the division winners automatically getting a playoff spot, this number would be 4 (total playoff spots – divisions). For multi-conference leagues, the numbers refer to “per conference”.
- Points Buffer: For leagues that utilize points-based tiebreakers (the most common tiebreaker), since points is a “non-firm” tiebreaker that does not directly correlate to to winning and losing (e.g. Team A could beat Team B 60-50 while Team C could beat Team D 120-100, as such Team D despite losing their game actually gained points on Team A, and vice versa), there is no perfect method for the App to calculate which teams would win a points tiebreaker against any others before the season is over. The best possible method for the App’s purposes is to assume that a team with a large “points-lead” over another would be safe from being overtaken by that second team. As such, use the Points Buffer to select a reasonable number of points that any one team behind another team would not be able to overcome before the season ends. A rough formula to determine a “reasonable number” would be is (number of weeks remaining) X (difference between a high and low weekly score). For example, in a “normal” ff league where a good score is 150 and a bad score is 75, with three weeks remaining a “reasonable number” would be 225 (3 weeks X 75). This can be adjusted as one sees fit. A higher number will be more technically accurate as far as not “assuming” that any one team is not going to miracle a points comeback over another but it also results in the analysis results showing more chances that teams will end up in a tie for a spot that cannot be determined by the App at the current time.
- Manual paths number: (iOS: Premium Level and shown only when Deep Analysis selected) If the league doesn’t play a set one game per team per week/round schedule (e.g. doubleheaders, byes), or “paths-to-clinch” for the next X amount of games are desired (e.g. midweek update), choose the number of upcoming games to calculate “paths” for. Note that depending on league size and complexity of the scenarios presented, this can greatly increase the length of time to process calculations and make the “paths” listings very long and very complicated to decipher. It is also probable, depending on length of team names and the complexity of the scenarios, that the “paths” display will be limited in scope (see below). Note there is an upper limit to this setting and it is impossible to test this option with every complicated scenario that might be incurred, it is possible other adverse effects may be encountered.
- Do Deep Analysis? (Premium Level): In the android version, this option only appears when there are many remaining games left, in the iOS version, this option is required to be selected for Paths-to-Clinch listings, regardless of the number of remaining games. If there are a large number of remaining games left in the schedule, this option will increase the accuracy of the results when randomization methods had to be employed.
- Focus on Team (Premium Level): Available when there are many remaining games and Deep Analysis above is selected. This option further analyzes the paths of one specific team as it performs calculations in which the focused team would lose every remaining game after the upcoming round. As such, the paths accuracy is greatly improved but sill dependent on the number of remaining games. The odds displayed will reflect the chances of this team were they to lose every subsequent game, and the other information will be inaccurate.
Analysis Process
Once the league data has been imported, the tiebreakers to be used are correct, and the other options are set as desired, click on the Analyze button. A progress bar will be displayed to indicate the calculations are ongoing. Time necessary to complete analysis is dependent on many factors, such as the league size, number of remaining games, amount and type of tiebreakers used, how many teams are in the playoff race, number of divisions, point in the season, how complex the playoff race is shaping up to be, the number of teams that have a chance at clinching a spot in the upcoming week/round, and whether the Deep Analysis options was selected. Note that in the android version, once the analysis process has been started, it can be stopped by clicking the Home button, and then canceling the ongoing process, if the process hasn’t advanced to the “paths-to-clinch” computing stage. After this point, the analysis process can only be stopped by closing the App. In the iOS version, clicking the Home button will cancel the ongoing process if it hasn’t advanced to computing “Paths-to-Clinch”.
Analysis Results – Basic Level
Approximate odds for each team to win their division (if applicable) and to get a playoff spot will be shown. The playoff odds may (depending on tiebreakers used) be split into two parts: “C” indicates the odds of a team securing a spot either through a better record than the other teams or by winning a tiebreaker against other teams if that can be determined at the present time; “T” indicates the odds of a team being in a tiebreaker situation for a spot whose winner cannot be determined at the present time (usually due to a points related tiebreaker).
In the android version the league table can be sorted by ID, divisions (if applicable), or by wins if desired by clicking on the appropriate column header.
Analysis Results – Premium Level
Note some data may require the device to be at ‘landscape’ orientation and/or have a larger screen size to be shown. References may vary slightly between the android and iOS versions.
Division and/or Playoff Status:
- “Clinched” = The team has clinched a division or playoff spot.
- “Poss. Clinched” = The team has at least realistically clinched a division or playoff spot, but due to many remaining games the App is unable to conclusively rule out a billion-to-one catastrophe.
- “Eliminated” = The team has been eliminated from division or playoff contention.
- “Poss. Eliminated” = The team has at least realistically been eliminated from division or playoff contention, but due to many remaining games the App is unable to conclusively rule out a billion-to-one miracle.
- “C:__% T:__%” = The odds of a team getting a division or playoff spot. “C” indicates the odds of a team securing a spot either through a better record than the other teams or by winning a tiebreaker against other teams if that can be determined at the present time; “T” indicates the odds of a team being in a tiebreaker situation for a spot whose winner cannot be determined at the present time (usually due to a points related tiebreaker).
Additional geeky data:
- “MinIn” = The minimum number of wins or league points needed to have any mathematical chance at a playoff spot, or if randomization methods had to be employed that would give miniscule hope at a playoff spot.
- “GurIn” = The number of wins or league points that if achieved would guarantee a playoff spot regardless of what else happens, or if randomization methods had to be employed that would very likely result in a playoff spot regardless of what else happens.
- “MWO” = Whether a team must win out to have any chance at a playoff spot, or if randomization methods had to be employed whether it is very likely they need to win out to have any chance. In the iOS version a team’s “mIn” number displayed in red substitutes for “MWO”.
- “COD” = Whether a team controls their own destiny (i.e. they could not be denied a playoff spot if they were to win out), or if randomization methods had to be employed whether they very likely would get a playoff spot by winning out. In the iOS version no separate column is provided, but a number showing in the “gIn” column indicates a team controls their own destiny.
- Targets for each team to aim for: A projected (and subjective) win or league-point range for each team to make the playoffs and win their division (if applicable). The lower number is estimated to give a team a reasonable chance, with the upper number estimated to be a safe mark, if achieved. Teams without any range shown are considered realistically unlikely to achieve enough wins/points to make the playoffs (or win division, if applicable). Teams with only the lower number shown are considered as needing a great degree of things falling into place in addition to getting to that mark. The intent of the Targets is to provide useful intel midway through the season, the accuracy of such at the beginning of the season will be fluid and at the end of the season the “paths-to-clinch” are more relevant.
In the android version the league table can be sorted by ID, divisions (if applicable), or by wins if desired by clicking on the appropriate column header.
Paths-to-Clinch
If any exist, the “paths-to-clinch” listings for teams, as applicable, detailing what scenarios in the upcoming week/round or games (if Manual Paths selected) would allow a team to clinch a division and/or playoff spot, will be available. If there are many remaining games where randomization methods had to be employed during the calculations, any “paths” may not be completely accurate. In such cases, the accuracy for specific teams can be greatly improved by choosing the “Focus” option. If all permutations were able to be calculated, the listings should be accurate. In the android version, the PDF Report is the only place where “paths-to-clinch” are shown. In the iOS version, a preview of “paths” for each team, as applicable, will be displayed, with a complete list available in the PDF Report.
PDF Report
A PDF report will be available with the analysis for saving and/or sharing with the league. It will include “paths-to-clinch” listings, as applicable.
- android: The PDF Report is the only way to see any “paths-to-clinch”. The location of the PDF report may vary depending on device and storage settings. The default location is Internal storage -> Documents -> playoff_computer. Note a new file is created each time, titled “Analysis_Report(Date)”.
- iOS: The PDF Report will show the complete “paths-to-clinch” list. The Print function is opened when selected. Note that if multiple reports are generated the document file may need to be closed and re-opened for the new file to be displayed.
Remarks
A couple of notes and remarks will be shown after the league table after analysis, including the following:
- Whether all possible remaining permutations were calculated or whether some randomization methods had to be included, depending on the number of remaining games, whether the possibility of tie games was incorporated, and the particular scenario presented at the time of analysis.
- The number of wildcard spots used in the calculations (as a reminder / double-check).
Tiebreakers
The following tiebreakers are available for calculations:
- H2HALL: Head-to-head that is applied regardless of whether all teams tied in a given scenario will have played each other or evenly.
- H2HEVEN: Head-to-head that is applied only if the teams involved will have played each other evenly.
- H2HTWO: Head-to-head that is applied only if two teams are tied in a given scenario.
- H2HSWEEP: Head-to-head that is applied only if one of the teams involved has swept the others or if one has been swept by the others.
- CONFRECORD: Conference record.
- DIVRECORD: Division record.
- ALLPLAY: All-play wins. As All-play is based on points scored, it is considered a “non-firm” tiebreaker for calculations.
- POINTS: Points-for. Considered a “non-firm” tiebreaker for calculations.
- POINTSAGHIGH: Points-against, higher is better (substitutes as a strength of schedule measurement for some hosting sites). Considered a “non-firm” tiebreaker for calculations.
- PTSDIFF: Difference between “points-for” and “points-against”. Similar to GOALSDIFF, but designed for fantasy sports where there is a wide range of scores.
- GOALSDIFF: Difference between “goals-for” and “goals-against”. Similar to PTSDIFF, but designed for soccer or hockey leagues where actual scores of 3-2, 4-1, etc. are common and the wide disparities between scores such as in fantasy sports are not prevalent. If selected, the App in its calculations assumes that 5 is a high score.
- SOS (iOS – n/a): Strength of Schedule. Note for large multi-conference leagues this can cause multiple adverse effects as the program can no longer exclude games from the “other” conference when determining “relevant” games. To compensate, when there are many remaining games the program will not include this or any later tiebreaker in the calculations so as to improve calculation speed, and in the playoff odds displayed under T (tied) the percentage will refer to the amount of scenarios that the SOS tiebreaker may come into play for that team. A continual work-in-progress to improve on.
- Tiebreakers in the App preceded by “BID” are for leagues that utilize a “best-in-division” method to select wildcard teams in multi-division leagues (e.g. MyFantasy, Fleaflicker).
- FORCE: In multi-division leagues, this tiebreaker will be appended so that for each scenario calculated, if two or more teams would tie for a division spot where the winner of tiebreaker cannot yet be determined (usually because of points as a tiebreaker), the program will “split” the scenario to calculate what happens when each of those teams were to win the division.
- RANDOM: If no tiebreakers are input, the App will choose winners as needed for each scenario in which multiple teams are tied for a spot.
Since points (and all-play) based tiebreakers are impossible to completely project who the winners would be in a tie situation before the season ends, they will be the last tiebreaker considered in calculations regardless of whether the league’s set-up has other tiebreakers following.
Latest known relevant info of hosting sites applications of tiebreakers:
MyFantasy
The default head-to-head tiebreaker is applied regardless whether or not the applicable tied teams have all played each other (H2HALL) and MFL recommends H2H not be used as the primary tiebreaker because of this. Some commissioners use custom sorting to employ other head-to-head tiebreaker methods. If your league does so, insure the head-to-head tiebreaker used in the App matches the league rules. MyFantasy employs “best-in-division” methods for selecting wildcard spots. Reference https://www47.myfantasyleague.com/2024/support?L=71688&SEARCH=h2h and external communications.
ESPN
In leagues that use a head-to-head tiebreaker, it is only applied if all teams played each other an equal amount of times (H2HEVEN). It is believed that ESPN employs a “standard” method for selecting wildcard spots. Reference https://support.espn.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036952471-Playoff-Seeding-How-Regular-Season-Standings-Tiebreakers-Work
Sleeper
Sleeper appears to only offer points for and points against as tiebreakers, although manual custom seeding is an option to commissioners. If your league employs custom seeding with a head-to-head tiebreaker, insure the head-to-head tiebreaker used in the App matches the league rules. It is believed Sleeper employs a “standard” method for selecting wildcard spots. Reference https://support.sleeper.com/en/articles/2203518-how-do-playoff-teams-get-determined
Fleaflicker
Fleaflicker’s head-to-head tiebreaker is a little different from the usual norms. In the event of a tie between 3 or more teams, the H2H tiebreaker is only employed if one team would win the H2H tiebreaker over every other tied team individually, or would lose the H2H tiebreaker against every other tied team individually. This method does not have an exact replica in the App. Using H2HSWEEP will likely provide the closest match possible for most leagues. All the other known Fleaflicker tiebreakers (division record, points, hardest schedule by points, and hardest schedule by record) have matches in the App. Fleaflicker states they employ a “best-in-division” method for selecting wildcard spots. Tiebreakers used in Fleaflicker are not automatically transferred when importing a league.
NFL Fantasy
NFL Fantasy
NFL Fantasy’s head-to-head tiebreakers should be matched by using H2HALL. All the other known NFL Fantasy tiebreakers (division record, points, points against) have matches in the App. It is not known if a “best-in-division” methodology is employed. Reference https://support.nfl.com/hc/en-us/articles/4989088211228-Standings-Seeding-Rankings
Yahoo
Yahoo does not use head-to-head as a tiebreaker. It appears division record and points for are predominantly used. It is believed Yahoo employs a “standard” method for selecting wildcard spots. Their methods for sorting hockey league standings do not have an exact match in the App. Reference https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN35744.html
Fantrax
Fantrax offers head-to-head as a tiebreaker, however the Fantrax API does not provide any results data for the App to figure head-to-head records. See the Fantrax info below.
Fantasy Premier League
FPL does not use head-to-head as a tiebreaker. It is a “league-points based league”. It appears the only tiebreaker used in standings sorting is points.
FAQS AND TMI
Median Scoring
As the use of Median Scoring (awarding teams an additional win for being one of the higher scoring teams for the week, and conversely a loss for others) is increasing in fantasy sport leagues, it is naturally desired to include such in the app’s calculations of the playoff race. The android version has very limited support for median scoring in the calculations. Due to the very nature of the system no tiebreakers can be incorporated in the calculations and the minimum-in, guaranteed-in, must-win-out, controls-own-destiny, and target features are not available. Since Median Scoring cannot be supported satisfactorily and it causes other issues, it is not being implemented into the iOS version and it may be removed from the android version soon.
Yahoo
The Yahoo API in which the App uses to access league data hosted by them was created somewhere around the stagecoach era (only a slight exaggeration) and has not been modernized. It provides data in a format completely different from every other hosting site accessed by the App, and this format is not very compatible with modern programming methods. Furthermore, Yahoo is the only league hosting site that completely privatizes all league data (hence the need to have users authorize the App to access, which is “read-only” by the way), making troubleshooting any user problems with Yahoo data import practically impossible as there is no way for the developer to pull up the applicable data to see where the problem is. It is believed that all is in order and there “shouldn’t” be any issues, but please keep this in mind.
Note users with multiple Yahoo accounts or that use a Google account to sign in to Yahoo may experience issues if the Yahoo account currently in use on the device is not the same as used for Yahoo Fantasy Football. Insure that all accounts not used by Yahoo ff are signed out.
Fantasy Premier League
Accessing data for FPL is relatively new. It appears everything is in order through limited testing. Please advise of any issues. The iOS version supports FPL Head-to-Head “Draft” leagues only.
Sleeper
Note that Sleeper leagues must have completed their draft before Sleeper sets up a schedule and thus for the App to import data from the league.
Fantrax
The Fantrax API in which the App uses to access league data hosted by them appears to be in a multi-year pause in development. The data it provides is incomplete for the purpose of this App, specifically it does not provide any data relevant for any tiebreakers such as points-scored, division records, or past results used for head-to-head records. For some items, the Edit Team Info section can be used to add relevant tiebreaker data. If head-to-head is used as a tiebreaker in a Fantrax league, however, there is no way to enter all the past scores that would be necessary.
Pro-Tips
The following may increase the enjoyment of using this App:
- The “paths-to-clinch” report (Premium Level) readability may be improved when team names in the App are either abbreviations (e.g. CHI, if able depending on hosting site) or brief (e.g. Bears). Certainly it is understood this is not often the case with the creative names fantasy sports players come up with. Consider using the Edit Team Info function to shorten team names to be brief but recognizable.
- Besides determining where teams stand in their division and playoff race, for many leagues the App can also be used for determining the “race” for top seed, a playoff bye, or avoiding last place punishment by adjusting the number of “Wildcard Spots” in the App as desired. League division and tiebreaker settings may limit the ability to accomplish some of these alternative calculations.
- As a general guide for fantasy football leagues, there is no need to select “Deep Analysis” for the first six or seven weeks of the season, the odds shown will be fairly accurate without and it is unlikely any team will be near to securing a playoff spot for any “paths-to-clinch”. After that it becomes a judgement call based on a variety of factors, but the vital information such as win-targets will be more accurate with “Deep Analysis” and around week seven or so is when playoff race crunch time begins. Of course, if one has time, selecting “Deep Analysis” at any time is perfectly fine.
- As a general rule, if there are more than around 25-30 “relevant” games remaining in the season, any “paths-to-clinch” shown should be verified with the “Focus” option for each team. If there are more than around 50 “relevant” games remaining in the season, “paths-to-clinch” are likely going to contain multiple false scenarios.
- If points is the primary tiebreaker and it is desired to have the odds displayed “simply” (i.e. without the “T” number), use the Set Tiebreakers Manually function and click “Done” without selecting any tiebreakers. This will cause the App to apply RANDOM as a tiebreaker.
Odds Display
Those that are really into numbers and analysis might notice a situation where the odds numbers displayed just don’t look “right”. Possible reasons include the very definition of what is “right” along with the complexity of the scenarios presented. For a simple example, say there is an 8 team league in its last week, thus 4 remaining games. Without tie games factored in, that is 16 possibilities (2 ^ 4), and one would reason that the odds display should show numbers that correspond to 1/16, 2/16, 3/16 (rounded to 6%. 12%, 18%…) and so on to correspond to the number of these scenarios that result in any particular team clinching a spot. However there are at least two things that may cause the odds to be unexpectedly different. First, the App performs a “pre-check” to look for teams that are either so far ahead that they are definitely in or so far behind that they are definitely eliminated before it begins the arduous calculation work. It does this in an attempt to eliminate games from the calculations that simply do not matter to anyone’s playoff chances, which is useful when there are many remaining games. Thus, in the above example, if there were two teams that are clearly already eliminated that are playing each other in the last week, that game would be excluded from the calculations, making it so there are only 3 relevant games (not the original 4). As such, this makes it only 8 possibilities that are computed versus the above 16, and the odds display would show numbers that correspond to 1/8, 2/8, 3/8 (rounded to 12%, 25%, 37%…) and so on. Second, for leagues with divisions, any possibility in which two or more teams could end up being tied for the division in which it cannot be pre-determined who would win the tiebreaker (due to points related tiebreakers), the App has to “split” that scenario into multiple ones to look at what happens when any of those tied teams win the division and how it effects the wildcard race. Thus, in the above simple example that began with 16 possibilities which were then reduced to 8, if it is a multi-division league there could end up being really 20 different ways the season could end up going. Thus, the odds display would show numbers that correspond to 1/20, 2/20, 3/20 (5%, 10%, 15%) and so on. Clear as mud, right?
Google Sheets
To use a Google spreadsheet (“Sheets”) to keep and maintain a league’s data, do the following:
- Get the Template HERE
- Make your own copy of the Sheet (File – Make a Copy). This likely requires a Google account.
- Enter data (see below for additional options) as necessary following the guidance on the Sheet.
- Via “Share” change view access to the sheet (File – Share – Share With Others – General Access – “Anyone with the link can view”).
- Optional, Publish the Sheet (File – Publish to the web or File – Share – Publish to the web). This will allow import to Excel or publish on a website.
- Go to “Sheets Home” and then re-open the Sheet.
- Using the URL link shown in the browser, cut and copy the Sheet KEY, which is the characters inside the full URL between the slash after “spreadsheets/d/” and the following slash. Do not include the slashes.
- Paste this KEY into the App under the Sheets option.
- Import League and proceed with Analysis etc. as described in the main instructions.
Note if the league you want to use Sheets for has its data hosted anywhere on the web, such as many professional leagues, it is entirely possible to use the features in Sheets to modify the given spreadsheet to automatically import that data from the web and thus eliminate the need to do any manual maintenance of the data. A full explanation of how to do so will not be presented here, but the basic process is to add additional Sheets to the original template, use Google’s options to import data (importHTML or importXML) from the web into Sheets, and then modify the formulas in the “Team Info” and “Schedule” section of the template to get the appropriate data from those additional Sheets to populate those sections. There are many instructional videos and pages on the web to assist. An example is HERE which is the Japanese Football League J1 League. This example has additional user created formulas and may not be well polished but it does show what the capabilities are with Sheets and the App.
For previous users of the web version with Google Sheets, some new additions have been made to the Sheets Template and old templates will not work with the App. If it is wished to “upgrade” an old template to be used with the new App, follow these steps.
- Use the new template as a guide.
- Add rows in the “TEAM INFO” section to accommodate 32 teams (to row 35). Fill in the “Tm #” section 1-32.
- Add a column for conferences, “Cnf” in the new template.
- Add a column for League Pts, “LG PTS” in the new template.
- Add a column for reserved use later, “Resrvd” in the new template.
- In the “SCHEDULE” section, extend the game info columns to row 383. This should equate to 380 games.
Professional Leagues
To do your own analysis of the professional leagues available for import (or if imported via your own version of the Google Sheets template), the following information may be helpful:
- Premium access level is required for intensive calculations.
- As the App was primarily designed for fantasy leagues that typically have around 12 teams playing over around 14 weeks, which comes out to 72 games, the professional leagues with more teams and/or longer schedules do present some obstacles. The biggest challenge is typically the number of remaining games. When there are 40+ remaining games left, or 20+ in a league where tie games are very common, the analysis returned from the App will likely need some manual oversight if the goal is to provide completely accurate info.
- The Targets feature will begin to show realistic numbers once approximately 1/4 of the season is complete, with its accuracy slowly improving throughout the season, up until about two rounds of the schedule remain, when its mathematical probabilities calculations aren’t as useful when each game result can dramatically changes the picture.
- The Clinched/Eliminated determinations may need scrutiny with many remaining games left. Note the difference between “Clinched” and “Poss. Clinched” etc. If a team is showing as “Poss. Clinched” (i.e. the App had to use randomization methods due to the number of remaining games), it is suggested to re-run calculations with that team in “Focus”. Depending on the number of remaining games and whether tie games are considered as a possibility, if that team still shows as “Poss. Clinched” a manual method may be necessary to get complete accuracy. If a team does not have any clinched/eliminated determination shown, it can be considered accurate as it means the App found at least one scenario in which the the team made the playoffs and at least one scenario in which they didn’t.
- Similarly, the Minimum In and Guaranteed In numbers may not be 100% accurate when there are plenty of remaining games. In such cases, they should be considered as more realistic rather than mathematical certainties.
- Additionally, the paths-to-clinch listings, when there are plenty of remaining games, should be verified first by re-running the calculations with the desired team in “Focus”. Manual verification may be necessary for complete accuracy, again depending on the number of remaining games. The absence of paths-to-clinch can be considered accurate for the specified team as it means the App found scenarios in which the team did not make the playoffs no matter what happens in the upcoming round.
- NFL: A full tutorial on how to properly analyze the NFL is being developed for the 2025 season. The biggest issue with analyzing this league is the SOV and SOS tiebreakers, which require the App to keep track of games involving irrelevant teams that it would otherwise skip to improve calculation speed and accuracy.
Suggestions & Questions
Those that have followed PlayoffComputer from its early days as an Excel Spreadsheet know this is a (sometimes foolish) passionate mission. Suggestions, questions, and discussions are welcome via apps(at@)zelapeak.com. Note that due to the small size of this operation a response may not be immediate.