2024 Apex Fantasy Football League Champion
Nathan
That's a wrap folks, and for the first time in his AFFL career, Nathan is fantasy champion. There was no taking this away from Nathan, as all season he lit up the scoreboard to a pace of 138.4 PPG and going 10-5 in Top 5 scores. Two dominant postseason games solidified his campaign by making him the 14th annual winner of the league, and the 5th champion to break the 300 point mark in the postseason (twice have people broken 300 in the postseason and not won the ship: Collin last year and Garrett this year).
How We Got Here
After a respectable 16-12 debut season in 2019, Nate was borderline a perennial bottom-feeder, going 42-76 from '20-'23 including a 9th and 10th place finish. An 0-2 start in Week 1 with only 108 points looked like just more of the same. But an electric 9-week stretch which saw him go 9-0 in Top 5s and 7-2 in H2H, averaging 148 PPG in the process, put Nathan at 16-4 and solidly atop the standings. But three weeks later, a potentially hilarious collapse was on the horizon after an 0-6 stretch that saw Nathan potentially in a position to miss the playoffs entirely. He righted the ship enough though to secure the #3 seed and take care of business in convincing fashion to earn his spot on the trophy. See a detailed breakdown of Nathan's season
here.
Who We Left Behind
Collin
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Collin's fourth consecutive playoffs wound up much like the prior ones, going 1-1 and leaving with a consolation prize. Collin entered the playoffs with the best record in the league at 20-10 and trailing only Nathan in points, the second time in three years he's owned the #1 seed. A shootout win against Garrett in Week 1 had Collin primed to claim glory, but he'd fall short after some pillars of his offense failed to come through (Achane picked the worst time to ghost you, Collin). This is Collin's second silver medal, and his fourth taste of sour defeat that will certainly result in a championship next year, right?? Right??
Garrett
Coming off the championship last year, Garrett didn't have much of a winner's hangover to start the year. A 13-5 record entering week 10 had him in great shape, but a 4-8 run to finish the season had him just barely making the playoffs on H2H tiebreakers against TK and Tmo. A great effort in round 1 wasn't quite enough to beat Collin, but the momentum led him to a Money Back Bowl victory, his 3rd (all since 2018). It's hard to argue Garrett didn't deserve the shot, he broke the 2,000 point mark on the year and won the games he had too, but Collin and Nathan were just too strong this year and Garrett will have to ship his trophy away to its new owner.
Jake
Fuckin CLASSIC. Jake battled inconsistent play, injuries, and underperformance all season, and clawed his way to the #2 seed in the process, but the chickens came home to roost when it mattered and he walks away empty-handed. This is something of a habit for Jake, who falls to 4-10 in playoff games in 7 total appearances (only John Luke and Tyler have more, with 8 each, and significantly better records). The silver lining, perhaps, is that after 3 straight seasons missing the playoffs, Jake can hopefully get back on track and make another run next year (and keep our unique champion streak alive, now at 7).
What Other Notable Things Happened?
Where do we begin?? Austin and Ryan both broke the 20K point mark after 12 seasons, while Nathan broke the 10K mark in his 6th (30K will come to someone by 2026). Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce each earned their 100th start in the league. We had two Slim Wins (TK over Jake by 0.94 in Week 5, Collin over Garrett by 0.34 in Week 4), two Fuck You Games (Jake over Tyler in Week 13, Garrett over Nathan in Week 6). And lastly, we have an exciting new draft coming next year with trades, more keepers, and more ways to win (or lose, as is customary in my case).
Where Do We Go From Here?
Home, I suppose. Back to our lives and loved ones, back to the 9-5 grind where we answer to fools that have no clue what monumental events took place here, take place here every year. We'll tap away, idly submitting reports and answering emails while our minds venture slowly away from the virtual gridiron like a balloon drifting ambly in a winter breeze. But when summer rolls around, when the familiar feeling of football frenzy finds our fingers, just know I'll be there. I'll be there to share your keepers, I'll be there to herd you into the draft room, and I'll be there to blame my season on Alvin Kamara for going down literally RIGHT before the playoffs.
Garrett, please get the trophy to Nathan ASAP so he can order his plaque and get it mounted (assuming you've mounted yours by now). Congratulations again, Nate, and see you all next year!