Underdogs Collide in Worst League Finals
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
In a year full of twists and turns, the Worst League is set to crown a champion in the most unlikely matchup in its history—Geoff vs. Josh.
For the first seven years of the league, only four of our 12 teams made the playoffs. But in 2018, we expanded the field to six teams, introducing two first-round byes and adding two additional wildcard slots.
Since then, those five and six seeds haven’t exactly been juggernauts. Over the last six years, they’ve combined for a 9-13 record, with half of those teams losing in the first round. Only two have ever advanced to the finals—until now.
This year, for the first time in league history, both the five and six seeds, Geoff and Josh, pulled off semifinal upsets to set up an unprecedented championship game. No matter what happens, we’re guaranteed to break the record for the lowest-seeded champion ever.
The finals are set! It’s (5) Geoff vs. (6) Josh—just like we all expected.
Not only that, but these two teams are far from powerhouses. Based on TW%, Geoff’s team (.526) ranks 24th and Josh’s (.429) ranks 27th out of the 28 teams to ever reach the title game. Geoff’s TW% narrowly edges out only three teams: Greco’s runner-ups from 2017 and 2020, and Brandon’s 2016 squad. As for Josh’s team? It’s only slightly better than Brandon’s 2016 team, which famously upset Gray’s GOAT squad and fell just two points short of a championship.
When one of them inevitably wins, they’ll set the record for the lowest TW% champion in league history, besting (worsting?) Brandon’s 2020 title-winning team (.580 TW%) from the infamous COVID season—a team that needed a Hanukkah miracle just to survive the first round.
Their paths to the finals have been objectively surprising. Josh’s victories over Beth Ann and Jess rank as the fourth- and fifth-biggest upsets in Worst League playoff history (as measured by the difference in their TW%), while Geoff’s win over Samantha comes in at number 10. And let’s not forget—Geoff needed the highest single-game score in league history just to edge out Alex in the first round. These underdogs weren’t expected to make it this far, but here they are.
Recapping the Semifinals
(5) Geoff and (6) Josh advanced to the finals with wins over (1) Samantha and (2) Jess.
So how did they get here?
Geoff’s semifinal win was fueled by a career-high 32.5-point explosion from Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard, a 10th-round pick, has been a savior for Geoff, who lost his RB1, Isiah Pacheco, to a near season-ending injury in Week 2. Despite RBs dominating the league this year—with 13 of the top 20 flex-eligible players being RBs—Hubbard has filled the gap and saved Geoff’s season.
Meanwhile, Samantha’s MVP Josh Allen—who had been averaging 46.6 ppg over the last two weeks—put up just 11.16 points in the biggest game of her season. Hard to blame the guy after leading her to the top overall seed, but it hurts nonetheless.
On the other side, Josh shook off four consecutive weeks of subpar scoring to deliver his second-best performance of the season: 138.04 points. That’s great timing. Speaking of which, his decision to pick up and start Chig Okonkwo at TE (19.1 points) was genius. Josh’s success this year has been heavily reliant on the waiver wire, with 33.6% of his scoring coming from undrafted players—second in the league. Okonkwo joins a long list of his savvy plays off the wire, including Cade Otton, Jauan Jennings, and Rashod Bateman.
Of course, Josh wasn’t perfect. Starting the Cardinals D/ST (-1 point) almost cost him the game. But Brandon McManus’ 13 points on Monday night sealed his narrow win over Jess. Jess, who led the Power Rankings for much of the season, had a phenomenal game across the board, with Saquon Barkley (27.0 points) leading the charge. Unfortunately, her weakest link was Trey McBride, who scored just 5.0 points—a season low after 10 straight double-digit performances.
For Samantha and Jess, it’s a bitter disappointment after dominating the Power Rankings for 10 of 14 weeks and winning five weekly prizes. That leaves us with Geoff and Josh, two teams that collectively led the rankings for just one week—Week 6, when Geoff shared the top spot with Jess—and each won just one weekly prize.
But in a year defined by parity, is there a more fitting finale than two teams that finished sixth and ninth in the final Power Rankings, with a combined true record of 147-161 and a TW% of .477, battling for the championship?
Previewing the Championship Game
This isn’t David vs. Goliath—it’s David vs. David, as two unlikely finalists battle for the championship.
But despite both teams being unlikely contenders, there’s still a notable difference between the two. Geoff’s team looks like a legitimate playoff squad by TW%, ranking just inside the top six in the final Power Rankings with a solid .526 TW% and an average of 117.7 ppg—both above the league average.
While RB has been his Achilles’ heel all season, Geoff leads the league in QB scoring behind Lamar Jackson and boasts the highest WR scoring (43.2 ppg) thanks to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mike Evans, and DJ Moore—all top-20 players at their position. At TE, Jonnu Smith—picked up off waivers in Week 12—has been a revelation, averaging 19.8 ppg over the last six weeks. With RB2 as his only real weakness, it’s no surprise Geoff has been putting up points. If he hadn’t benched the Packers D/ST this week out of caution, he would have scored 135+ points in three of the last four weeks. The only exception? A Week 14 loss to Kelly when Lamar Jackson was on bye.
Josh, on the other hand, is the clear underdog in this matchup. His roster is a patchwork of free agents and misfit toys. Of his original draft picks, only four are still in his starting lineup: Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, DK Metcalf, and Keenan Allen. Worse still, with CeeDee Lamb sidelined for the season, Josh doesn’t have a single flex-eligible player who ranks in the top 12 at their position. The closest thing to a “stud” on this team is Bucky Irving, who sits at RB17.
But stranger things have happened. Several of Josh’s players have flashed big-game potential this season. Jared Goff’s 40-point explosion in Week 15 and Jauan Jennings’ breakout in Week 3 (also 40+ points) come to mind as proof that this scrappy team can deliver when it matters.
The odds, however, are stacked against him.
The computer gives Geoff a 60% chance to win his second championship.
The computer gives Geoff a 60% chance of winning, while ESPN’s projections are even more bullish, bumping Geoff’s chances to 70% after early results. A big Christmas Day performance from Lamar Jackson (29.42 points), paired with quiet games from DK Metcalf and Keenan Allen (a combined 14.7 points), has tilted the scales further in Geoff’s favor.
Still, Josh has made a habit of proving the doubters wrong all season. Will his underdog magic prevail, or will Geoff’s superior roster carry him to victory?
In league history, these two have faced off 18 times, with Josh holding an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series. That includes their only previous playoff meeting—a 2022 first-round matchup where Josh emerged victorious, 152.38 to 128.54.
Coming into this season, Geoff and Josh had combined for just five playoff wins across 23 seasons—the fewest of any team owners with at least a decade in the league. Now, one of them will rise to claim the ultimate prize. Geoff could join the elite ranks as only the third multi-year champion in league history, while Josh is chasing his first-ever title.
Let the battle for Worst League glory begin.
Previewing the Poop Bowl
Finally, let’s turn to the consolation ladder.
It’s Gray vs. Chelsie in the Poop Bowl! 💩
Talk about a topsy-turvy season. The league’s losingest team owner (no offense, Kelly; it’s early) defeated the league’s winningest team owner (Gray) to send Gray into the Poop Bowl. There, he’ll face Chelsie, with one of them destined to claim their first Poop Bowl title. They’ll join the ranks of previous losers—Whitney and Jess (twice).
As a reminder, if you’ve been eliminated from both the playoffs and Poop Bowl contention, please refrain from making any more add/drops. That means no more moves for Alex, Beth Ann, Brandon, Erik, Greco, and Kelly. Everyone else still has something to fight for, including Samantha and Jess, who will square off in the consolation game.
Enjoy the final week of chaos, and we’ll be back in the new year to welcome our newest member to the Hall of Champions.
