Friends in fútbol,

We've hit the halfway mark of the EPL year's first round robin. Nine matchdays (almost) down, 10 more to go.

(I know that's not exactly halfway, people. Odd numbers are HARD.)

Heading into M9, just 70 of our 208 survivor brethren were still standing. How many will survive the first half? How long will our inaugural EPL Survivor go? Will Everton finish 17th by a single point? IS LUTON TOWN BECOMING DECENT (ENOUGH)?

COMMISH COMMENTARY

Whatever our survivor count is after Matchday 9, it's gonna be a fascinating conclusion to out first-ever EPL Survivor.

Just look at the Golden Spreadsheet and the % of current survivors who've picked each of the 10 clubs currently sitting in the top half of the table.

EVERY top-half club except Villa has been picked by at least 50% of our survivors.

Practically, this means that a huge percentage of the pool will need to pick bottom half teams almost every matchday from here on out.

Commish has his popcorn ready. I've been waiting for this moment.

On the flip side, we do have some survivors who've gone bold early and often, and are still standing to tell the story.

Check out @bwitsberger's picks so far: Brighton, Villa, Chelsea, Brentford, Fulham, Palace, West Ham, Everton, Forest. They still have ALL FOUR of the current top four clubs available - City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs.

Impressive. Soon, I'll take a look at all of our "best" picklines. Insofar as there are leaders in a Survivor pool, they're the folks who have the most top-half clubs still available to pick.

YOUR BEST COMMENTS

@Commonlastname (Bournemouth): "Time to start taking some big risks. This could be the end."
Commish says: Repeat after Commish: You can't win a SZN pool without a little Moxie. This was a bold but entirely appropriate pick. You do not go home empty handed!!

@Noteldar (Forest): "Nottingham Forest. Citing my high school girlfriend, “we’ll have to do with what we’ve got here”"
Commish says: How many weeks did you survive in high school under the conditions of this statement? Because I think this is your fate every week from here on out.

@edudeus (Forest): "Nottinghamshirevilletownforrest should win"
Commish says: I'll pay you $10 to design a kit for Forest with this new name on it. MY MONEY IS GOOD.

Yours in show dives,
The Commish