Ahead of the start of the new NFL season on September 5, VSiN has dropped episode one of a five-part docuseries looking back at last year’s Circa Survivor contest.

Run by Circa Sports, the Circa Survivor Pro Football Contest requires players to pick a team each week during the NFL regular season that they believe will win, with the caveat being that they cannot use the same team twice. If their team loses they are out of the contest.

During the first episode, the show introduces viewers to a range of characters who have all travelled to the Circa Sportsbook in Las Vegas to pay their entry fee of $1000 to enter the contest.

Participants, who can have up to ten entries, must enter in person in Las Vegas meaning that people have travelled from across the US, and further afield, to secure their place in the competition.

Those seen entering the contest include sports betting analyst, Kelly Stewart, Professional Sports Bettor, Bill Krackomberger, and ESPN Sideline Reporter, Stormy Buonantony. 

Other contestants, who have been assigned nicknames such as the “Boston Boys”, “Draft Dre” and “The Two Erics, are also introduced and interviewed throughout the episode to find out how they are progressing.

Players in the contest have different strategies, with some trying to map out their picks week-by-week before the season starts while others take things round by round.

“My first approach is to think about how everyone is looking like in the pre-season,” explained “Draft Dre”.

“I look at who got traded, who is injured, who may be coming back and how the first and second-year rookies are looking. As [teams] start to dwindle down their rosters I’m thinking about who is my NFC and AFC top pick and then approaching it on a weekly basis.”

Stewart added that she believes in a contest like Circa Survivor, there is little difference between the average Joe and a professional bettor. 

After meeting the contestants and explaining the rules, the viewers head behind the scenes at the Circa Sportsbook during the first three rounds of the season, where the show manages to capture the anguish and ecstasy as players watch their picks win and lose throughout the opening rounds of the season.

During the 2022 contest, more than half of the contests didn’t make it past the first week due to several victories by underdogs. This year a more conservative 21% of players exited the competition after the opening round, with a similar percentage exiting the following week.

The biggest culling in the early stages came in round three, following a surprise loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Houston Texans and a defeat for the Baltimore Ravens in overtime against the Indianapolis Colts.

Over 2,400 contestants, including pro sports bettor Bill Krackomberger, backed the Jaguars to win, with a further 621 people picking the Ravens. These results meant that nearly 60% of contestants exited the competition after week three. 

After the first three rounds of the season, just 2,479 contestants remain in the contest, representing 27% of the 9,267 contestants who started in week one. 

The remaining four episodes of the docuseries are set to be released next week, with episode two dropping on Monday (August 26).