Seven seasons into his league career, there’s already plenty to like about Michael’s résumé. He opened with back-to-back winning seasons and consecutive playoff appearances, although both ended in similar fashion. In each year, he started 4-0 before fading down the stretch. In 2019, he closed the season 2-7; in 2020, he finished 5-4. Both playoff runs also ended with sub-1,000-point performances, costing him any chance of advancing.
The 2021 season was defined by a dramatic missed opportunity. After a slow start, Michael battled back into playoff contention and entered the final week with a chance to sneak into the postseason. Instead, he failed to set his lineup in what could reasonably be argued as the most boneheaded move in league history. He lost, surrendered the final playoff spot to Eric, and watched as the eighth seed went on to win the championship. It was the ultimate “that should have been me” moment.
Michael bounced back in emphatic fashion. Over the next three seasons, he was one of the league’s most consistent contenders. He never finished below .500, reached the playoffs in all three years, and advanced to the championship game in back-to-back seasons.
His defining moment came in 2024, producing one of the greatest postseason runs in league history. Entering the playoffs as the No. 7 seed after an unremarkable 7-7 regular season, expectations were modest. Michael knocked off me in the opening round, 1,578-1,395, defeated Matt Neatock in the semifinals, 1,677-1,466, and then obliterated Jeff Greenblatt in the championship, 2,247-1,519. The 2,247 points were the most ever scored in a title game.
The magic, however, didn’t carry over. In 2025, Michael became the first defending champion in league history to finish last in both the standings and total points.
Overall, Evangelist owns a .514 career winning percentage, the fifth-best mark and he has reached the playoffs in five of his seven seasons (71%), also ranking fifth this decade.
Statistically, Michael has averaged 1,337 points per game, eighth-best in league history, though his average finish in total points is just 7.14, ranking ninth. He has posted only four weekly high scores while recording 11 weekly low scores, a minus-seven differential that is the second worst in the league.
In the postseason, Michael is 5-4 overall. His .556 playoff winning percentage ranks fifth all-time, and he has averaged 1,361 points per playoff game, the sixth-best mark in league history.
Michael’s career has been equal parts contender, catastrophe, and chaos. He’s built a résumé most teams would gladly take, yet somehow also authored one of the worst lineup blunders and one of the worst title defenses in league history. If nothing else, he’s proven one thing: no one has a wider range of outcomes than Michael Evangelist.