2022 FanDuel WFBC Pre-Event Interview Series: TJ Zwarych
This September, some of the best MLB DFS players will gather in Chicago to battle it out for their share of $2,000,000 in the 2022 edition of the FanDuel World Fantasy Baseball Championship.
The events take place September 8-11. Image credit: FanDuel
Ahead of what could be a life-changing day, we caught up with the three RotoGrinders analysts that have managed to qualify for the live final.
First up? One of the RG team’s newer additions: TJ Zwarych.
Congrats on qualifying! For those that aren’t familiar with you, introduce yourself. Where are you from? Do you have a job outside of DFS?
It’s been a dream come true qualifying for a live championship, thank you so much! My name is TJ Zwarych, I’m recently married, 29 years old and I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I’ve been a teacher for 5 years, and this year I launched my Media Outlet www.AgentsOfFandom.com. We cover all things TV and Film, with my personal focus typically being Marvel, Star Wars and Reality TV.
Outline what a typical day looks like for you.
When I’m not teaching, I typically wake up in the morning, lay out my schedule for the day and begin my DFS research. I like to start my day well in advance before building lineups by checking Kevin Roth’s MLB weather report, Cheese’s Million Dollar Musings article and the games in LineupHQ. I have ADHD and my brain is always buzzing throughout the day, so I like to get that stuff done early in the day so my thoughts can cook while I accomplish other tasks for the Agents of Fandom, and hang out with my wife, dogs and cat.
A superhero enthusiast, here TJ is pictured at the Saskatoon Expo
What first drew you to daily fantasy sports?
My whole life, my dad and I bonded through sports. He coached me in basketball, and before social media existed we used to watch sports channels on repeat to catch news on the ticker. When I was in the 8th grade I participated in my first fantasy sports draft with some of my dad’s friends. I already was writing for Bleacher Report at the time and followed sports incredibly close, so I was excited about my prospects. I selected a rookie Patrick Kane who had chances of being sent back down to Junior in the last round, and his incredible season led me to a first-place victory and what was life-changing money for a 13-year-old.
When and how did you first start experiencing success in DFS?
This led me to doing a lot of different fantasy sports endeavors, from season long football leagues to pick’em pools with my dad. My FanDuel screen name, “tjandjim” came from him suggesting he funds an account for me to play back when I was 18. It didn’t take long for me to find success in DFS, as I had one of the wildest bad beats for a live-final seat 8 years ago in football, when an interception didn’t allow my kicker Adam Vinatieri to attempt a field goal, and the Eagles’ Darren Sproles and Jeremy Maclin racked up points to drop me out of a seat.
How would you describe your approach to building lineups? Are you a single, multi or max entry player? Why?
I try not to overthink too much when I’m building lineups. I’m a strictly tournament player, but I’m rarely looking to get too off the wall. My typical approach is to stay close to optimal, while finding small pieces of my lineup that are going significantly underplayed to swap to. A typical night sees me playing 1-5 lineups, however when I’m doing content for RotoGrinders, I often like to MME due to the significant increase in research I do on content days.
Go into more detail about your general DFS process. Do you rely on any content and/or tools?
I’ve been a RotoGrinders member for 7 years, and wholeheartedly believe it’s the best DFS content site in the industry. While I rely a lot on my own knowledge for NFL and NBA as they are my top two sports, I’ve been doing significantly better at MLB this season since subscribing to Derek Carty’s THE BAT. I like to compare the data and analysis from other top players in the industry, and see where my opinions and strategies on the day are in comparison to theirs. RotoGrinders’ John Breslin AKA SquirrelPatrol and Dave Potts AKA CheeseIsGood are the other players in the industry whose opinions I strongly value, and will often adjust my strategy (especially in MLB) based on their takes. What I love about DFS, is you aren’t playing the house, you’re competing against other players. I find the most value in taking in as much information as I can throughout the industry, and finding ways that I can personally get different while still playing high projected options.
Qualifying for a live final is on the bucket list for many DFS players. Just how excited are you?
I’m unbelievably thrilled. In my first year of playing DFS, I had a ridiculously bad beat in a qualifier, before I even knew what a live final was. I found out after the fact that first place in the 100-person pool was 1 million, and LAST was 15k. Since then, it’s been high on my bucket list to be able to qualify.
The final FD qualifier leaderboard on the night TJ booked his spot
Outside of the prize pool, I’m most excited to meet the other great DFS players in the industry. I’ve been a RotoGrinders member for years, watching tutorial videos, GrindersLive and Crunch Time each night since I began playing. It’s been an incredibly exciting experience for me getting to work with people I’ve been looking up to since I entered the industry, and I’m very much looking forward to meeting them in person.
How does your strategy change, if at all, in a live final?
Live by the sword, die by the sword. I’m not changing a thing. I’ll be following my same research process, and going with my gut to finalize my lineup. I’d rather lose knowing I did want I wanted, than second guess myself.
What is the first thing you’d spend money on if you won the live final?
First thing would be clearing out the wedding debt, then my next focus would go to building up the Agents of Fandom platform. I started the website with my two close friends and business partners Garrett Blaney and Ruben Ripalda, however since we launched in February this year, we’ve grown exponentially and have added some incredible content creators to the team. My dream is to begin paying our content creators, adding to our promotional funds and building our platform. We truly put out some thought provoking and interesting pieces, and I can’t wait to provide our content creators a greater platform.
Who are you taking with you to Chicago? Any special plans?
I got married to the love of my life Ava MacLean on August 13th, and we’re going to make the trip together. She’s been incredibly supportive in my DFS journey. I also can’t wait to link up with fellow RotoGrinders content creator Andre, as we’ve become good friends who share multiple similar interests.
TJ and wife, Ava, who will be cheering him on at the WFBC
What advice would you give to someone hoping to qualify one day?
Bank. Roll. Management. I’ve chased qualifiers in the past, but I’ve ended up losing a lot of money doing so. This past NFL season I had an incredibly lucrative year, and it allowed me to enter these contests with smaller fields, without worrying about blowing my entire bankroll.
Sticking to the same theme, what tips would you give a newer player looking to improve their DFS game?
Find your content site that fits your goals and learning styles. For me, it’s RotoGrinders. I’ve always appreciated how open and easy to connect with our experts are. RotoAcademy is your best friend, and a few GrindersLive as well as Crunch Time shows will get you to where you need to go. The most important thing is learning the strategy of the game, even more important than knowing the sport. Remember you are playing the field, not the house. The best way to learn these strategies to me is from RotoAcademy and the RG shows, as well as focusing on bankroll management, and entering tournaments with small fields.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of within the DFS space?
I think for me it’s becoming a part of the RG team. I’ve respected this crew for so long, being a member for years. It’s been so unbelievable learning from this team, and being accepted with open arms by new peers.
What do you love most about DFS?
I’m incredibly competitive. I love sports, I love games. While the money is great, for me it’s more about the gamesmanship, and becoming one of the best players in the space.
TJ will be hoping to replicate high-stakes NFL wins from last season
How do you handle the downswings and overall mental aspects of DFS?
A silver lining to having struggled with my mental health for years, the downswings don’t affect me that negatively anymore. I firmly believe with all my heart that EVERYONE should seek out therapy/counseling. You go to the doctor and dentist for checkups, why are we not getting our brain checked out on a regular basis? Seems easy enough.
What in particular do you enjoy about being an analyst?
In December 2021, I took a mental health leave from teaching. Being an analyst for RotoGrinders has allowed me to have the same teaching outlet with a lot less stress. I love to learn, and I love to share my knowledge. Growing up, I always had issues with arguing and needing to be right, due to my low self-esteem. As I’ve matured, I’ve learned that to be right, you need to listen to others, not argue with them. I love sharing my experiences and knowledge with others, and I love to learn from those around me to improve my craft.
Is there anything specifically you think could be done by operators to improve the overall DFS experience?
The reward systems for frequent players are… quite silly. Whether you’re on a winning streak or losing it all, there’s something demoralizing about spending thousands of dollars on a site to receive a $1000 freeroll or t-shirt. In addition, I always think customer service can be improved. The communication line between players and staff should be a lot easier.
How do you see the DFS ecosystem changing with the continued expansion of legalized sports betting?
Through the years we’ve seen edges change, as everyone has access to optimizers. As legalized sports betting shepherds more players to the game, I think it will be important to continue to analyze how other players are building their lineups, and doing things differently.
What future goals do you have in DFS? Is there a specific target you haven’t fulfilled yet?
My main goal in the DFS space at this point is to achieve enough success that I can do whatever I want in my personal life. I’ve already achieved my primary 3 goals of 6 figure victories, working at RotoGrinders and attending a live final. At this point, my goals shift to being able to support the Agents of Fandom financially and playing DFS professionally full-time.
TJ’s beloved dogs, Sonic and Obi-Wan
The floor is all yours. Any last tips, thank yous or shoutouts?
I’m so unbelievably grateful for the entire RG crew. Everyone has been so open and welcoming, and It’s been such a great experience. Devin Sarvaunt, our incredible producer, has held my hand since day one pointing me in the direction of which people I need to ask questions to and make sure I always know what’s going on, and with someone who has ADHD and struggles with their mental health, that has been WILDLY helpful. I’d also love to direct everyone to www.AgentsOfFandom.com because we’ve truly been developing an unbelievable community. We began as a podcast talking about superheroes, and we’ve grown into a full-on Media Outlet. The beauty of this site is we’re consistently adding talented creators with varying interests, allowing us to be the direct-line to fans for the shows and movies they’re interested in. Someone you want hear from? We will interview them. A show you want talked about? We will review it. The Agents of Fandom and RotoGrinders have exploded into my life in 2022, and I’m so wildly grateful for both.
Thanks to TJ for taking the time to answer some questions. Best of luck in Chicago!
2022 FanDuel WFBC Interview Series: Kristi Metzger
2022 FanDuel WFBC Interview Series: John Breslin: Coming Soon!