Handicapping the 2012 FFFC: Who is the Favorite?
When I heard that FanDuel decided to expand the field to 24 finalists for this years FFFC, I was not sure if I would be able to crank out the “Odds” column. Then I realized how awesome it is getting the evil eye from someone you put 50-1 odds of them winning for an entire weekend. No, not really, but it usually provides a good laugh for all the finalists and is a good conversation starter. Especially when the guy you dub the longest shot in tournament ends up winning the whole thing like we saw in this summers DFBC. Remember, this column is done in good fun and in reality each guy has a 1 in 23 shot at winning the whole thing, but if Vegas were taking bets on the event, this may be how it would look.
The Longshots
Michael Bianchi aka TheMoneyman Mike is definitely looking for redemption after a previous attempt to win big money playing fantasy football out in Vegas, but not sure having no winnings since September is the way to do it. Then again….Dusty didn’t play fantasy baseball for months and won $100,000 in FanDuel’s DSBC. Odds to win: 35-1
Eric Taylor aka SwiftyWon All I have to say is “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts”. His profile indicates baseball may be his top sport as I’m only seeing a handful of NFL wins this year. Odds to win: 30-1
Aaron Smith aka Smittyrebel70 Smitty looks like more of a GPP player, but with zero cashes since November 18th, I’m wondering how on top of his game he is. Odds to win: 40-1
Bryan Baird aka BTrain71 What makes the FFFC so great is that for every Primetime & Crownies you find a guy like Bryan who is a lower stakes grinder. Certainly doesn’t make him any less of a player and I am sure he will be out to prove that Sunday. Odds to win: 30-1
The Family Connection
Keith McGill aka Doomsday70 Through his 20 years of playing fantasy football I’m guessing Keith has never had so much on the line. He thought he was being a nice guy by inviting his uncle to go along as his plus one for this event….little did he know his uncle (JoeyEngland98) would get his own spot in the top 24. Odds to win: 25-1
Philip Tribe aka Crownies Here is another high stakes player who averages $979 per win. You know his parents have to be proud since both he and his brother (GreatDanes) made the final, but you also have to wonder if there are any kind of handshake sharing of winnings agreement going on. I wouldn’t blame them if there is as two teams is better than one. Odds to win: 15-1
Joey Englanda aka JoeyEngland98 He was already locked into Vegas for the weekend, but was expecting to cheer on his nephew as he made the run for the $150K. Low and behold, he gets his own spot and now has a 1 in 23 shot of being crowned FFFC Champion. Odds to win: 30-1
Chad Tribe aka GreatDanes The second half of the Tribe brother combo looks like a relative newbie to the Daily Fantasy. You could call his FFFC Q win beginners luck or heck maybe even his brother helped him put is team together. What ever the case, he is one dynamic combination of players away from $150,000. Odds to win: 35-1
Newbies to Grinder Nation
Corey Garland aka CoreyG10 Corey had one of the most improbable FFFC wins this season when Cam Newton, Bryce Brown, and Alex Henery carried him to victory on Monday night during the final Q of the season. This guy is also a newer member to Rotogrinders so he definitely has a lot of guys within the community pulling for him this weekend. Odds to win: 20-1
Jeff Gray aka Nubbs519 One of my guilty pleasures in life is watching the TV show American Chopper. By far my favorite guy on the show is the painter called “Nubby”, so for that reason alone I’m giving him a chance. He is also a guy who joined Rotogrinders community in November, so he has got that going for himself as well. Odds to win: 30-1
Mike Gorman aka Trix I got on a rant the other day during the podcast about favorite breakfast cereals and somehow I left Trix out of the equation. Big mistake…who didn’t love that rabbit? Maybe his family created the cereal, which then I’m guessing the win would be more for pride than cash. Looking at his profile he looks pretty new to the fantasy community, but the fact that he found the Rotogrinders community so quickly tells me this guy knows where to find tools that can help him win. Odds to win: 25-1
Michael Dorathy aka MDorathy Here is another lower stakes Grinder and one of the newer guys on Rotogrinders. So at the very least, we know he is going to come into this tournament as informed as anyone else. Also, with a wedding coming up in April he has plenty of incentive for a big time showing this weekend. Odds to win: 25-1
Fiyaz Kanji aka Fiyazkanji After our conversation, I’m pretty sure he may be one of the most intelligent guys in the field. He might have least impressive profile of all finalists, but definitely the coolest name. Odds to win: 22-1
The Sleepers
Rafael Resendes aka rsqx2 Might be the highest stakes player in the field. He may not play the volume of some players, but $535 buy-ins are common place for this guy. He is coming of a great week last Sunday where it looks like he took in about 9 grand. Could definitely surprise. Odds to win: 15-1
James Tran aka Salsadnzrca If this was a dancing competition, this guy would definitely take it down. But does the former professional salsa dancer have the chops to take down some fantasy heavyweights? I’m not sure, but based on our conversation, he and his crew are going to have a hell of a time in Vegas. At the very least….he MUST take Victor Cruz on Sunday and after he scores we need to see some salsa action. Odds to win: 20-1
Michael Massimo aka LionsorBust “Thank God for Bilal Powell “…One of my favorite quotes from all my previous podcast interviews this year came from Mike in reference to his Q win. No he didn’t use Bilal Powell was his TD saving tackle that got him in the final. Also on the brink of tying the knot so pretty safe to say the $150,000 could come in handy for that. Odds to win: 15-1
John Bogart aka Pudge Here is a guy who really gets after it in Daily Fantasy. He many not have the bankroll of some of the other guys in the tournament, but he plays a lot and in all my years of playing Q’s on FanDuel, I seem to remember Carlton Fisk…I mean “Pudge” making several big runs. Could be a nice sleeper to take it down. Odds to win: 18-1
The Favorites
Peter Jennings aka CSURam88 Not only is he one of the top ranked players in the industry, he is having a exceptional year all the Daily Fantasy landscape. Two things are fairly certain with Peter….he will have his Ipad & Spreadsheets with him, and he likely will put together a killer team. Odds to win 8-1
Christopher Reeder aka Primetime420 If there was a Mount Rushmore for Daily Fantasy Players, Primetime would no doubt be on it. This guys is currently ranked #4 and with over $400,000 in total winnings on the year. Not only is he a high volume player, but I don’t think I have ever seen someone be so successful across as many different sites. The laid back San Diego local told me he doesn’t even really like the stress of watching the games, but with $150,000 on the line I’m guessing he might be watching a little Red Zone on Sunday. No doubt, one of the prohibitive favorites. Odds to win: 9-1
Todd Malnory aka Mal_NLP Oh…the dreaded Mal-Nip (I know it’s NLP…just more fun to say Nip) I say that only because he and Peyton Manning dashed my best hopes for a FFFC spot. Nonetheless, he is no rookie as he is the only guy to qualify from those who played for the $100,000 in the DFBC this summer. I don’t remember him having a great finish that day, but he is proving he is an absolute force to reckon with. Odds to win: 15-1
David Kaplen aka Headchopper Nobody is more on top of their game right now than the man we affectionately call “Chop”. He kicked it into another gear this football season and has taken down some huge industry tournaments already this year. His current run is very reminiscent to what we saw with Beermakersfan going into last years FFFC Final, and nobody would be shocked if he capped off his terrific football season with a win in the industry’s marquee event. Odds to win: 7-1
DP47 Likely spent the most money chasing the seat out of anyone in the field, but this guy has been a daily fantasy beast in 2012. He is the only player to qualify for both FanDuel and Drafstreet’s Football Final. That alone is an incredible achievement, but if he can pull off the “Daily Fantasy Double” that would likely garner him “Player of the year” status….oh yeah and a cool quarter of a million dollars wouldn’t suck either. Odds to win: 12-1
Joseph Vance aka GeneralV I was so pumped to see the General earn a spot in this years FFFC Final. He had so many close calls during the Q’s for DFBC this summer, but when FanDuel announced they were offering a second higher stakes buy in this years FFFC Final, I had a hunch he would make it. Things have changed a bit since his victory in the inaugural FFFC two years ago, but he left Vegas with the oversized check and trophy that day and winning 2 out of the first 3 titles would probably cement his legacy as an all-time great. Odds to win 12-1
FINAL PREDICTION
I remember this story being played out last year with a guy named Beermakersfan. He came into the final with all sorts of momentum and took it down like we expected. This year that guy is HeadChopper and I think he will be your 2012 FFFC Champion. Get ready Chop…you could be the next Daily Fantasy Celebrity and better work on that smile for all those magazine ads you may be soon featured in.
1) HeadChopper 2) DP47 3) CSURams 4) Pudge