Interview with FFFC Finalist and #3 Ranked GeneralV
Interview with FFFC Finalist and #3 Ranked GeneralV
Last But Not Least
Joe V., known as GeneralV to the Daily Fantasy World, earned the 10th and final FFFC spot last week. He’ll be making his way to to the glorious city of Las Vegas next week to compete for the $25,000 Grand Prize against the nine other finalists, which includes RotoGrinders Whits23 and Cal.
Unlike other FFFC winners, GeneralV’s victory was no lucky crapshoot. GeneralV is currently ranked 3rd in the RotoGrinders Overall Rankings and 6th on the FanDuel Leaderboard. The FFFC package value is estimated at around $5,000, which would be a great week for anyone, but V didn’t stop there. Over the last two weeks RotoGrinders has V tracked at over $13,000 in winnings (including the $5k package). The past 2 weeks’ winnings were good enough for V one spot to #3 in the rankings, and put him just 86 points back, and in striking distance, of grabbing the #2 spot. Before he took off for Vegas, we got a chance to grill the General on the rush he has been on, his plans for Vegas, and his thoughts on the industry.
Salute the General
OK, so before we get to this, I think you should know I had multiple people chat/PM/text/email me telling me how your lineups in Week 10 ruined their day. What do you have to say for yourself?
I’m sorry? That’s what I love about daily fantasy leagues, If you have a rough day, you can always bounce right back the next day or the next week. I guess I was able to put a pretty strong team together, and it worked out well.
So, you’re going to Vegas ! Tell us about your FFFC plans to qualify.
I was certainly interested in going to Vegas, so I put in a team every week. Occasionally I put in a second team if I was undecided on a few players.
You won by a relatively large margin for FFFC, were you ever sweating it?
Yes! Then Michael Vick went with a play-action pass to DeSean Jackson for 75 yards and that made me feel a little better. Although, I thought for sure that someone ahead of me would have the Vick/DeSean combo as well. When I realized I was the only one, I got a little more comfortable. Then I realized that someone had Jeremy Maclin with Vick.
What are your plans and strategies heading into Vegas?
My plan is to win. My strategy is to pick players that will put up a lot of points. Ask me again after Vegas. ☺
So aside from ruining people’s fantasy Sundays and planning trips to Vegas, tell us a little about yourself. What do you do for a living? Where do you live? etc.
I am an operations manager in the Philadelphia area. I live outside the city and I spend most of my time with my Wife and 12 week old daughter.
I’m dying to know, what is the meaning behind your screen name?
There’s a little bit of meaning behind the name. I tend to be a leader on the field whether it’s playing ball (which I don’t do much anymore) or at work where I lead my team. I am usually the one to bring everyone together and make things happen.
Well you brought the right group of players together in Week 10, that’s for sure. You mentioned playing ball, what are your favorite sports and did you play any? What are your favorite sports Teams?
My favorite sports are Football and Baseball. I am originally from New York, so I bleed Giant blue. Unfortunately, I am also a Mets Fan. As for playing, I used to play baseball and was on some competitive Softball teams on Long Island before I moved.
OK, enough about you, back to your lineup. The word on the street is you might have set some records in November. Can you share some of your lineups with us and why you chose them?
Well, I did not want to say anything until after Vegas, but I have the ability to see into the future. ☺ Joking aside, I do some research and watch the games. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. It worked week 10.
RotoGrinders had you down for a huge Sunday without the FFFC Championship even included. I’m going to put you on the spot. What did your total winnings wind up being for Week 10 Sunday? Where does it rank all time?
RotoGrinders is very kind. Let’s just say it was a solid week.
How long have you been ‘grinding’ daily fantasy sports?
I started Grinding in June of this year. I play a few roto baseball contests a year and usually one football league. My buddy Mike mentioned to me that I should try the daily format, and I did. I am thanking him by flying him out to Vegas with me.
How many contests do you participate in each week and across which sites?
I play the majority of my action at FanDuel and recently I started playing at DraftStreet a few weeks ago. I don’t care for most of the other sites. Most of them have poor customer service something that I cannot tolerate.
You’ve recently snagged #3 on RotoGrinders and #6 on the FanDuel leaderboards. What do you attribute your success to?
I guess as I mentioned before, I put the time in, do the research, and make my best picks. It is actually pretty exciting to know that I have climbed the fantasy ranks. Hopefully I can keep it up.
What is your typical buy-in range? Do you have any specific Bankroll strategies?
It depends on the week I do like the higher buy ins but if I cant get the majority of my bankroll out there I will take any contest that will fill.
What is your best sport for daily fantasy?
It has to be Football then baseball.
Do you play any fields sizes other than heads up? What are your thoughts on larger fields sizes?
I like heads up but I rather play 5 man contests.
What do you have envisioned for the future of Daily Fantasy? If you play poker or bet on sports, what are your thoughts on Daily Fantasy in relation to the two?
I used to play poker frequently. The problem with poker is that luck plays a huge role. There is no river in daily fantasy. You can make informed decisions based upon research. Now while there is also an element of luck in fantasy sports, I think luck plays much less of a role. I think fantasy, and particularly daily fantasy is on the rise and growing by the day. I love the aspect of daily fantasy, and I think many others do as well. I think it is at the infancy stage, and will grow to be very big. With more diverse marketing, it could explode. I would love to be in on the ground floor.
What aspect of Daily Fantasy Sports do you think sites could improve on making better?
Not much I think FD does a great job and will continue to grow based upon there service and know how. DS is a close second as well due to the customer service they provide. I think both of these sites will find a way to the top of the list within the next 12 months.