Big Tourney Recap: FanDuel Survivor $200K Week 6
The Fourth of July was a day for relaxation and celebration. That is, if you weren’t one of the elite few left in FanDuel’s $200K survivor. The last week has been grueling, shedding even more of FanDuel’s top players. Let’s review what happened:
Monday June 30th, Round 16
View $200k Survivor Scoreboard Here
Breakdown
• 17 Entries Remaining
• 10 Players
•Dan Still Alive!
Remaining Players With Multiple Entries
• bcalicore – 4
• ganondorf – 2
• lovesbases – 2
• okwhynot – 2
• theclone – 2
Keys to Success
There was little variation in pitching this round. Jordan Zimmerman (13 Points), Alex Wood (10 Points), Mat Latos (10 Points) were all used but they were all pretty close in performance. The key came down to hitting.
Getting into such a small field with a ton of overlap means strategy gets tougher and tougher. The real key to success this round was: have three batters with over seven points each. This turned out to be difficult. Here were the batters and their respective ownership percentages:
•Ryan Zimmerman – 7.75 Points (76.5% Owned)
•Rajai Davis – 11.25 Points (47.1% Owned)
•Salvador Perez – 7.5 Points (47.1% Owned)
•Ian Desmond – 9.5 Points (29.4% Owned)
• J.J. Hardy – 8.75 Points (17.6% Owned)
•Adam Jones – 7.75 Points (17.6% Owned)
•Steve Pearce – 13.25 Points (11.8% Owned)
•Robinson Cano – 9.25 Points (11.8% Owned)
•Nate Schierholtz – 8.5 Points (5.9% Owned)
Outside of Ryan Zimmerman, there was no real consensus on any of these players. This round definitely showed how close the skill has become in the survivor.
What Was I Thinking?
I ended up splitting my remaining two entries in this round. My strategy was:
• Washington bats
•Alex Wood to afford more expensive batters (thanks Ortiz, Choo, Cruz…not!)
• Diversity at catcher, shortstop, and one non-expensive outfielder (50-50)
The Washington Bats strategy kind of paid off. Despite getting seven runs, Werth and Rendon were “meh” in value. Pitching-wise, it’s hard to be too mad at Alex Wood. Despite little run support, he did produce well. Of course, the benefit of more money ended up not mattering.
Finally, my diversification was iffy. I did survive, but I can’t help but wonder if I’d used the same lineup twice (like bcalicore) if I’d be sweating my odds at Vegas a lot less.
Wednesday July 2nd, Round 17
View $200k Survivor Scoreboard Here
Breakdown
• 13 Entries Remaining
• 9 Players
• Dan Still Alive!
Remaining Players With Multiple Entries
• bcalicore – 4
• theclone – 2
Keys to Success
• Pick the right pitcher – Julio Teheran (15 Points) was owned by four entries (stlcrds20, db730, sirmalcolm, and lovesbases) and was a guaranteed pass to round 18.
• Get lucky – I’m included in this field. Outside of the Teheran lineups, which all cracked 30, the remaining lineups were separated by 3.25 points!
What Was I Thinking?
The three pitchers in play this round were Julio Teheran, Cole Hamels, and Adam Wainwright. I liked all of them, but Hamels looked awesome. He’d struck out at least six batters in each of his last six outings. He’d also gone seven innings in those six games. The one question was run support, but hey, the Phillies did pull out a win the last time Hamels played Miami.
Ooh boy. He got lit up for three runs in five innings, where he only got three strikeouts. Tack on no run support, and I get to shake my head that I didn’t put my Teheran lineup in the survivor. My streak of high-priced players underperforming continued. Mike Trout did nothing! I lucked out to survive this round. It’s not a good strategy, but it is an effective one!
Friday July 4th, Round 18
Almost there! We can show the results on one page.
View $200k Survivor Scoreboard Here
Breakdown
• 10 Entries Remaining
• 6 Players
•Dan Still Alive!
Remaining Players With Multiple Entries
• bcalicore – 4
Keys to Success
After two fierce rounds with crazy close margins, this round actually had two trends dictate the winners:
•Chris Sale – Twelve strikeouts and a complete game? His absurd 24 points almost assured victory from the get go.
• Los Angeles Batters – On July 3rd, the Dodgers scored a measly three runs. This might have turned some people off to them. They were however facing Jair Jurrjens, who hadn’t started a game since last May, at Coors Field. Nineteen hits and nine runs later, and they made many survivors happy.
I do want to shout out stlcrds20, who went against the grain on Kershaw. While Sale was an obvious pick, Clayton Kershaw put up 20 points in a downright cruel outing against my Rockies. He had Dan Back, who finished in 8th, sweating for sure. Sadly stlcrds20 didn’t use enough Dodgers, and Dan lived to enjoy his Staw-Ber-Rita.
What Was I Thinking?
A little boring but I was thinking the exact same lines that were the keys to success. Chris Sale (who isn’t an All-Star?) has been a beast this year. He barely edged out Darvish and Kershaw (I had higher hopes for the Rockies!) Despite their subpar outing, I had faith in the Dodgers. Evan Longoria was a nice touch, and I was able to enjoy my 4th without too much stress.
This Week!
Remaining Survivors:
• bcalicore – 4
• db730 – 1
• ganondorf – 1
• lovesbases -1
• theclone -1
Hats off to bcalicore, who is guaranteed a seat in Vegas! For those of us with one entry, this week will definitely be stressful. Good luck to everyone!