FanDuel's $1 Million World Fantasy Basketball Championship
FanDuel’s Playboy Basketball Championship will take place in sunny Southern California this weekend, and the leader in Daily Fantasy Sports isn’t stopping with just one live final this season.
If you were eagerly trying to qualify for a trip to Hef’s backyard but couldn’t quite connect, you’ll have another opportunity to earn a little vacation for yourself in addition to having a shot at a six-figure payday. The FanDuel team has announced details for this year’s World Fantasy Basketball Championship, which will commence in South Beach, Miami. The venue is a nice change of pace from the typical West Coast destinations, and includes a three-night stay in the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel. It’s hard to beat beautiful weather, a five-star hotel and a shot at $100,000!
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you haven’t yet signed up to FanDuel, use our links to join and you’ll get (free) full access to our FanDuel incentives for all sports! Check out our FanDuel Review for full details on the site, then click through one of our links to get started.
The event itself will take place on Friday, April 10th, but FanDuel does a great job at making the entire weekend a memorable experience, as anyone who has been to one of their live finals can tell you. The World Fantasy Basketball Championship will consist of 50 entries, and the qualifying period will begin tomorrow (Tuesday).
Both low and high stakes players will have a shot at securing a seat – qualifiers will run for as little as $2. Qualifiers will run multiple times a week at various buy-in levels, so make sure to keep a close eye on the FanDuel lobby as they release them.
Details
The total cash prize pool of the WFBBC is $1,000,000. $700,000 will be awarded to finalists at the live final on April 10th and $300,000 will be awarded as runner up prizes in WFBBC Qualifiers.
Each Qualifier winner will also be awarded a trip package worth $4,000. Each trip package consists of $700 airfare credit to be used in purchasing a round-trip plane ticket to Miami, FL; chauffeured transfer from the airport to the hotel; three nights of hotel accommodations at the Ritz-Carlton of South Beach; and entry for two to the Thursday kick-off mixer on April 9th, the Friday Championship viewing party on April 10th, and the Saturday send-off reception on April 11th (all of which will be held beach/poolside, weather permitting).
Finalists may qualify for the WFBBC up to three times. Qualifiers will run at $2, $5, $10, $25, $100 and $235 buy-in levels. As for the payout structure…
While the total prize pool may not be overwhelming (something I didn’t think I’d be saying about a seven-figure non-NFL final), the great part about this event is that it appeals to players that lack a big bankroll. It was very tough to gain entry into the NFL finals this past season if you weren’t comfortable sporting a large number of entries into each qualifier, but that won’t be the case here. The qualifying period will last roughly two months, and you’ll be able to qualify for as little as $2. This is definitely an event that appeals to the mid-level Grinders, and taking down a live final is a great way to get your name out there in both the DFS and RG communities.
The multi-million dollar NFL finals have spoiled us in the sense that we now expect every live final to boast an enormous prize pool, although I’m happy with what FanDuel has rolled out this year in both of their live NBA finals. The fact that they are running more than one live NBA final is a great sign for them and the industry as a whole, and the venues (Los Angeles and South Beach) are two prime destinations in the winter/spring months. As someone who has spent 23 of the past 24 years in Philadelphia during the winter, I can assure you that escaping the cold for a few days in South Beach is almost as exciting as competing for a six-figure payday.
Tomorrow night provides your first opportunity to secure a spot in the World Fantasy Basketball Championship… Let’s see a Grinder take this thing down!