Sweet Sixteen Face Off for King of Saratoga
Time for the Sweet 16.
In August?
One of the most unique online contest formats resumes on Derby Wars this weekend.
Unlike March Madness, the winner of this field of 64 will wear a crown instead of cutting down the nets.
Sixteen players have earned their way through a pair of head-to-head victories with the hopes of becoming the King of Saratoga.
There are eight matchups set for today with the winners advancing to Sunday where they will have an opportunity to earn a spot in the final four.
Anthony Trezza (Youare2020) knows what it takes to prevail in the head-to-head bracket format having won the $25K H2H bracket in 2015.
"I feel that all players should realize that this is a marathon and pace is so important. Putting too much emphasis on a Saturday card just to be exhausted for Sunday will be detrimental," Trezza explained. "Looking ahead to other opponents in the bracket is also a bad thing to do...one game at a time."
It's hard not to look ahead at opponents when they include the likes of Trezza or Joe Pettit (Mortars) who currently sits third in points on the National Handicapping Championship Tour leaderboard.
Frank Polk (Blaster) is another past $25K winner who is still alive in the Sweet 16.
There is little margin for error when it comes to head-to-head play, but that win-or-go home dynamic intrigues many of DerbyWars' top players to pursue the $25K H2H bracket.
"The King of Saratoga bracket play is awesome. You want to talk about a rush.Then it's a must play tournament," said Matt Valentine (Destin), who is also a part of the 16 remaining competitors in the bracket.
Valentine needed every bit of his last game to advance as he used an $18 winner in the last race to fight off elimination.
Trezza echoed Valentine's take that every race matters.
"Basically every race to me is do or die," Trezza said.
"There is a lot of pressure on both contest players to be playing at a high level. Not only do you have to be spot on with your picks but you have to really been tuned in to your opponent as well. It is the ultimate of all chess matches."
While head-to-head games have always existed on DerbyWars, adding a tournament twist to things has been a favorite for many players that have pursued bracket competition.
However, how much of a adjustment is it for players that are used to competing against 30-133 players in high stakes games featured on DerbyWars.
Trezza, who has earned dozens of high stakes win on DerbyWars, claims that no matter what the format it still comes down to picking winners.
"The strategy is pretty much the same. With 100-plus contestant games you can miss a few races and then bomb away and still cash. With the head to head, 2nd place means you are done," Trezza said.
At the end of the day, bracket competitions on DerbyWars are challenging, but fun.
If we go back to the comparison with March Madness, the fun lies in the competition.
We tend to fill out NCAA tournament brackets each year knowing that we may only win our office pool once out of every 10 times we compete.
It's unique however and it's fun being on the right end of the upsets and buzzer beaters.
How should horse racing head-to-head brackets be any different. They possess many of the same twists and turns.
By the conclusion of another star-studded Saratoga meet, we will find out who is the true King of Saratoga.
That crown carries $9,125 in cash, a 100K entry and a championship trophy.
And if that's not enough and you still want to cut down a net, I am sure it can be arranged.
--- By Dustin Haluska
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