Contest Newcomer Jason Avila wins Derby Wars March Bracket Challenge
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Newcomer Jason Avila (Jguppy93) was able to take out 63 other
top competitors in order to walk away with the title of National Champion in
Derby Wars first ever $10,000 March Bracket Challenge. In this game, players
were ranked and set in six head-to-head rounds against each other to win
$10,000 in prizes and ultimate bragging rights of being the first ever winner
of this tournament. The game was the first of it’s kind in the world of
horseplaying contests, and Avila was able to take down six tough opponents to
take the cash, the title, and the trophy. It’s his first significant win since
starting to play contests two months ago.
"I'm thrilled to own that first bracket challenge trophy!"
Avila
has been a horseplayer and student of the game for most of his life but started
playing online tournaments regularly only two months ago. After purchasing
Peter Fornatale’s book, “The Winning Contest Player,” Avila felt prepared to
start playing online contests for money. He stumbled across Derby Wars after trying
out some of the recommended sites and found Derby Wars “to be one that gave him the most opportunities on a daily basis
to practice in real money games.
Incredibly
enough, the March Bracket Challenge was the first time Avila had competed in
head-to-head contests. Avila said that he had to rely on his handicapping and
luck to overcome the mistakes he had made, as all of the rounds presented
challenges due to his relative lack of experience.
Many
people may be curious as to how a newcomer like Avila was able to win a huge
head-to-head contest like this, being so new to the game. Luckily, he walked us
step-by-step through every round of the tournament. Here’s how he won, in his
own words:
Rounds 1 & 2 (Jtrenner) & (Thebid) – “I probably had the most luck here because I was trying
to figure out the best way to approach the head to head style of play. I left
some points on the board here but was lucky to advance. “
Round 3 (Ptscott) – “I shifted my focus to picking the horses I thought had
the best chance of winning. Sounds simple but it's easy to get caught up in
what you think your competition will pick, especially after studying their
previous rounds and the choices they made in the past.”
Round 4 (Whiskeyquick) – “I was in trouble early here. With four races to go,
I needed to close some serious ground but felt two of the races were very
chalky and two were not. Sticking to my plan was the biggest challenge. Time
was ticking, I needed to be right and hope my opponent was not on the same
horses as I was. I had some more racing luck and ended up pulling it out.”
Round 5 (Muttdog88) – “Early on, it was close. Midgame my opponent tabbed a
price and went ahead by about $35 or so. If I could keep it a tight game, I
loved a bomb in the 9th at Santa Anita and knew that it would be enough to get
me back in the game. It was the last race I studied the night before. I forced
myself to bed after writing "Best Bet" next to the 15/1 morning line
and figured it would be best to review again in the morning… I had been
studying for a while! In the morning I still believed in what I was looking at so
I headed to Santa Anita for Derby day with my plan and was able to pull the
victory out late. This was the first day I played a round away from home because
I thought California Chrome was a freak and didn't want to miss seeing the
Derby in person. It was a great day but it ended up being a bit exhausting.”
What’s next for Avila?
He says he has his “eye on the contest
scene” and that there are many players he’s looking forward to competing
against. Winning an eclipse award for handicapper of the year would be the
ultimate dream for him, and he'll be using his bracket winnings to start down
that road.
Could you be the next $10,000 contest winner on Derby
Wars? Try a game for free at www.Derbywars.com.
For more details on Derby Wars email the Derby Wars support staff at
support@derbywars.com.
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