DraftKings Championship Series: Players to Watch at the Fantasy Basketball World Championship

One of the biggest events on the 2021 DraftKings Championship Series calendar is scheduled to take place this weekend, a two-day tournament that coincides with the start of the NBA Playoffs. The $5M Fantasy Basketball World Championship spans two days, starting on Saturday, May 22 and concluding on Sunday, May 23. This will be the first live event of 2021, taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the 100 qualifiers for this contest will be able to attend in person. Many of the participants have highly impressive resumes, and we’ve chosen to highlight five of them to focus on for this particular basketball competition.

Coverage for this event will be accessible on various DraftKings streaming platforms, and more information will be available on DraftKings Playbook as well!

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The DraftKings Championship Series is the king of competitions, minting 100 millionaires in the 2021-22 season. For more info on the series and all of the events, visit our DraftKings Championship Series Information page.

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ragingphilip

Number of Seats: 5

Ragingphilip is as detail-oriented as a DFS player can be, so it’s no surprise that he’s won two FBWC events in a row. While he’s conceivably the “favorite” given his recent success, ragingphilip is extremely humble, and knows a lot would have to go his way to win this prestigious event again, despite the fact that he clearly has a knack for these contests. He says that he’s at his best when there’s a lot of time to think through decisions and dive deep into his analysis, and he admits that on the fly decision-making isn’t his strong suit. Nonetheless, he’s fared extremely well in the FBWC, where a skillset comprised largely of quick decision-making is paramount when thinking through things like game theory, late swapping, and more. Ragingphilip doesn’t actually view himself as a big sports fan, so his DFS success is largely dependent on his strong analytical skills rather than his inherent knowledge of sports.

The name ragingphilip was a nickname from back when he was a water polo player in college, and it's attributed to the sometimes rage-filled nature of his personality. He carries that nickname with him to this day, and uses that rage to help him when he competes.

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Awesemo

Number of Seats: 3

Awesemo has been playing DFS for several years now and is among the most recognizable names in the DFS community, and he knows he needs to work extra hard to keep his game sharp with all of the attention that he tends to get. Awesemo is highly statistically-minded and uses various models for all of the different sports that he plays, but he also puts a great deal of thought into game theory and being mindful of what his competitors are doing. Awesemo has racked up many wins throughout his DFS career, but he’s yet to win a World Championship event and he says that he’s really in it for the glory when it comes to these tournaments, and would like nothing more than to be crowned champion in Charlotte. He thoroughly enjoys being a part of the live events in particular and the festivities that come along with it, but it’s clear that he views a 1st place finish as the missing piece of the puzzle.

The name Awesemo is a hybrid between the words “awesome” and “emo” and it comes from his high school days when he was into emo music and played in an emo band. Here’s a clip of Awesemo explaining the origin of the name in his own words:

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BigT44

Number of Seats: 2

BigT44 won the first event of the 2021 DraftKings Championship Series season, taking down the $2.5M Fantasy Golf Millionaire on March 11. He’s less into all the data and analytics that many of the other top DFS players use, and his extensive knowledge of sports is clearly what allows him to be successful despite using feel and intuition more than the other competitors do. BigT44 spends much of his time watching sports, particularly the NBA, and is clearly more of a sports fan than most other DFS players are. BigT44 is also unique in that he typically plays just one lineup per slate, and that allows him to devote a level of focus and attention to each lineup that just isn’t possible for players that are entering dozens or even hundreds of lineups a day. He says that he’s in it for the competition, and cares about competing and winning above all else in DFS.

The name BigT is simply a nickname from childhood, and 44 was a preferred jersey number when playing sports as a kid.

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squirrelpatroldk

Number of Seats: 5

Squirrelpatroldk is both a big sports fan and an expert in statistical modeling, and believes that the combination of those two skill sets is essential in being an elite DFS player. Like Awesemo, squirrelpatroldk is motivated to win a DraftKings Championship Series event, which thus far he’s been unable to do. He uses a mix of instincts and analytics when playing DFS, but says that NBA DFS is more instincts-oriented and he tends to rely more on feel when playing fantasy basketball. There are some loud personalities in the DFS community, but squirrelpatroldk says that he tends to be more reserved when it comes sweating out big DFS wins.

Squirrelpatroldk gets his username from his pet dogs, who his wife had nicknamed as the “squirrel patrol” due to their propensity for chasing squirrels around.

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theWhistlesGoWooo

Number of Seats: 4

Speaking of loud personalities, theWhistlesGoWooo is the newest household name among these players to watch, and he’s gained popularity largely due to his interview after winning the DraftKings Fantasy Football World Championship in December 2020.

TheWhistlesGoWooo knows that taking risks is necessary to attain big wins, and the risks certainly paid off in that event when he took home the $2.5M first prize. TheWhistlesGoWooo thrives on the excitement and the sweat of DFS, and cares about the money, but he’s in it mostly for the achievements and the accomplishments of winning big tournaments. He’s a sports fan at heart, and has found his sports fandom increasing through his time playing DFS as he’s gotten more involved in all of the different sports. Despite being self-described as a fan, theWhistlesGoWooo is heavily invested in analytics and has worked in analytics in addition to playing DFS.

TheWhistlesGoWooo is a name that dates back many years, as the whistles and woo-ing have been part of his sports fandom since before he started playing DFS.

For more info on the series and all of the events, visit our DraftKings Championship Series Information page.

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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.

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