Friday, August 14, 2015
Column 498
Fantasy League Update!
Perhaps it’s just climate change, but as summer fades into fall things seem to be heating up more than cooling down, and Donald Trump’s lead is growing…
WAIT!
… what’s really growing is Mike Holler’s lead in the CDC Fantasy League.
I have no idea what this Trump crap is about. I don’t give a rat’s ass either. The man’s a frickin’ dick.
With just two events remaining, Holler has padded his first place Fantasy League cushion to a possibly insurmountable 23-point advantage over Darin “Big Daddy” Young and the mysterious “Eugene of No Last Name, ” who have moved into a tie for second from the 11th and 12th positions respectively. Whew. That’s a long sentence. My high school English teacher would be disappointed.
So will Young be disappointed if he squeezes out the victory, as tour card holders are eligible to show off their prognosticating prowess but ineligible to share in the spoils. The same goes for Timmy Nicoll and Mitchell Payton, who currently hold down the 7th and 8th positions. Not that they should care, since all are certain – or at least most likely – to make the cut for the Continental Cup in September and a shot at the $10,000 inaugural tour winner’s check.
Currently, Matthew Collier (up from 9th place), Alex March (previously in 27th position), and Ms. “Taz Man” Vera Carter (who has skyrocketed from the 44th spot) round out the top five. With just two events remaining (August 29-30 in Indianapolis, the epicenter of the darting universe – according to Steve Price), a host of participants are within striking distance – within 30 points of second place. So keep in mind the tiebreak rule:
The tiebreak for this contest will be the final tour points results for each “team” for Group SIX. If still tied, then totals will be examined progressively backwards: Group FIVE, Group FOUR, etc. If STILL tied, a count back of each event will be used – i.e.: total points in Event 8, Event 7, Event 6, etc. (If multiple duplicate teams are selected and no tiebreak is possible, the first place prize will be prorated accordingly.)
Only the top five finishers will share the bounty, with $500 to the winner and signature darts (Larry Butler, Chris White, Cali West, Chuck Pankow and Gordon Dixon) to the runners up.
The current Fantasy League standings can be found here: Results!
One of the “complications” in any sort of Fantasy League competition is uncertainty. If one of your players is injured or in jail for dealing drugs or murder, well then, you’re “team” is weakened. This sort of thing is unpredictable. The same applies to the CDC Fantasy League…
Although personally ineligible (like Anthony Eugenie, Peter Citera and David Irete) because we are all highly paid employees either the CDC or Dartoid’s World, I entered under a fake name just to see how I might fare. I used the name Curtis Ellers and I am in 400th place.
But let me tell you – I picked a very strong team, as I am sure did many of the other near-700 entrants. I have been disappointed that some – actually, many – of the CDC tour card holders have not shown up to play. I won’t name names, but I will say my entry was gutted as a result. Some of the best players in North America accepted tour cards on the condition they would participate in a required number of events. I took this into account when I chose my team. I took every player at their word. Many didn’t keep their word. So be it.
It’s expensive to travel and participate. I understand that. Life throws curves and sometimes one’s best intentions can’t be met for unanticipated reasons. But the no-shows are more prevalent than might reasonably be ascribed to such considerations.
While I was disappointed early on that certain top-flight players did not accept tour cards (again, I won’t name names) and have since been even more disappointed in comments some of them have made about the tour, I must give them credit for being straight up and not committing to something they knew, for whatever reason, they could not or would not support.
It’s all just part of the game, I suppose. It’s not the end of the world.
The CDC is the future of darts in North America. The Fantasy League is just for fun – a way for fans to be support the growth of our sport, follow the action, and be a bit extra energized and involved via a little legal side action. There are some exciting plans in the works for next year’s Fantasy League. So stay tuned. This year’s prize fund is a pittance compared to what you will see on offer in 2016.
Congratulations to this year’s ADO national champions, Larry Butler and Cali West (both CDC tour card holders) and national youth champion, Carl Di Cicco (who, if Danny Lauby, Jr. is any indication, is likely to be a future CDC great).
Congratulations are also due Japan’s Sho Katsumi for his recent victory over an impressive soft-tip field (including several CDC tour card holders) at the DARTSLIVE Stage 4 event in Canada.
Finally, congratulations again to all six of the CDC winners, so far (John Part, Larry Butler, Jason Brandon, D.J. Sayre, Darin Young and Leonard Gates) and best of luck to everybody going forward…
Even Steve Price.
But not Donald Trump.
From the Field,
Dartoid
