MoneyList Watch: Week 14

When he placed, he placed high and when he won, he won big. Three big early wins put him on the fast track above the competition, then three second place finishes allowed Kansas State fan kst8no1 to cruise to a record setting 2011 MoneyList title.

Top 25 MoneyList Rankings - Week 14 (Final)

Through the first half of the season, kst8no1, TwoEgg and J06Powercat sat 1, 2, 3 in the rankings. Eight week's later the order remained and kst8no1 was never truly threatened on his way to a record $223.35 in earnings and his second major prediction title.

Despite not placing in Week's 7, 8 or 9, kst8no1's grasp of the top ranking stayed relatively safe because earners during those weeks were just getting going and spread the wealth toward the bottom. All three first place finishers during that stretch were first time winners which prevented other top contenders from making up significant ground.

In Week 10, then No. 5 J06Powercat got a 1st place boost but kst8no1 kept pace with a 2nd place finish which pushed his total toward the $200 mark at $197.85. J06Powercat's win moved him up to No. 2 but still trailed by $70.

The following week, Week 11, J06Powercat placed again in 2nd to move within $42 or a win of overtaking kst8no1. It was the closest anyone had come to kst8no1 since Week 2.

With only three weeks left in the season it was now or never if anyone at the top of the field was going to seriously challenge kst8no1 -- the answer was never.

kst8no1 increased his lead with another second place finish in an extremely difficult Week 12. The $25.50 pushed him past the $200 mark, past tmack62's single-season mark of $212.09 and well on his way to the MoneyList title.

TwoEgg made a late push with 1st place results in Week's 13 and 14 to pull within $43.15 at No. 2 but it came at the season's final whistle.

The key to kst8no1's success in 2011 was the fact he earned three big wins (one in the Top 25 Challenge) very early on during the most lucrative weeks to win. The first several weeks were so valuable, kst8no1 didn't even need to win a contest after Week 3 to hold off the field, which has to be the most remarkable stat of this year's contest.

The K-State fan got off to such a fast start in large part to a $78 sweep of Top 25 contests in Week 1 alone and another $61.20 in Week 3. After another high dollar 2nd place finish worth $33.15 in Week 5, he had already built a lead of nearly $100 with $172.35 in his coffers -- and that's only one-third of the way through the season!

As the season went on, the winners and wealth were well spread and the purse decreased in value, which helped protect the lead and allowed kst8no1 to cruise to victory after a couple more 2nd places. No drama needed.

It was kst8no1's first Top 25 MoneyList title and second major prediction title. In addition to breaking tmack62's 2009 earnings record, his $43.15 margin of victory over No. 2 TwoEgg was the largest in the contest's four seasons. He had the most placings with six and three of them coming as wins. He'll add another golden football to his trophy case and a top placement on the Winners Wall.

The rest of the top five included No. 2 TwoEgg($180.20), No. 3 J06Powercat($159.80), No. 4 devescovi($122.40) and No. 5 pjrs($119.00). TwoEgg was the only player other than kst8no1 to reach three wins. TwoEgg, J06Powercat, devescovi and No. 6 NUtball($107.10) each placed five times.

Top 25 MoneyList Rankings - Week 14 (Final)

Add comment

Name (required)

E-mail (required, but will not display)

Notify me of follow-up comments

Refresh

JComments