Chris Fessler Wins 2021 Rotowire Online & $125,000

[Greg Ambrosius]

Chris Fessler of Cincinnati, Ohio added his second NFBC national championship when he won the 2021 Rotowire Online Championship, topping a record field of 2,388 teams to win the $125,000 grand prize. Chris also won the 2017 NFBC Main Event as he now joins a select group of owners who have won both of those titles. Lindy Hinkelman and James Tomony are the only other owners to have won both of these prestigious titles.

Chris jumped into the lead earlier this month and held off several teams down the stretch, including that of Philippe Dussault, who also won the 2021 Main Event and the 2021 Auction Championship. Chris bested Philippe by 400.5 points to win the $125,000 grand prize, with Philippe, Curtis Jones, Andrew Geller and Thomas Warner rounding out the Top 5. The Top 25 teams earned prize money in the overall contest, while the Top 2 teams in each league won prize money, including $1,400 for the league champions.

Chris won his league title with 111 points (92.5%) and he won the overall title with 22,139 points (92.7%). Chris entered three Rotowire Online Championship leagues this year and he won all three league titles, finishing 63rd overall and 126th overall with the two other teams. He also finished second in one of his Main Event leagues and 34th overall.

Chris drafted from the 11th spot in his league and started with Freddie Freeman and Francisco Lindor. I'll post his draft and free agent results shortly. But congrats Chris on your second national NFBC title and congrats to all of the overall and league prize money winners.

Here's the final standings:

2021 Rotowire Online Championship Top 100 Teams:
1 Chris Fessler Sweep the leg $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1805 22,139.00
2 Philippe Dussault The Robot OC $1,500 Rotowire Online Championship Online 3/29 @ 9:00 pm ET #1184 21,738.50
3 Curtis Jones JonesCurtisW OC2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #777 21,520.00
4 Andrew Geller Da Gildz Won Time! $350 Rotowire Online Championship #287 21,134.00
5 Thomas Warner LEATHERNECK 27 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1230 21,011.00
6 elliott pell Dem Brooklyn Bums $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1185 20,956.00
7 Griffin Benger Kissed by Arozarena $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1544 20,685.00
8 Todd Whitestone Anderstone Online $350 Rotowire Online Championship #592 20,636.50
9 Dohn Terrell Piggy $350 Rotowire Online Championship #844 20,594.00
9 Dalton Del Don Del Don $350 Rotowire Online Championship #296 20,594.00
11 James Rush Rush $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1639 20,528.50
12 Keaton Arneson Keaton 1 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #747 20,365.50
13 Aaron Jones Jones $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1576 20,357.00
14 Tom Evans Jake & the Fat Owner $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1522 20,325.50
15 Eric Heberlig Red Sox $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1244 20,180.50
16 Scott Gilbert Gilbert Online Old $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1574 20,114.00
17 MATTHEW BUSH BUSH $350 Rotowire Online Championship #753 20,103.50
18 Jay O'Toole 7OC $350 Rotowire Online Championship #805 20,101.50
19 Ned Donohue Donohue $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1748 20,047.00
20 SCOTT RAHALEY TTownTiger 4 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1652 20,032.50
21 Chris Hoyler Hoyler $350 Rotowire Online Championship #745 20,021.50
22 Robert Klein Klein OC $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1610 19,973.00
23 Brian Zirlin Zirlin $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1435 19,947.00
24 Russell Reisner Balco Prairie Dogs 2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1791 19,881.00
25 Kyle Brinkmann JK ALL THE WAY OC-7 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1373 19,873.00
26 Leigh Anteola All Your Money $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1656 19,819.00
27 Bradley Willis Bo In A Yellow Blanket $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1166 19,783.00
28 Stephen Goodwin Stevoswerve - OC6 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #661 19,770.00
29 John Pausma JP OC2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #661 19,750.50
30 Schuyler Schickel --BADASSES-- ROC3 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1812 19,744.00
31 Gordon Konkin Bastards OC 1 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1374 19,737.50
32 Derek Ouren Neows $350 Rotowire Online Championship #976 19,731.00
33 Emmett Ruland Ruland $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1166 19,682.00
34 Kenneth Gavron Americas Team $350 Rotowire Online Championship #745 19,625.00
35 John Pausma JP OC7 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1435 19,612.00
36 Francis Gatti OTS $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1111 19,607.50
37 Guilhem Herisson Herisson $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1678 19,596.00
38 Nicholi Knutson Knutson5 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #953 19,563.00
39 Ryan Lease Scoo Baddoo $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1725 19,535.00
40 MATTHEW DUGAN DUGAN $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1498 19,518.00
40 Dan Thompson MXC Weatherfox OC $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1518 19,518.00
42 Peter Christensen Tomahawk Chop $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1513 19,492.00
43 Matthew Levine No Razzle Dazzle 4 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1226 19,488.50
44 Ben Johnson Princeton Luckboxes $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1791 19,463.00
45 Nelson Sousa CamBrady $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1799 19,427.50
46 Mike Burton Juiced Ball ERAs OC1 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1485 19,406.50
47 Brent Franey Franey $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1272 19,395.50
48 Eric Heberlig Wheeler $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1098 19,362.50
49 Andrew Geller Da Gildz Won Time!!! $350 Rotowire Online Championship #706 19,345.00
50 Andrew Geller Da Gildz Won Time!! $350 Rotowire Online Championship #366 19,313.00
51 John Pausma JP OC 9 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1089 19,312.00
52 Jay O'Toole 11OCb $350 Rotowire Online Championship #745 19,300.50
53 Jonathan Rosenberg Lord Helmet $350 Rotowire Online Championship #976 19,294.00
54 Justin Aspite Aspite $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1820 19,262.50
55 Jin Chun Mel Mose & Bro $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1607 19,239.00
56 James Tomony Crosstown Traffic $350 Rotowire Online Championship #197 19,238.00
57 Matthew Shepherd MORONS VI $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1529 19,231.00
58 Jeffrey Zimmerman Zimmerman $350 Rotowire Online Championship #660 19,207.50
59 Rian Lange Keep It Brockmire ROC $350 Rotowire Online Championship #378 19,206.00
60 Patrick Gagne Down $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1498 19,191.00
61 Mark Kieffer Kieffer OC 5 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1765 19,170.00
62 Daniel Bronski Damn Skippies IX $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1612 19,157.00
63 J Michael Morgalis Sweep The Leg $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1618 19,050.00
64 Joe McHugh Box Score Junkies $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1570 19,035.50
65 BRYAN BROOKS Patricks Pirates 2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #627 19,030.00
66 Isaiah Herod Herod $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1644 18,984.50
67 Darren Parrott Parrott $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1233 18,978.00
68 Andrew Edenbaum Stairway To Heaven $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1317 18,964.50
69 JAMES O'BRIEN Ben Quick $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1607 18,952.00
70 Steve Elbaum MEET ME IN THE CITY $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1351 18,950.00
71 Matthew Martin Marte Party $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1427 18,946.00
72 Nicholi Knutson Knutson9 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1574 18,944.00
73 Vlad Sedler OC Gut 1 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #332 18,932.50
74 Matt Modica CTM BCL $350 Rotowire Online Championship #296 18,906.00
75 Matt Dozier Give Us A Name Whitney $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1570 18,905.50
76 Kevin Zimmerman Zimmerman and the Adonis $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1736 18,859.50
77 John Pausma JP OC5 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1244 18,850.00
78 Kyle Brinkmann JK ALL THE WAY OC-10 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1595 18,824.50
79 robert cramutola BARKLEY2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #217 18,823.50
80 Dalton Del Don Del Don $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1533 18,765.00
81 Bryan Fitzgerald Sunshine Carpet Cleaners $750 Rotowire Online Championship Online 3/30 @ 8:00 pm ET #1746 18,750.50
82 Dalton Del Don Del Don $350 Rotowire Online Championship #539 18,739.00
82 Emmett Ruland Ruland $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1369 18,739.00
84 Zachary Waxman Waxman $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1419 18,701.50
85 Michael Christie One Coach and a Ball 8 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1317 18,683.00
86 Scott Spolski Spolski $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1571 18,680.50
87 Mike Nolan Springfield Studs $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1230 18,675.00
88 John Pausma JP OC1 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #573 18,671.00
89 Rian Lange Et-Tu Broham ROC $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1369 18,666.00
90 Nicholi Knutson Knutson2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #564 18,649.00
91 Bradley Willis End Of The Road $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1546 18,645.50
92 Rian Lange Charismatic Open Wound $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1309 18,637.50
93 JAMES BOYD Nova Nats2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1549 18,604.50
94 Mark Hartsfield GoldMine $350 Rotowire Online Championship #426 18,597.00
95 Matthew Smith Habitual Line Steppers $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1664 18,561.50
96 Mike Burton Juiced Ball ERAs OC2 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1566 18,559.00
97 Mat Wilson Mary Swansons $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1226 18,547.50
98 Daniel Bronski Damn Skippies I $350 Rotowire Online Championship #756 18,543.00
99 Patrick Longood Shrimp Biryani Mud Slide $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1639 18,525.50
100 Bradley Beckman Green Monkeys OC 5 $350 Rotowire Online Championship #1791 18,524.50

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here is Chris Fessler's winning draft:

sweep the leg
Freeman, Freddie 1 11 1B Sweep the leg
Lindor, Francisco 2 14 SS Sweep the leg
Bregman, Alex 3 35 3B Sweep the leg
Tucker, Kyle 4 38 OF Sweep the leg
Chapman, Aroldis 5 59 P Sweep the leg
Springer, George 6 62 OF Sweep the leg
Hendricks, Kyle 7 83 P Sweep the leg
Smith, Will 8 86 C Sweep the leg
Morton, Charlie 9 107 P Sweep the leg
Gray, Sonny 10 110 P Sweep the leg
Ohtani, Shohei 11 131 P Sweep the leg
Musgrove, Joe 12 134 P Sweep the leg
Sanchez, Gary 13 155 C Sweep the leg
Smith, Will 14 158 P Sweep the leg
Urquidy, Jose 15 179 P Sweep the leg
Brantley, Michael 16 182 OF Sweep the leg
Castillo, Diego 17 203 P Sweep the leg
Haniger, Mitch 18 206 OF Sweep the leg
Benintendi, Andrew 19 227 OF Sweep the leg
Chisholm Jr., Jazz 20 230 2B Sweep the leg
Dalbec, Bobby 21 251 CI Sweep the leg
Peralta, David 22 254 UT Sweep the leg
Minor, Mike 23 275 P Sweep the leg
Hilliard, Sam 24 278 OF Sweep the leg
Ray, Robbie 25 299 P Sweep the leg
Polanco, Jorge 26 302 MI Sweep the leg
Antone, Tejay 27 323 P Sweep the leg
Kirilloff, Alex 28 326 OF Sweep the leg
Witt Jr., Bobby 29 347 SS Sweep the leg
Wendle, Joey 30 350 2B Sweep the leg

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here are Chris's winning bids for his championship team throughout the year, starting with a great $3 bid to start the year:

Sweep the leg
April 4 - Player, Winning Bid
Cedric Mullins 3
Tim Locastro 3
Michael Kopech 1

April 11
Joey Votto 12
Wade Miley 11

April 18
Matt Shoemaker 12
Tejay Antone 12

May 2
Jameson Taillon 108

May 9
Andres Gimenez 43
Evan Longoria 3

May 16
Andrew Vaughn 71
Framber Valdez 71

May 23
Rich Hill 58
Jake Arrieta 11

May 30
Alek Manoah 132

June 20
Abraham Almonte 3
Starlin Castro 1

June 27
Wade Miley 11
Tony Gonsolin 11
Jon Berti 4

July 4
Ranger Suarez 21

July 11
C.J. Cron 31
Luis Arraez 4
Logan Webb 4

July 18
J.P. Crawford 8

July 25
Luis Robert 58
Cesar Hernandez 3
Josh Harrison 3
LaMonte Wade Jr. 1

August 1
Eric Lauer 4
Logan Webb 33
Adrian Houser 4

August 8
Jonathan Loaisiga 31
LaMonte Wade Jr. 21
Kyle Higashioka 8
Brent Suter 2

August 15
Craig Kimbrel 19
Mychal Givens 6
Bobby Witt Jr. 6
Connor Joe 5
Aledmys Diaz 1

August 22
Paul Sewald 28
Michael Lorenzen 28
LaMonte Wade Jr. 6
Pavin Smith 2

August 29
Giovanny Gallegos 16
Abraham Toro 4
Nestor Cortes Jr. 2

September 5
Zach Plesac 8
Jose Urquidy 8
Eric Lauer 2

September 12
Mychal Givens 4

September 19
Harrison Bader 3

September 26
Chris Bassitt 17
Alex Cobb 7
Kyle Higashioka 1
Randal Grichuk 1
Kyle Farmer 1

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here was the prize breakdown for the 2021 Rotowire Online Championship:

Overall Prizes:
1 - $125,000
2 - $30,000
3 - $20,000
4 - $15,000
5 - $10,000
6 - $7,500
7 - $5,000
8 - $4,000
9 - $3,000
10 - $2,500
11 - $2,000
12 - $1,500
13 - $1,250
14 - $1,100
15 - $1,000
16 - $900
17 - $800
18 - $700
19 - $600
20 - $550
21 - $500
22 - $450
23 - $400
24 - $350
25 - $300

League Prizes:
1 - $1,400
2 - $700

[Greg Ambrosius]

Chris Fessler becomes the 13th different owner to win the Rotowire Online Championship since we started this in 2009. Nobody has ever won this national title twice, which tells you how tough this 12-team contest is.

Here's our updated list of Online Championship champions. They include:

2009 - Lindy Hinkelman
2010 - Jaime Baird
2011 - Gino Yu
2012 - Michael O'Brien
2013 - Eric Heberlig
2014 - Joseph Reagor
2015 - Chad Schroeder
2016 - James Tomony
2017 - Jim Phan
2018 - Chris Oliver
2019 - Andrew Edenbaum
2020 - Matthew Bredin
2021 - Chris Fessler

[Greg Ambrosius]

Chris Fessler drafted from the 11th spot to win the $125,000 grand prize in this 12-team national championship. The Top 20 teams featured teams drafting from 9 of the 12 available spots as only picks 5, 10 and 12 weren't represented in the Top 20. Here's a look at where the Top 20 overall teams drafted from:

No. 1 - 2 teams
No. 2 - 1 team
No. 3 - 3 teams
No. 4 - 1 team
No. 5 - 0 teams
No. 6 - 4 teams
No. 7 - 2 teams
No. 8 - 2 teams
No. 9 - 2 teams
No. 10 - 0 teams
No. 11 - 3 teams
No. 12 - 0 teams

Eleven teams drafted in the top half (picks 1-6) and nine teams drafted in the bottom half of the draft order. Interesting.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Chris is looking good with his NFBC BIG CHECK on the NFBC home page and on our Recent Winners page:

https://nfc.shgn.com/recentwinners/baseball