2020 Main Event Championship Profile - James Tomony

Post Reply
User avatar
Tom Kessenich
Posts: 23904
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:00 pm
Contact:

2020 Main Event Championship Profile - James Tomony

Post by Tom Kessenich » Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:11 am

The 2020 NFBC season will not be remembered as typical by any means. But for the fantasy players who dared to take it on, one thing it absolutely was above all else was challenging.

A shortened season combined with near constant unknowns occurring on a seemingly daily basis due to a deadly pandemic. Navigating the ups and downs and the twists and turns would take an effort of herculean proportions.

Doing it all while dominating the Main Event would prove not only to be noteworthy but also historic. And that is precisely what James Tomony did.

Tomony didn’t just win the Main Event in 2020, he absolutely owned it. Delivering one of the most impressive seasons in our contest’s history, he won the $100,000 grand prize by capturing a record 147 out of a possible 150 points while winning the championship with 5,362.5 points out of a possible 5,700.

Pure domination.

Not surprisingly, Tomony had a huge sense of relief when his title season had officially come to an end.

“The predominant feeling I had was one of relief, mixed with joy,” the 53-year-old Madison, WI resident said. “On the final day of the season, my wife and son surprised me by popping a bottle of good champagne and pouring it down my throat.”

The celebration was certainly justified. Nobody has ever scored a higher percentage of points in their league or in the overall than James did in 2020. He drafted from the eighth spot in the July 22nd 3 pm ET Sprint Online League and dominated from start to finish.

Tomony finished 452.5 points ahead of NFBC Charter Member Mike Cameron for the Main Event title. Tomony has been playing in the NFBC since 2014, but this was only his second year in the Main Event. He made his sophomore season in our signature contest one to remember and cherish as he won the $5,000 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

A strong start in his draft paved the way for the team’s standout foundation. The opening rounds of his draft were about as perfect as anyone could construct:

1st - Trea Turner
2nd - Shane Bieber
3rd - Yu Darvish
4th - Brandon Woodruff
5th - Manny Machado
6th - Jose Abreu

That could be two MVPs and two Cy Young Award winners with your first four picks. Impressive does not do the draft work proper justice.

“I really nailed the first nine rounds of the draft,” he said. “That gave me a great pitching and hitting foundation.”

That level of success soon made it clear to Tomony that he not only had the type of team that could do well last season but better than all other Main Event competitors.

“After taking the lead in or around the seventh week I knew it was a great opportunity to win the Main Event,” he said. “But the standings were changing more than usual. I was hoping I would not have any disaster appearances from pitchers and that my hitting studs – Turner and Abreu – would stay healthy.

“I saw some big names in the Top 5 of the standings so I was hoping no other team would catch fire down the stretch.”

When that didn’t happen the realization of the moment began to truly sink in as the season drew to a close.

“On the second to last weekend my two catchers – Sal Perez and Christian Vasquez – combined for three steals in one night,” he said. “I took that unusual occurrence as a sign that might indeed be my year.

“With a week to go, I looked at the overall standings and thought I would be difficult to catch. And even though every gambler is reluctant to do so, I confided in my wife going into the final weekend that the contest was indeed over.”

Tomony proved prophetic. There would be nothing that would jinx the inevitable. When the final out was made in the regular season, he was victorious, and he had taken down the 570-team Main Event field for the 2020 championship.

There would be a celebration and it was one that captured not only the magnitude of the accomplishment but of the moment we all continue to endure on a daily basis in this country and beyond.

“We celebrated with a socially distanced gathering with neighbors,” he said. “I participate in a monthly scotch club with friends and I treated all the members to a bottle of top shelf single malt scotch of their choosing.

“We are also using some of the funds to make donations to address racial injustice and contribute to organizations that support youth baseball.”

This is Tomony's second national title in the NFBC as he also won the 2016 RotoWire Online Championship overall title. He had another good year in that event this year as well.

Tomony won three Rotowire Online Championship league titles last year and he finished as high as 12th overall in that contest. At one point during the season, he was leading both contests before just finishing outside of the Top 10 in the Online Championship.

A terrific season most notable for a Main Event championship. All the while occurring during one of the most difficult years in our country’s history.

“It was amazing that Major League Baseball and its players pulled off a 60-game sprint of a regular season,” Tomony said. “The NFBC had to make multiple adjustments and so many fantasy baseball players participated in these contests despite all the uncertainties and crazy circumstances.

“The 2020 sprint season showed the resiliency of the high stakes fantasy baseball community and turned out to be a thrilling ride.”
Tom Kessenich
Manager of High Stakes Fantasy Games, SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @TomKessenich

User avatar
Gekko
Posts: 5944
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:00 pm

Re: 2020 Main Event Championship Profile - James Tomony

Post by Gekko » Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:20 am

1st - Trea Turner
2nd - Shane Bieber
3rd - Yu Darvish
4th - Brandon Woodruff
5th - Manny Machado
6th - Jose Abreu

Ummmm, that may be the most dominating 6 pack start to a main event draft EVER. Nice job and congrats!

User avatar
Baseball Furies
Posts: 2704
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 6:00 pm
Contact:

Re: 2020 Main Event Championship Profile - James Tomony

Post by Baseball Furies » Fri Jan 08, 2021 6:48 pm

Congrats again, bro! I know we spoke, but I just wanted to publicly acknowledge and congratulate you on an amazing year. I don't think anyone was catching you with that start even in a 200 game season. :mrgreen: Big props to you also on how you celebrated and donated some of the winnings in support of a great cause. You are truly an exemplary champion! 8-)


Image
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." ~Dave Barry

Post Reply