Matthew Berry Spreads His Bat Wings: FanLife Vampire League Update!
It’s been a while since we’ve updated you on Mr. Berry’s first ever foray into a vampire league. If you’re still unfamiliar with the format by now, you’ve probably been living in a coffin for the past thousand years. In case you forgot, Berry is playing among 16 other Fantasy Life App users, competing against each other in two separate nine-team leagues (the “Fantasy” league, and the “Life” league). In each league, Berry is the vampire.
A lot has happened since Berry notched his first wins in each league over a month ago. Going into Week 11, Berry is now 5–5 on the year in the Life Vampire League, coming off an easy Week 10 win against an opponent who chose to take the loss and bench most of his team rather than risk losing one of his top players to the vampire. In the Fantasy Vampire League, Berry sits at 4–6, coming off a very close loss to an opponent that took the opposite approach and went straight up at him. These two approaches make for a perfectly timed segue into the discussion FanLife users have been having all season regarding vampire league play: Which strategy is best to employ when facing the vampire? Go for the win no matter what, or play it safe and bench your studs if you can afford a loss?
Personally, the idea of intentionally tanking anything is hard for me to swallow — especially when the opponent is the Talented Mr. Roto himself — but there are arguments to be made in its favor. This week, for example, Berry’s opponent in the Life league had a strong 7–2 record and is most definitely playoff bound. Rather that risk losing a top guy before the playoffs, he chose to take the loss and then make a run at a championship with his best squad in tact. I get it. It also guarantees Berry can’t add another stud to his lineup this week, so in that regard it can benefit the rest of us in the league as well. All that being said, I still think that when you get a chance to play Matthew Berry — regardless of what might be the best long-term strategy — you play to win.
If I can use my team’s situation as an example (which will also give me a chance to shamelessly brag), I’m lucky enough to currently hold the top record in the league. Unlike most of my league-mates though, I haven’t faced the vampire yet. My matchup with Berry comes in the last regular season game in Week 13. It’s looking more and more like the smartest move for me strategically might very well be to take the safe approach and bench my studs. I’ll still make the playoffs, and I can make sure I have the strongest team possible for the post-season. On the other hand, I might never get to play Matthew Berry again. Ever. To me, that’s more rare than winning a league. League championships are great, but to be able to brag for the rest of my fantasy life that I beat Berry…Priceless.
Also of note to keep in mind — the post-season will be the first and only time teams other than the vampire are able to use the waiver-wire, which will be a huge boon for those of us that make it that far. This rule has been another hot debate topic, as most think it helps the vampire a bit too much over the course of the regular season. Perhaps allowing the vampire top waiver priority each week, and then allowing the rest of the teams to go at it the traditional way makes more sense in the future? Hey — that’s just my opinion.
That’s all for now. Below you can find Berry’s current lineups, as well as the current Life League standings. And if you have any thoughts and/or questions about the FanLife Vampire league, by all means share your comments. It’s going to be an interesting home stretch, and we’re all anxious to find out how it ends up. May the best bloodsucker win.
The Fantasy Life app is the best sports community app to talk fantasy football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, WWE, MMA, Nascar, golf, eSports, or anything else you would hear about at a sports bar. Find or post funny memes, polls, GIFs, or join chats about your teams. Matthew Berry (ESPN, The Talented Mr. Roto), the face of fantasy football co-founded the app as a place for fans to chat about sports, get fantasy advice, or find sleepers for your team. Find Matthew on the app @matthewberry
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