Talk about any field or activity, you need to be regular, patient and sincere to master the skills and show your competence. The same holds true for Fantasy Cricket as well where you need to be perseverant enough for tables to turn in your favour. More than your knack for or inclination towards the sport, Fantasy Sports is a game of skill and requires few games for you to power through and show your dominance.
One needs to follow the simple mantra of learning the art first and then anticipating the cash rewards as devised by one of our elite players on the platform. With the same strategy and consistent efforts he has gone on to win over ₹8.5 Lakh in Fantasy Cricket. Read on to know more about his incredible journey playing Fantasy Cricket and Fantasy Football on HalaPlay.
Please do describe yourself to our readers. Where you grew up, what are you pursuing currently and what you did before playing Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS)?
Hi, I am Ashutosh Gaonkar (Mi2347) from Valpoi, a town in Goa. I have completed Graduation in Mechanical Engineering and currently working in a Manufacturing Industry as a Quality Engineer.
How did you come across HalaPlay and when did you start playing on it?
I started playing on HalaPlay in February 2018. I was already playing Fantasy Cricket earlier on other platforms and while searching for more platforms online that are similar is when I came across HalaPlay. I find it more user friendly Fantasy Sports platform than almost all the other sites available right now. The concept of making Lineups available is something that helps it overshadow others because one can’t miss out on the playing players.
How has your DFS journey been till now? Tell us about few of your struggles and successes.
I started playing Fantasy Sports back in April 2017 when I had just started working so I couldn’t invest a big amount then and therefore hardly won any big amount. It was not a bad situation actually but still I was in no-profit-no-loss condition.
In the early days on HalaPlay, I made few nominal deposits but lost almost all of that within a period of 10-12 days and decided to quit from the platform. Once I won a Last Man Standing league which gave me ₹10,000 and it was enough to gain confidence and boost to keep going. After that I neither looked back nor thought of leaving Fantasy Sports again.
Now it is the best part time business for me and is fetching me more income than my primary occupation.
What kind of preparation and research goes behind drafting the teams?
I mostly go through previous matches’ scorecards and players’ records. I always believe in picking at least one or two absolute differential players who at times can make you the Ultimate Match Winner.
How do you pick the players? What factors do you generally consider?
I am a Cricket player myself and so I know that all days cannot be same, even if you’re a good batsman you’ll fail at times and that is why I usually go through factors like players’ previous records, overall average strike rate, etc instead of just focusing on their current form. Sometimes, I play with a completely different tactic and give chance to player(s) who have failed in the last game rather than just going with the in-form players (this does backfire at times but is totally worth it when it works).
We see that you have played both Fantasy Cricket & Fantasy Football, how would you rate them in terms of excitement and competitiveness?
I am a cricket lover since childhood. I play a lot of cricket in the daily life and also have substantial knowledge of the game because of my habit of keeping an eye on the ongoing leagues across the globe (more because of Fantasy Sports now). Due to these several reasons, I will rate Fantasy Cricket higher than Fantasy Football in the excitement and my love towards them.
As far as football is concerned, I don’t really watch the sport but it’s actually more competitive and thrilling than Cricket I believe. It gets much exciting as you never know who will score a goal in a given match from the large pool of playing players and substitutes.
What is it that you generally look for in a player to be the Captain of your team?
I mostly create multiple teams and go with one of the 2 big in-form players as a captain for majority teams. For the remaining times, I go with an odd captain like 2nd all rounder or ‘part time bowler and middle order batsman’. In Fantasy Football, I prefer a good midfielder or defender as the captain.
Which was your best day on HalaPlay? What is it that keeps reminding you about it?
Not sure of the match and day but there was this one time when I won a Monster league of entry fee ₹199 which gave me ₹1,00,000. Another similar incident happened recently in a T10 game when I won all the leagues with entry fee namely ₹20, ₹50, ₹99, ₹199, ₹12, ₹5 and that made me earn more than ₹1,00,000 in a single match.
How has your experience been with the Season Passes and what is it that you like the most about them?
It’s definitely a good thing for regular players as it gives good value for your money to join contests. You can pay ₹500 for a pass and in return play for entry fee worth ₹700-800. Quite a good value add for beginners as well who want to save in entry fee.
Do you also play and compete with your friends? If yes, how is that experience different from playing with the strangers?
I usually don’t play or compete with friends. Instead of competing with them I tend to help them do well in the games. I give them tips, share some tricks and sometimes advise on where and how much to invest.
I’m of the opinion that helping your friends to grow is more important than competing with them. Let us all grow together.
Do you have any preferred leagues (the ones you play the most) on HalaPlay?
I prefer almost all the grand leagues with entry fee ₹50, ₹99, ₹199 and Last Man Standing.
What advice would you offer to a player new to DFS in terms of strategy?
Have faith in yourself, invest less in the beginning, first learn then earn.
You can’t win in each and every game, but you can choose not to loose in every game if you play selected games and play to your strengths (as per your knowledge and research). Also, do keep a track of your daily spends.
Where do you see yourself down the road in regards to DFS? Do you want there to be a long-term thing for you?
Yes, obviously. It has brought some really good changes in my life and has given me significant earning compared to the efforts and time put in by me. I want to continue making decent profits because that gives me little extra freedom comfort while spending money in the daily life.
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