Tien Austin of Honolulu, Hawaii, correctly picked five of the top 10 anglers in last week’s Walmart FLW Tour event at the Potomac River presented by Ranger Boats. For her picks, Austin won $5,000 by playing FLW Fantasy Fishing, held in conjunction with the FLW Tour fishing tournament.
“I was completely taken by surprise when I found out I won,” said Austin. “I’ve been playing FLW Fantasy Fishing for a while but have never been in contention for a cash prize.
“My whole family plays FLW Fantasy Fishing. It’s how we stay connected since we live so far away from one another,” continued Austin. “It’s our own special social media game.”
Austin said she didn’t have a clear-cut strategy when she was picking her top anglers. Instead, she used advice from her grandfather, who is an avid follower of FLW tournaments, to make her picks.
“He really knows his FLW facts and statistics,” said Austin. “I’ll definitely be seeking more advice from him when I pick my team for the Forrest Wood Cup.”
Finishing in second place on the fantasy side for the Potomac River event was D.R. Villanueva of Nixa, Missouri, who won $1,000, and in third place was Will Hartshorn of Palm Coast, Florida, who won $500. Several other winners from across the globe took home prizes including cash, ShopFLW gift cards, hats and baits.
The 2015 Fantasy Fishing season consists of seven tournaments surrounding the Walmart FLW Tour regular season as well as the season-ending Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. Fans compete for more than $7,000 in cash and prizes from each of the six tournaments and a top prize of $5,000. The cumulative grand prize for the highest ranked player at the end of the season is $10,000.
To begin playing, visit FantasyFishing.com and sign up. Select a team of 10 anglers against an allocated $200 salary cap and select your guess for the tournament winning weight as a tiebreaker. Create a league to play against your friends and compete for bragging rights. Player’s modifications to their teams must be finalized by 11:59 p.m. ET the night prior to the tournament.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
