Fantasy 101

Welcome to the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour's ASP Fantasy Surfing game. This article will explain game play, and some basic strategies for kicking off your 2014 ASP fantasy campaign.

To get started, create an account by clicking PLAY NOW here http://fantasy.aspworldtour.com Use your Facebook or Google+ account. Enter your name, time zone and create a password and you're ready to roll.

The 2014 ASP Fantasy Surfing is a group-based game. The men's and the women's games both break up the field of surfers into three groups. For the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, these groups are based on the surfer's final ratings for the 2013 season. As the owner of your team, you'll pick a specified number of surfers from each group for the event. Your score will be based on the aggregation of all the heat scores the surfers on your team post in the event. For a detailed breakdown of the scoring structure, click here http://mct.fantasy.aspworldtour.com/rules.

Now it's time to pick your squad. The surfer pools for the men's and women's games are broken up into three groups. One way that you can maximize your chances of fielding a winning team is recognizing these groupings are somewhat arbitrary. The division of the groups needs to happen somewhere, and for the Quiksilver pro they contain 8/16/12 for the men and 3/9/6 for the women. The savvy player will recognize the top ranked surfers in each group can represent a significant increase in the chance for a big event score. Looking at surfers and their rank relative to the other surfers in their group is a sure way to improve your chance of success.

There are several additional tools available within the game to help you evaluate the surfers you're selecting. Two key factors that you may want to consider for the Quiksilver Pro are a surfer's stance and their average heat score. The Gold Coast generally features rights that favor the regular footed surfers. In 2013, 13 of the 16 surfers that made the quarterfinals in the men's and women's draws were regular footers. You'll find a surfer's stance (GFY or REG) listed to the left of their head shot when you're looking at a surfer's group. Another important stat the game provides is a surfer's average heat scores. In this game's format, a surfer that averages excellent (8.0-10) scores in their heats will outperform a surfer that makes the same number of heats with good (6.0-7.9) scores.

Fantasy games in general are won by giving your team the best chance to win. Keeping these keys in mind when selecting your team can help give you the best chance to post a high score at the Quiksilver Pro. At the end of the day, playing ASP Fantasy Surfing is about fun. If you're debating between two surfers, pick the one you want to root for.

Good luck and good picking!

Adam Smude Bio
A passionate surf fan and fantasy industry insider, Adam manages the fantasy sports team at a major sports media website. His passion for surfing and breadth of knowledge in the fantasy gaming industry lend a unique perspective that can help your squad excel in the 2014 Samsung Galaxy ASP World Championship Tour's ASP Fantasy Surfing game.