One Lineup of 3: How 273.98 Won the Week 1 Millionaire
One of 3 lineups beat 832,342 entries, with a quarterback owned by 1.7% of the field and no bring-backs.
- One of the jwussow28 portfolio's 3 lineups won with 273.98 points against 832,342 entries. It was the only one that cashed.
- With 3 lineups, exposure moves in steps of 33.3%. Jahmyr Gibbs was in 1 of 3 lineups, the winner; Michael Mayer was in 0 of 3 lineups.
- Christian Watson led the portfolio's edge list at +5.77 per lineup: 1 of 3 lineups, the winner, against 4.4% for the field.
- The other 2 lineups averaged 111.88, below the field's average lineup of 142.08. The +23.79 edge total is mostly the winning lineup.
- Each of the 3 lineups stacked a different QB team, and none added a bring-back.
The result
The $3.5M Millionaire drew 832,342 entries at $5 each on Sunday, Sep 13. One lineup finished first with 273.98 points and took $1,000,000. It came from the jwussow28 portfolio, which entered 3 lineups and used 25 players; the field used 301 of the 665 players in the pool.
Only the winning lineup cashed. The other 2 averaged 111.88 points, below the field's average lineup of 142.08. The portfolio's edge total, +23.79 points per lineup gained against the field, is mostly the winning lineup: that lineup alone adds +43.97 per lineup, and the other 2 take part of it back.
With 3 lineups, each player’s exposure moves in steps of 33.3%, so every exposure in this tape is a count of lineups: 1 of 3 lineups, 2 of 3 lineups, or none.
Pro view
The chalk
The field's most-owned player was Jahmyr Gibbs at 42.8%. The portfolio played him in 1 of 3 lineups, the winner. He scored 37.60. Against the field's 42.8%, that one lineup put his edge at -2.07 per lineup, though it was the winning lineup and he was its only chalk player.
Ja'Marr Chase was in 1 of 3 lineups and scored 3.20, an edge of -0.40. Michael Mayer, at 27.5% in the field, was in none of the lineups (0 of 3 lineups); his 9.20 made that worth +1.81. Add up the chalk edges and they net slightly negative. The +23.79 came from outside the chalk.
The edge
Christian Watson led the portfolio's edge list at +5.77 per lineup gained against the field: 1 of 3 lineups, against 4.4% for the field, and he scored 35.70. Next came Jalen Coker at +5.44 (1 of 3 lineups, field 7.5%) and Derrick Henry at +5.41 (1 of 3 lineups, field 9.3%).
Each of them was in the winning lineup. Their edges are one lineup of exposure against low field ownership, on scores far above the field's 15.79 per roster spot.
The build
The portfolio used 25 players, 8.3% of the 301 the field used. It had 2 core plays, Steelers and DJ Moore, each in 2 of 3 lineups; outside the 2 core plays, no player appears twice.
Each of the 3 lineups stacked a different QB team, and none added a bring-back. The winning lineup was a QB + 1 GB build: Jordan Love, owned by 1.7% of the field, with Christian Watson. It spent the full $50,000, with $0 left, at 100.8% total ownership. The lineup table below shows the rest.
Near the top
The top 10 rows held 10 distinct users, none with a single entry. The winning portfolio's edge total ranked 1st. With 3 lineups, one of them the winner, that average is mostly one lineup.
Top finishers were light on Michael Mayer, the chalk that scored 9.20: 7 were under the field on him, 3 of them with him in no lineup. Jahmyr Gibbs, who scored 37.60, was in at least one lineup of every top portfolio. These counts are partly the result itself: the top of a contest is where the chalk that hit ends up.
The lesson
With 3 lineups, every player used sits at 33.3% or more, so the winning lineup's low-owned players show up as overweights by construction: Christian Watson's +5.77 is his one lineup. Next week, read a small portfolio's edge lineup by lineup: one lineup can be the whole ledger.
The winning lineup
273.98 points with $0 of the $50,000 cap left. Stack: QB + 1 GB.
Field own = share of all 832,342 lineups. Winner exp. = share of the winning portfolio's 3 lineups.
| Slot | Player | Team | Salary | Field own | Winner exp. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Jordan Love | GB | $5,700 | 1.7% | 33.3% | 24.48 |
| RB | Jahmyr Gibbs | DET | $8,000 | 42.8% | 33.3% | 37.60 |
| RB | Derrick Henry | BAL | $6,700 | 9.3% | 33.3% | 38.30 |
| WR | Christian Watson | GB | $5,900 | 4.4% | 33.3% | 35.70 |
| WR | DJ Moore | BUF | $5,600 | 4.4% | 66.7% | 24.00 |
| WR | Jalen Coker | CAR | $4,600 | 7.5% | 33.3% | 36.80 |
| TE | Dallas Goedert | PHI | $4,100 | 10.1% | 33.3% | 23.70 |
| FLEX | D'Andre Swift | CHI | $6,100 | 9.8% | 33.3% | 35.40 |
| DST | Steelers | PIT | $3,300 | 10.9% | 66.7% | 18.00 |
The top 10 portfolios
Each user in the first 10 rows of the standings, by best rank. Numbers only.
Edge total = points per lineup gained against the field. Mean chalk exp. = average exposure to Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja'Marr Chase and Michael Mayer, 0% counted.
| Best rank | Entries | Players used | Edge total | Mean chalk exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 3 | 25 | +23.79 | 22.2% |
| 2nd | 8 | 46 | +14.06 | 29.2% |
| 3rd | 120 | 99 | +12.66 | 62.8% |
| 4th | 12 | 57 | +6.21 | 19.4% |
| 5th | 30 | 67 | +16.98 | 24.4% |
| 5th | 50 | 82 | +0.65 | 26.0% |
| 7th | 150 | 109 | +4.48 | 53.6% |
| 8th | 150 | 118 | -2.14 | 13.6% |
| 9th | 20 | 52 | +14.75 | 23.3% |
| 10th | 15 | 42 | +15.42 | 33.3% |
Open the tape
Every lineup of the winning portfolio, each player's exposure and edge against the field, and the rest of the top 10 are in Contest Analysis.
Reproduce it
The core facts come from two calls: the standings (the field block: pool size, the players the field used, the field's average lineup, the chalk) and the winner's lineups (players used, exposure, edge and the edge total). The winning lineup table comes from the contest download, and the top-10 table from each top-10 user's lineups. Every call is listed under Receipts. The calls need a Pro API key.
const BASE = 'https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526';
const headers = { Authorization: 'Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>' }; // a Pro key
type Standings = { standings: Array<{ rank: number; username: string; points: number }> };
type UserLineups = {
user: { entries: number; players_used: number; avg_points: number; edge_total: number };
exposure: Array<{ name: string | null; lineups: number; exposure_pct: number; field_pct: number | null; edge: number | null }>;
};
const get = async <T>(path: string): Promise<T> => {
const res = await fetch(`${BASE}${path}`, { headers });
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
return (await res.json()) as T;
};
const top = await get<Standings>('/standings?limit=10');
const winner = top.standings[0].username;
const tape = await get<UserLineups>(`/users/${encodeURIComponent(winner)}/lineups`);
console.log(winner, tape.user.entries, tape.user.players_used, tape.user.edge_total);
for (const p of [...tape.exposure].sort((a, b) => (b.edge ?? 0) - (a.edge ?? 0)).slice(0, 3))
console.log(p.name, p.lineups, p.exposure_pct, p.field_pct, p.edge);
Endpoints behind this post
GET /api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/standings?limit=10The standings and the field block: pool size, the field's average lineup, the chalk (Pro)GET /api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/jwussow28/lineupsEvery lineup of one user, with players used, exposure and edge (Pro)GET /api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/download?format=jsonEvery lineup of the contest and the player pool with field ownership (Pro)Built automatically from the contest data. Every number links to its API call.
GET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/slates/seasons?sport=nfl2026-09-27T21:17:38ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/slates?operator_id=1&date=2026-09-132026-09-27T21:17:39ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests?slate_id=961082026-09-27T21:17:42ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/download?format=json&enrich=dfs.player_stats2026-09-27T21:18:06ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/slates/961082026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/slate_settings/1302026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/standings?limit=102026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/jwussow28/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/jmurray67/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/KBader0101/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/Dwall1711/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/popice/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:07ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/BTXJ/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:08ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/tkoblow/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:08ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/HuskaLuva/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:08ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/tigolebitties91/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:08ZGET https://api.stat-api.com/api/v1/dfs/contests/144526/users/Bugsygmz/lineups2026-09-27T21:18:08Z