Armchair angler wins first 2010 FLW Fantasy Fishing Event
Marchant Wins $5,000 in FLW Fantasy Fishing Opener

MINNEAPOLIS (March 10, 2010) – Few people were happier than Roy Marchant of Elkhart, Ind., who won $5,000 in FLW Fantasy Fishing as National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif. won the 2010 FLW Tour event presented by Cabela’s on Table Rock Lake Saturday, March 6. 

Marchant’s Fantasy Fishing team was led by Ehrler and earned him 12,730 valuable points that will continue to accumulate throughout the season. Marchant, an FLW Outdoors member and Player’s Advantage beneficiary, has put himself in a great position with four FLW Tour stops in hopes of winning the $50,000 grand prize.

“It was a nice surprise learning that I won on Monday,” said Marchant, who placed 14th in his league last year. “I would rather be fishing, but this is fun for me for now. I want to be first in my league this year so I am very excited about my start. The fish are pretty out of whack right now after the hard winter that we have had and I got some lucky picks, but I’ll take it.”

Fantasy Fishing players are also eligible to register to win a new 2011 Chevy Silverado HD when they sign up to play or sign in to their account at FantasyFishing.com. FLW Fantasy Fishing offers some of the richest prizes in fantasy sports while continuing to grow awareness of the sport of professional fishing. Marchant started playing FLW Fantasy Fishing last season after signing up for a league at a district meeting of the Indiana Bass Federation.

Fantasy Fishing winners will be announced after each of the five qualifying FLW Tour stops in the 2010 season. Finishing in second place was Allen Baker of Kearneysville, W. Va., $500, and in third was Larry McClenney of Tyner, N.C., $100. Several other winners from California to Texas to Georgia to Ontario took home prizes ranging from $50 to $25.

Fantasy Fishing players are vying for an overall first place prize of $50,000. Second place will take home $25,000, while the third-place finisher will walk away with Cabela’s Ultimate Fishing Trip, which includes a trip to Lake El Salto in Mexico and a $5,000 Cabela’s gift card. The fourth-place finisher will win a Can-Am ATV valued at $9,699. All the prizes for 2010 are guaranteed and will be announced at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 7 in Atlanta, Ga.

FLW Outdoors offers a unique tool, Player’s Advantage, for armchair anglers who would like to take the plunge into the fantasy sports world. Through this tool you are able to garner additional information including history on the anglers, weather conditions and information regarding the fisheries. In 2008 and 2009, players that had Player’s Advantage won at a rate of 4-to-1 over players that did not access this tool.

In 2010, Fantasy Fishing will offer a new and simplified scoring system and selection process. Participants will choose the anglers they anticipate having the highest finish in no particular order. Players will receive Angler of the Year points as well as bonus points for each angler they have selected in the top 10. Of the 10 selected anglers, each player must choose the angler they think will win the tournament. For a tie-breaker, participants must choose the total weight for the winning angler. For a complete list of rules, visit FantasyFishing.com.

In a continued effort for players to earn thousands of dollars in cash, Fantasy Fishing in 2010 will feature a referral program allowing participants to earn $2 in cash for every FLW Outdoors membership they are responsible for referring and signing up. There are no limits to the amount one can earn in recruiting FLW Outdoors members.