Mike Santos Wins 2023 NFFC 12-Team Ultimate & $28,500

[Greg Ambrosius]

NFFC Hall of Famer Mike Santos of Tulare, California won the NFFC Las Vegas 12-Team Ultimate League and the $28,500 prize. Mike entered the Championship Round second in points, but his Coyote Miscreants 5K team exploded over the last three weeks to finish with 663.14 points. He finished 49.81 points ahead of Michael Zucca to win the title and the $28,500.

Michael had won $10,000 during the regular season as his team finished with the best record (11-3) and most points (2,085.0). He finished 84.5 points ahead of Mike Santos through Week 14, but the Coyote Miscreants scored 186.90 points in Week 15 and never looked back. They scored 151.95 points in Week 16 and then sealed the deal in Week 17 with 181.40 points. This is Mike's first title in the NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League format.

Zucca won $10,500 for finishing second, giving him a total of $20,500 of winnings in this league. John Pierce finished third and won $4,000. Larry Schechter won the Consolation Bracket to earn $1,000.

This makes my heart warm to say this, but the Coyote Miscreants were led in Week 17 by Jordan Love with 37 points , while Kyren Williams scored 30.10 points and DJ Moore added 30.90 points. It also didn't hurt to get 22 points from the Houston defense. This team also got 33 points from Puka Nacua in Week 16 and 26.10 points from Justin Jefferson that same week. Great job Mike and congrats on the first NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League title.

Mike drafted from the 1st spot and started out with Justin Jefferson, Tee Higgins and DJ Moore. There weren't a lot of championship teams anchored by Justin Jefferson this year, so well done Mike and Kurt.

Great job everyone and we'll do it again in 2024. I'm confident we will get at least two 12-Team Ultimate Leagues in 2024 and maybe even one more. Stay tuned.

Here's the final standings:

2023 NFFC Las Vegas 12-Team Ultimate Championship Round Standings
Las Vegas Park MGM, September 8th League:
1 Mike Santos Coyote Miscreants 5K 663.14
2 Michael Zucca ULTIMATE Zucca 613.33
3 John Pierce Fat Frankie Inc Ultimate 2 594.12
4 Eddie Gillis Respect the Cowboy Star ULT 539.38

NFFC Las Vegas 12-Team Ultimate Consolation Round Standings:
1 Lawrence Schechter Air Lar 558.58
2 Chris Eibl Get It Together Burrow 557.21
3 Steven Hutcherson Hutcherson 553.30

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here's the league prizes for the 2023 NFFC 12-Team Ultimate Leagues:

NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League Prizes:
1 - $28,500
2 - $10,500
3 - $4,000
Most Points $5,000
Best Record $5,000

Consolation Round:
1 - $1,000

[Greg Ambrosius]

Mike Santos drafted from the 1st spot in this NFFC Las Vegas 12-Team Ultimate League, held at Park MGM. Here were his draft results:

Coyote Miscreants:
1 1 Jefferson, Justin WR Coyote Miscreants 5K
2 24 Higgins, Tee WR Coyote Miscreants 5K
3 36 Moore, DJ WR Coyote Miscreants 5K
4 37 Lawrence, Trevor QB Coyote Miscreants 5K
5 60 Dotson, Jahan FLEX Coyote Miscreants 5K
6 61 Cook, James RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
7 84 Swift, D'Andre RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
8 85 Robinson, Brian RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
9 108 Bigsby, Tank RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
10 109 Freiermuth, Pat TE Coyote Miscreants 5K
11 132 Spears, Tyjae RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
12 133 Reed, Jayden WR Coyote Miscreants 5K
13 156 Ravens, Baltimore TK Coyote Miscreants 5K
14 157 Cowboys, Dallas TDSP Coyote Miscreants 5K
15 180 Williams, Kyren RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
16 181 Nacua, Puka WR Coyote Miscreants 5K
17 204 Likely, Isaiah TE Coyote Miscreants 5K
18 205 Carr, Derek QB Coyote Miscreants 5K
19 228 McLaughlin, Jaleel RB Coyote Miscreants 5K
20 229 Love, Jordan QB Coyote Miscreants 5K

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here were Mike Santos's winning Free Agent pickups during the regular season:

Coyote Miscreants:
Week 2 - Kendrick Bourne 378
Week 2 - Hunter Henry 167
Week 3 - Latavius Murray 58
Week 5 - Detroit Lions TDSP 37
Week 6 - Jordan Mason 79
Week 7 - Seattle Seahawks TDSP 14
Week 7 - Trey McBride 24
Week 8 - Jalin Hyatt 147
Week 8 - Demario Douglas 17
Week 9 - Chase Edmonds 1
Week 10 - Irv Smith 6
Week 10 - Jalen Guyton 7
Week 11 - D'Ernest Johnson 1
Week 13 - Indianapolis Colts TK 1
Week 14 - Houston Texans TDSP 60
Week 14 - Indianapolis Colts TDSP 2

[Greg Ambrosius]

This is the first NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League title for NFFC Hall of Famer Mike Santos, so congrats to Mike and his partner Kurt Kuekes. We hosted the first NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League in 2012 and we have now hosted two NFFC 12-Team Ultimate Leagues in each of the last seven seasons. Here's a list of all of the winners:

NFFC 12-Team Ultimate League Champions:
2023 - Chad Schroeder
2023 - Mike Santos
2022 - Chris Eibl
2022 - Nelson Sousa
2021 - Larry Schechter
2021 - Michael Leone
2020 - Riku Vihreasaari
2020 - Yoni Bornstein
2019 - Stephen Stith
2019 - Larry Schechter
2018 - Eddie Gillis
2018 - Sen R
2017 - Chad Schroeder
2017 - Kyle Crawford
2016 - Shawn Gundy
2015 - Steve Lucinski
2014 - Kevin Blayne
2013 - Chad Schroeder
2012 - Riku Vihreasaari