Best Ball Mania is widely regarded as the fantasy sports industry's largest best ball contest. Hosted annually by Underdog, the tournament drew more than 670,000 entries in 2025, its sixth iteration, and culminated in a 539-person Week 17 final. In that final, the championship team scored 187.9 points to secure the $2 million grand prize.

This article examines the 2025 winning build to better understand how that roster was constructed and what ultimately separated it from the rest of the field. Observations around draft capital, roster construction, usage, and correlation are presented alongside the data for further exploration.

Roster Construction

The winning roster was drafted as a 3-QB, 6-RB, 7-WR, 2-TE build. Two players—Adam Thielen (14.04) and Miles Sanders (18.04)—were never used in a weekly lineup, effectively reducing the build to 5 RBs and 6 WRs. Both were late-round selections, limiting their impact on the roster's overall flexibility.

All three quarterbacks recorded at least four usable weeks. The team navigated a nine-week stretch without Brock Purdy (9.09) during the middle of the regular season, with the late-round combination of Bryce Young (13.09) and Tyler Shough (15.09) averaging 17 fantasy points per lineup appearance when called upon. That production was sufficient to survive the draft pod phase and advance through the regular season.

Derrick Henry (2.04) was the only running back selected in the first six rounds and functioned as a clear Hero RB. He appeared in 12 of 16 possible weekly lineups (75%). The remaining four contributing running backs, while not obvious draft-day values, each made at least four weekly lineups and averaged 13.9 fantasy points per appearance.

The build leaned heavily toward wide receiver early, with four WRs selected in the first six rounds. All four recorded at least ten lineup appearances, averaging 16.5 fantasy points per appearence. Chris Olave (6.04) stood out, appearing in 14 of 16 possible lineups (88%) with 14.7 fantasy points per appearance. Darnell Mooney (8.04), by contrast, contributed 7.4 points per game across four lineup appearances.

At tight end, Juwan Johnson (16.04) deserves mention. The late-round selection averaged 9 fantasy points across 13 lineup appearances, helping the roster manage a six-week stretch without George Kittle (5.09) during the first half of the season.

Key Observations:

• 3-QB
• Hero RB
• WR-heavy early draft capital
• Best pick: Chris Olave (6.04)
• Worst pick: Darnell Mooney (8.04)

Team Correlation

The team's first three selections—Amon-Ra St. Brown (1.09), Derrick Henry (2.04), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (3.09)—were not paired with teammates. Instead, correlation was concentrated later in the draft through several lower-cost team stacks, none exceeding three players.

The highest-drafted stack was a two-player 49ers combination of George Kittle (5.09) and Brock Purdy (9.09). Despite both players missing time during the regular season, the stack contributed during the playoff weeks. Kittle and Purdy appeared together in Week 15 for a combined 45 points and again in Week 16, scoring 52.9 points.

A three-player Saints stack—Chris Olave (6.04), Tyler Shough (15.09), and Juwan Johnson (16.04)—represented one of the lowest-cost correlated combinations on the roster. At least two members of the stack appeared together in the same weekly lineup nine times. All three were used together in Weeks 8–10, highlighted by a combined 55.1 points in Week 10.

The three-player Panthers stack functioned effectively as a two-player combination, as Miles Sanders (18.04) never appeared in a weekly lineup. Tetairoa McMillan (4.04) and Bryce Young (13.09) were used together five times, with their peak performance occurring in Week 11, when they combined for 60.8 points.

The two-player Falcons stack of Darnell Mooney (8.04) and Tyler Allgeier (12.04) produced fewer usable weeks relative to the other team stacks and did not generate a comparable peak performance.

Key Observations:

• Concentrated in lower draft capital ranges
• No team stack exceeded three players
• Most productive stack: Saints
• Least productive stack: Falcons

Playoff Usage & Game Correlation

Game correlation appeared in all three playoff weeks, which also corresponded to the three highest weekly scores produced by the roster during the season. Across Weeks 15–17, players involved in correlated game environments accounted for 37.5% of all used players and 41% of total points scored.

Week 15 (Quarterfinals)

In Week 15, five of eight used players were part of a game-correlated lineup:

The roster also had exposure that was not fully utilized:

The team scored 154.4 points, equaling 60% of the Week 15 Perfect Lineup (257.1 points).

Week 16 (Semifinals)

In Week 16, two of eight were part of a game-correlated lineup:

The roster also had exposure that was not fully utilized:

The team scored 173.1 points, equaling 72% of the Week 16 Perfect Lineup (240.5 points). Notably, the Week 16 perfect lineup did not include any game-correlated players.

Week 17 (Finals)

In Week 17, two of eight used players were part of a game-correlated lineup:

The roster also had exposure that was not fully utilized:

The team scored 187.9 points, equaling 80% of the Week 17 Perfect Lineup (234.3 points).

Summary

• 3-QB
• Hero RB
• WR-heavy early draft capital
• Lower cost team stacks
• No team stack exceeded three players
• Game correlation across playoff weeks

If you're interested in exploring similar concepts in your own drafts, the Team Builder is a free draft companion designed for best ball formats. It updates throughout draft season to reflect current tournament ADPs and provides a sandbox for tracking roster construction, team stacks, and game correlation in real time. You can sign up to be notified when the 2026 Team Builder goes live ahead of next draft season — no login required.