Meet Your Players

Our 
Story

The Optimal Take was founded in October of 2020 after co-founder Chris Ostrow was unable to operate his business due to the Pandemic. With dozens of rings under his belt in season leagues and ranking as a top player in DFS for three straight seasons, he began sharing suggested plays and optimal player pickups. He went on to take home several GPP tournaments, turning a profit each and every week. The Optimal Take is not a tout service, our goal is to share our thought process and uncover optimal plays, all while having fun. 

Ostrow turned his passion for sports into a career and went on to obtain his Master's degree in Sports Management. He currently operates sports leagues in NYC. Ostrow says, “I fell in love with fantasy sports at 8 years old when my father brought me to his live keeper league Roto-Baseball draft.” Reflecting back on the time that has passed since then, he says “I thought the concept of operating a team as the GM was the coolest thing in the world!” Ostrow adds, “I remember pulling up articles on AOL and showing my father what every one of our players did the previous night.” Ostrow jokes about taking fantasy football VERY seriously. At the end of the day, he says “There’s no better feeling in the world than your unique lineup taking down a GPP because you saw something in a player when nobody else did.” 

Enter Jessica Pash, a weather nerd with a meteorology background who has a love for numbers. Pash is a glorified Patriots fan who grew up in a rough Giants-loving NYC market. She loves uncovering unique statistics whether it be in the world of hurricanes and tornadoes or the land of fantasy football. When Pash discovered she was able to combine her love for the weather with football, it was game over. She’s gone down the dark rabbit hole of digging up Aaron Rodgers’ stats in windy/cold/snowy games and can confirm he is virtually unaffected by weather. Pash also gave a heads up on the wildly windy Browns-Raiders game last season that ended with the Raiders taking the W 16-6. Anyone have the under in that game? 

Ostrow says, “What made me most interested in working with Jess is her ability to learn everything there is to know about the game, and outwork everyone to become the best she can be. She also has a chip on her shoulder, that girls happen to know a thing or two about football.”