Olson is an associate professor of computing and software systems at the University of Washington at Bothell. He graduated from the University of Washington at Seattle, where he also received a master’s degree in electrical engineering, and he earned a doctorate in computer science from the University of California.

He achieved his highest honors in fantasy land through years of studying statistical spreadsheets, newspaper and magazine articles, box scores and rosters. He finished third in the 2002 Über rankings, second in 2003, third in 2004, third again in 2005 and first last year.

Olson has been consistently in the top 10 this year, running 16 teams in ESPN leagues: seven in baseball, five in basketball and four in hockey. He is pondering a return to fantasy bass fishing.

“The key to most of these sports is knowing where to get good information to help determine which players might do well,” said Olson, who lists the 2005 signing of Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Derrick Turnbow as one of his greatest steals.

“Sure, I’m good at problem solving and using analytical skills. But like any other fantasy player, I need to be smart in other areas, like picking up free agents, studying current sports news and trends, paying attention to who’s hot and who’s not, and knowing the rules of each league that I belong to.”

In addition to his ESPN teams, Olson spends about 10 hours a week handling the budgets of fantasy teams in high-stakes events. He competes in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship, which is made up of 375 teams. The entry fee is $1,300 and the top prize is $100,000.

In the past three years, Olson has won two league titles in that event, collecting $5,000 for each. He and a partner also earned $5,000 for winning a league in the World Championship of Fantasy Football.