Nearly 4,000 new Photo Finish™ stables have been created in 2024, but none more impactful than that of one that joined the fray just ten days ago — Celtic Monke Racing, owned by a player that goes by Zedge_jpeg on X.
A seasoned Wall Street expert, early Bitcoin adopter, and most importantly, father to two kids and a third on the way, Zedge says he found PFL after seeing multiple recent comments made by Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz in which he mentioned the game as one of the most underrated, top quality projects being built on Solana.
According to Zedge, a respected voice vouching for PFL coupled with what appeared to be a vibrant and organically built community was enough to make him give the game a look. And once he did, he liked what he saw enough to make a significant investment.
“I’ve bought roughly 3,000 SOL of $CROWN, 21 Photo Finish™ PFPs, and 4.2 million $DERBY,” Zedege said, adding that he estimates his total investment into the PFL ecosystem now exceeds half a million dollars.
Zedge shares that while understanding that a great game does not make a good investment, his seasoned spidey senses instantly told him something was different about Photo Finish™. Not to mention, he immediately loved the game.
Between a longstanding fascination with gaming, his favorites being Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering, and his keen eye for spotting unique opportunities and an understanding of value and investment strategies, Zedge says PFL was a unique intersect of his interests, particularly the complexities and challenges of the strategic gameplay with real money rewards on the line.
“I study people professionally – my job is to find people that will outperform over a decade, and the Third Time Games team here checked that box,” Zedge said, adding, “It didn’t take long to review the history and see a pattern of running through walls to get things done.”
Once the team behind the product checked all his boxes, he dove deeper into the racing ecosystem and, most notably, the tokenomics, which revealed something his veteran Wall Street eyes saw as an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“When I did my homework, I felt $CROWN was very undervalued. It was the most liquid part of the ecosystem, so I started building a position there,” Zedge said, noting this thread he posted to X, detailing his thesis in depth.
Zedge shares that what had begun as an investment quickly spread to other aspects of the game.
“As I gained conviction, I started expressing my view in higher upside/less liquid ways by buying up 20 PFPs – which entered me into the exclusive Photo Finish™ Executive Club – and built a large stable of fillies and mares.”
Bit by the Photo Finish™ bug, Zedge has since moved from tokens to buying PFPs and horses, to now, inevitably, the racetracks, where he’s immensely enjoyed racing his horses and the strategy that goes into it.
“Hard games force people to work together. PFL gets a check on that measure,” Zedge said
“The excitement I have felt racing in PFL is like nothing else I’ve seen in the space, and the team is also optimizing for the ecosystem versus creating a play-to-win environment that gamers hate.”
Looking forward, Zedge is excited about the potential of PFL, not just as a game but as a learning opportunity.
“What excites me the most is learning,” he says, emphasizing his passion for acquiring new knowledge and applying it within the game, which is a game within the game and one that makes PFL as enjoyable as it is challenging.
A newcomer who has yet to breed his stable himself, Zedge, so excited about the prospects of participating in PFL’s unique Foal’s Day concept, the one day a month when new horses are born, says unable to wait, he skipped ahead in his story to join in the fun the Monday after next.
“I bought a few pregnant mares to get to live the excitement firsthand – hopefully I get an S+ to show for it.”
Aware that not everyone has the same budget as he does, his advice to newcomers or those considering joining PFL is straightforward: dive into the racing, engage with the community, and enjoy the journey.
Most of all, Zedge stresses that folks should recognize Photo Finish™ LIVE and its community is a rare breed, pun intended, in the NFT space.
“PFL gives you an NFT-like experience but people can play at different price points, you have something to do with your NFTs that is fun.”
“The community gives me the early Bored Ape Yacht Club vibes when people weren’t in it for the money and status – they just wanted to experience something new and cool.”
