The 15th HWCI NCAA Tournament Pool |
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Monday, March 23, 2009 Issue # 7.2.3 "Every Entry Can Win Money!" [Blog | Facebook | Updates ]
EL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- For the first time ever, every single entry has a chance to win money heading into the second weekend. Only 8 of 114 entries were eliminated from the top five prizes (a record low of just 7%) but all 8 were part of 90 entries with a chance to win the Bonus Prize. Since we started the Bonus Prize in 2003, there were always a few poor saps that were eliminated from the main prizes and the Bonus Prize. Not this year. With a record 74 entries with a chance to win first, this could be the most wide-open pool as only #12MW-Arizona is seeded higher than 5th.
For the second straight year, the pool will award the top 5 finishers. The top prize will be a record-breaking, stimulus-inducing $495. The other prizes aren't too shabby either and the prize distribution is listed below. The 5th place prize is as much as 1st place was back in our first pool in 1995. As always, all entry fees go out as prizes (unfortunately, Bernard Madoff got arrested before he could give us tricks on how to defraud pool participants :-)).
As it has been the past five years, the Conference Wins is the Bonus
Prize (as detailed below) (aka, Bonus1). However,
if no one wins it, the Bonus2 takes effect and the
entry who is closest to the Total Points in Final tiebreaker gets the
Bonus Prize. This is the seventh year we have used this Bonus to give hope to
those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 5 will
be eligible to win. Rules follow below...
Bonus1 - Winningest Conference
When you completed your online entry and saw your picks (to print out), some of
you might have been wondering what the heck "Winningest Conference(s): ?? |
Wins: #" meant. And thus, subliminally, you were also picking which
conference would get the most wins in the tournament and how many wins that
conference would get via your direct picks. Neat, eh? So that output, which in
my case (Ides
of Fabone), says "Winningest Conference(s): Big East | Wins:
18", means that by the way I picked my bracket (and don't laugh), the
Big East conference will get the most wins with 18.
The rules of how to win this Bonus Prize is as follows:
1. The top 5 finishers not eligible (so no double-dipping)
2. Ties broken by championship final score total
3. If there is *still* a tie, money is split
4. If 2 (or more) conferences tie for the most wins, both (or all) conferences
must have been picked correctly
5. If entry has 2 or more conferences tied for most wins, only one must be
correct to win (e.g. entry picks Pac 10 and Big 12 with 11 wins a piece. Big 12
ends up winning the most games with 11, then contestant wins)
And, the Bonus Prize is worth $40, which is four years worth of losing brackets.
Last year, the Big 12 was the winningest conference with 12 wins
(picked correctly by 4 entries but won via tiebreaker by Robby D's Arbedy
Three). But if no one correctly picks the winningest conference and wins,
then the Bonus2 takes effect.
Bonus2 - Total Points in Final
If no one wins the Bonus1, then a second Bonus opportunity takes effect.
The entry closest to the "Total points in final" tiebreaker wins the $40.
In order to reward better play, the tiebreaker is the higher placement in the
final pool standings.
The rules of how to win this Bonus Prize is as follows:
1. The top 5 finishers not eligible (so no double-dipping)
2. "Closest" can be above or below actual total (if actual is 144, 143 & 145 are
both 1 point away)
3. Ties broken by highest placement in final pool standings
4. If there is *still* a tie, money is split
Prize Breakdown
With everyone pretty much confirmed, we are officially at 114 entries ($1,140).
So, here is the official prize breakdown:
1st Place =
$495.00
2nd Place = $250.00
3rd Place = $170.00
4th Place = $115.00
5th Place = $ 70.00
Bonus Prize =$ 40.00
Bonus Prize Analysis
What this means is that of the 8 entries that were
eliminated from the top 5 prizes, all 8 are back into play! So all 114
entries still have a chance for money.
If you don't have your bracket, then go to the "For the
Record" page and pick your nickname from the drop down box. Right now, of
the 8 conferences represented in the Sweet 16, only 4 conferences have a chance
to get the most number of wins:
Tids & Bits: 2007 was the first year where we had the Bonus2 option in case no one won the Bonus1, which happened in 2005 & 2006... 119 & 133 were the most often picked for total points in final (six times)... the $495 top prize is 43.4% of the total pot, roughly the same as last year (43.6%)... we have had 914 entries in 15 years which means we will have doled out $9,140 to at least 41 people... the 914 entries have been submitted by 231 people... a record 91 entries (all-time high of 79.8%) have participated in past years... 50 entries have participated in at least 7 of our 15 years of doing the pool; thanks for your support!
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Stress for everyone! No one is immune! At least until
Friday...