128-Man Handicapping Contest moves on to Round 2
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 05:17 PM ET
Round 1 went the way of the underdogs with several key upsets, including top-ranked LT Profits who was taken down by Seaborneq. Do more upsets await in Round 2?
The smell of action is in the air as our Handicapping Contest is underway. Round 1 is officially in the books, and it proved to be the day of upsets indeed with odds on favorite (lines courtesy of BetJamaica) LT Profits falling at the hands of SBR poster Seaborneq.
Seaborneq put together an incredible first round going 6-1 for +5.81 units, edging out LT who many foresaw as the likely champion of this event. LT didn't go down easy, but ultimately it just wasn’t meant to be as Seaborneq finished his incredible first round with a 6-1, +5.81 unit victory over the world class handicapper.
LT finished up Round 1 with a more than respectable 5-2, +3.62 showing, and actually had put himself into a position where he'd have narrowly edged out Seaborneq if he lost his last play.
Seaborneq would have none of it, and hit an MLB underdog like it was nothing to deaden LT in his tracks, and our featured match was over.
Some other memorable moments from Round 1 were SBR poster BeatTheJerk jumping out to a 4-0, +4.65 unit lead, only to have victory snatched away at the last possible moment with LVHerbie hitting a Hail Mary of a play with an 11.25-1 college football underdog. LVHerbie, a prominent, well-respected poster at SBRforum.com didn’t get off to the best of starts in Round 1 but narrowly edged out BeatTheJerk finishing 1-6 for +4.75 units.
One thing to learn from this match, it’s never over until it’s over. BeatTheJerk already had the champagne on ice and perhaps went on cruise control a little too soon after that 4-0 start, as Herbie was 0-4 and all but a few matches away from flat-lining out of this event in the opening round. Hang in there, BeatTheJerk.
As close as that match may have been, it almost takes the backseat to the dramatic showdown between SBR posters Thejrichshow85 and PureGuava. The Jrichshow85 is a flamboyant poster at SBRforum.com, and his match was certainly no different. TheJrichshow85 started Round 1 off as Tom Brady would a football game, and that is simply without flaw. He came firing out of the gates and won his first two plays going up nearly three units compared to the rocky road PureGuava sled down losing his first four plays.
There was no mercy rule in effect as Thejrichshow85 continued to apply the pressure with an onslaught of winners nailing four of his next five picks, totaling his record to 6-1 +5.26 units. Sounds like a one-sided affair, right? Well, stop right there.
PureGuava threw up a number of Hail Mary's, all huge underdogs and seemingly dead money, until he hit one of them. There was the look of concern on Thejrichshow85’s face as we went to the scorecards and he narrowly edged out SBR poster PureGuava. Narrowly doesn’t really do it justice; he literally won 6-1 +5.26 units over 1-6 +5.25 units, a single cent difference to seal the victory. The “Floyd Mayweather Jr.” of SBR lived up to his hype and delivered everything but a knockout punch to poster PureGuava. Good luck in the next round, Thejrichshow85.
Round 2 figures to have all the drama, excitement and fireworks of Round 1 and then some as attitudes, egos, and tempers flare as posters come that much closer to the $3250 prize pool. The five sportsbooks which will dish out the handsome servings to winners are BetOnLine, BetJamaica, Carib Sports, Bookmaker and 5Dimes. With all that being said, the stage is set and the prizes are up for grabs.
There are 64 with a shot, but there will be only one capper left standing when it’s all said and done. It’s a good thing the other places pay out too, but there are bragging rights at stake here and that is why I expect no shortage of smack talk and brow beating within the next few rounds. Normally, that kind of stuff takes away from what we’re all here to do, and that’s discuss sports and gambling. But given that each poster now has an opportunity to back it up, things will continue to get more interesting with each day that passes throughout this event.
For more tournament coverage and to share your comments, visit my MySBR blog or stop by the Handicapping Contests lounge at SBRforum.com.