We started with 101 entries in this year’s EQE March Madness Tournament and as we find ourselves with the Final Four left to play we are down to a mere seven entries with any chance at all of taking the title……or, for that matter, pocketing any money at all! Somehow every surviving entry has a chance to win the whole thing as well as collecting on one of the lower tier finishes. This is because all seven of the survivors have some two-way (or better) combination of the surviving Final Four teams. Dang, if only St. Peters could have worked their way in there, we’d have total chaos on our hands (which we at headquarters would much prefer, really.)
To see the various outcomes, click on the “Final Four 2022” link under the Reports menu above and you will see who wins what in each of the various possible scenarios. Right now things are looking pretty good for Raleighgoodbracket with a top finish in three of the eight possible outcomes. If things don’t work out for that entry, well, Durhamgoodbracket will be there to pick up the slack. Seems there’s a certain fondness for the Research Triangle from a certain participant. Apparently the only thing barring a Chaplehillgoodbracket entry was the character limit on entry names – or maybe a distaste for that lighter shade of blue. Another entry that stands a pretty good chance of netting a profit is a pair of Shizcity entries. This is no anomaly as various shizcity entries have come away with a profit previously and even took the title once.
At the other end of the contest the Brandy Award has already been decided and while UCon All The Way got out to a spectacularly strong start with its champion pick getting eliminated on Day One, the title was snatched away by TRR1, whose slow and steady string of failures snagged the title with whiffs on 9 picks in the Sweet Sixteen and seven in the Elite Eight. This spectacular flameout will be rewarded with a free pick next season for long time participant, Tom Roche, who becomes our first three time Brandy Award winner. Note that Tom is not really trying to perform this badly and that in itself has the committee considering renaming the award.