World Cup Predictions Blog http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/ en Copyright 2006 Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:05:07 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2frc http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss They think it's all over I caught up with David, the winner of World Cup Predictions to ask him a few questions about his success, and award his $500 prize!

David, what's your reaction on finding out you've won?
Pretty chuffed to come top of the world - didn't think I'd have a hope after the first 4-5 games but the results from there fell my way.

Did you expect to do this well?
No, usually get more right than wrong but didn't think I'd have a hope in such a big, global competition.

Why were you supporting Italy in the final? Did you think they stood a good chance of beating France?
Picked Italy to win as I believed the champions would be a European team. Would have liked England to do better and predicted they would make the final having seen off France - didn't see them having quite what it takes to take the cup, so went for Italy.

How long did it take you to make your predictions?
5 minutes!

That's it for World Cup Predictions. Congratulations to David and thanks to all 15000 of you who made World Cup Predictions such a success. As you may know, the website was run single-handedly by me as a hobby (sadly, this isn't my real job :D)

If you've enjoyed playing, please consider donating a few dollars, euros or pounds to help cover my server costs. As with all advertising revenue on the site, 25% is donated to our charity partner. Click the link at the top of the homepage to donate!

Matt Mayer

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/they_think_its_all_over.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/they_think_its_all_over.html Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:05:07 +0000 Kiwi is top of the world David from New Zealand is the World Cup Predictions Champion! A win for Italy in the World Cup Final capped off an incredible run in which David's predictions yielded a massive 122 points. More reaction to follow tomorrow...

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/kiwi_is_top_of_the_world.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/kiwi_is_top_of_the_world.html Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:03:35 +0000 It's the Final Countdown 30 teams have been eliminated, only two remain. France and Italy will battle it out for the World Cup crown, while at the top of the WCP leaderboard, Jonathan Dapice from Canada and David from New Zealand are battling it out for the ultimate cash prize. And, as in the World Cup, there's nothing for second place :D

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/its_the_final_countdown.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/its_the_final_countdown.html WCP Thu, 06 Jul 2006 05:40:23 +0000 Semi-finals semi-complete There have been big changes in the top 10 of the World Cup Predictions leaderboard after some of the fancied teams were eliminated. David from New Zealand leads on 110 points after his favourite team Italy knocked out Germany 2-0 in extra time in Dortmund.

Don't worry if your predictions haven't turned out too well, you can still enter the Daily Challenge.

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/semifinals_semicomplete.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/07/semifinals_semicomplete.html WCP Wed, 05 Jul 2006 03:55:26 +0000 Quarter-final countdown Just eight teams now left, and there's six points up for grabs for each team you correctly predict to reach the semi-finals.

The question for England fans is, who on earth do you support in a match between Germany and Argentina?

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/quarterfinal_countdown.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/quarterfinal_countdown.html WCP Fri, 30 Jun 2006 11:50:13 +0000 It's a knockout A quick clarification on how the points system works for the knockout stage. You receive 4 points for each team you correctly predict to reach the quarter finals (points will be awarded after each second-round match). Similarly you receive 6 points for each team you correctly predict to reach the semis and 10 points for the two finallists. There's a final 12 points for predicting the overall winner.

From now on the scores in the matches are unimportant, similarly it doesn't matter who a team beats to proceed. Points are only awarded as described above!

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/its_a_knockout.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/its_a_knockout.html Sat, 24 Jun 2006 07:33:21 +0000 England united Steve Alder from Staffordshire and Andy Bellfield from Runcorn lead the World Cup Predictions leaderboard after Tuesday's matches.

The fixtures pick up pace now with 4 matches a night, at 4pm and 9pm German time. Enjoy the extra football :)

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/england_united.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/england_united.html Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:29:44 +0000 Landai lands first place Landai from Malaysia is in first place as we approach the halfway mark in the World Cup Finals group stages, with 31 points from the 23 matches played so far.

Last night Argentina completed a 6-0 thrashing of Serbia and Montenegro. 13 entrants got the score exactly right! Check out the match review to see if you were one of them!

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/landai_lands_first_place.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/landai_lands_first_place.html WCP Sat, 17 Jun 2006 02:50:18 +0000 Mad about footie? The appropriately named Mad about footie is in first place in the lead-up to tonight's group A and B matches. The wisdom of the crowd is that England will overwhelm Trinidad and Tobago 3-0; but will it be so easy?

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/mad_about_footie.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/mad_about_footie.html WCP Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:42:42 +0000 Kentish man hops to number 1 Rob Richardson from Kent has opened up a 2-point lead after Tuesday's World Cup matches. He now has 24 points, with 5 players in joint second place on 22 points.

New feature: check out the match previews for today's three matches!.

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/kentish_man_hops_to_number_1.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/kentish_man_hops_to_number_1.html WCP Wed, 14 Jun 2006 02:20:42 +0000 Artemio leads the pack Artemio from Texas took the lead after the first match on Tuesday, taking the lead from Teo Tu of Philadelphia who had held first place overnight. This continues the unexpected dominance of North Americans in the compeition so far!

The intermittent server problems affecting the site should have improved! However there may still be some problems when you try to access the site in the busy period following each match's final whistle!

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/artemio_leads_the_pack.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/artemio_leads_the_pack.html Tue, 13 Jun 2006 15:55:54 +0000 It canna handle the load, cap'n! In the 10 minutes after each match finishes, thousands of people all try to log on to the site at the same time to check their score. Unfortunately:
1. The site gets overloaded and some people get a 'CPU Quota Exceeded' error
2. The scores won't have been updated yet anyway, as I'll still be cycling back from the pub ;)

If you wait 10 minutes and try again the problems will usually have been resolved!

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/it_canna_handle_the_load_capn.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/it_canna_handle_the_load_capn.html WCP Mon, 12 Jun 2006 14:14:38 +0000 O Canada North Americans dominate the top 10 of the leaderboard after Sunday's matches. Lij & Brady's Mom and Murphy from Canada join Victor Moreno from New York in joint first place. Don't miss the Gallery to see the latest entrant photos!

Today Italy, the USA and the Socceroos all see their first outings. There's still time to enter today's Daily Challenge, new competition at noon Berlin time.

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/o_canada.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/o_canada.html WCP Mon, 12 Jun 2006 01:43:31 +0000 Top of the table! Five group matches have now been played and there's a three-way tie at the top of the World Cup Predictions leaderboard, with Jody from Ireland, Peter Clainos and Murphy from Winnepeg all on 10 points.

You can also check out the new teams table to see which country's fans are the best at predicting: so far Ecuador are well in the lead, probably because they had rather more confidence in their team's performance over Poland than everyone else!

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/top_of_the_table.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/top_of_the_table.html WCP Sun, 11 Jun 2006 05:09:47 +0000 Strange error messages If you've been trying to access the site over the past 24 hours, you may have seen an error message saying "CPU Quota exceeded". There has been so much interest in the site as the World Cup begins that our server is struggling to cope! Please bear with us while we try to fix the problem. If you get an error message, waiting a few minutes then trying again normally fixes it.

]]> http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/strange_error_messages.html http://www.fantasyfacup.com/worldcup/blog/2006/06/strange_error_messages.html WCP Fri, 09 Jun 2006 21:44:27 +0000