World Cup 2010

[Root]

After much discussion, some sort of consensus emerged that I would run a sweepstake for the 2010 World Cup, which begins next Friday. And here it is.

By and large, it is just like every other sweepstake, so if you do not want to read all of the rules, here is the abridged version:
Pay £2 to enter, and you will be assigned a team at random. If your team wins the World Cup then you will receive £50.

But knowing how pedantic most Tube Challengers are (myself included), here are the full rules:

1. The entry fee for this sweepstake is £2, and this equates to one team. A person may enter up to five times, by paying the corresponding multiple of £2.
2. Sam Cawley will be responsible for handling payments. Entries can be made through her at the pub following this Friday's Zone 1 Challenge Cup event, or by sending the entry fee to yeovil_town_fc@hotmail.com via Paypal - please send me a PM to let me know if you are doing this.
3. Regardless of payment method, the deadline for entering is 23:59, Wednesday the 9th of June 2010.
4. I will be responsible for randomly assigning teams to players. The draw will take place on Thursday the 10th of June 2010.
5. If exactly £64 is collected, each multiple of £2 will correspond to one team.
   If less than £64 is collected, then an attempt will be made to distribute the 32 teams fairly to all players who have entered.
   If more than £64 is collected, then the first priority will be to assign each player one team. Those who have paid more multiples of £2 than they receive teams will be refunded the difference.
6. The first prize is £50, awarded to the player whose team wins the tournament.
   The second prize is £10, awarded to the best-performing "minnow" team, defined as the 16 teams with the lowest current FIFA rankings. This is to provide some additional interest for those who end up drawing the likes of New Zealand, Honduras etc. Performance will be defined by progress in the tournament.
   It is not possible to win both the first and second prizes with the same team (but if you have two teams, each can win one prize). In the event that a minnow team wins the World Cup, the second prize will go to the losing finalists.
   The remaining money, £4, will cover administration costs.
   The prize amounts may be adjusted depending on the total money collected so that the organisers are not left out of pocket.

[Soup Dragon]

Not wishing to be pedantic but I assume the deadline for entry is wednesday 9th of June, otherwise only Dr Who will be able to enter this competition

[Root]

Yeah, I forgot we're in June now... well spotted. Edited.

[Root]

Well, this has been a massive disappointment.

Thanks to the people that tried to make it happen - you know who you are - and no thanks at all to those that showed interest and then wimped out.

Having come up with the rules, and having already written the script to draw the teams at random, I don't want to just forget about this, so here's what is going to happen now: the sixteen most recently active forum members will each be assigned two teams without having to enter. It is completely free to play. I'll buy the winner a pint of beer and the runner-up a half pint (same rules as before, but the prizes will come out of my own pocket) next time I see them - which could be quite far in the future. Consider it a gesture of goodwill. The couple of people who have already entered will be entitled to a refund. I'll probably make the draw tomorrow, seeing as I'm going to be a bit busy on Thursday.

[tubeguru]

Just make sure I get Brazil and Spain.

[snudge27]

Just make sure I get Brazil and Spain.

Mods'll do anything for Dairylea!

[Root]

Righto, here is the official draw.

Everyone who made a post on the 8th or 9th of June was entered into the hat twice, without having to sign up. That made 36 entries, so four players have ended up with one team each, while the rest have two. That's just the luck of the draw. Sorry if I missed anyone out through oversight.

For those interested, the script for drawing the teams was written in mIRC's in-built script editor, because it's fast and easy. All the names went into one text file, all the teams went into another, and then they were randomly matched up. Here is the output:

al = Mexico
garion24wales = Algeria*, Slovenia*
geofftech = Brazil, USA
Going Underground = Denmark*
jamesthegill = England, Honduras*
joy54 = Korea DPR*
Mitchell&BrownLook = Japan*, Paraguay*
palkanetoijala31 = Australia*, France
RichieG = Spain, Switzerland*
Root = Germany
Sam = Netherlands, Serbia
scrxisi = Argentina, Greece
Soup Dragon = Korea Republic*, Slovakia*
Steeevooo = Chile, Nigeria*
tubeguru = Cameroon, Uruguay
uefacup81 = Côte d'Ivoire*, South Africa*
Wanstead = New Zealand*, Portugal
waterloo and city = Ghana*, Italy

Teams marked with asterisks are "minnows", eligible for the second prize.

I happened to be one of the four people who only got one team, but I'm happy with Germany. RichieG looks to have a strong draw, with a good chance of winning both prizes. Jamesthegill has got Engerland. Geoff's got an interesting draw, including favourites Brazil and his some-time home nation USA! USA! USA!. Neil, you've got a bit of a duff draw, sorry...

The forum seems to have a very serious air about it lately, so let's all remember that this is just a bit of fun! I've changed the name of this thread so we can talk about everything World Cup-related here too. Any predictions?

[Steeevooo]

Go Chile! Go Nigeria!

I think joy54 might as well give up now though

[Sam]

I've managed to get my adopted country!!

[waterloo and city]

waterloo and city = Ghana*, Italy

Should do alright with the Italians, Oh and if I win. It'll have to be a Pepsi with a lemon slice. I don't think 16yo's can drink beer yet...

Adam.

[snudge27]

Happy with mine... although I wouldn't have classed Cote D'Ivoire as minnows!

I take it you'll be delivering my Pint/Half (Liter/Half) to Berlin should I win?

[Going Underground]

Thanks Ollie

[Root]

Adam, by the time I next see you, you could well be 18! But if not, Pepsi is fine...

James, I think you're being quite cheeky there: A pint is roughly half a litre, while a half pint is only a quarter of a litre!

[snudge27]

Adam, by the time I next see you, you could well be 18! But if not, Pepsi is fine...

James, I think you're being quite cheeky there: A pint is roughly half a litre, while a half pint is only a quarter of a litre!

Very true... For some reason I thought they were equal!

Just swap Litre/Half for Grosse/Kleine!

[jamesthegill]

Quite pleased with mine, I know a lot of people are willing to slag them off but I think they'll surprise people, could be real dark horses

England have got no chance though