The Wolf In The North
Just doesn't shut up
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2016
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Tap tap... this thing on? Ahem...
WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE!
It's one week until the season kicks off (someone might want to tell Jeff, you know how these minor things creep up on him) and that means the Weekend Prediction Game, Version 2022/2023, is upon us.
For those who wish to wallow in nostalgia, here - Weekend Prediction Game, Season 2021-2022 - is last year's competition thread, won by the splendid SGWolves.
The game is simple, and all are welcome. The rules are unchanged, but for any new players, this is the important bit:
Every week, sometime around Tuesday or Wednesday, unless I forget or am asleep, I will post 15 fixtures from the upcoming weekend. These will include all Premier League fixtures played on Saturday or Sunday plus a scattering of random ones from the Championship or European Leagues, depending on my whimsy. Your task, dear player, is to predict the scores from these fixtures. You score 5 points for every scoreline you get correct; 2 points for every result you get correct but by the wrong score; and 0 points for any fixture you get completely wrong. So, for example, if you predict Arsenal 1 Chelsea 1 and the game ends 1-1, you get 5 points; if it ends in a draw of any other scoreline, you get 2 points; and if the game is 1-1 going into the 8th minute of injury time and some utter wipe scores off his backside and it ends 2-1, you get naff all (yes, this will happen to you. So many, many times. Welcome to hell.)
BUT. THERE'S MORE. This >> * << is an asterisk. We love asterisks. Every week you get three of them, and you may allocate a precious asterisk to three different fixtures, and those fixtures score double for you. So, naff all still gets naff all, but a correct result / different score gets you 4 points instead of 2, and those rarest of things, a correct scoreline with an asterisk, well... that gets you 10 points, and trust me, it's like mainlining hot-sugar-dipped ringed doughnuts, it really is.
The deadline for entries is the time of first kick-off, usually 12.30 on Saturday. If I'm not at work on that day, I'll post a reminder for anyone who has forgotten their asterisks (it's easy to do, but don't do it, it hurts). Otherwise, you're on your own. If you forget them, you can't add them to other matches after the first kick-off, because rules, and fair's fair.
Results are posted on Monday or Tuesday after all fixtures are done. New fixtures are posted. Rinse and repeat. Weekly Winners are lauded and enter the Hall Of Fame, abject failures enter the Box Of Shame, and at the end of the season one player will be crowned overall Champion. Oh, and this year, we have a new competitor: His name is Mr Spoon. Mr Spoon will predict 1-1 for every single fixture, with asterisks on the first three non-PL games each week, for the sake of arbitrary statistical curiosity - and if on any given week you accrue less points than Mr Spoon, he will visit your room at night and silently stand over you and look through your eyelid membranes as you sleep, feeding upon your helpless prediction inability.
Good-natured squabbling rivalry is encouraged, but arguing and backbiting will result in disqualification, so save that for other threads, please. And for anyone who plays, thank you for your contribution and good luck!
PS With regard to Bribes, I'm afraid the only incentives I'll be accepting this year are brown paper envelopes containing Danielle Van De Donk. Thank you.