[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.]
Eugenie Blasingame (@nSquib), Lisa Kosek (@littlebit12) and pool administrator Brendan Loy (@brendanloy) attained ETERNAL GLORY last night in the 10th annual Living Room Times Oscar Pool, and did so in record-breaking fashion – getting 77 out of a possible 80 points in predicting who would win the Academy Awards.
The previous record-holder for most points was Jeff Freeze in 2010, with 74 out of 80.
What’s more, Kosek made LRT Oscar Pool history in another way as well: she became the first two-time winner in the contest’s 10-year history. (The recently-married Kosek won the 4th annual Oscar Pool as Lisa Velte in 2008.)
As for Brendan Loy – a.k.a. me – it’s the first time I’ve ever won my Oscar Pool, and the first time I’ve won any of my contests (re: basketball, football, elections or the Oscars) since 1997, my sophomore year in high school, when I finished first among the 10 contestants in the first annual Women’s NCAA Tournament Pool.
Here’s proof, incidentally, that I didn’t cheat. I posted that tweet early Sunday morning, just in case I happened to win, to prove that those were my real picks. 🙂
Blasingame and I also set a new record for the fewest awards missed – two – as we got 22 of 24 categories right. (The previous record was 21 of 24, set by Scott Woods last year, but with a “major” 6-point category among his three errors.)
Blasingame and I erred only on Best Animated Short (worth 1 point), which Mr. Hublot won over Get A Horse! in the biggest upset of the night – Horse was given 1/10 odds, or roughly a 90% chance of winning – and on Best Documentary Feature (worth 2 points), which 20 Feet From Stardom won over The Act of Killing in a mild upset. (Killing was a ½, or 67%, favorite.)
Meanwhile, we both correctly predicted the mild upset for Best Live Action Short. (Helium, a 6/1 underdog, beat 4/7 favorite The Voorman Problem.) As I explained in the official Brendan & Becky #SNARKNADO Oscars Live Chat:
I picked it because it’s on the periodic table of the elements. The other nominees? NOT ELEMENTS.
Kosek, for her park, correctly predicted the Documentary Feature upset, but joined Blasingame and me in getting Best Animated Short wrong, and also got two other one-point categories wrong: Best Live Action Short (she picked The Voorman Problem) and Best Film Editing (Gravity, the 1/3 favorite, won; she had picked an upset by 2/1 underdog Captain Phillips).
With several of the major categories being absolute mortal locks for the favorites (e.g., Best Actress Cate Blanchett at 1/30 and Best Director Alfonso Cuaron and 1/20), the contours of the Oscar Pool race became clear once Best Supporting Actress (4/7 favorite Lupita Nyong’o beat 5/4 challenger Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Original Screenplay (4/7 favorite Her beat 6/5 challenger American Hustle) were announced. Namely:
- If 12 Years a Slave won Best Picture, as expected, then Blasingame, Kosek and I would be co-champions – with the possibility of Joseph Dickerson (@JosephDickerson) joining us in the event of a Best Actor upset by 5/1 underdog Leonardo DiCaprio. (Didn’t happen; 1/5 favorite Matthew McConaughey won.)
- If, instead, Gravity (a 4/1 underdog) pulled the upset and beat 12 Years a Slave (the 1/5 favorite)for Best Picture, then Kevin Curran (@KevinCurranX) – who had owned or shared the lead for much of the night, but lost it when Best Adapted Screenplay was announced (he picked Hustle) – would regain the lead and win the pool.
Gravity, of course, did not pull the upset, so the Oscar Pool has its first-ever co-champions, its first-ever two-time champion, and a new all-time points record – one that will require a near-perfect prediction record to break. That may be difficult to achieve, given that this year’s awards were unusually predictable. (Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short and Best Documentary were, I believe, literally the only upsets all night long, if you go by the Vegas odds.)
Tied for fourth, one point behind the three co-champs, were Amanda Rykoff, Chris Aemisegger, defending champion Scott Woods, Tim Stevens, and Ryan (last name unknown), with 76 points each. Nathan Wurtzel finished ninth with 75 points. Chris Palmer and Tory Tomlinson rounded out the top 10 with 74 points each.
Meanwhile, Dane Lindberg made history as the first contestant ever to go a “perfect” 0-for-24, getting every single award wrong. The previous record low was Nadine, who went 3-for-24 for 3 points in 2006, in the second annual Oscar Pool.
Anyway, complete final standings are after the jump.
Thanks to everyone for playing, and congrats to my co-champs on #EternalGlory! (Speaking of which, prior winners are listed here.)
Maximum possible points: 80
1. @nSquib: 77
1. Brendan Loy: 77
1. Lisa Kosek: 77
4. Amanda Rykoff: 76
4. Chris Aemisegger: 76
4. Ryan: 76
4. Scott Woods: 76
4. Tim Stevens: 76
9. Nathan Wurtzel: 75
10. Chris Palmer: 74
10. Tory Tomlinson: 74
12. @juleslalaland: 73
13. Dan Dinunzio: 72
13. Jeff Freeze: 72
15. Vicki Lopez: 71
16. Joseph DiNardi: 68
17. Zach Bloxham: 66
18. Cindy Carvalho: 65
19. Elsa Antonelli: 64
20. Kristin Farleigh: 63
21. Kevin Curran: 62
22. @andy_sorensen: 61
22. Jeff Vaca: 61
24. @NationalTragedy: 60
25. @JosephDickerson: 59
26. Joshua Hammond @ijoshhammond: 58
26. KTorg: 58
28. Katie Ray: 57
29. David Kreutz: 56
30. rlwood1: 55
31. Andrew Hunter: 54
32. Alexander Nguyen: 52
33. Charlotte Smith: 51
33. Matt Wiser: 51
35. @juliaflyer: 50
36. Michael Greiner: 48
37. Brandon Minich: 47
38. Mike Wiser: 46
39. AJ St. John: 45
40. Daniela Altimari: 43
40. Doug Mataconis: 43
42. Dave Roberts: 42
42. Diane Krause: 42
44. Michael Forsman: 39
45. Adam Uthe: 38
45. Blake: 38
45. Michael Pusatera: 38
48. Sally: 37
49. Antonia Namnath: 35
49. James Ray: 35
51. @ConnorPelton28: 32
52. Jessica Cowans: 31
53. Deanah Zak: 29
54. Weston Cross: 28
55. @DennisScott5280: 25
55. Randy Styles: 25
57. Bonnie Stone: 23
58. Scott Loomer: 22
59. Becky Loy: 21
60. @mdrache: 19
60. Leanna Loomer: 19
60. thepantau: 19
63. Scott Allen (@smallen13): 17
64. Tom Smithwick @obiwankobe: 15
64. Victoria Wagner: 15
66. Barbara Cross: 11
67. Mu: 9
68. Dane Lindberg: 0
