12-Year-Old Finishes Atop of ESPN’s Bracket Challenge

Well, if you are a college basketball fan that spends hours creating the perfect bracket for March Madness, then this has to be debilitating. Sam Holtz, a 12-year-old who allegedly watches very little basketball, finished atop of ESPN’s Bracket Challenge after Duke beat Wisconsin 68-63. Lets put this in perspective, this middle schooler finished first out of 11.57 million players.

And if he does not watch basketball, how did he complete this feat? “I kind of just looked at the teams and picked the teams that I liked,” Sam told WGN News. This statement alone has to infuriate millions upon millions of people. For all the folks who smartly picked their bracket, I feel your pain.

This just hammers home the idea that perhaps the NCAA tournament is just as much about luck as it is about skill. It is just like the most knowledgeable person not winning his or her fantasy league. Things just happen, yet I am still thoroughly bitter about this year’s bracket: both Kentucky losing in the Final Four and UVA sputtering out was infuriating.

It is important to note that Sam Holtz would not be eligible for the prize money if he gets it — the $20,000 is raffled off to the top one percentile — because the competition has an 18 and over clause. It is unsure if Sam’s father, whose email he used to sign up for the tournament, would get the payout.

h/t: UPI