For years, Rafael Perez would look forward to the UEFA European Championships and the World Cup.
Not just because the Spain team that represents the Cadiz Province native was so good: The 2008-2012 Spain side might be the best team of all time, with EURO 2008 and EURO 2012 titles, as well as the 2010 World Cup. But also because Perez’s uncle would set up pools to see which people in the family could do the best at predicting which teams would do the best at all the tournaments.
Now, it is Perez’s turn to run the competition, and he wants you to try to beat him, his family, and the top football (or soccer) brains from Twitter.
“I do this for fun, because my uncle used to organize this for family and friends for every EURO and World cup and it was a lot of fun,” Perez, who runs the Data Driven Picks account on Twitter, said. “He posted updated rankings every few days and interesting data about games that many got correct and others that no one did, and we always had some friendly banter making fun of the last one.
“I have a spreadsheet ready that I will share so people can see the live rankings as we go along.”
To join the pool on Data Driven Picks, click on this tweet or head over to the Google Sheet here, and join all of the best players from Twitter and beyond. You get two points for each correct match that you pick, and another three if you get the score correct, so there are five points up for grabs each game. There are 51 matches at the tournament, so you will have your shot to catch up even if you start slowly.
Another competition that will be running starting Friday is through the BookBreakrs app, which you can download on through the app store on iTunes or as a direct download for Android here.
There is a £500 in the pool for players, who can use code 389-964-708 to join the pool: click on the Private League tab and enter that code to join.
“The whole idea of the app is to help people to bet smarter,” Bookbreakrs Founder Alan Loughery said. “The competitions identify the top predictors, you can follow them, and get notified when they predict. You can also see the community view when you predict and compare that to the bookmaker odds. You have nothing to lose going for it!”
“The app covers people who bet & those who don't: a smarter way to enjoy football. For those who bet, Bookbreakrs is a community of real football fans working together to make more informed betting decisions. For those who don't bet, Bookbreakrs is a fun way to test your football knowledge through our innovative fantasy prediction competitions.”
And of course, you can also go to the official UEFA.com site and enter the 2020 Tournament Predictor, where you will be up against millions of people from around the world.
You think you can beat me? What about some of the other Bettors Insider soccer guys, like Feinting the Line, Perez with Data Driven Picks, False 9 Picks? Have your go on any or all three of the above competitions: I will be there under @TheProdigalSean.