Viva España
In case you weren’t aware, the World Cup final was held today in a place called “New York New Jersey”. Which AFAIK doesn’t actually exist. Did anybody watch the match? I did, and with a remarkable degree of equanimity. Two of my favourite countries were playing, so I was equally happy regardless which team prevailed. I didn’t expect it to be so unbalanced, but then I am an awful judge of football talent.
Do you know who is a good judge? Richard H, that’s who. He trounced the rest of us by racking up 158 Beautiful Pool points, out of a possible 200. Kudos Richard H.
Second place was a surprise: Ana G wasn’t even on the leaderboard in any of the previous updates, but she weaved some strange magic to move from 7th place after the semis, to edge out Sherman H for the second place prize.
Here are the final top-ranking scores.
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard H | 158 |
| 2 | Ana G | 149 |
| 3 | Sherman H | 144 |
| 4 | Tony D | 143 |
| 5 | Sandra MK | 142 |
| 6 | Jim R | 141 |
| 6 | Jim T | 141 |
| 6 | Ozgur T | 141 |
| 7 | Jason P | 140 |
| 7 | Phil A | 140 |
| 7 | Yukari S | 140 |
And here is the money shot:
| Prize | Name | $ Winnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | Richard H | $620 |
| 2nd Place | Ana G | $310 |
| Group Stage leader | Jim R | $290 |
| Merci d’avoir joué | Chris H | $20 |
I had considered taking all your entry fees and buying into the SPCX IPO for the duration of the tournament. The huge profits might have made Richard H rich. Thankfully I am not stupid, and all of your prize money is safe. It will be disbursed in due course; i.e. when I get around to it.
On average, the Newbs did the best, but only Jim R and Chris H go home with a prize. Richard H is the most Grizzled of Vets. Ana G is a Prodigal and I was happy to see her return; I hope she is now glad to have done so.
| Newbies | Grizzled Vets | Prodigals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg Score | 132.2 | 127.9 | 129.6 |
What now?
Barring exceptional circumstances, this is the last you will hear from me for a long time. I expect to revive the Beautiful Pool for the Euro Cup in 2028. Until then, I dabble in occasional blog posts at brannan.org, and you are welcome to visit there as often as you wish. You can even subscribe if you want. I get a little thrill whenever my tiny subscriber base of friends and family gets a boost.
It’s been fun running this 2026 Beautiful Pool (except for the crazy weekend where Knock-Out picks were due). I hope you had half as much fun as I did.
That is all.
The Gory Details
Download the complete standings here:
And see your final rank here:
The Beautiful Pool 