The Tournament
Be Careful Betting the Odds
By Jumping Jackman
1-22-2035
| Contestant |
Nationality |
Odds |
| Blake Ezor |
Germany |
4-1 |
| Harry Brown |
Canada |
6-1 |
| Damien Johnson |
USA |
8-1 |
| Alyson Kerrigan |
USA |
8-1 |
| Kim Jong |
China |
10-1 |
| Katya Floski |
Russia |
20-1 |
| Gabrielle Sallor |
France |
50-1 |
| Eli Vaquez |
Spain |
250-1 |
| Leo Rameriz |
Mexico |
500-1 |
| Roland Windom |
UK |
700-1 |
| Anne Layden |
Italy |
1,000-1 |
| Sissy Crydom |
UK |
1,000-1 |
| Kurt Shilling |
Germany |
1,000-1 |
| Julie Amore |
France |
3,000-1 |
| Max Fields |
USA |
5,000-1 |
| Kyle Devore |
USA |
10,000-1 |
A glance at the Vegas odds for the Tourney reveals some head scratchers. Ezor is only 4-1? Sure, anything can happen, but this is a big payday waiting to happen. The only thing that could keep Ezor from making the Title round of this Tourney is if he slips in the shower and breaks his neck. Or maybe a crazed fan or two. He might lose in the final, but only if he gets upset before that round because no one is going to beat him two out of three games. It's just not going to happen.
Brown is where he belongs at 6-1 because he could come up with one perfect gameplan to beat a once beaten Ezor. If anyone can do it, it would be Brown or maybe Jong. And speaking of Jong, what the hell is Johnson and Kerrigan doing at 8-1, ahead of Jong and Floski? Oh, wait, it's because they're Americans and Vegas just happens to be located in America. Don't forget, the odds in any sporting event are what they are because that's what the betting public believes is going to happen. A lot of Americans are betting on the two home favorites, so their odds are better than they are in Berlin (100-1 each), London (125-1 for Johnson, 150-1 for Kerrigan), or Japan (85-1 each).
The other aberration is Kurt Shilling at 1,000-1 … rightfully ahead of Klye Devore but what is he ahead of Max Fields? The man hasn't won big in a long time but he HAS won 136 games. He's going to win more in this Tourney than Shilling, I promise you that. In fact, if you want four digit money, Fields is the safest bet. Noone plays over 250 games without picking up a couple tricks, and you only need to 10-15 games to get the title, it's not like he has to survive an entire season or wear and tear.
As for Shilling, this is pure sentiment. Who doesn't want the kid to win? But he's not going to and betting on him would be tantamount to giving to charity without the money actually being used for more than lining the pockets of the Vegas mafia.
One more thing to keep in mind while wishing for the dramatic upsets, no one entering with odds worse than 10-1 has EVER won a major professional CIG tournament. That goes for any country in the world.
Brackets
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