Sports Predictions Competition 2026

[sportsmeister]

How many different players (both male and female) will win a Grand Slam tennis singles title during 2026?

Options and number of selections

3 – 2*
4 – 5*
5 – 35
6 – 18

* would be worth one additional bonus point

A quick update from back in January where Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina were crowned champions in the first Grand Slam event in Australia

[sportsmeister]

Which player will be the best placed European at the US Masters?

Options and number of selections

Rory McIlroy – 22
Ludvig Aberg – 10
Tommy Fleetwood – 9
Justin Rose – 9
Viktor Hovland – 4*
Jon Rahm – 3*
Shane Lowry – 1**
Robert Macintyre – 1**
Nicolai Hojgaard – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Nicolai Hojgaard finished 2nd at the Houston Open which puts him comfortably back into the top 50 in the world rankings which secures his place at Augusta meaning all 9 of our selections will tee it up next week

7 of our 9 selections made the cut with Macintyre and Nicolai Hojgaard the only ones missing out

Seemingly unburdened without Grand Slam aspirations Rory McIlroy posted 6 birdies on the back nine as he stormed into a 6 shot lead

The European leaderboard is

-12 McIlroy
-5 Rose, Fleetwood, Lowry
E Aberg
+2 Hovland
+4 Rahm

[sportsmeister]

Which player will be the best placed European at the US Masters?

Options and number of selections

Rory McIlroy – 22
Ludvig Aberg – 10
Tommy Fleetwood – 9
Justin Rose – 9
Viktor Hovland – 4*
Jon Rahm – 3*
Shane Lowry – 1**
Robert Macintyre – 1**
Nicolai Hojgaard – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Nicolai Hojgaard finished 2nd at the Houston Open which puts him comfortably back into the top 50 in the world rankings which secures his place at Augusta meaning all 9 of our selections will tee it up next week

7 of our 9 selections made the cut with Macintyre and Nicolai Hojgaard the only ones missing out

Seemingly unburdened without Grand Slam aspirations Rory McIlroy posted 6 birdies on the back nine as he stormed into a 6 shot lead

The European leaderboard is

-12 McIlroy
-5 Rose, Fleetwood, Lowry
E Aberg
+2 Hovland
+4 Rahm

Well this one's going to be a lot closer than I thought 24 hours ago as the whole field closed in on Rory

European leaderboard after R3 is

-11 McIlroy
-9 Lowry
-8 Rose
-4 Fleetwood
-3 Aberg
+1 Hovland
+5 Rahm

[sportsmeister]

Which player will be the best placed European at the US Masters?

Options and number of selections

Rory McIlroy – 22
Ludvig Aberg – 10
Tommy Fleetwood – 9
Justin Rose – 9
Viktor Hovland – 4*
Jon Rahm – 3*
Shane Lowry – 1**
Robert Macintyre – 1**
Nicolai Hojgaard – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Nicolai Hojgaard finished 2nd at the Houston Open which puts him comfortably back into the top 50 in the world rankings which secures his place at Augusta meaning all 9 of our selections will tee it up next week

7 of our 9 selections made the cut with Macintyre and Nicolai Hojgaard the only ones missing out

Seemingly unburdened without Grand Slam aspirations Rory McIlroy posted 6 birdies on the back nine as he stormed into a 6 shot lead

The European leaderboard is

-12 McIlroy
-5 Rose, Fleetwood, Lowry
E Aberg
+2 Hovland
+4 Rahm

Well this one's going to be a lot closer than I thought 24 hours ago as the whole field closed in on Rory

European leaderboard after R3 is

-11 McIlroy
-9 Lowry
-8 Rose
-4 Fleetwood
-3 Aberg
+1 Hovland
+5 Rahm

A double bogey on 4 for Rory reduces his lead over Rose to 1

[sportsmeister]

At 2100

-10 Rose
-9 McIlroy
-8 Hatton

[sportsmeister]

At 2140

-12 Rose
-11 McIlroy
-10 Hatton

[sportsmeister]

At 2225

-12 McIlroy (12)
-10 Rose (13)
-10 Hatton (18)

[sportsmeister]

At 2255

-13 McIlroy (14)
-11 Rose (15)

[sportsmeister]

Rose misses a tiddler on 17 to leave Rory 3 ahead

[sportsmeister]

Which player will be the best placed European at the US Masters?

Options and number of selections

Rory McIlroy – 22
Ludvig Aberg – 10
Tommy Fleetwood – 9
Justin Rose – 9
Viktor Hovland – 4*
Jon Rahm – 3*
Shane Lowry – 1**
Robert Macintyre – 1**
Nicolai Hojgaard – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Nicolai Hojgaard finished 2nd at the Houston Open which puts him comfortably back into the top 50 in the world rankings which secures his place at Augusta meaning all 9 of our selections will tee it up next week

7 of our 9 selections made the cut with Macintyre and Nicolai Hojgaard the only ones missing out

Seemingly unburdened without Grand Slam aspirations Rory McIlroy posted 6 birdies on the back nine as he stormed into a 6 shot lead

The European leaderboard is

-12 McIlroy
-5 Rose, Fleetwood, Lowry
E Aberg
+2 Hovland
+4 Rahm

Well this one's going to be a lot closer than I thought 24 hours ago as the whole field closed in on Rory

European leaderboard after R3 is

-11 McIlroy
-9 Lowry
-8 Rose
-4 Fleetwood
-3 Aberg
+1 Hovland
+5 Rahm

A double bogey on 4 for Rory reduces his lead over Rose to 1

So, Rory got his hands on a second green jacket with a 1 shot victory over Scottie Scheffler and more importantly for this category 2 shots ahead of Justin Rose and the unselected Tyrrell Hatton.

There were 22 selections for Rory McIlroy, the most popular selection, earning the regulation 2 points

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the NBA Finals?

Options and number of selections

Oklahoma City Thunder – 43
Boston Celtics – 5*
Denver Nuggets – 5*
Cleveland Cavaliers – 2*
Detroit Pistons – 2*
Los Angeles Lakers – 1**
Atlanta Hawks – 1**
Golden State Warriors – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Approaching the end of the regular season, the much fancied Oklahoma City Thunder are leading the way with a near 0.800 PCT whilst 10 teams have been officially eliminated

Latest positions are


E11P78.PNG

Notes

z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly)
ps – Clinched postseason (at least a play-in spot but can still clinch a playoff spot directly)
x – Clinched playoff spot
o – Eliminated from postseason contention
* – Division leader

The good news is that all of our selections have made it to the post season although Golden State Warriors will need to negotiate the play in tournament in order to reach the first round of the play offs - LA Clippers and then Phoenix/Portland will stand in their way.

The play off picture is as follows

E11POR1.PNG

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the Super League Grand Final?

Options and number of selections

Wigan Warriors – 38
Hull Kingston Rovers – 11
St. Helens – 6
Leeds Rhinos – 3*
Warrington Wolves – 2*

* would be worth one additional bonus point

After 7 games, every team has won at least 2 matches and none have won more than 5 so all to play for

E23P7.PNG

[sportsmeister]

Which player will make the highest break of the World Championship (televised stages only)?

Options and number of selections

Judd Trump – 20
Zhao Xintong – 7
Shaun Murphy – 5*
Neil Robertson – 5*
Kyren Wilson – 4*
Ronnie O’Sulliivan – 3*
Xiao Guodong – 3*
Mark Selby – 2*
Mark Allen – 2*
Ding Junhui – 2*
Stuart Bingham – 2*
Luca Brecel – 1**
Wu Yize – 1**
Tom Ford – 1**
Si Jiahui – 1**
John Higgins – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Unusually this year, we have selected 16 different players

Tom Ford was knocked out in the penultimate qualifying round whilst former champions Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham both failed to negotiate the final qualifying round which leaves us with 13 contenders

[forestfan]

Allen with a 140 total clearance already, but expect that will be beaten…

[sportsmeister]

Allen with a 140 total clearance already, but expect that will be beaten…

Yes, highly unlikely to remain the highest break but most years the top break is in the first 2 rounds

[sportsmeister]

Which team will be in the middle position in the league hierachy on Christmas Day; Cardiff, Swansea or Wrexham?

Options and number of selections

Swansea – 36
Cardiff – 19
Wrexham – 5*

* would be worth one additional bonus point

Cardiff have secured an immediate return to the Championship courtesy of an injury time equaliser by the Exeter goalkeeper.

Swansea's mid tableness has already confirmed their Championship for another season but Wrexham are just outside the play off positions and still harbour designs on promotion to the Premier League although its priced at 33/1

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the NBA Finals?

Options and number of selections

Oklahoma City Thunder – 43
Boston Celtics – 5*
Denver Nuggets – 5*
Cleveland Cavaliers – 2*
Detroit Pistons – 2*
Los Angeles Lakers – 1**
Atlanta Hawks – 1**
Golden State Warriors – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Approaching the end of the regular season, the much fancied Oklahoma City Thunder are leading the way with a near 0.800 PCT whilst 10 teams have been officially eliminated

Latest positions are


E11P78.PNG

Notes

z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly)
ps – Clinched postseason (at least a play-in spot but can still clinch a playoff spot directly)
x – Clinched playoff spot
o – Eliminated from postseason contention
* – Division leader

The good news is that all of our selections have made it to the post season although Golden State Warriors will need to negotiate the play in tournament in order to reach the first round of the play offs - LA Clippers and then Phoenix/Portland will stand in their way.

The play off picture is as follows


E11POR1.PNG

Golden State squeezed through the first round but were easily beaten by Phoenix to be the first team eliminated in this category

[sportsmeister]

Which player will make the highest break of the World Championship (televised stages only)?

Options and number of selections

Judd Trump – 20
Zhao Xintong – 7
Shaun Murphy – 5*
Neil Robertson – 5*
Kyren Wilson – 4*
Ronnie O’Sulliivan – 3*
Xiao Guodong – 3*
Mark Selby – 2*
Mark Allen – 2*
Ding Junhui – 2*
Stuart Bingham – 2*
Luca Brecel – 1**
Wu Yize – 1**
Tom Ford – 1**
Si Jiahui – 1**
John Higgins – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Unusually this year, we have selected 16 different players

Tom Ford was knocked out in the penultimate qualifying round whilst former champions Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham both failed to negotiate the final qualifying round which leaves us with 13 contenders

The first round is nearing completion and there have only been 3 breaks in excess of 130

Currently, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy hold the hi break mark of 140. Surely this will be surpassed.

Si Jiahui is the only selection to have been eliminated in the first round

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the Championship play off final?

Options and number of selections

Ipswich – 25
Middlesbrough – 10
Wrexham – 10
Hull – 5*
Millwall – 4*
Bristol City – 3*
Derby – 2*
Birmingham – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Let's have a look at the latest standings in the Championship promotion race

(Coventry) 71pts
Middlesbrough 63
--------------
Millwall 62
Ipswich 60
Hull 60
Wrexham 57
---------------
(Southampton) 53
Derby 51
(Watford) 51
Bristol City 50
Birmingham 49

Coventry, Ipswich and Middlesbrough are the bookies favourites for promotion with Bristol City ranked as the outsiders

Coventry and Middlesbrough are maintaining their push for automatic promotion whilst Southampton have sneaked into the play off position and Bristol City's form has dropped off a cliff

Most teams now have 7 matches left to play

1. (Coventry) 80pts
2. Middlesbrough 71
--------------
3. Ipswich 69
4. Millwall 69
5. Hull 66
6. (Southampton) 63
---------------
7. Wrexham 63
8. Derby 60
11. Birmingham 53
16. Bristol City 51

Just 2 games to go now although Ipswich have a game in hand; Birmingham and Bristol City can now longer make the play offs but all other selections are still in with a chance

1. (Coventry) 89pts
2. Ipswich 79
--------------
3. Millwall 79
4. (Southampton) 76
5. Middlesbrough 76
6. Wrexham 70
---------------
7. Hull 70
8. Derby 66
10. Birmingham 60
12. Bristol City 59

[sportsmeister]

How many different players (both male and female) will win a Grand Slam tennis singles title during 2026?

Options and number of selections

3 – 2*
4 – 5*
5 – 35
6 – 18

* would be worth one additional bonus point

A quick update from back in January where Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina were crowned champions in the first Grand Slam event in Australia

Carlos Alcaraz has been ruled out of the French Open

[forestfan]

How many different players (both male and female) will win a Grand Slam tennis singles title during 2026?

Options and number of selections

3 – 2*
4 – 5*
5 – 35
6 – 18

* would be worth one additional bonus point

A quick update from back in January where Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina were crowned champions in the first Grand Slam event in Australia

Carlos Alcaraz has been ruled out of the French Open

So it’s Sinner career Grand Slam or Djokovic record then…

[sportsmeister]

French Open most likely to get an unexpected winner though

[forestfan]

French Open most likely to get an unexpected winner though

What happened to all the "grass is for cows" South American clay specialists of old?

[sportsmeister]

French Open most likely to get an unexpected winner though

What happened to all the "grass is for cows" South American clay specialists of old?

Kuerten, Rios, Gaudio plus Ferrero, Moya

The best baseliners these days seem to excel on all surfaces hence its Alcaraz vs Sinner vs Djokovic now

[sportsmeister]

Which player will make the highest break of the World Championship (televised stages only)?

Options and number of selections

Judd Trump – 20
Zhao Xintong – 7
Shaun Murphy – 5*
Neil Robertson – 5*
Kyren Wilson – 4*
Ronnie O’Sulliivan – 3*
Xiao Guodong – 3*
Mark Selby – 2*
Mark Allen – 2*
Ding Junhui – 2*
Stuart Bingham – 2*
Luca Brecel – 1**
Wu Yize – 1**
Tom Ford – 1**
Si Jiahui – 1**
John Higgins – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Unusually this year, we have selected 16 different players

Tom Ford was knocked out in the penultimate qualifying round whilst former champions Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham both failed to negotiate the final qualifying round which leaves us with 13 contenders

The first round is nearing completion and there have only been 3 breaks in excess of 130

Currently, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy hold the hi break mark of 140. Surely this will be surpassed.

Si Jiahui is the only selection to have been eliminated in the first round

The second round is now complete and the big breaks are still in short supply; just 5 above 130 and Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy are still the highest on 140.

The most popular selection, Judd Trump, has just been knocked out joining Kyren Wilson, Xiao Guodong, Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby as second round casualties.

Only 6 selections left.

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the Championship play off final?

Options and number of selections

Ipswich – 25
Middlesbrough – 10
Wrexham – 10
Hull – 5*
Millwall – 4*
Bristol City – 3*
Derby – 2*
Birmingham – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Let's have a look at the latest standings in the Championship promotion race

(Coventry) 71pts
Middlesbrough 63
--------------
Millwall 62
Ipswich 60
Hull 60
Wrexham 57
---------------
(Southampton) 53
Derby 51
(Watford) 51
Bristol City 50
Birmingham 49

Coventry, Ipswich and Middlesbrough are the bookies favourites for promotion with Bristol City ranked as the outsiders

Coventry and Middlesbrough are maintaining their push for automatic promotion whilst Southampton have sneaked into the play off position and Bristol City's form has dropped off a cliff

Most teams now have 7 matches left to play

1. (Coventry) 80pts
2. Middlesbrough 71
--------------
3. Ipswich 69
4. Millwall 69
5. Hull 66
6. (Southampton) 63
---------------
7. Wrexham 63
8. Derby 60
11. Birmingham 53
16. Bristol City 51

Just 2 games to go now although Ipswich have a game in hand; Birmingham and Bristol City can now longer make the play offs but all other selections are still in with a chance

1. (Coventry) 89pts
2. Ipswich 79
--------------
3. Millwall 79
4. (Southampton) 76
5. Middlesbrough 76
6. Wrexham 70
---------------
7. Hull 70
8. Derby 66
10. Birmingham 60
12. Bristol City 59

Ahead of the Championship finale on Saturday lunchtime, Southampton are the only team definitely confirmed in the play offs. Contesting promotion are Ipswich (in pole position), Millwall and Middlesbrough with the 2 missing out on automatic promotion going straight into the play offs. The final play off berth will be claimed by either Wrexham, Hull and Derby.

[sportsmeister]

Which player will make the highest break of the World Championship (televised stages only)?

Options and number of selections

Judd Trump – 20
Zhao Xintong – 7
Shaun Murphy – 5*
Neil Robertson – 5*
Kyren Wilson – 4*
Ronnie O’Sulliivan – 3*
Xiao Guodong – 3*
Mark Selby – 2*
Mark Allen – 2*
Ding Junhui – 2*
Stuart Bingham – 2*
Luca Brecel – 1**
Wu Yize – 1**
Tom Ford – 1**
Si Jiahui – 1**
John Higgins – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Unusually this year, we have selected 16 different players

Tom Ford was knocked out in the penultimate qualifying round whilst former champions Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham both failed to negotiate the final qualifying round which leaves us with 13 contenders

The first round is nearing completion and there have only been 3 breaks in excess of 130

Currently, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy hold the hi break mark of 140. Surely this will be surpassed.

Si Jiahui is the only selection to have been eliminated in the first round

The second round is now complete and the big breaks are still in short supply; just 5 above 130 and Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy are still the highest on 140.

The most popular selection, Judd Trump, has just been knocked out joining Kyren Wilson, Xiao Guodong, Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby as second round casualties.

Only 6 selections left.

Finally, the high break mark of 140 is eclipsed as Mark Allen makes a 145 clearance to stake his claim for sole possession of the high break prize

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the NBA Finals?

Options and number of selections

Oklahoma City Thunder – 43
Boston Celtics – 5*
Denver Nuggets – 5*
Cleveland Cavaliers – 2*
Detroit Pistons – 2*
Los Angeles Lakers – 1**
Atlanta Hawks – 1**
Golden State Warriors – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Approaching the end of the regular season, the much fancied Oklahoma City Thunder are leading the way with a near 0.800 PCT whilst 10 teams have been officially eliminated

Latest positions are


E11P78.PNG

Notes

z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly)
ps – Clinched postseason (at least a play-in spot but can still clinch a playoff spot directly)
x – Clinched playoff spot
o – Eliminated from postseason contention
* – Division leader

The good news is that all of our selections have made it to the post season although Golden State Warriors will need to negotiate the play in tournament in order to reach the first round of the play offs - LA Clippers and then Phoenix/Portland will stand in their way.

The play off picture is as follows


E11POR1.PNG

Golden State squeezed through the first round but were easily beaten by Phoenix to be the first team eliminated in this category

Completed first round matchups

New York 4-2 Atlanta
Oklahoma City 4-0 Phoenix
Denver 2-4 Minnesota
San Antonio 4-1 Portland

with the following matchups still very much in the balance

Detroit 2-3 Orlando
Cleveland 3-2 Toronto
Boston 3-3 Philadelphia
LA Lakers 3-2 Houston

[sportsmeister]

Which player will make the highest break of the World Championship (televised stages only)?

Options and number of selections

Judd Trump – 20
Zhao Xintong – 7
Shaun Murphy – 5*
Neil Robertson – 5*
Kyren Wilson – 4*
Ronnie O’Sulliivan – 3*
Xiao Guodong – 3*
Mark Selby – 2*
Mark Allen – 2*
Ding Junhui – 2*
Stuart Bingham – 2*
Luca Brecel – 1**
Wu Yize – 1**
Tom Ford – 1**
Si Jiahui – 1**
John Higgins – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Unusually this year, we have selected 16 different players

Tom Ford was knocked out in the penultimate qualifying round whilst former champions Luca Brecel and Stuart Bingham both failed to negotiate the final qualifying round which leaves us with 13 contenders

The first round is nearing completion and there have only been 3 breaks in excess of 130

Currently, Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy hold the hi break mark of 140. Surely this will be surpassed.

Si Jiahui is the only selection to have been eliminated in the first round

The second round is now complete and the big breaks are still in short supply; just 5 above 130 and Mark Allen and Shaun Murphy are still the highest on 140.

The most popular selection, Judd Trump, has just been knocked out joining Kyren Wilson, Xiao Guodong, Ding Junhui, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Selby as second round casualties.

Only 6 selections left.

Finally, the high break mark of 140 is eclipsed as Mark Allen makes a 145 clearance to stake his claim for sole possession of the high break prize

I didn't watch every frame of the final but I don't think the 145 from Mark Allen was ever under threat

There were only 2 selections for Mark Allen each collecting 3 points (including 1 bonus point)

[sportsmeister]

Which team will win the NBA Finals?

Options and number of selections

Oklahoma City Thunder – 43
Boston Celtics – 5*
Denver Nuggets – 5*
Cleveland Cavaliers – 2*
Detroit Pistons – 2*
Los Angeles Lakers – 1**
Atlanta Hawks – 1**
Golden State Warriors – 1**

* would be worth one additional bonus point
** would be worth 2 additional bonus points

Approaching the end of the regular season, the much fancied Oklahoma City Thunder are leading the way with a near 0.800 PCT whilst 10 teams have been officially eliminated

Latest positions are


E11P78.PNG

Notes

z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly)
ps – Clinched postseason (at least a play-in spot but can still clinch a playoff spot directly)
x – Clinched playoff spot
o – Eliminated from postseason contention
* – Division leader

The good news is that all of our selections have made it to the post season although Golden State Warriors will need to negotiate the play in tournament in order to reach the first round of the play offs - LA Clippers and then Phoenix/Portland will stand in their way.

The play off picture is as follows


E11POR1.PNG

Golden State squeezed through the first round but were easily beaten by Phoenix to be the first team eliminated in this category

Completed first round matchups

New York 4-2 Atlanta
Oklahoma City 4-0 Phoenix
Denver 2-4 Minnesota
San Antonio 4-1 Portland

with the following matchups still very much in the balance

Detroit 2-3 Orlando
Cleveland 3-2 Toronto
Boston 3-3 Philadelphia
LA Lakers 3-2 Houston

Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia and LA Lakers were the ones to make it through the undecided series.

Latest scores in the 2nd round are

Detroit 1-0 Cleveland
New York 1-0 Philadelphia
Oklahoma City 1-0 LA Lakers
Minnesota 1-0 San Antonio