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Intrigue's World Cup Prediction Competition!

🌍🏆 The world's biggest sporting event is about to kick off! 48 nations, six confederations, one month of soft power, national pride and the occasional diplomatic incident.
So who's going to win? Make your calls below. Closest entry wins a free year of Intrigue Insiders, plus a few bragging rights along the way. Picks lock Sunday at 4pm ET — no edits after that
The stakes: Champion — 10 points. Each of the other final-four teams you call correctly (2nd, 3rd, 4th place) — 3 points apiece. Biggest surprise — 5. Biggest disappointment — 5. Golden Boot — 8. Golden Ball — 8. A perfect read of the world: 45 points.
Only the champion is required to enter. Everything else is optional — but every extra call is extra points, and the closest entry takes the prize. Ties go to whoever picked the champion; still tied, earliest entry wins.
Prizes: 1st: Free year of Intrigue Insiders + $50 voucher to our relaunched merch store (coming soon!) 2nd: Free month of Intrigue Insiders + $25 voucher to our relaunched merch store (coming soon!) 3rd: Free month of Intrigue Insiders
Want to game it out first? Here's the full interactive bracket to play with → Open the bracket
The form closes on Sunday at 4pm EST.
Let's dig in!

Who lifts the trophy on July 19?

Your champion. The big one. 10 points — and the only required pick. (It's also the tiebreaker.)
Who lifts the trophy on July 19?
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Name the other finalist.

3 points
Name the other finalist.

Now the final four. Which other teams reach the semifinals?

Pick up to 2 — 3 points for each correct call.
Now the final four. Which other teams reach the semifinals?

Pick your dark horse — the team that most outperforms what the world expects of them.

The team that punches above its ranking, defies its group, or makes a run nobody saw coming. We'll judge the "biggest surprise" ourselves at the end, performance vs. expectations. 5 points.
Pick your dark horse — the team that most outperforms what the world expects of them.
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And the flip side — your biggest disappointment. Which team most underperforms what the world expects of them?

The inverse of your dark horse. Big reputation, big expectations, early flight home. Judged the same way at the end — performance vs. expectations. 5 points.
And the flip side — your biggest disappointment. Which team most underperforms what the world expects of them?
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Who wins the Golden Boot — the tournament's top scorer?

All 1,248 registered players are in here. Start typing a name and it'll find them. 8 points.

And the Golden Ball — your player of the tournament?

The best player of the tournament. Start typing a name, and it'll find it. 8 points.

Your name

So we know who to shoutout!

Your email

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