Death Pool 2012

Alrighty then, it's that time of year again when we get into the holiday spirit and start thinking about who we think will cark it during the next 12 months.

If you check the links on the left you will find the updated rules for 2012.  They haven't changed much cos I'm lazy and there were no complaints last time around.

You can also see the 2011 results sheet that might give you a few pointers on your selections for next year.  Remember though that originality gets you 5 bonus points, and with a larger field expected this time around they could make all the difference so it may pay to do your research.

As I pointed out last year, this means I could gain an advantage if you start firing your lists across to me straight away, and so I will email my list to myself by the end of the weekend should anyone be suspicious enough to want proof of my personal ethics.  Therefore you have some time to ponder before sending through selections during next week.

Remember to get them in by midnight on the 31st though!

Good luck.

Thatcher Survives

So Death Pool 2011 has come to an end and the outstanding favourite to get points on the board Margaret Thatcher has fought through and lives to prop up another bunch of lists next year.  She even managed to get out to a birthday party recently - ridiculous!

It turns out it was a pretty quiet year, with only 4 from 64 unique picks being crossed off our list.  Alex managed to bag two of them and so if our official winner, although special mention should go to Dan for getting a high scoring selection in Amy Winehouse.

I had thought that we were playing winner takes all for the prize pot but having reread the rules I had stated we'd sort out something for 2nd place if 8 or more entries.  Therefore Alex will be the recipient of £70 - with Dan doubling his money with £20 returns for the runner up spot.

Please drop me an email to let me know how you would like to receive your winnings.  I will be rerunning the competition for 2012 with pretty much the same format so feel free to leave a tenner in the pot for another tilt at the title!

Everyone get your thinking caps on for your 2012 selections and I'll let you know the process soon.  Give me a shout if there is anyone else you think would be interested in taking part.

Jim'll Fix It

Well, he has for a couple of you anyway. Both James and Stevie were languishing on nil points before the tracksuit happy, cigar touting, DJ fund raiser extraordinaire finally popped his clogs on Saturday.

No cigar choking theatrics or accidental hanging by gold chains though, so no bonus points I'm afraid - just the basic 6 for his age.

Therefore we are entering the final month of the competition (we close out end of November remember) with Alex still grimly holding onto the lead that he has held all year. There are still plenty of likely suspects wrestling with the Grim Reaper though so don't give up hope just yet.

Keep an eye on those obits for a late surge...

I gotta check into rehab

Hmmmm, bit late for that now.

And so there we have it - the 3rd prediction of the year came up over the weekend in the form of boozy, junkie singer Amy Winehouse.  An impressive maximum points for Dan Morgan for picking someone under 30 years old.  Still behind Alex overall but good headway.

Naturally Alex took the news well when he heard though:

"Who can't measure out a non lethal amount of crack these days?"

This also means that there is a new member of the Forever 27 Club.  God is putting together a pretty nifty little ensemble up there.

I wonder if Mika and Duffy are worried....

Just one more thing

Despite a long list we have missed a couple of sitters despite a pretty slow year so far.  Both 94 year old Michael Gough (of Batman butler fame) and more recently the legendary Peter Falk (aka Columbo) have bitten the dust so far in 2011 but are nowhere to be seem amongst our selections.

However an excited 2am text from Alex this morning informed me that he has extended his lead from the "nil points" pack with the pick of former first lady Betty Ford.  No bonus points for an exciting sky dive gone wrong though, she was just bloody old (93).  The player list on the left has duly been updated with her demise joining that of Elizabeth Taylor from March as the only casualties so far.

So we find ourselves half way through the year and we have a pretty poor 2/63 record.  The renowned Death List site is 5/50 so it looks like we have a bit of catching up to do if our collective are going to out-snuff them!

Keep your eyes peeled for those obits....

Good Luck Maggie...

Right then, entries are closed and we have 9 people in the mix.  No fewer than 63 different celebrities have been nominated as potential grim reaper candidates, but leading the pick list by far is poor old Margaret Thatcher who has made it onto 8 of the 9 lists!  Dan obviously has confidence in her willpower, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know her own name nowadays.

I think my favourite pick is probably Nick Nolte by Dave.  Unless he has inside info about a serious illness, I reckon it is just some kind of weird grudge pick!

I've not actually bothered to work it out, but am guessing Heather has the youngest average age in her list with Britney and Lohan both hopeful drug/alcohol cocktails selections.

If you want to check out all the selections you can download the full list via the link on the left-hand side of the page in the "Sticky Info" section.  We'll give it until the end of the week if anyone has any serious objections about the selections, but they all look fairly sound to me.  I can't see any of them not being reported.

Good luck!