Circa Survivor Final: Eight entries, shared record, $14,266,000 first prize

Circa Final Survivor:

A carnage-filled season of Circa Survivor lasted 3.5 hours on Sunday, which was the craziest stretch of all, as eight contestants finished the season undefeated to take home more than $1.78 million each on the record prize pool of $14,266,000.

Only 18 entries out of the initial 14,266 entrants (at $1,000 each) made it to the final weekend of the season in NFL Week 18 (20th “week”, as Circa Survivor also uses special “Thanksgiving” weeks). » and “Christmas” in addition to those of the NFL 18-week schedule). Participants must choose one direct winner per week and not use the same team twice. A defeat and you are eliminated.

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Eight of the 18 used the Falcons against the Panthers, five used the Buccaneers against the Saints, two used the Packers against the Bears, two more used the Colts against the Jaguars and one used the Cardinals against the 49ers.

All but the Cardinals played Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT here at Circa Sportsbook in Las Vegas, where several of the finalists from around the country sweated their final plays (and cheered those of their opponents).

Although the Falcons, Buccaneers, Packers and Colts are heavy favorites, all have been in dogfights throughout their games. In fact, in the fourth quarter, this reporter spoke to Circa owner Derek J. Stevens, who created the competition that just finished its fifth season, and we marveled that all 17 could be eliminated, but that everyone could still win.

The Buccaneers’ five (using the contest aliases C3 Picks, DREAM STAKES, TY1823, WHATEVERYALLWANT and Whiskey Business) thought they had the easiest path, with Tampa Bay a two-touchdown favorite, but the Saints actually led 16-6 at the half-time. Both Colts (MEATBALL BROTHERS and PUMBAPACK9) looked comfortable early and led 20-13 at halftime, but couldn’t shake the Jaguars.

The Packers and Falcons were also in danger throughout the game. The first game to go to the finals was the Bears upsetting the Packers 24-22 on a 51-yard Cairo Santos field goal as time expired to eliminate 737 KEVIN and BIG HOUSE. By then, the Buccaneers had pulled away and eventually beat the Saints 27-19, while the Colts were taken to overtime, which presented its own danger because ties are the same thing as a loss since ‘a team must win.

Paul Czyz, 55, of Phoenix, is the official MEATBALL BROTHERS participant among six original partners who all work together in meat sales, hence the team’s name. They even brought a plate of their meatballs to the VSiN Contest Show Saturday night from Pizza Rock restaurant, just a short walk from Circa in downtown Vegas. His partners are Carson Williams, 37; Steven Torres, 52; Colby Strilaeff, 33; Angela; Grande, 66 years old; and Jimmy Agnos, 75. They started with three starters, but lost to the Bengals in Week 1 and the Ravens in Week 2 and had to go the distance with their only starter remaining.

“It was the Colts or Cardinals for us,” Czyz said. “We thought about the Titans from the beginning, but we quickly eliminated them,” which was a good decision since the Texans beat them 23-14. Czyz, a Phoenix native, didn’t trust the Cardinals.

Williams added that he felt better as the Colts were coming off a loss in Week 17 (which knocked out 16 of Survivor’s 34 entries the week before with their 45-33 loss to the Giants).

The Colts took the OT kickoff and methodically drove down the field, but had to settle for a 38-yard FG by Matt Gay and a 26-23 lead. Teams MEATBALL BROTHERS and PUMPAPACK9, who became friends since the contest selections were released Saturday night and even took a photo together on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, watched the games together in the Stevens VIP area overlooking Circa Sportsbook.

They cheered the Colts defense as they needed a stop to complete their survivor run. Both groups broke up when a sack by Jacksonville QB Mac Jones set up a 4th and 22. A Brian Thomas Jr. completion came two yards short of the first down and they all went wild as Stevens was there with some champagne and a film crew to document the celebration.

PUMBAPACK9’s official competitor is Steve Sammarco, but his partners are Steven Goncalvez, 39, and Francis Vellagrino, 38, both of Montreal, who said they made the picks for the team, which also included Alexander Coutrier (you recognize him as the shirtless guy in the celebration videos).

“That was by far the biggest sweat,” Goncalvez said, although he was interrupted by Vellagrino who pointed out that they had some very big sweats with the Chiefs in their close 19-17 victory over the Raiders on Black Friday during “Thanksgiving Week”. and the Seahawks in their ugly 6-3 victory over the Bears during “Christmas Week”, which ironically fell on the Canadian holiday of “Boxing Day”.

The Buccaneers completed their victory to put seven in the winner’s circle, and everyone – while celebrating – turned their attention to the Falcons game going into overtime, knowing that a loss for the higher team pick of the week could double their winnings (which stood at $891,625 each after the Packers’ loss). The Panthers drove 70 yards in 10 plays for the winning TD during their 44-38 OT to eliminate these eight teams (DRGUESSEDIT, FLOWMASTER, NELLIELEE25, PAPAJOE, PAYDATMANHISMONEY, RUBBERINWALL, Tapout59 and Tarz).

It’s hard to quantify or explain, but the victorious teams seemed to celebrate even more when the Falcons lost, which doubled their jackpots. Their own victories were almost like a sigh of relief in comparison; well, until the MEATBALL BROTHERS realized they also hit their six-figure bet on the Jaguars +5 in the 3-point win.

Among the Buccaneers survivors in the Circa book were DREAM STAKES and Whiskey Business.

The DREAM STAKES entry is led by Zheng Fan, 37, and his partner, Brian Wood, 38. The two met while Wood was studying law at Harvard, although he said he mainly played poker and developed apps. They started with four starters and also had close games with the Chiefs on “Thanksgiving” and the Seahawks last week in their 6-3 win over the Bears last Thursday.

Wood said the key was trying to save good teams for later in the season, which helped them avoid the carnage of the early weeks when top picks were abandoned time and time again as the field of 14 266 quickly decreased to 8,702 after week 1, 3,877 after week 2, and 642 after week 3.

Whiskey Business was entered by Sean Singewald, 55, of Las Vegas, with his partner Chris, Pike, 43, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., who made most of the selections. They started with two starters and lost the other to the Bengals in week one. Their big sweats were the Lions on Thanksgiving in their tougher-than-expected 23-20 win over the Bears and Rams last Saturday.

“We had the best opportunity with the Buccaneers,” Pike said, so they said they didn’t hedge or make any cuts. “The Saints are my team and I have often seen them fall back in the second half. I’m just glad they did it again.

The seven winning teams knew their share would be at least $1,783,250 and even more than $2 million if VODKA JOHNNY’s pick against the Cardinals lost in the afternoon game. They fell behind the 49ers 3-0 in the opening minutes and led just 26-24 early in the fourth quarter, but pulled away to win 47-24 and make it an eight-way tie.