This 12-Year-Old Has The Best Bracket In The Country, And I Swear I’m Not Bitter About It

Duke’s win over Wisconsin in last night’s NCAA National Championship solidified an Illinois sixth grader as the top spot in the ESPN Bracket Challenge, besting over 11.5 million entries.

The rules indicate that each participant must be 18 or older to claim the $20,000 Best Buy gift card and a vacation to Hawaii for the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

Sam Holtz, 12, falls six years short of that requirement but is trying to build a case for himself using the “I used my dad’s email” angle.

Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. Rules are rules. The same reason I can’t smoke a cigarette in the stairwell at work is the same reason you can’t collect on your winnings. You’re right around the age where harsh realities are on the horizon: acne, braces, homework, and not getting $20,000 for a competition that clearly states the required age to enter is 18. If I sound like I’m being harsh or pessimistic, I am. That shit was mine to win. Even though my ranking was 8,921,381.

We will follow up with whether or not Sam will cheat his way into getting the prize that will be mine next year.

Matt Keohan Avatar
Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.