Sponsored by PickGuru
The Fantasy Football Scout team have come together to select their picks for UltimateGuru 2022, a multi-sport predictor game covering the 12 biggest sporting events of 2022.
You too can get involved – and a prize of £1m could be yours if you manage to name all dozen winners!
To get involved, download the app, register and enter the game.
Entries cost £10 and close at 5pm on Friday 4 February, so make sure to get them in before then. You can also edit your predictions as much as you like up to the deadline.
Good luck if you decide to play!
DOWNLOAD THE APP AND ENTER HERE
All you need to know
Simply put, UltimateGuru is a multi-sport predictor game covering the 12 biggest sporting events of 2022, from the Six Nations to the the FIFA World Cup. There’s a minimum £25,000 pool guaranteed to be won and you could win £1,000,000 with a perfect set of 12 picks.
Your predictions will score you points if they finish in the top three of any event, and there are some big cash prizes up for grabs for the entries that score the highest number of cumulative points.
One important note is that numerous events include a selection for ‘the field’. If you select this option, you’ll be cheering on all players, drivers or teams who are not listed as individual selections in the relevant event.
How does the scoring work?
- If you correctly predict the winner of an event, your entry will receive 100 points
- If you predict the runner-up of an event, your entry will receive 60 points.
- If you predict the third place of an event, your entry will receive 30 points.
The winner of the game will be the entry with the most cumulative points after all events have been completed.
If you have chosen ‘the field’, only the highest-scoring ‘field’ player, driver or team will count towards your score.
For example, if players, drivers or teams included as part of ‘the field’ finish first, second and third in an event, entries who had selected ‘the field’ would only receive points for first place in this scenario. They would not receive additional points for second and third place.
You can find a full rundown of the details here.
SCOUT’S PICKS FOR PICKGURU
UEFA Europa League
Football, ends on 18 May
Scout verdict: This is a fascinating puzzle to try and solve, with heavyweights Barcelona and Dortmund among the leading contenders. West Ham United are in with a genuine chance too, while swashbuckling Atalanta will be many neutrals’ choice. But the vote goes to Europa League specialists Sevilla, who are gunning for their seventh title and will have the advantage of playing in front of their own fans should they get to this year’s final.
English Premier League
Football, ends on 22 May
Scout verdict: Manchester City are clear at the top of the Premier League and it will take a monumental effort to topple them. That task looks like it will fall to Liverpool, who have a game in hand on their rivals but sit nine points off them at the time of writing. The two are set to meet in April to give Reds fans further hope but many bookmakers have already paid out on City lifting the title and there’s little temptation to take them on.
UEFA Champions League
Football, ends on 28 May
Scout verdict: European football’s premier prize can go to Bayern Munich for a seventh time. Their squad is packed full of world-class performers in every area of the pitch, with Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Alphonso Davies, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Müller (to name just a few) supporting star striker Robert Lewandowski. Manchester City, in their quest for an elusive Champions League title, are feared most. Paris Saint-Germain need to prove they can gel as a unit on the biggest stage of all, while the likes of Liverpool and defending champions Chelsea are dangerous foes in this competitive heat.
Women’s European Championship
Football, 6-31 July
Scout verdict: Spain have never won a major international tournament, but they can lay that ghost to rest in England this summer and lift the Women’s European Championship. At club level, Barcelona have conquered all. They cruised to Champions League glory as part of a quadruple-winning season, and the national side can count upwards of nine Barça players in their talented squad. Domestic dominance can convert to international success (Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side inspired Spain to victory at the Euros in 2008 and 2012 and World Cup in 2010) and we may see that pattern repeated here.
FIFA World Cup
Football, 21 November to 18 December
Scout verdict: The World Cup is the zenith of world football and most-watched sporting event on planet Earth. Defending champions France can retain their World Cup crown and rule again. Knocked out of Euro 2020 by Switzerland in freak circumstances (3-1 up with nine minutes to play, they lost on penalties), they’ll be keen to put that behind them on the world’s biggest stage. There are few squads that can match their talent and depth, with the likes of Raphaël Varane, N’Golo Kanté, Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema providing a solid core, and mercurial talent Kylian Mbappé the star turn. England‘s squad is full of young and exciting players and they can go close, while a fresh-looking Brazil will be a danger to all.
Six Nations
Rugby union, 5 February to 19 March
Scout verdict: England are perennial contenders but they’ve suffered a big blow with the loss of Owen Farrell. They disappointed last year too. Defending champions Wales look overpriced in the betting market (generally 8/1), while Ireland look like big players too. But it’s favourites France that stand out. They can kick off with a routine victory over Italy and build on last year’s effort, when they should really have lifted the trophy.
F1 Drivers’ Championship
Motor racing, 20 March to 20 November
Scout verdict: There are doubts surrounding his future in the sport, but providing the unthinkable doesn’t happen, Lewis Hamilton looks the best option to exact revenge on Max Verstappen. That would secure an eighth world title and crown him as the most decorated driver in history. It’s very hard to see beyond the front two in this category but George Russell might have a shout if making an impact as Hamilton’s new Mercedes teammate.
The Masters
Golf, 7-10 April
Scout verdict: World number one Jon Rahm will have his eyes on the Green Jacket after finishing fourth, ninth, seventh and fifth in his last four visits to Augusta. He’ll quite rightly be a very popular pick, especially after bagging his first major in 2021 when he won the US Open. But with two majors to his name (from just nine starts), Collin Morikawa is fancied to add a third to go alongside his 2020 USPGA and 2021 Open Championship titles. He has the game to master this most wonderful course but it’s a wide-open affair as usual.
World Snooker Championship
Snooker, 16 April to 2 May
Scout verdict: Defending champion Mark Selby continues to be underrated. He’s now a four-time winner of this event and the iconic Crucible Theatre brings out the best in him but he’s never got the credit he truly deserves. However, he has been out of form and has recently opened up about issues away from the green baize, so the alternative suggestion is former champion Neil Robertson, who has roared back to his very best form in recent months, winning the English Open and the Masters. He can reign victorious in Sheffield again.
Wimbledon
Tennis, 27 June to 10 July
Scout verdict: The biggest danger to Novak Djokovic might be his battle to get on to Centre Court, rather than who faces him on it. His recent deportation from Australia has cast doubt on his participation at other major events, but provided he does line up at SW19 in the summer, he is unquestionably the man to beat as he chases down a record-equalling 21st Grand Slam.
The Open
Golf, 14-17 July
Scout verdict: It’s fairly safe to say this is the most competitive event of UltimateGuru 2022. The betting market would also agree, with the current favourite (Jon Rahm) trading at 9/1. He’s respected, as are superstars Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and plenty more. But there’s a tantalising urge to side with ‘The Field’ for this event, which will provide any backers with no less than 137 golfers to cheer on. On numerical grounds alone, that feels like the right call – but any of the big guns are more than capable of lifting the Claret Jug.
T20 World Cup
Cricket, 16 October to 13 November
Scout verdict: It’s tight at the top of the market for the T20 World Cup, with India, Australia and England (in that order) vying for favouritism. But this is a tournament where literally anything could happen in an instant, and it may be worth looking for value outside of the front three. New Zealand are tempting, having reached last year’s final, while Pakistan are exciting but perhaps not trustworthy enough, so the selection is South Africa. Ranked fifth in the world for this format and unlucky to be eliminated in last year’s renewal (having won four of their five games), they have a nicely balanced squad and can go far.
Good luck if you decide to enter UltimateGuru 2022. You can download the app and get involved now.
Each entry into UltimateGuru 2022 costs £10. Entry into UltimateGuru 2022 gives you a free entry into the £1m prize promotion. The game is limited to 35,000 entries. You can enter a maximum of 30 times. Entrants must be aged 18 or over to play, and be based in the UK. See pickguru.app/terms-conditions/ug22 for full terms and conditions.
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