Just as college basketball crowned its king with the Michigan Wolverines defeating the UConn Huskies on Monday night, our elimination challenge has also determined a winner. Congratulations to entry 2 Shining Moments for outlasting the 122 other entries to stand atop the mountain.
2 Shining Moments cruised through the first day with Michigan State demolishing North Dakota State, but the entry got a scare on Friday as Virginia was in a dog fight with Wright State before a 2nd half comeback. In the Round
of 32, the entry burned eventual Final Four team Illinois followed by correctly taking a hobbled Iowa State squad that would go on to evaporate much of the entry competition with its loss in the Sweet 16. During the second week, 2 Shining Moments hit the jackpot by selecting Purdue and Duke to win in the Sweet 16 before those squads went on to lose in the Elite Eight, clearing the path for the entry to survive if the results fell just right. With both UConn & Michigan available to them as Final Four selections and both teams winning, 2 Shining Moments was one of just two entries to survive through the Final Four, the other contender being Professor Timmy. With both finalist entries having eventual champion Michigan available into Monday’s finale, having nothing to separate the entries, the crown would be determined via the tiebreaker system. Here 2 Shining Moments correctly projected a lower scoring output during the Final Four, as the first tiebreaker was Total Points Scored: Arizona + UConn, which totaled 144. 2 Shining Moments projected 149 while Professor Timmy went with 163. With its projection closer to that tiebreaker number, 2 Shining Moments earned bragging rights as the winner of the 2026 Frogs O’ War Survivor Pool. Congrats!
You can look back at how all the entries performed here: FOW 2026 NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool. We look forward to seeing you all next year!
