And then there were four.
The Circa Survivor contest saw six participants eliminated in the NFL's Week 16 when the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve, according to Circa Sports.
The remaining four contestants were able to get through the first part of Week 16 when two selected the Chicago Bears, one took the Los Angeles Rams, and one backed the Green Bay Packers.
The final four – CIRCA MASTER-2, Indiana Jet-4, JAX JAGS-1, and LAJONESER-4, were then forced to make a Christmas Day pick to advance to the NFL's Week 17.
All four only had the Philadelphia Eagles available among Monday’s favorites, and they each sweated out a 33-25 win over the New York Giants.
The remaining contestants are battling for the winner-take-all prize of $9.267 million, the largest handicapping contest payout ever, and the average implied value per pick is now more than $2.3 million.
The contest has ended with multiple entries remaining in each of the last three years.
#CircaSurvivor 2023 🏈🏆
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) December 25, 2023
Week 16b (Christmas Day) Selections
📄 Complete selections: https://t.co/bLiP26SDRZ pic.twitter.com/LngmgWv0Pa
Who’s left?
Each contestant in the contest must pick one team to win to survive to the next week. Circa added separate selections on Thanksgiving and Christmas to reach 20 picks. An NFL team can only be used once. Eleven teams are unavailable to be picked this week.
The remaining entries have a tough decision among the Week 17 favorites. All four have the Broncos, a field-goal favorite, available, but Denver is sitting starting quarterback Russell Wilson this week. The Indianapolis Colts, favored over the Las Vegas Raiders, are also available for all to select.
The Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans are an option among favorites for three contestants while the Chicago Bears are available for two and the Cleveland Browns for one.
Week 16b #CircaSurvivor Results
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) December 26, 2023
✅ 4 of 9,267 total entries survive to Week 17 (4 Eagles)
🤑 Winner-Take-All Prize: $9,267,000
Avg Implied Value Per Entry: $2,316,750
📄 Week 17 Availability: https://t.co/hdQYIj42oH pic.twitter.com/ygd38H8rj1
No-chop contestant eliminated
There are two weeks left in Circa Survivor, which will be remembered for public controversy that made national news.
Professional bettor Sean Perry was reportedly the lone contestant to refuse to chop the $9 million pot when it got down to 13 entries remaining. Perry, the self-proclaimed “best bettor in the world” said he didn’t need to share the wealth as he was going to win the whole thing anyway.
However, Perry was one of the 10 contestants eliminated last Sunday after picking the Broncos.
