What started as two small football prediction leagues is getting a major expansion before the first picks are submitted.
Shop in Seagoville originally planned to select 10 contestants for its Pro Football Pick’Em League and another 10 for its High School Football Pick’Em League. Strong early interest has changed those plans.
A total of 36 applications have already been received — 21 for the professional football competition and 15 for the high school contest — prompting Shop in Seagoville to eliminate the 10-player limits and open both leagues to an unlimited number of contestants.
The contests are also getting new names and a revised format built around a simple challenge: Can contestants outpick Shop in Seagoville owner Merv Moore?
Pro League Becomes “Beat the Coach”
The Pro Football Pick’Em League will become Beat the Coach, with Moore serving as the “Coach” contestants will try to beat throughout the season.
Each week, contestants will make selections on 10 featured Sunday professional football games.
Unlike traditional football pools that require participants to predict whether teams will cover a point spread, Beat the Coach will use straight-up selections. Contestants simply choose which team they believe will win each game.
Each correct selection is worth one point, meaning a perfect 10-for-10 week would produce 10 points.
Moore brings considerable sports-prediction experience to the competition. He has taken home top prizes in several MLB and NFL tournaments on DraftKings, giving contestants an experienced opponent to measure their weekly selections against.
The simplified scoring system makes the competition accessible to casual football followers while still rewarding contestants who can consistently identify winners throughout the season.
High School Competition Becomes “Beat the Editor”
The High School Football Pick’Em League will be renamed Beat the Editor, with Moore filling the role of the “Editor.”
Contestants will predict the winners of 10 featured high school football games played primarily on Thursday and Friday nights.
Moore’s background covering high school football stretches across several regions of Texas. His experience includes covering football in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex as well as East Texas, where he covered the Crockett Bulldogs and Grapeland Sandies, and West Texas, where he covered the Dumas Demons.
That experience will now become part of the weekly challenge as contestants attempt to finish with more correct selections than the Shop in Seagoville editor.
Like Beat the Coach, every Beat the Editor selection will be straight up. There will be no point spreads.
One correct winner equals one point, regardless of whether the team wins by one point or 40.
36 Applications Change the Original Plan
When Shop in Seagoville announced the two leagues July 31, each competition was designed around a field of only 10 contestants.
The response quickly exceeded those expectations.
The 21 applications for the professional contest were already more than double the number of available positions, while the 15 high school applications also exceeded the original limit.
Rather than turning interested football fans away, Shop in Seagoville decided to eliminate the contestant caps.
The expanded concept takes inspiration from large-scale “beat the expert” football competitions such as Beat the Geek, giving a much larger field of contestants an opportunity to test their football knowledge over the course of a season.
Shop in Seagoville’s competitions will differ by keeping the picks simple: choose the winner of each featured game.
Weekly Leaderboards Will Track the Race
A weekly leaderboard will show how contestants performed on each 10-game slate and how they compare with Moore’s selections.
Season standings will track cumulative correct picks, creating championship races that could change significantly from one week to the next.
The format rewards consistency. A strong week can move a contestant quickly up the standings, but winning a championship will require successful selections throughout the season.
The weekly results will also answer two additional questions: Who can “Beat the Coach” on Sundays, and who can “Beat the Editor” under the Thursday and Friday night lights?
Sponsors Will Provide Championship Prizes
Both competitions will conclude with a league champion and runner-up.
Prizes for the top two finishers will be provided by the respective league sponsors.
The expansion from 20 planned contestants to an unlimited field gives more local football fans an opportunity to compete while creating two season-long races readers can follow through the weekly Shop in Seagoville leaderboards.
