Congratulations Drop Kick Data for winning the Squiggle Overall Comp in 2026 with 163 correct tips. This is the same number as runner-up Holy Grail Ratings, but here at Squiggle we tie-break on Bits, and Grail is very conservative, always happy to call a contest a 50/50 toss-up, which means it doesn’t get penalised much for bad tips, but doesn’t get rewarded much for good ones. Drop Kick Data won by backing itself in.
Of course, Tips is the crowd-pleaser award; what the very serious models care about is MAE and Bits, where it’s harder to fluke a lucky year (or be cruelled by an unlucky one). Here, wouldn’t you know it, it’s Wheelo Ratings again! That makes it back-to-back MAE victories for Wheelo, to go with a third-place finish in 2024. A heck of a track record. Our MAE runner-up (and the only other model to beat the hive mind’s collective wisdom in s10) is AFLalytics.
On Bits — not as luck-based as Tips, not as boring as MAE — our 2026 champion is Don’t Blame the Data, with the venerable Matter of Stats runner-up. This is the same 1-2 as last year’s Overall Comp… which is enough to make you think there’s not that much luck involved in Tips after all.
Thank you to all 28 models who competed in the Squiggle comp this year!