World Cup winners worthy of title

As the 2022 World Cup is underway in Qatar, we’ll no doubt see yet again that the top teams in the world always seem to make it through to the final.

That’s only right, you might say, and in most major sports, the cream always rises to the top. But as we’ll see, one popular game’s world championship can throw up random winners.

Football favours the great

The football World Cup is known for having a habit of opening the door for the best teams to win it. It works by ranking all the teams to help determine groups. And by now, you’ve probably seen that they are rarely evenly matched during the group stages of these tournaments. Look at the 2022 World Cup and see how England, the USA, Wales and Iran paved the way for the top team to make the knockout stages.

There have been numerous ranking systems for the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, with the latest being updated in 2018. It works by using a point-based system based on game results, with the most successful teams being ranked the highest.

Over the years, there have been different calculation methods, such as bonus points for away matches, regional strengths and weaknesses and multiplying factors for various competitions. This was part of the 1992 - 1998 method, which was then updated from 1999 to 2006.

New changes included the number of goals scored, and home or away matches, but this changed for 2006 to 2018 and then again to the most recent one. However, despite all the changes in each method, it was always top teams heading the rankings - and these were (and still are) the ones we see in the major tournaments.

At the World Cup, it means easier groups for the best teams, who then go on to qualify for the knockout stage, mostly with a clearer pathway to the final.

Top countries generally win the World Cup. There has not really been an upset since Uruguay beat Argentina in the first World Cup back in 1930!

Rugby and cricket rankings

Both men’s and women’s World Rugby rankings are also worked out using a points exchange system. These are based on the match result, how much a team won, and whether there’s a home advantage.

During the World Cup Finals, these points are doubled - supposedly to recognise the importance of the match. But when the big teams are in these competitions, all they’re doing is getting more points.

Cricket is another sport that utilises a ranking system to determine the sport’s top teams. It’s known as the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings, and after every one-day international (ODI) match, the two teams will get points. These points are based on a formula, and then the total points are divided by the total number of matches they have played. This then gives them their ranking.

There are lots of ‘equations’ and ‘formulas’ thrown around to imply there is some sort of sense and method to it all. But as we see time and time again, it’s always the top teams that make it into the finals. The top teams are getting there because of their victories, but the ranking system helps cement this.

But what about a game where players and teams aren’t favoured? One that relies on skill and luck. That’s where the World Series of Poker offers up something truly deserving of a World Cup Final.

Taking the chance on poker

In the World Series of Poker (WSOP), up to 8,000 players can enter the Main Event, which is considered the “World Cup” of poker. From the most amateur to the highly professional, it could spell the end of the game for any player just by getting one unlucky hand.

That’s why the best names in the game no longer tend to win the WSOP Main Event - you have to be incredibly lucky to remain standing as the winner. Poker is a great leveller - anyone can learn the rules of Texas Hold’em and enter the World Series main event.

Who knows how great you will become if you’ve got the time and skills to learn how to play poker. People try their hand at the game just as a hobby and go on to become world champion.

Once you’ve learned how to play it, all you need is to find the right place to practice. Do that, and then you can enter tournaments to really test your skills. The best thing about this is that it doesn’t rely on a ranking system for you to enter. Sign up for a tournament like the World Series and play your way through. Who knows, you could end up as the next poker champion.