Predicting success: ESPN Streak’s first two-time champ shares winning secrets
(Photo courtesy of Brandon Van Hoesen)
Following last month’s launch of the new Streak game on the ESPN Fantasy App and ESPN.com, ESPN saw a big jump in the number of fans playing Streak with more than 10 million picks made in June.
One of those Streak players is Brandon Van Hoesen, a financial analyst from South Windsor, Conn., who built the month’s longest streak streak at 29 correct picks to win a $25,000 prize. In fact, Van Hoesen is the first two-time Longest Streak winner, having also won in October 2016.
Streak gives fans a chance to win prizes and compete against friends and ESPN personalities by predicting the outcome of sports games and events around the world every day.
Brandon Van Hoesen has had streaks of 40 [in October 2016] and 29 consecutive wins [in June 2017] playing ESPN Streak. What are his secrets to success?
- “I always like to look up the odds. As my streak gets longer, I wait for better and better odds to make a pick.”
- “My best advice is to do your research, be patient and don’t get greedy.”
Each month, Streak awards a total of up to $35,000 in prizes, including $25,000 for the longest streak, and $5,000 for the most total wins.
Van Hoesen discusses his Streak skills and success with Front Row.
How long have you been playing Streak?
I played it for a couple of years around 2010, when it was named Streak for the Cash. I took a long break, then started playing again in April 2016.
How does it feel to be the first two-time Longest Streak winner?
I’m very fortunate. It’s cool to be the only one ever to have done it.
– Brandon Van Hoesen on his ESPN Streak titles
Was there some similarity with your two winning streaks or were they different?
The one last year was more about catching the leaders all month, as I didn’t catch them until the final day at 40, then I lost on tennis, and I had to root against several others to lose later that day to win a tiebreaker. In June, I lost relatively early, around the 19th of the month, at 29. But I had a good-sized lead at that point and had to hold on for 12 days. Eventually, everyone was eliminated the last day of the month. Both wins were similar because they came down to the last day and also because my girlfriend was really sick of me looking at updates on my phone or computer all the time.
What was the key pick for you in June? What were you thinking when you made that pick?
The key pick was picking Texas A&M in the College World Series to get my streak to 20. The game went 15 innings, and it was a stressful couple of hours. I was refreshing every couple of minutes once it went to extra innings, and I was thinking I’m never sending my kids to Texas A&M if they lose.
My streak breaker and only loss in June happened when [tennis star] Nick Kyrgios got hurt and withdrew in the first round [of the Aegon Championships, played two weeks before Wimbledon].
