So, How's Your 2025 Shortlist Looking?

[Banana 880]

Just stumbled across a name from earlier this year that has nearly 0 mentions on the forums that is a sure-fire obit. Terminally ill, seems to be in fairly rough condition, but not necessarily a guarantee for this year. Can't possibly believe I'm of very few people to notice, but I guess we'll see.

[Sly Ronnie 949]

On 14/12/2024 at 21:38, Sod's Law said:

First time playing this year, and this year has been so uneventful for me that I lost track of half of the deadpools I'm entered in and who I selected last year. Going to try again this year but it's harder than I expected.

 

It would be nice if the local boy won the Derby Dead Pool!

[Sod's Law 492]

4 hours ago, Sly Ronnie said:

 

It would be nice if the local boy won the Derby Dead Pool!

Not exactly getting my hopes up as I haven't done that well this year. I used to be run a dead pool in my office before the pandemic but all of my selections had an inconvenient habit of dying the very year after I dropped them from my list. 

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,450]

Not short enough!

[livingbygrace 532]

Being this is my first year in DDP, I made it fairly easy and my teams will probably be seen as rookie list for sure.  Main Team is just a group of 20 people that I had on my long list for Shadow List that I was unable to fit. Then I made two Theme Teams.. we shall see I have not gotten any E-Mail back saying anything was wrong with my teams yet, so I at least might be lucky there. I had a Theme in mind, but I only could get up to 17 people that I thought would be  deathlisty enough.. Others that would have qualified are too young

[ladyfiona 2,736]

I've kept one person on my shortlist quiet so that not many put him in a list. He's doing the podcast rounds at the moment.

[gcreptile 11,305]

I think I've reached the point of diminishing returns in my 'research'. So I don't know what I will do while I'm spending Christmas at my mother's place and the two long train rides.

I'm happy with what I've got, roughly 25 main team names, of which 2-3 might still die in 2024, as they always do. There's a good B-team as well, and it also has about 25 names (of course, it's mostly the already submitted Death By Numbers team plus about 5 names I've found in the last week). Both teams should be doing much better than this year.

For the first time since 2016, I might not submit a 3rd team - except for a groan-worthy idea I have. But I've got to focus this time on the two teams.

It seems to me that there is an unusual breadth of names this time. I could see teams approaching this year with a whole different slate of names - and still being competetive. I doubt there'll be a lot of successful 11-15 point names (meaning Drop40, but there will be lots of unique picks!). That means that a DeathList/Drop40 adjacent team (a team successfully picking names such as Joanne Woodward or Dick Van Dyke) has as much chance of winning as a team with a lot of 'cult' picks - if these even exist this time.

 

[JQW 293]

I've just realised that three members of my shortlist have something in common. I may put them on a theme team devoted to this connection instead, then, but I'm not certain if there's enough people left to make a full team of 20. Better get researching, as there's a few members I can't name.

[JQW 293]

Well, after a brief look I can't quite make a list of 20 survivors, coming a few short, although there's a few connected obscure people who may still be around whose status I can't ascertain. But as they certainly won't receive a suitable qualifying obit, there's no point me listing them. And that's assuming one of the picks makes it to 2025, as they looked awful in the latest photo of them that I've seen.

[The Old Crem 3,704]

I have a shortlist which is mainly my survivors bar a couple of drops and then all the terminally ill names I can think off and maybe 1 or 2 people I want to put on the DDP 

[Sean 6,563]

Submitted my entry on Christmas Eve.

 

There were a lot of names I wanted to add but as per the last few years I was careful not to add too many over 80s even ones that will make The Drop 40.It feels a shame as there are several Octogenarians and Nonogenarians I wanted to include but there where just a lot of strong younger names who are think would be more competitive picks.

 

Predicting the Drop 40 is I think more tricky this year.Can see a few names dropping off from this year and won't be o n the 2025 drop 40

 

My theme teams I am feeling ok about but the main team I think will be better than this year but still disappointing despite a lot of potential.I reckon I could get 8 _10 hits and that most of my names will make the Drop 40 including my subs.I have a feeling I might see 2 or maybe even 3 of my Subs making the main team as  there are a few main team noms that could well do a Pope Benedict or Betty White.

 

There were a few older names I just couldn't Drop or omit but I think having a mix of ages isn't a barrier to doing well analysing this year's and previous years results.

[Spade_Cooley 9,690]

I'll say one thing: I've never seen a year when so many names I noted down as "yeah, they're probably dying in 202x" on the long list do interviews in November saying "I'm fine, my health's good, don't worry about me."

[Banana 880]

The biggest thing I've noticed just from looking back through the last few years is that it really does seem like cancer screening and treatment has definitely improved in the last 5ish years. It really doesn't seem like the amount of cases has changed, but the amount of people recovering from and enduring these cancers seems to have improved.

[gcreptile 11,305]

Agreed. I kind of think that Spade's record score in 2022 was partly the "Covid" effect, i.e. people not going to the doctor for a while in 2020 and 2021. But the medical progress is there and was visible in the scores in 2023 and 2024. For deadpooling purposes I think it's very much preferable to focus on those who have already had treatment for quite some time. Finding new names might not be as potent anymore, but following up on them. Personally, I have even started to -mostly- ignore people with early stage cancers, especially breast/prostate/lymphoma and so on...you can't do it all.