Bulldogz Team
3 min
Updated: Dec 22, 2022
It is business time! The Christmas Film showdown has reached the last 8 competitors as we are now down to a solitary match per day until the grand final on Christmas Eve. The field has been whittled down to mostly familiar faces, but we have some unlikely contenders hanging in there!
There is actually only one match that we have seen before in Christmas Film World Cup history, otherwise we have three new head to head contests to savour. The top ranking three films are all still in the hunt and with two former champions facing off in the last match of the round we could see another all champion clash in the semi finals. Fourth ranked Love Actually has been eliminated by the upstart Last Christmas, having an extraordinary debut tournament and fifth, sixth and seventh ranked are all present. With all the best will in the world it is unlikely that The Holiday and Last Christmas are going to break through the closed shop. Previous semi final line ups looked like this:
An upset will be needed to see a new semi finalist this year!
TODAY'S MATCH:
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Solstice quarter final...
Quarter Final 4 - 21st December
Scrooged* v It's A Wonderful Life*
An astonishingly tight result sends the last classic in the competition home, leaving a foursome of top ranking films facing off in the semi finals
This is another first in Christmas Film World Cup history as these two, the second and third ranked films not only face off for the first time but it is also the first time two former champions have met each other. This will be an epic way to conclude the quarter final slate and will ensure at least one former champion will be in the semi final line up, high stakes indeed.
Difficult to call, one of the universally recognised epic Christmas tales against a fabulous reimagining of one of the ultimate Christmas tales. Scrooged should take this by a whisker!
The earlier matches:
Quarter Final 1 - 18th December
The Holiday is over. The taxi awaits and the suitcase is packed. Home Alone has overcome the challenge and is once step close to the ultimate prize!
Quarter Final 2 - 19th December
In a quite extraordinary turn of events, the quarter final has gone to midnight without a clear winner. Elf garnered considerable support on the web page poll while Gremlins won by the same % margin on the twitter poll. The voting numbers on twitter are very low indeed, but weighting is equal, meaning that for the first time in Christmas Film World Cup history a match is going to penalties. They resulted in a dramatic win for Elf.
This is going to be a tight affair, two wildly varying styles but similar records. Gremlins are in familiar territory but have only progressed to the last four once. Elf has reached the semi final twice but was dumped out of the running at the Last 16 last time out. Will Ferrell fans are in determined mood this year. This is a tough one to call.
Little to split these two, but the sensible money has been backing Elf consistently, so there are no changes in that respect. Expectations are for Elf to triumph and see a rerun of the 2014 Quarter Final against Home Alone
Quarter Final 3 - 20th December
A bridge too far for the newcomer and despite a valiant effort the mighty Die Hard is still enormously popular. The performance of Last Christmas will be bringing enough ranking points for an appearance in 2026. Until then, the fairy-tale is at the end and McClane marches on.
An unknown quantity here. Last Christmas is on a high having dumped out Love Actually and effectively are on a free hit for the semi finals against Die "Brazil" Hard. Bruce and Alan have never not made the final, and are defending their crown, can the Mother of Dragons and her heart warming tale march on?
There is so much that says an upset could happen here, but Die Hard has probably got the support to see them through.