12-Year-Old Finishes 1st out of 11.57 Million in ESPN's Bracket Challenge

Twelve-year-old Sam Holtz did not watch much, if any, college basketball this season, but he finished tied for first out of 11.57 million entries in ESPN's Tournament Challenge.

Update from Wednesday, April 8

According to the Pioneer Press' John P. Borneman, via the Chicago Tribune, ESPN has told Holtz that he is not eligible to be included in the drawing for the grand prize of a $20,000 gift card and a trip to the 2015 Maui Invitational.

However, Borneman also reported that ESPN's SportsCenter is offering to let the sixth-grader anchor the show for an episode if he can make it up to Bristol, Connecticut.

--End of update--

Update from Friday, April 10

Since Holtz wasn't able to collect his prize, Best Buy hooked him up with a $1,000 gift card. He bought two Xbox Ones, one for himself and another to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with the gift card.

--End of update--

Go figure.

Holtz tied with one other person for the top spot but won the tiebreaker. How did he manage to do that without following the regular season? He just picked the teams he liked.

Whether it was luck or skill, nobody can deny the youngster of his moment. 

Those who finished in the top 1 percent of the Tournament Challenge will be entered in a drawing for the grand prize, which is a $20,000 gift card and a trip to the 2015 Maui Invitational. Unfortunately for Holtz, the rules also say entrants must be at least 18 years old to be eligible.

Even if Holtz does not win the grand prize, he should be incredibly proud of what he accomplished.

[WGN, UPI]