Jump Trading Launches World Cup Forecasting Competition to Identify Quantitative Talent
Jump Trading, a major quantitative trading firm, has launched a global forecasting competition centered on predicting 2026 FIFA World Cup match outcomes to identify new talent outside traditional finance backgrounds. The competition, called Jump Probability Cup, will award selected participants paid fellowships and positions at the firm's Chicago headquarters, using professional probability scoring methods rather than wagering. The initiative reflects a broader trend among trading firms to expand recruitment beyond conventional channels and capitalize on growing interest in prediction markets.
Jump Trading announced the Jump Probability Cup, a global soccer forecasting competition inviting participants to predict 2026 FIFA World Cup outcomes as part of a talent-identification strategy. Winners will receive paid prediction markets fellowships and opportunities to work alongside the firm's research, trading, and technology teams at its Chicago headquarters. The competition, hosted on the third-party platform SportsPredict, will use weighted Brier scores—a methodology employed in professional probability research—to evaluate participants' forecasting accuracy and decision-making under uncertainty, with no wagering involved. This approach mirrors strategies used by peer firms like Jane Street, which have long employed mathematical puzzles, datathons, and game-based challenges to recruit from non-traditional backgrounds. Jump Trading, founded in 1999 and employing over 2,000 staff across eight countries, is positioning itself to benefit from surging interest in prediction markets, particularly following the 2024 U.S. presidential election and ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
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Jump Trading turns to World Cup forecasting in search of new talent
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