The road to age 46 hasn’t always been easy for Florida native Brian Childress, who survived a brush with skin cancer before suffering a back injury in a car accident, leading to multiple surgeries on his spine over a span of six years. But his birthday this year brought some extra special news, as Childress learned he had won the $100,000 grand prize in the 2020 MLB Postseason Bracket Challenge presented by betMGM.

In a bracket submitted before the start of the postseason, per the terms of the contest, Childress correctly picked the winner of every playoff series and predicted the Dodgers would defeat the Rays in six games in the World Series. He also nearly nailed the first tiebreaker question, which asked participants to predict how many total home runs would be hit throughout the postseason. Childress came within 22 of hitting the total exactly, while the next closest person was 32 off.

“I knew I had picked a perfect bracket because I watched the postseason,” said Childress, an avid Marlins fan who turned 46 on Nov. 8. “So I knew my bracket was good. But I was thinking there was no way I’d get the [tiebreaker] questions. I would be the first to tell you it was a lucky guess. It still hasn’t sunk in really.”

Childress was diagnosed with melanoma in 2004, when he had a cancerous mole removed from his left thigh. The cancer subsequently spread to his lymph nodes in his left leg, and he underwent surgery to have them removed as well. Unable to drive for some time following that procedure, Childress was riding as a passenger in a friend’s car when it was struck by another vehicle, causing two herniated discs in his back.

After going through physical therapy, Childress returned to work but re-injured his back while on a construction job in North Carolina and had his first spinal fusion surgery in 2011. Within six months, he needed to undergo another after the screws inserted in his spine came loose. He underwent back surgery again in 2016. Childress is able to walk, but said he deals with chronic pain.

“Some days are better than others,” Childress said. “The last few days have been pretty good after [winning the Bracket Challenge], you know? It was definitely an uplifter. And the crazy thing is [I found out] on my birthday. So it was pretty cool. I’m doing OK. This is definitely going to help. I’m into music production, so I’m going to rebuild my studio and get to banging on the music.”

Now residing in Winter Park, Fla., a suburb of Orlando, Childress said he’s been a fan of the Marlins “since Day 1” and has fond memories of attending games with friends and family, going back to when the team played at Joe Robbie Stadium. Before that, he closely followed the Braves, as he was able to watch their games on TBS.

Childress correctly chose the Marlins to defeat the Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series, but stopped short of picking them to take down Atlanta in the NL Division Series.

“As much as I’d have liked to see [the Marlins advance], I just knew,” Childress said. “I knew the Braves had their number for one thing. I hated to pick against them, but with $100,000 on the line I’m going to pick who I gotta pick.”