​When Major League Baseball fans think of cursed clubs, the Boston Red Sox, who did not claim a title from 1918 to 2004, leap to mind. But it is the Chicago Cubs that are truly the sport’s star-crossed team: they last won it all in 1908, and haven’t even reached the World Series since 1945. With the game’s annual playoffs having begun this week, their long wait may soon be over. A roster assembled by Theo Epstein—the same general manager who built the team that ended Boston’s drought—has delivered the Cubs’ best regular-season result in 81 years. Bookmakers have them as clear favourites, with nearly a 30% chance of victory. But the second-likeliest champion, at 17%, is none other than the Red Sox. A World Series between one club hoping to overcome a lengthy hex, and another that recently succeeded in doing so, could be the most-watched in a generation.