Dozen Trivia Tournament Begins

The time has finally come... it’s the Dozen Trivia League’s 5th Championship Tournament, and this year brings a new twist: double elimination. Yes, you heard that right, it’s going to be a double elimination format for the eight teams vying to get to Boston and the Final Four on June 26th.

Is it finally the flagship organization's year? Yes, I’m talking about The Experts. Or will we see our first two-time or even defending champions, as Uptown Balls, Ziti, and Minihane all look for their second banner? Then we have some well-known fan favorites in the Frankettes, Booze Ponies, The Ryders, and lastly, The Yak. Eight teams, all with the same goal, to be the last one standing.

Tuesday kicks off the madness with our four first-round matchups. Over the next three days, we’ll get the treat of multiple live trivia showdowns, something you won't want to miss. Teams will experience a scramble of emotions, and with the two-loss-and-you're-out model, the drama will be at a boiling point.

The Ryders are looking for the early shocker, hoping to sneak up on The Experts. In this one, like a March Madness 1 vs. 16 matchup... all the pressure is on The Experts, led by MVP Brandon Walker. He got his coveted in-season trophy, and now he'll look to lead his team to the promised land, as past MVP winners have done. But look out for Kelly Keegs to get hot and potentially make this one interesting. The Experts come in on an all-time hot streak, so the expectation is this could be over before the niche round.

Match of the day? Quite possibly the 3 vs. 6: Minihane vs. Frankettes. These two squads know how to put up points, this could be a shootout. The Frankettes will need a focused Frank the Tank if they want to move forward. Meanwhile, Minihane needs Chris Klemmer, yes, you read that right, to step up. He must score points and snag any sports-category steals. I'm predicting this will be must-see trivia.

Speaking of must-see, the two late matches are also heavy hitters. The Booze Ponies look to avoid an upset against Uptown Balls, a team that feels like they’ve been forgotten. With the Ponies, you never know what you’ll get, they could run the table or be 0-2 and the first team out. They are the definition of unpredictable.

The late match, Jeff D. Lowe’s version of Pac-12 After Dark, features the bad boys of trivia, The Yak, taking on the boss man Dave and Ziti. The big question is: how will these squads fare in the late slot? There aren’t any young bucks on these teams, but either way, we know we’ll get some damn good trivia.

It’s going to be a wild ride into Boston. For this blogger, who will be in Boston, my dream Final Four would be The Experts, The Yak, Frankettes, and Booze Ponies. That would pack the most content, in my opinion, with big storylines and heavy hitters. That’s the dream. But realistically, my prediction is: Experts, Ziti, Frankettes, and Uptown Balls, still one hell of a four. Really, any combination of Final Four teams will be a treat to see.

So sit back and enjoy some good trivia over the next couple of weeks, because we are ready for some Dozen Trivia madness.