Spoliers WARNING: Dozen Weekly Recap

CoachDay
Feb 18
3 min read

After the opening live tournament in New Orleans, The Dozen Trivia kicked off the rest of the regular season with three action-packed matches. So let's take a closer look at these games, see if we got any surprises, and what each team needs to do moving forward.

Okay, we’re going to begin with the first matchup of the week...Chicago took on Uptown Balls. This was back and forth for most of the match until late, when rookie Hannah Montoya, with her insanely smart niche of Art History, took over the game for good, securing an Uptown Balls win. Montoya was clearly nervous early on, even giving away one answer to Chicago, but she settled in, and her niche could be very deadly...perhaps only KB’s Wikipedia voodoo powers could steal from her if she ever misses. Uptown Balls looked the part and will only get stronger as they play together more. Hannah will get more comfortable, and with Tommy & Glenny already being top 10 players in the league, they are in a great spot early on.

Now, onto Chicago. This team is continuing to search for consistency, and this match was basically their entire Dozen careers wrapped up in one. They went blow-for-blow with Balls early, but late miscues dashed their hopes for a momentous upset. Kenjac is a lethal addition, and once this team figures each other out and builds trust, I think they can be a team that makes some noise or pushes for the playoffs late in the season. However, for that to happen, Kenjac will need to be a 9-10 point player.

Our next match was considered by many Ryders to be the match of the week. The new squad, featuring an old champ in Rico Bosco, was taking on his former captain in Team Minihane. Minihane was thought to be the most reloaded squad in The Dozen, with baseball genius—former Monkey Boy(you gotta watch the doc!)—Chris Klemmer and former champion Robbie Fox. Unfortunately, it was not their night at all. The Ryders look sneaky good, boys! This combo of KFC’s random knowledge, Kelly’s pop culture expertise, with Rico’s wild brain of Nate Oats trivia and more might just be a potential Cinderella story. Of course, it’s so early, but this was a huge surprise for many, as Minihane was left in the dust. So the question now is...are the former monkey or champion already on Kirk’s chopping block? Time will tell.

Our Sunday night clash introduced us to another new squad...one that some had high hopes for. Mostly Trivia, led by Mark Titus and featuring youngsters TJ & EBO, was thought to have Frank & The Frankettes (many believed to be a broken team after last year’s early exit) on upset alert. But boy, did they prove they are still an elite team with impeccable chemistry, as Frank & KB were on fire! This was a drubbing from start to finish.

Titus was visibly distraught, especially after his supposed ally, B-Walker, ignored a Phone-a-Friend, but this team should recover. Still there’s just too much talent here. I think they simply ran into a Frankettes squad that is out to prove they are still a force to be reckoned with. Mostly Trivia will figure it out and could be a team to watch as a lower seed in the playoffs...this was just a buzzsaw of a first matchup. Meanwhile, whoa! Many had written the Frankettes off, placing them behind the likes of Ziti, Experts, Booze Ponies, and Balls, but they are here and ready to make a run in 2025.

What a first week of games, and Week 3’s schedule looks just as fun! The Road to Boston is underway, and the fight will be closer than ever in The Dozen Trivia!