After a couple of weeks into the 2013 Tournament of Champions, we can take a moment to reflect back on some of the events that have occurred thus far.
This will be the last round of the Tournament where I advance the winners to the next round. For the Enduring 8, Famed 4, and the Championship, each winner will advance through trivia games -- which may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how well you can play the games. The reason for this later-round twist: it takes the decision-making, by and large, out of my hands and places it in the gentle and fair hands of destiny; the same gentle and fair hands that will eventually crown the 2013 Champion of Champions!!
By this stage of the Tournament, it should be evident that everyone -- from the 64th person in, to the final 16 below -- here are Good People. While some come from different walks of life, different regions, and even hailing from different countries, the common bond that everyone here has is that they are Good People who I respect, admire, and think highly of. Therefore, I will keep this short as what more can I say that hasn't already been said in the past few rounds? That said, let us get to the Smooth 16 contests....
1) Tara Walsh vs. 4) Calley CalBrow Ekberg
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Tara has had a comparatively difficult journey through the 2013 Tournament thus far. First, she faced 16) Cadence Powers, who she got by; then had a showdown with 8) Kaeleen Hylton; and now, she is faced with a relatively fresh 4) Calley CalBrow Ekberg. Speaking of which, Calley's road to the Smooth 16 was a bit less eventful. She put down 13) Mary Catey (who I don't think ever knew what was going on, or at least didn't inquire too much about it) quite easily, before going up against 12) Megan Craine-Parrott. While Megan was a bit more active and intrigued/interested in the Tournament than Mary Catey was, it was still not a terribly difficult contest for Calley because, as stated, while I enjoy conversing and interacting with Megan on Facebook, I don't think I have ever actually spoken to her -- and so Calley held the advantage. And, in the interests of keeping this Tournament fresh and ripe for small upsets, I'll advance Calley to the Enduring 8.
2) Amanda Roo Davis vs. 11) Natalie Burtner
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Roo's journey through the Tournament thus far has included victories over 15) Renee Espinosa in the opening round, as well as 7) Mary-Elizabeth Dodson in the second round. Meanwhile, Natalie has made an impressive run thus far in the Tournament, the underdog in all of her matches, and defeating 6) Tricia Weatherly-Troy in the opening round, before facing and advancing past the highly-favored, 3) Jennifer Jayhem Mattson, in the second round. And while Natalie has displayed the passion and heart of a champion, Amanda is one of my dearest and longest-termed friends and so I will advance Roo Davis to the Enduring 8.
8) Meredith Jaeger vs. 12) Carly Fuhrman-Rodriguez
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Meredith's road to the Smooth 16 came through a slew of powerhouses: 9) Alissa Allen in the first round, and, most notably, dethroning the two-time reigning champion, 1) Nicole Ison, in the second round. Meanwhile, Carly ousted veteran 5) Karen Darr in the opening round, before squashing 13) Ellen West's short-lived rebellion into the Tournament. However, seeing that Meredith did something that no one else had done before -- defeating Nicole Ison in the Tournament of Champions -- this is no time for her to run out of steam. Meredith will see the Enduring 8 on Monday evening, but Carly gave it a good go, and I expect further good things from her in the 2014 Tournament.
2) Kristen Dutra vs. 11) Kristin Johnson
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Kristen advanced to the Smooth 16 by way of dispatching 15) Janet McElligott in the opening round, and then winning the Niner Faithful Showdown against 10) Jessica Knister. Meanwhile, Kristin arrived in the Smooth 16 by way of an upset of 6) Dani Schwanz in the opening round, and then a bigger upset of 3) Jessica Hicks in the second round....despite pouring ketchup onto the wax paper with the tots (despite the presence of plates), thus making the wax paper no longer capable of transporting said leftover tots. Or, for historical references, turning the wax paper into JWB's hands: Useless. Useless. And, coincidentally, red-stained. All of that said, while Kristin pulled some upsets in the first couple of rounds in the Tournament, I'll be advancing Kristen to the Enduring 8 on Monday due, largely, to knowing her better.
So, there you have it for the women's side of things, with their four members of the Enduring 8 now selected. So, let us turn our attention to the male side of things...
4) Greggers Walsh vs. 9) Mike Walsh
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Greggers has, thus far, defied the odds. In most of my preliminary mock Tournaments that I performed prior to starting the official 2013 Tournament, I always had Greg being eliminated in the first round by El Tigre Jeffcoat (Christian name: Anthony Brownen). But, when the time came for the Tournament to begin, I gave the win to Greg instead. Then, again defying the odds, Greg rode that momentum into the second round and I advanced him past 5) Time Ace Griffin -- in what could have gone either way. Mike, similarly, has had an up-hill battle as well: drawing the slightly favored --by virtue of the slightly higher seed-- 8) Julian JDavis Davis, but advancing past him; and then facing Down Left 1-seeded, Pat Guamie Carayoan. But, Mike, also, defied the odds and now is in a Walsh-on-Walsh battle for the Smooth 16. And, just like how Mike is on his final ride as famed Director of Residence Life at the U, he will also continue his ride towards becoming the 2013 Champion of Champions, by advancing to the Enduring 8 to take place on Monday evening.
6) Chris Gammy Gamenthaler vs. 7) Aneel Arya
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Gammy charged his way into the Smooth 16 by vanquishing 11) Gig Morris (again), and then bettering 3) Michael Agosta in the second round. Meanwhile, Aneel had a disappointing 2012 Tournament of Champions run that ended in the second round and he vowed then and there that he would do whatever he could to better himself for the 2013 Tournament. Fast-forward a year and he went up 5 spots in seeding, defeated 10) Greg Arte in the opening round, and then a big upset of 2) Dana Troy in the second round; officially extending farther into the Tournament than he has ever before. And while Gammy has been kind enough to lend permission for the possibility of some of his beats (you can check out his and BDub's stuff -- "Technological Rap Machine" [aka TRM] -- on Maui'sWorld.com, official sponsor of the 2013 Tournament of Champions), I'm curious to see how well Aneel can fare in the trivia battles and so I'll advance Aneel to the Enduring 8 on Monday evening.
2) Andy Gorder vs. 11) Chris Burtner
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: As the 2-seed, Gorder has made the most of his Tournament thus far: eliminating 15) Pat Holcomb in the opening round, and then -- depending on who you ask *cough Benedetti cough* -- desecrating the Niner Nation by advancing past 10) Matt Knister in the second round. On the other side of this match-up, Tournament newcomer, Burtner, silenced the already-kind-of-silent 6) Greg Baron in the opening round, before pulling an upset on 3) Andrew BDub Fuchs in the second round. And while I would really like to see what Burtner could do in the trivia round, I am equally curious on if Gorder can replicate--NAY improve upon-- his Famed 4 finish of last year. Ergo, Gorder will advance to the Enduring 8.
On a side note: Burtner works for MillerCoors. Why is this important? In the grand scheme of things, it probably is not. However, it is worth mentioning the kind of weird connection that the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions has with MillerCoors. It may escape the passerby, but the opening round of the Tournament is called the MGD 64 (check the brackets if you don't believe me) to signify the 64 original members of the Tournament. Why MGD? Well, it was that or "Nintendo 64" -- the only two instances of "64" that I could think of quickly -- and Nintendo was too long for the small box. Therefore, the MGD 64 for the first round was born. Furthermore, while I don't always drink beer, when I do...I prefer Miller High Life. For whatever reason, it is the only beer that I genuinely enjoy. I may choke down other beers when my beloved bourbon isn't available, but the High Life is the only one that I truly enjoy. So, if you are like me -- funny, smart, dashing -- and are looking for a beer that is as smooth as you are, I recommend you live the good life, by drinking the High Life. And, if that doesn't suit you, MillerCoors is a family of beers ranging from Hamm's to Coors (obviously), Red Dog, Olde E, and Mickey's -- a little something for everyone. So, the next time you're in the mood for a beer, think of Chris Burtner and the MillerCoors family.
Which brings us the Marquee Match-Up of the Night....
1) Chris Maui Taketa vs. 4) Hookah John Herboth
Previously, in the May Mayhem Tournament of Champions: Maui is now the only 1-seed currently alive in the Tournament, and he got here through defeating 16) Ryan Burtner in the first round, and then an uppity 8) Wes Wambold.....who was apparently quite upset with his second round exit from the Tournament (we shall see how he reacts when next year's Tournament begins). Meanwhile, Hookah John held no surprises in his open quest for dominance in the 2013 Tournament; starting with 13) Matt Korte the Squirrel Master in the first round and then defeating 12) Tim Newby in the second round, to set up this match-up with his former college roomie. This becomes a tough contest because both of these guys are obviously Good People, but I reckon that while Maui was one of two people to fill out a bracket this year, that John probably wants this a little bit more. Ergo, I'll advance John into the Enduring 8--but, rest assured Good People, that you'll be hearing from Maui later on in the Tournament (or, at least, you'll be hearing his words...as read by me, most likely).
And, there we have it: The Enduring 8 are now selected and I'll send out the trivia questions on Sunday probably in the morning or early afternoon. It will be just 3 questions and I'll explain in a follow-up Post about how the trivia games will play out.
-Ryan.
Commissioner
The May Mayhem Tournament of Champions
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