Let’s face it. The only way to make the final round of the Elbo Room trivia tournament was to play your way in. And some teams tried to get in at the last moment – Team Smudge, for one; Team Badger, for another – but they could not.
In fact, there were so many teams at the final week of qualifying – at least 10 to 15 – that you really needed to get a near-perfect round of trivia to qualify.
And that’s what the Skidmarks did. They only passed on a couple of questions, and finished with over 300 points to get into the finals – they, and everybody else, knew that the answer to the final question, the title of a 1993 film that shares its name with a Led Zeppelin 1969 song, was “Dazed and Confused.” Woo Hoo a Go Go picked up three playoff points for a second-place finish last night, and Team Fist snagged one final playoff point for third place.
The questions were decent, and I actually finished in the middle of the pack – had I not realized that the flag of Turkey was red and white, instead of green and black, I would have had a much better score. No matter.
The thing is, whether you’ve played all 20 weeks or just enough weeks to get in at the end, teams have made the final round. The winning team next week will share $1,500; the second place team will share $500.
So here’s the standings after twenty weeks of qualifying. Due to a tie for eighth place, nine teams have actually qualified for the finals.
| Trivia Team | Points | Totals | FINALS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Street Academy | 33 | ★ | |
| T-1 | Team Schooled | 33 | ★ | |
| 3 | Team Fist | 1 | 31 | ★ |
| 4 | Woo Hoo a Go Go | 3 | 29 | ★ |
| 5 | Get That Poison Out | 15 | ★ | |
| 6 | The Haterzz | 11 | ★ | |
| 7 | Skidmarks | 5 | 9 | ★ |
| T-8 | Another Year Sexier | 5 | ★ | |
| T-8 | Team Bush | 5 | ★ | |
| THE DREADED CUT LINE | ||||
| T-10 | Team Smudge | 3 | ||
| T-10 | Trivia Newton-John | 3 | ||
| T-10 | Quiz and the Pants | 3 | ||
| T-10 | The Polanskis | 3 | ||
So what happens next week?
Most likely it will have the same “finals format” as previous Elbo Room tournaments. After five questions are read and scored, there will be a “bet your points” question. There will be four of these “bet your points” questions, including the final question.
Bring it on.
Chuck The Writer 
Well played, Skidmarks.
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