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 I t was a wonderfully wild night to begin the 228th event at Cardinal Rule, brought to you by Steam Whistle! Yes, nine teams competed during the first round! It was a mix of long-time teams, and newcomers alike! What unpredictability would this new crowd bring?! That was to be seen, but most importantly we were going to have some fun!

Trivia Classic ended with The Spuds leading the field! Yes, the front half of a larger party enjoyed a three point lead on the M. Night Shaym-Aliens, who themselves enjoyed a one and a half point lead on the Cunning Stunts! Two points behind the Stunts was a man at the bar, carrying on THAT wonderful tradition, Metz at the Movies! Half a point behind Metz were The Beliebers, while Team Caesar were a point behind them, and two teams Buzz Jack (yes, another new team!) and Trivial Knowledge! Last Place Team were uncharacteristically the last place team after the first round of action! Speaking of uncharacteristic, before the beginning of the second round we saw the exit of Buzz Jack, Team Caesar, and the other half of their table and the leading team after the first round... The Spuds!

Game Show Games now had a new look for those in competition for the Golden VHS, with the M. Night Shaym-Aliens in the lead! The Shaym-Aliens were able to garner four points in our first Game, Countdown Takedown! Grabbing the TOP TEN in Takedown were the Cunning Stunts! Last Place Team then brought themselves within half a point of the Stunts with the TOP TEN in Survey Says! Combo Breakdown then proved to be a battle between Trivial Knowledge, the Shaym-Aliens, and the Cunning Stunts... with the Stunts being eliminated first, before the M. Night Shaym-Aliens were unable to step ahead of Trivial Knowledge, giving Trivial a FOURTEEN POINT boost!

This brought a unpredictable swing to the night, as a tight field got even tighter in Tri-Pardo! The first category was rolled for seventeen points, while the second category was worth four points, and Trivial Knowledge became the first team to roll a CRIT HIT for the third time (on top of being the first team to roll 20 AND 1) making it a traditional twenty point question for the third category! With that mix of points on display, things went topsy turvy, with The Beliebers losing seven points, and Last Place Team losing three points, while Trivial Knowledge lost twenty points! Conversely, Metz at the Movies gained thirteen points, while the Cunning Stunts grabbed seventeen points, and the M. Night Shaym-Aliens got the big two questions correct in the round for a total of thirty-three!

This meant heading into the Finale, the M. Night Shaym-Aliens held the advantage, while the Cunning Stunts were eighteen and a half points behind but were still in second place! With the night coming down to the Finale question, the correct answer could mean the prize of the Golden VHS, the Linear Championship Belt, all that jazz (or soul, if that's more your thing)! The Finale itself proved that deciding factor with the winners being the ONLY team to get the answer correct, and as it turns out... it was thanks to the inclusion of skittles in the story of Rip Van Winkle!

Yes, winning their SIXTIETH GOLDEN VHS! 6-0! The Golden VHS Champs on the night, with a come from behind victory, were the CUNNING STUNTS! For you Belt heads as well, though they would still need three more defenses for the most successful defenses record (4 defenses belong to the Electric Bastards/Mayhem) the Cunning Stunts could prove to be the first team to hold the strap for more then 63 days! And for those who don't know what I'm talking about... well CHECK IT OUT!

08/23/17 POINTS TABLE

TEAM	CLASSIC	CT	SS	CB	PARDO	WAGER	FINALE
Cunning Stunts	30.5	10	0	3	17	(60.5)	121
Last Place Team	23	6	10	0	-3	(35)	1
Trivial Knowledge	26	2	0	14	-20	(22)	0
M. Night Shaym-Aliens	32	4	6	4	33	(64)	15
The Beliebers	28	0	8	1	-7	(30)	0
Metz at the Movies	28.5	8	0	2	13	(26.5)	25

Congrats once again to the Cunning Stunts! Thank you as well to the wonderful teams who competed this past Wednesday at Cardinal Rule! You always make it so much fun! Remember to vote for Cardinal Rule in the Best Diner category of NOW Magazine's Best Of (who yes, we will be emailing to include a Trivia category for 2018, or my name isn't Russel Harder)! See you all against NEXT WEDNESDAY!