Spoiler Alert, Good Teams Are Good

Another good game at Pub Quiz this week. Fresnocity looked great out the gate with a 9 in round 1, and they won round 4, but the middle rounds hurt them.  Michael "The Jackhammer" Fox came on strong with a 9 in round 2, and hung close to the top, but ended up 4th overall.  Going into round 4, we had a tie between Spoiler Alert: The Black Keys Are Not Actually Black and Portmanteaugasm.  It was close round 4, and the top four teams were within 2.5 points, but Spoiler Alert pulled it off.  In an interesting twist, they also pulled their chip to pick topics for next week's round 2.  What they couldn't pull off was the jackpot, so that begins to build.  Congrats to spoiler alert for the win.

Seal Team 666 and All We Do is Lose both qualified for our upcoming Tournament of Champions.  In an interesting twist, we still have two open slots for that game.  So, next week we'll still be qualifying teams, and hopefully we'll lock down our final two teams for the October 17th Championship Game.

As mentioned earlier, Spoiler Alert: The Black Keys Are Not Actually Black drew the random chip to pick topics, and here's what they chose for next week's round 2:

Pai Gow Poker
Oakland Raiders
The Sapranos
Big Brother 15
Iron Maiden
Dewey Decimal System
Legion of Superheroes (comic book)
Janelle Monae
Vintage Analog Synthesizers
Black Sabbath 1st 6 albums 1969-1975
Lyrics by The Smiths
Chinatown (movie)
Mammalian orders
The League (tv show)

You had better study up because Spoiler Alert doesn't play when it comes to their topics. If you want to win, you better hit the books, or the internet.

Gasm 5 Times and Call Me in the Morning

We admit, sometimes it's a small night at Pub Quiz.  We understand, people have things going on, not everyone can play every week.  This week was one of our smaller games, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good.  The game had a few lead changes, a few tied rounds, and when we finished 40 questions, Commander Rikers Baadasss Song was tied at the top with Grand Theft Gasm 5.  You know what, last week these teams tied on the night, although it wasn't for first place. They settled it with arm wrestling. We're not sure who won.  But when we have a tie at the end of the night, we do a tie breaker question.  Grand Theft Gasm 5 won that, and flexed a little muscle by pulling the jackpot chip.  Yep, it was only week one, but who doesn't like winning?  That means next week will be another week with 5 chips in the bag.

We only had two teams qualify for our upcoming Tournament of Champions. They are:
The Michael J. Fox Show is Really Shaking Things Up at NBC
Team 5 is Alive!

Since we only qualified two teams, that means four teams can qualify next week.  That could be you!

The Michael J. Fox Show is Really Shaking Things Up at NBC was also randomly drawn to pick topics for next week's round 2, and here is what they chose:
Big Bang Theory (tv show)
Friends (tv show)
Rules of Lacrosse
Rules of Curling
Medical Terms
Fast Pitch Softball
Animated Disney Movies
California University of Pennsylvania
University of Oregon football
University of Southern California
San Diego Zoo
Black Keys (band)
California Penal Code
Ca. Court of Appeal, 5th Appellate District

We hope you enjoy your weekend. Get out and see a film at Reel Pride. Check out the FUSE Festival and its great local music downtown.  But study up, and we'll see you next Wednesday at Pub Quiz.  Bring a friend, test your knowledge, and maybe win some prizes.

Spoiler Alert: Winners Ahead

It was a runaway game for Spoiler Alert: Osama Dies at the End of Zero Dark Thirty.  The jumped out and won rounds 1 & 2, and had good scores in rounds 3 & 4. When it was all said and done, they were 6 points ahead of the pack.  They continued to dominate the night by pulling the jackpot chip.  That means next week the jackpot starts fresh, and there will be 5 chips back in the bag.

Three more teams qualified for our upcoming championship in October.  Joining last week's 3 were:
Alana is Satan
Fresnocity
The Little Mensels

Finally, in our random draw to select round 2 topics, Fresnocity was drawn.  We were shocked, as we hadn't imagined that the same team would be drawn in successive weeks through a random system.  But they were, and here are the topics chosen to study for round 2:
Alt J
Famous Armenians
Greys Anatomy (tv show)
Skins (UK tv show)
Tim Curry films
80's heavy metal bands
soundtrack for the movie Singles
Make Mine Music (movie)
Johnny Depp movies
Laguna Beach (tv show)
Sleeping Beauty (Disney movie)
Disneyland Rides & Attractions
Monkees Headquarters (album)
Charlotte's Web (book)

Remember, you can actually study these topics. Studying will help your team. Shocking, right?

Riker Won't Go Out, but they're In!

It was the first week of qualifying for our Tournament of Champions, and it was also another good, close game.  In case you're wondering, the games are still the same, we just inviting people to play in a Championship match in October.  There is a Riker that Never Goes Out was in first place after every round, and yet never won a round outright.  They did win the night, but didn't pull the jackpot chip.  Next week it'll be 1 blue and 2 red chips in the jackpot bag.

This week's qualifiers for the Championship Game:
There is a Riker that Never Goes Out
Spoiler Alert: Oscar Wilde is not a Homophone
Gasmsag

That means that those three teams are in.  If they finish in the top 3 next week,  the 4th place team will qualify (and so on).

Our random team selected to pick round 2 topics was My Mantra is E.S.A.D. (Eat Shit and Die) and here's what they selected for you to study:
Mary Poppins (movie)
N'Sync (band)
Songs of the Monkees
Babysitter Club books
Torchwood (tv show)
Zankou chicken
Panera Bread Secret menu
80's MTV VJ's
Real World Seattle
Passions Soap opera
Rides & Attractions at Disneyland
Grease 2 songs
Hazel (tv show)
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingels Wilder (book)

Study up so your team can not only win, but qualify for the Tournament of Champions!

Hermanos Not about Meth

Sometimes you play Pub Quiz and you have less than 6 people.  We don't advise it, but it happens. Sometimes when you have less than 6 people you ask us if anyone is looking to join a team. We saw a bit of that this week.  You know what, one team took on a random player, and they won a round for the first time.  Another two teams joined together, and they won it all.  Okay, this doesn't always work out like this, but it did this week so we'll hype it up.  In the game we had a bunch of round tie breakers, and we ended up with 4 different round winners.  Cinco Hermanos De La Noche +1 were the overall winner, but they didn't pull the jackpot. It was the first week of the jackpot, so they probably were alright not winning it.

In our random drawing for round two topics, My Shuttlecraft is Full of Rikers was drawn, and they chose these topics for you to study for next week's round 2:
Foreign Phrases Commonly Used in English
Homonyms
Homophones
Homosexuals in History
Palindromes
Spelling
Oddities (tv show)
The Many Roles of William Shatner
Menu @ Livingstones
Climate Change
Redlipped Batfish (the fish)
Ice Road Truckers (tv show)
Fresno bands
Oscar Wilde in totality

And now for information about our cross town Pub Quiz Championship.  Here's how it will work:
3 teams a night will qualify.
Your team can qualify at Fresno Pub Quiz at Landmark on Wednesdays, or Sequoia North Pub Quiz on Tuesdays.
If a qualified team finishes in the top 3, we'll add in the next placed team, so 3 teams will always qualify.
Overall, 24 teams will qualify.
Once your team has qualified, you're in for the Championship, which will take place Thursday, October 17 at the Landmark.

A Gasmic Win

We love it when every round has a different winner.  And we love it when games are close.  So we loved this week. Now, when it gets down to the last few weeks in a jackpot drawing, it the game gets a little tougher.  And you may not love that.  But this week's tough game produced some excitement as we ended up with an overall tie.  Obama Doesn't Need A Warrant to Read Your Sex-Gasms won the tie breaker.  They really showed their skills, or luck, by pulling the jackpot chip. Congrats to them on winning a tough game and the jackpot.

Our random topics draw was won by Steve Mensel Still Won't Play With Us, and here are the topics they chose for you to study for next week's round 2:
World War 2 guns
Punjabi Language
SSA terminal Oakland
89.3 KPCC
Kim Gordon
The Office (seasons 1-8, US version)
Algebra
Michelin Three Starred Restaurants
University High School Fresno
SF MOMA
Cigarette Brands
Calculus
Almonds
Salter's Distributing

Study up for next week's game.

In other news, the big news this week is the announcement of our crosstown tournament! That's right, we're teaming up with the folks who run Sequoia Pub Quiz to put on a tournament of champions. Here are the basic details with more information to follow:

September will be qualifying month. Each of the four weeks in that month, at both venues, the top three teams will be automatically entered into the final. If a team that has already qualified is in the top three, then we'll go down the rankings to get the top three qualifiers who haven't done so already.

That means there will be 12 qualifying teams from Fresno Pub Quiz and 12 qualifying teams from Sequoia Pub Quiz. You can qualify at either quiz but not both and the venue at which you qualify will be the one your team represents in the final.

The Championship game between those 24 teams will take place on October 17th (yup that's a Thursday), and after the Big Fresno Fair closes up shop for the year.

The quiz format will be the same for qualifiers and the final will also be the same format with questions and music contributed by both of the hosts. All other aspects of the September games will stay the same with jackpots rolling or being won like normal.

We'll let you know where the final will be as well as other details and potential prizes/giveaways as we get closer. For now, if you're interested in being a part of this, start getting your A-team together and keep your minds sharp

Spoiler Alert: Jackpot Rolls On

Usually, when we look back at a night of trivia, we judge it by a few things:
- did people have fun?
- did multiple teams win a round?
-did the jackpot roll over?

We like yeses to those questions. When we get them all in a week, we're pretty darn excited.  This week, three yeses.  And boom goes the dynamite.

Spoiler Alert: Walt Changed His Nom de Meth From Heisenberg to Schrodinger jumped out to an early lead by winning round one.  The pulled down round three, and managed to hang on for the win.  Two other teams won rounds, and kept the game fairly close through the night.  Sadly for Spoiler Alert, they didn't pull the jackpot chip, so next week it's 50/50 odds.

Thanks Obama was chosen to pick next week's round two topics, and here's what they came up for you:
California Fire Code
IPA Beer
Chinatown (Fresno)
Wigfield (book)
Capital Cities songs (band)
Craps (game)
Back to the Future trilogy
Ewan McGregor movies
Sexy Pub Quiz Hosts
X-Box 1
GAAP Accounting
The Houston Texans
Marin County
Ron Swanson quotes

Have fun studying up, although we don't advise you stalk your sexy pub quiz hosts.

If you'd like another night of trivia, we encourage you to check out the pub quiz at Sequoia North.  Also, be on the lookout for information about a Pub Quiz playoff.