Propheteer’s Vision Pays Off

Have Mercer!

Movers/Losers

In an absolutely stunning display of talent, hard work, perseverance, and basically just outright genius aided by jaw-dropping good looks, the ever-humble and gracious State St. Propheteer (me) not only took a commanding lead after Friday’s contests, he also tied the all-time record for wins in the first round (29) and set a new record for most points in the first round (35). Phew, let me catch my breath.

Ok. Now, as with any prodigious rise to fame and glory, there are sure to be some detractors, and the Propheteer is not without his. “Some people” (Felton Howard, Pita, natethegreat) have been casting aspersions at the Propheteer by not-so-subtly “wondering aloud” if the fact that the Propheteer toils slavishly night and day to bring them the world-class entertainment that is the Challenge that he might also be somehow “pulling a Ken Lay.” All the Propheteer can do is repeat the words that God once told the prophet Jeremiah: “And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee.”

At some distance below the Propheteer, Team Andy & A Van Full of Candy (Andrew Rider) sits in second place, while Maize Rage (Brian Brennan) is in third. They each have 32 points. Rider is in his third year of competition, with his best finish being 39th place in 2012. Based on his handle, I would encourage the children participants to not approach him without supervision. However, you can trust Andrew: He’s a lawyer (so am I, so I can make those jokes).

Brennan gets his 5 Year Ring this year. The professor is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 110th place finish last year and return to the form he had in his rookie and sophomore campaigns, when he took 25th and 29th, respectively. With Mercer helping to clear the way for his beloved Michigan Wolverines, he has a good shot to maintain his place at the top. Brennan is one of just five players with the Wolverines winning it all.

Speaking of Mercer, congratulations are in order to mayaponyfun (Maya Corwin-Shah), 95 x 50 (The Don Christol), and MayfieldKay (Khalilah Muhammad) for being the only three players to take Mercer. The win helped Khalilah move up 42 spots into a tie for fourth. Christol and Pony Fun are the only players with Mercer in the Sweet 16, while only six have their opponent, Tennessee. Either way a small group of players will advance on the rest of the field.

Congratulations are also in order to Red (Mike Redmann), Bucephalus (Tim Corwin), and Boss Hogg (Sam Hogg), who were the day’s biggest movers at +64, +57, and +50, respectively. The mover/loser column is reset at the end of each day’s games, so it lets you know how much you’ve gained or lost over the course of the day, not just since the last game.

Standings Updates: Standings will be updated as frequently as possible today, but there may be some delays as my schedule is still uncertain. In some browsers, you may need to press the refresh or reload button for the changes to show up after I make the updates. As always, Good Luck!