So Tell Me about yourself….
I’ve got another article here to celebrate our wonderful community! Even when things are exhausting and we get burned out, there are still wonderful memories to look back on, and I wanted to take the time to spotlight that today. I reached out to a few of our well established names and asked them which games they like to relive over and over.
JAKE MARINGONI
Maringoni: The Concept vs Wyld Stallyns (Mayhem at the Multiplex III)
While it’s not my definitive no.1 favourite, it’s one that I constantly think about. It was Michael and I’s second attempt at defending the belts and our second attempt at getting 6 consecutive wins, worst of all it was against the almost unbeatable Brian and Joseph who had only lost once before due to a point deducting round 3. Yet despite the stress and pressure leading up to the match, we were able to get the W and our first title defense that had me on a high for about a month. The Michael York pull in round 4 will forever be my favorite Concept moment.
ANDREW BARR
Barr: My favorite match is the Fandom triple threat with Mike and Nazario. I want to have fun when playing any match I go in to, and what better way to do that with a match that means absolutely nothing alongside the Blockbuster Video boys. Plus I got to use some of my acting chops which is always a bonus. Also, shoutout to basically any Molokai Cargo match.
ALBERT WIRADHARMA
Albert: One of my favorite matches I’ve ever played actually came in a loss—my Fandom Fights Singles title match against Joe Farrelly. It was a true back-and-forth battle. In Round 1, my only two misses were incredibly close: I answered “Ice” and “Finger” instead of “Snow” and “Hand.” Round 2 was heavily in Joe’s favor as he landed Star Wars, while I got James Bond—those categories terrified me in that moment. But the fact that I only missed one question felt like a win in itself. I struggled in the Filmography Round, but in the Deep Cut Round, I started to close the gap by hitting questions Joe missed (ironically, one of them was a License to Kill question). We entered the final round tied, and it stayed that way until literally the last question, when I lost after a tough challenge and a replacement question.
What really makes this match stand out as my favorite, despite the title loss, is the memory of my performance. Looking back, this might be my best individual showing in Multiplex. It was the closest I’ve ever come to a Singles title, and to hang in there despite landing categories that were heavily in Joe’s favor really gave me a sense of pride. I realized, “Hey, maybe I’m not so bad after all—I can go toe-to-toe with the best when it matters.” It also helped that I was up against arguably one of the greatest players in the game. Though that time has long passed, I still cherish that match despite the loss. Having my buddy Kaleb Koho managing me through it all was a bonus that made it even more memorable.
BRIAN MICHAELS
Brian: It's hard to beat Warzone Team Turmoil 2020, when Wyld Stallyns entered in the first round and stayed in to the very end to win the whole thing (and the ensuing #1 contender match).
But my favorite *regular* match has to be Wyld Stallyns vs. The Concept III at Mayhem at the Multiplex IV. Not only did we defend our title against maybe the best team ever to play in Warzone, but the match itself was just epic. We achieved what was (at the time) the all-time 5-round points record both as a team and, combined with Concept, for the match. This was peak Wyld Stallyns, with Joseph Olivas and I working together as good as we ever had. There were lead changes and drama, all coming down a final question nail-biter, which I hit. It was fun, it was exciting, and it was an honor to play Concept in their final match.
BRITTANI TAPLEY
Brittani: My favourite match that I’ve played in is the first Joe vs. Brittani. It started our whole rivalry and is arguably the best match out of the 7 we played. We both had the lead at times and I believe we both only missed 3 questions, insane. I remember it went by so fast but I loved (almost) every minute of it. While I lost the match, it gave me the confidence that I can win the belt and new motivation to do so.
MICHAEL CAMPBELL
Michael: The Concept.. vs Payne and Gain, Round 1 of the 2020 Team Tournament
I have been in matches with higher stakes. I have been in matches that came down to the very last question. But rarely have I been in a match that I can remember the exact date it was filmed for various reasons. That is the case with Concept vs P&G.
Okay, first of all, I know what you’re thinking: "Hey Michael, isn’t this the match where you got a perfect round 1 and as a team you guys only missed two questions the whole match?" And my response to that would be: wow what a good memory you have because that is absolutely correct. But yes, it’s true, one of the reasons I love this match is because selfishly I played really well, but so did Jake and P&G. This was also our first match post-losing the titles so we really wanted to have a good showing. Hardly any misses from both teams, high scoring, back and forth, hot guest host - what more can you ask for, really.
Oh what’s that? You want some backstory? Say less fam. Let me break it down for you:
It is March, 2020. A time of unrest but also optimism.
On March 16th, (which happens to be the birthday of both Alexandra Daddario and Jake Maringoni), Jake was meant to fly into Brisbane and then we would jet off to LA for a two week vacay in the City of Angels.
Well, some stuff went down in the week leading up to that day.
March 11th: NBA seasons gets shut down which was of high interest to me
March 12th: Conference call with the relevant parties where it was decided upon to cancel the trip
March 15th: Concept vs P&G
And that’s how we get to the match. So while yes, we played good in a round 1 match, it otherwise probably wouldn’t be included on a list like this, but that was an incredibly depressing moment of my life where this big exciting thing was just ripped out from under me. The match came at a very opportune time and gave me something to focus on whilst the world got shut down so for that reason I’ll always hold this match in high esteem
NICHOLAS TWOHIG
Twohig: Don’t love talking about myself but I’ll try and stick to the facts, and try not to sound like a total dick as I tout my accomplishments.
Best Match
Nicholas Twohig vs Thomas Scully vs Tim Brzakala
I think this is the best one as far as entertainment value, but playing in it was heartbreaking. The fact is I got outplayed, easily. Scully was the rightful winner, but that’s why it’s so exciting from an outside point of view. It’s an amazing comeback and allowed me to retire with the belt, but I was dying internally when Scully couldn’t pull that last question.
Favorite Match
Nicholas Twohig vs Ruben Colon
My favorite match has actually got to be my debut. I had grown up watching most of the movies in Fandom (and by watching I mean like over and over again) and was ready to be relatively unknown but still make an impact. I had heard Ruben was quite good (of course now we all know why). And this is not meant to punch down at Ruben, I hope he’s doing well, sincerely. But the fact is the fact, and here’s some reasons why this is my favorite.
For the purposes of this being my favorite match, I look back and he was definitely cheating. He’s clearly looking off screen to someone feeding him answers, and I still won. It’s my favorite match because I beat Google.
Also the amount that could have gone wrong, insane. Spence convinced Ruben to give me Middle Earth (which I had just watched for the first time like the week before), instead of stuff like Disney Live Action, Scores and Soundtracks, or Fandom Quotes - all of which were on the wheel when I spun opponent’s choice.
Finally, it went to sudden death, and I broke the three round points record in my first match. I got stuff wrong, and this was at a time where I had serious gaps in knowledge, so overall it was exciting. Plus, then and when I played Mark are the two best facial hair styles I’ve ever had.