LAS VEGAS – Question: What Southern state just produced the 2016 national trivia champion?
Answer: Alabama. But you probably guessed that.
On Saturday, Aug. 28, the 2016 National Trivia League finals were held at the Rio Hotel.
Sponsored by Challenge Entertainment, the competition brought together 170 teams that qualified by winning weekly trivia contests across the country.
The winning five-person team, the Pacers, hail from Russell, Alabama. They play regularly at Sam’s Sports Grill in Decatur.
Another Alabama team, “J’accuse,” also finished in the top 10.
“I couldn’t be happier. This is awesome,” said Jamie Golliver, whose Pacers team earned a trophy and $20,000. “I wouldn’t want to do it with another group of guys.”
“We made it to Vegas last year; we just came up short on the final question,” said teammate Casey Lowery. “But man, this year everything just hit right.”
This was the second year for the National Trivia League finals, which kicked off with a party Friday night that featured an Elvis impersonator. The next day hundreds of competitors gathered to answer 32 difficult questions on topics ranging from history to geography to vocabulary.
A sample:
What major Midwestern city in 1980 gave the “key to the city” to Iraq’s then-president Saddam Hussein? (Answer: Detroit).
What lost Beach Boys album was released by Brian Wilson in 2004? (Answer: “Smile.”)
What company created “Pokemon Go”? (Answer: Niantic Labs.)
While rock music played, teams huddled and brainstormed, assigning a point value to each answer on a sliding scale, depending on their confidence in getting it right.
The Pacers, which also include Chris Pace, Slade Gilmer and Brent Jackson, pulled ahead of the pack by correctly answering the super-tough final question, a four-parter on which teams could risk up to 30 points.
“Our knowledge is just so diversified across the board,” said Golliver. “We really all complement each other very well.”
“J’accuse,” which plays its trivia contests at Oak Hill Bar and Grill in Homewood, included Randy Harrison and Diane Wiitanen (from Pelham), Douglas Murchie and Jud Barber (Hoover) and Brian Stack (Fultondale). Along with the other top 20 teams, they won a cash prize.
“We were fifth here last year,” said Stack.
“We always came in here thinking that if we got in the money, we’d won,” said Harrison.
National Trivia League Director Miguel Sanchez marveled at the growth of the event.
“It’s crazy to see,” said the New Orleans native. “From the small local events that we had to now having almost 600 events a week nationwide, and having this kind of turnout, it’s been great.”
Challenge Entertainment was formed 10 years ago in Memphis, Tenn., by CEO Britt Mock. Its second office was opened in Birmingham.
Taylor Smith, who runs the Alabama office, acknowledged the people behind the scenes.
“This was a four-hour event, but the amount of man-hours that went into this is staggering,” said Smith.
