REVEALED: The five-point plan to (possibly) take down the Patriots (Patreon)

By Tom Maston (@SchmoedownBlog)

The Patriots. No competitors across the Movie Trivia Schmoedown can even come close to JTE and Jeff Sneider when it comes to dominating a division.

Nine victories, five title defences and countless enemies – their run at the top of the game has been remarkable. But can they be stopped?

Above The Line will be next duo to attempt to try their luck and attempt to take the Patriots down. No doubt having lost out to “Little Evil” and “The InSneider” once already, Samm Levine and Drew McWeeny will be doing all they can in terms of preparation to ensure against a repeat.

So in a bid to aide their cause, the Schmoedown Blog has trawled through all six of the Patriots’ previous title matches to come up with a five-point plan that, if followed, might just hold the key to wiping the grins off the Lion’s Den’s faces…

COSPLAY CAN BE YOUR FRIEND

While there is no doubt that the Patriots lean into the theatrics of the Schmoedown, their lack of cosplay does mean they do not get the same attention for their entrances as other competitors – no matter how much the opening bars ‘I’m Shipping Up To Boston’ get your pulse racing.

While this is by no means is an issue, the chosen attire of their opponents thus far does seem to have played a part in, at the very least, pushing them close.

Both MODOK and Trek chose coordinated outfits for their respective title matches before taking the Patriots to sudden death, and while playing up to your chosen character too much can be a disadvantage – looking at you Matt Atchity – those who have come closest to ousting the current team champions have been rewarded for putting that bit of extra effort into their appearance.

LEARN THEIR WEAKNESSES

Knowing a competitor’s strengths is certainly key heading into a Schmoedown match (just ask Top That!), but being aware of their weaknesses is arguably even more important.

In this world of marginal gains, being able to take advantage of any slip-up the Patriots may make during the space of a five-round match is likely to be the difference between winning the belts and seeing Tom Dagnino’s smug smirk during the post-match interviews.

Looking back at the Patriots’ previous title bouts, the gaps in their knowledge are few and far between. But among the impressive numbers in categories such as Action Adventure (23/25 correct), Horror/Thriller (15/17) and Drama (12/14), there is a clear deficiency within their game – family films.

Whether animated or live action, across a range of categories it is clear that neither “Little Evil” nor “The InSneider” have an in-depth knowledge of movies targeted at a wider audience. Want proof? During their six title matches to date they given incorrect answers about the following films:

Finding Nemo, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Aladdin, Free Willy, Emperor’s New Groove, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, Tangled, Chronicles of Narnia, Back To The Future, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, Winnie The Pooh and Grease.

So while no team will realistically be able to take down the Patriots without matching them within their strength categories, hovering up points in their family-friendly blind spot might just be the difference between winning and losing.

BE BOLD WHEN BETTING

While one of the more controversial rounds within the game itself, the betting round has the potential to be a game-changer during title matches, particularly those which are settled by the odd point.

Imagine this writer’s surprise, then, when it came light that despite all their bravado, the Patriots are not particularly brave when it comes to putting their hard-earned points on the line in the third round.

In their six title matches to date, they have  opted to bet the maximum three points on just two occasions, and the second of those only came in the aftermath of #TheRespin.

Obviously while it is important not to be reckless at such a key juncture within the game, the conservative nature of the Patriots in this round – even when presented with a strength category – has been telling in their career thus far.

While it has not come back to bite them yet, there is scope for a challenger to gain a slight advantage here, and the rewards for gambling could yet be shiny and fit perfectly around your waist.

KNOW THE RULES

With the Schmoedown still in its infancy, coming up with a perfect strategy to win any match – five round or three – is still proving difficult. However, being aware of the rules should be point number one on anybody’s list.

While this applies to any competitor, it seems the Patriots more than most have seen their challengers fall foul of the rulebook, and JTE, Sneider and Dagnino are not shy in letting those adjudicating the matches aware of it.

Matt Atchity’s keenness to be first in the speed round, as well as his unwavering determination to remain in character, led to “The Kahuna” delaying his responses during MODOK’s tilt at the titles.

Such rashness saw him lose points given the much shorter window allowed for answers to be given, and following their heartbreaking sudden death defeat it was not difficult to see where the match had been won and lost.

Fast-forward a few months and John Rocha’s inability to write the words ‘Jane Fonda’ in any legible fashion led to one of the most infamous rulings in movie trivia history.

Had either “The Outlaw” or Atchity stuck the guidelines laid out to them beforehand, the whole article may well have been rendered moot. But here we are, so hopefully we’re now all clear.

GO LOW IN ROUND FIVE

Presuming you have made it as far as the fifth round, choosing the right numbers for the final three questions is always something of a lottery.

There is no real correlation in terms of which categories are likely to come up should certain numbers be chosen. That said, an interesting pattern has begun to emerge within the Patriots’ title matches that future challengers might want to pay attention to.

In the six five-round matches the Patriots have played so far, their opponents have answered 10 questions from categories that were numbered between 1-10. On just one occasion was an incorrect answer given.

Contrast that with when a category is chosen from a number higher than 10, which has happened on six occasions. Five of those six questions were met with wrong answers.

A pattern? Certainly. Clutching at straws? Almost definitely. But when trying to take down a team such as the Patriots, anything that can be used to their disadvantage has to be taken into account.

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So there you have it – an (almost) foolproof way to bring down the greatest dynasty in the Schmoedown’s – admittedly short – history. Teams facing down the Patriots only have themselves to blame if this advice isn’t heeded going forward…

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