We’ve reached the second round of Passover Madness. The updated bracket is above, take a look. We had some close match-ups and some not-so-close ones. God scored the easiest victory of Round 1, beating Rameses 18 to nothing. But The Omnipotent One faces a much tougher task in Round 2, taking on the region’s number one seed, Moses. Just barely squeaking by was Charoset over Gefilte fish—the nutty matzah spread beat the fish amalgamation eleven to eight, which proved to be the most hotly contested match-up of the first round.
Some major upsets were the story of the first round. The biggest one was Frogs completely destroying Death of the Firstborn in the Plagues region. Other upsets included Chocolate-covered Matzah over Fruit Jellies, and the Burning Bush taking down Moses’s brother and right-hand man, Aaron.
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But new day, new match-ups as we’ve reached the final 16. You’ll only have one day to vote from here on out so make sure you get over to our Facebook page and cast those votes for your favorites:
People:
(1) Moses vs. (4) God. It seems too early for these heavyweights to meet, but that’s just how the bracket shaped up. Do you vote for the man who led the Israelites out of Egypt and to the land of milk and honey, or do you vote for the one that showed him the way? Either way, one of these favorites is will be out before their time.
(3) Miriam vs. (7) Burning Bush. Befitting the almighty, God actually has two chances to move on. He (or she, or orange) can beat Moses, or if that fails, beat the sister. Will Miriam be too busy dancing with the timbrels to pay attention to this scrappy 7-seed, or will she recognize a threat when she sees one and send God back to the dugout 0-for-2?
Plagues:
(8) Frogs vs. (5) Pestilence. The only match-up in the Round of 16 to feature two upset winners. Pestilence outlasted the locusts to earn a match-up with the surprising winner of Round 1, the frogs! Can the frogs keep the win streak going by beating what seems like an easy opponent in Pestilence? Pestilence barely won their first round match-up, while Frogs took down a Goliath (Sorry, wrong story). This seems like another upset in the making.
(2) Blood vs. (6) Boils. This match-up really gets our blood boiling. (Couldn’t resist.) Blood was the first plague. It’s the “Show me” plague, up against the “Gross. Please don’t show me” plague. With the region’s 1-seed bowing out early, Blood would seem to have a clear path to the final 4, but an exit to Frogs in the Round of 8 wouldn’t surprise us.
Foods:
(1) Matzah Ball Soup vs. (5) Charoset. Charoset could barely beat Gefilte fish; there’s no way it’s taking down this tournament’s number one overall seed. Matzah ball soup has a chance to win it all; it’s not going to be tripped up by—and no offense to charoset—a glorified condiment.
(2) Matzah Brei vs. (3) Brisket. Will we have an all-matzah regional final? If the match-ups play out by seed, that’s exactly what we’ll see. But brisket won’t go down without a fight, not something that delicious. Brisket has its legions of supporters, and so does matzah brei, but the vote might be split between those who like their matzah brei more as a soufflé, and those who like it more fried like french toast. Which do you prefer? Let us know on Twitter which side you choose in the #matzahbreivolution!
Desserts:
(1) Macaroons vs. (4) Flourless chocolate torte. Full disclosure: the committee dislikes macaroons (not a coconut fan), and we consider a flourless chocolate torte done right to be at the pinnacle of desserts. Macaroons are the quintessential Passover dessert, and for that reason are the 1-seed in this region, but we wouldn’t mind seeing an upset here.
(7) Chocolate-covered matzah vs. (3) Seder mints. Is this dark chocolate-covered matzah, or milk chocolate-covered matzah we’re talking about? Or, God forbid (though that would be collusion and cheating), white chocolate? If it’s dark chocolate, we think this 7-seed has a chance to pull off another upset; but Seder mints easily disposed of its Bartons catalogue foe so easily that it might just be wishful thinking.
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Results:
People:
(1) Moses vs. (8) Jochebed
(2) Aaron vs. (7) Burning Bush
(3) Miriam vs. (6) Elijah
(4) God vs. (5) Rameses
Plagues:
(1) Death of Firstborn vs. (8) Frogs
(2) Blood vs. (7) Darkness
(3) Lice vs. (6) Boils
(4) Locusts vs. (5) Pestilence
Foods:
(1) Matzah ball soup vs. (8) Popovers
(2) Matzah Brei vs. (7) Chopped liver
(3) Brisket vs. (6) Four cups of wine
(4) Gefilte fish vs. (5) Charoset
Desserts:
(1) Macaroons vs. (8) Chocolate-raspberry jellies
(2) Fruit jellies vs. (7) Chocolate-covered matzah
(3) Seder mints vs. (6) Milk chocolate lolly cones
(4) Flourless chocolate tort vs. (5) Chocolate-covered marshmallows
