Ottawa Trivia League: scores and stats

Ottawa Trivia League: sponsored by the law firm of Burke-Robertson LLP

In the Ottawa Trivia League, the same game is played in every location, with the scores compared against one another. Each week, the top team anywhere in Ottawa gets 7 pts, the next highest gets 6 pts, then 5, and so on. (These are raw scores, without handicaps). After 10 weeks, we determine a winner and start again!

We can let you know about pub trivia news, such as cancellations, score changes, new locations and other trivia events around town. when new games come up.

TOP SCORES: Latest Scores (week ending Mar 7)

  1. 48.0 Streetcars (Barley Mow), Magnificent Bastards (Barley Mow), Backbenchers (Woody's)
  2. 47.5 Cheese and Apples (Woody's), I Lost on Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  3. 47.0 Who Dat Ninja (Woody's), Exiles (Arrow and Loon)
  4. 46.5 Idiot Savants (Barley Mow), Alex Trebek's Illegitimate Children (Sandy Hill Oak), Dr Penfield I Smell Burned Toast (Arrow and Loon)
  5. 44.5 SMRT (Barley Mow), Nerd Alert (Canal Oak), Boncrusher and the Jets (Sandy Hill Oak)
  6. 44.0 Quiz In My Pants (Woody's), Overqualifed (Woody's), Polymaths (Sandy Hill Oak), Costanza (Arrow and Loon)
  7. 43.0 Undecided (Sandy Hill Oak)

Thirteenth Season Results: Week Nine

  1. 38: Streetcars (Barley Mow)
  2. 35: I Lost on Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  3. 34: Nerd Alert (Canal Oak)
  4. 27: SMRT (Barley Mow)
  5. 26: Magnificent Bastards (Barley Mow)
  6. 25: Who Dat Ninja (Woody's)
  7. 19: Cheese and Apples (Lieutenant's Pump), President's Choice (Centretown Oak)
  8. 18: Small People of Confederation (Centretown Oak)
  9. 16: Idiot Savants (Barley Mow)
  10. 14: Backbenchers (Woody's), Paranoid Androids (Canal Oak)
  11. 13: Elephants in the Room (Centretown Oak), Exiles (Arrow and Loon)
  12. 11: Overqualified (Woody's)
  13. 9: Cooler Heads (Woody's), Invisible Pink Unicorn (Centretown Oak)
  14. 7: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  15. 5: Costanza (Arrow and Loon)
  16. 6: Snobborn Egos (Arrow and Loon), Spoiler Alert (Centretown Oak)
  17. 4: Undecided (Sandy Hill Oak), Evolution's Dead (Arrow and Loon/Sat), Team VI (Canal Oak), Almost Competentz (Arrow and Loon), Alex Trebek's Illegitimate Children (Sandy Hill Oak), Dr Penfield I Smell Burned Toast (Arrow and Loon)
  18. 3: Boncrusher and the Jets (Sandy Hill Oak)
  19. 2: Quiz In My Pants (Woody's), Banana Stands (Barley Mow), Crash Test Dummies (Arrow and Loon), Polymaths (Sandy Hill Oak)
  20. 1: Turkey's Dream (Lieutenant's Pump), Prorogue This, Bitch (Centretown Oak), Purple (Glebe Oak), Pour Sports (Sandy Hill Oak)

Previous Winners

  1. 2009, Season 12: Small People of Confederation (Centretown Oak)
  2. 2009, Season 11: I Lost On Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  3. 2009, Season 10: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  4. 2009, Season 9: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  5. 2009, Season 8: I Lost On Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  6. 2008, Season 7: Magnificent Bastards (Barley Mow)
  7. 2008, Season 6: Wirecrats (Wellington Oak)
  8. 2008, Season 5: I Lost On Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  9. 2008, Season 4: I Lost On Jeopardy (Canal Oak)
  10. 2008, Season 3: Pan Troglodytes (Centretown Oak)
  11. 2007, Season 2: Wirecrats (Barley Mow)
  12. 2007, Season 1: Magnificent Bastards (Barley Mow)

Best Showings

  1. Adam's Mom/Sandy Hill Oak (S09: #12)
  2. Amazing Superpups/Canal (S11: #22)
  3. Atlanticanadians/Wellington Oak (S12: #17)
  4. Autoerotic Wrecking Club/Wellington (S10: #13)
  5. Average Schmoes/Glebe (S05: #8)
  6. Backbenchers/Woody's (S12: #13)
  7. Banana Stands/Mow (S04: #4)
  8. Bayblab/Canal (S02: #8)
  9. Brain Cramps/Wellington (S12: #14)
  10. Bushwhackers/Glebe (S12: #9)
  11. Cheese and Apples/Canal (S09: #6)
  12. Coin Stars/Woody's (S12: #15)
  13. Cooler Heads/Woody's (S12: #14)
  14. Costanza/Canal (S06: #4)
  15. Dead Parrots/Mow (S02: #9)
  16. Delta Force/Bank (S08: #18)
  17. Dr Penfield I Smell Toast/Arrow and Loon (S12: #12)
  18. Elephants in the Room/Bank (S09: #7)
  19. Eleven Days Until the Emperor's Parade/Bank (S10: #8)
  20. Exiles/Bank (S05: #2)
  21. Final Answer/Bank (S08: #18)
  22. Giggitty Giggitties/Canal (S06: #8)
  23. Go Green/Glebe (S08: #15)
  24. Heidi's Heroes/Bank (S02: #9)
  25. Here for the Beer/Bank (S06: #12)
  26. Hot Buttered Elves/Mow (S03: #10)
  27. I Lost On Jeopardy/Canal (S05: #1)
  28. Idiot Savants/Mow (S05: #4)
  29. Invisible Pink Unicorn/Bank (S05: #3)
  30. John Goodman Experience/Sandy Hill (S08: #16)
  31. John Tesh Experience (ex Pan Troglodytes)/Bank (S03: #1)
  32. Leon Carls/Bank (S04: #8)
  33. Live Poets Society/Mow (S03: #5)
  34. Llewellyn/Sandy Hill Oak (S10: #16)
  35. Lucy and the Rascal Cats/Wellington (S09: #19)
  36. Magnificent Bastards/Mow (S01: #1)
  37. Me and the Idiots/Mow (S10: #18)
  38. Metcalfe Mafia/Woody's (S08: #18)
  39. Midvale School for the Gifted/Wellington Oak (S12: #16)
  40. Mighty Eagle Book Club/Bank (S03: #5)
  41. Nerd Alert/Canal (S08: #5)
  42. Neighbourhood Nuts/Wellington (S08: #14)
  43. Noobs/Bank (S12: #14)
  44. Nortel Porn Stars/Mow (S10: #19)
  45. North Bay Rugby/Bank (S04: #4)
  46. Nuts and Goat Cheese/Woody's (S09: #17)
  47. Overqualified/Woody's (S12: #3)
  48. Paranoid Androids (S11: #8)
  49. Pecan Sandy (ex Real World Ottawa)/Woody's (S11: #14)
  50. Poodles/Canal (S02: #4)
  51. Poor Sports/Sandy Hill (S12: #8)
  52. Purple/Glebe (S06: #11)
  53. Pylons/Barley Mow (S12: #12)
  54. Quiz in My Pants/Woody's (S12: #18)
  55. Sackvillians/Sandy Hill (S08: #17)
  56. Sex Panthers/Sandy Hill (S08: #20)
  57. Small People of Confederation/Bank (S12: #1)
  58. Snappy Synapses/Mow (S03: #9)
  59. Snobburn Egos/Bank (S06: #11)
  60. So Think You Can Guess/Sandy Hill (S11: #7)
  61. Sofa Kings/Wellington (S09: #19)
  62. SMRT/Mow (S03: #3)
  63. Spoiler Alert (ex Secret Seven)/Centretown (S05: #6)
  64. Streetcars/Mow (S08: #2)
  65. Sunday Bacon/Centretown Oak (S12: #16)
  66. Supa Team/Bank (S08: #19)
  67. Sweetness/Sandy Hill (S10: #11)
  68. Team Awesome/Glebe (S09: #17)
  69. Team Car Ramrod/Glebe (S08: #15)
  70. Team Optimistic Shark Attack/Bank (S05: #8)
  71. Team Six/Arrow & Loon (S12: #14)
  72. Tenured and Untenured Radicals/Glebe (S12: #9)
  73. Titty Breakfast/Woody's (S12: #16)
  74. Turkey's Dream/Arrow & Loon (S12: #14)
  75. Trivids/Barley Mow (S09: #17)
  76. Who Dat Ninja/Woody's (S12: #6)
  77. Wirecrats/Wellington (S02: #1)
  78. Z Stacks/Canal (S11: #14)

House rules:

  • A "country" or "nation" is any UN member, plus the Vatican, Taiwan and Kosovo.
  • If we ask for a pope or a monarch, we also want either the regnal number (Richard II) or the sobriquet (Richard the Lion-hearted). An answer of just "Richard" is assumed to be Richard I. (Exception: Elizabeth can refer to either one.)
  • We're indifferent to Junior, Senior and so forth. We won't penalize you if you say John Jacob Astor IV when it's John Jacob Astor III.
  • We usually use gender-neutral terms, so "actor" might mean a female actor, unless its the Oscar for "Best (Supporting) Actor."

    • Teams We Miss

    1. Barley Mow: Mooseheads, Bengals, Bagger Vances, Barley Yobs, Special Edz, Groundhogs, James' Posse, Unsocialbles, T42, Jora, Salty Dogs, Dandelions, Repeates, Ladies in Waiting, Order of Evil Monkeys, Paul Paquet Fan Club, Geezers, Hot Buttered Elves, Trivids
    2. Centretown Oak: Venon and Spice to the Maxx, Otherwise It Would Just Be Dodgeball

    Special guests: In the Photo Gallery, we have some shots of the Mow, including images of the nights that Ed Broadbent and Global News came over, as well as shots of me and some of the teams. Don Newman also shows up from time to time.

    First game: The very game at the Barley Mow was on September 7, 1998, although there were two games before that in the Kanata location. We've done it at other bars since, but nobody else has had the patience (or the business savvy) to keep it running and make it a success, save for the Royal Oak, which began in September 2006, and then Woody's and the Arrow & Loon, which followed in January 2009.

    Highest score: This depends on how you look at it.

    • The Unsocialbles are the only team to ever register a perfect score, doing so in 2000 when the maximum possible score was 35.
    • In 2002, we started a 50-pt game. The highest ever score was registered by Fran Mahovlich (sic) who got 49, missing only the number question.
    • In 2007, we started league play and a 55-pt game: the record so far is 52 by 11 Days Until the Emperor's Parade at the Centretown Oak. Other teams scoring at least 51 are I Lost on Jeopardy, Magnificent Bastards, SMRT and the Wirecrats.
    • Since we started the 55 pt game, the highest number of points "per capita" is 44, a record shared by Isaac, playing on his own as Team VI at the Arrow and Loon. He also had the highest score in the league that week.

    Biggest handicap: The Wirecrats hold this record, at -15, set at the Wellington Oak, beating the record they had set at the Mow.