Derek Lionberger
After a long month of hard fought battles and upsets, it all boiled down to the final matchup on Friday, October 28. Two unbelievably great teams went up head to head for the coveted title of Best Halloween Candy. Finally, we now know the best candy to make sure you have in your Trick or Treat baskets to give out.
Coming into this tournament, Sour Patch Kids was a sleeper team. Everyone’s heard of them and at least tried them once. That delicious sour then sweet gummy candy captivates millions each year and keeps you coming back for them. They are a deep team with some very solid players. The captain of the team is Original flavor, they are the easiest to find on a nightly basis and carry a load of the offensive work for the team. They are backed up by Watermelon which is an explosive offensive player, but isn’t always consistently great. The rest of the team is filled out with Strawberry, Mixed Berry, Tropical and Exploders. All solid players but not on the same level as the big two. This is a very well coached team that everyone knew could make big noise in the tournament but not expected to win it all. They overcame some very difficult matchups in Reese’s Pieces, Skittles and Caramel Apple Suckers. All solid teams that could have made it to the final and been in the same position that Sour Patch Kids were in. However, the offensive prowess and genius coaching propelled this team to a very deserved championship round.
On the other side, Kit Kat didn’t come to mess around in this tournament. They were a heavy favorite to win this whole tournament and they delivered on that hope. Four games in a row of dominant performances over big names like Twix and Starburst, solidified their ticket to the big dance. Kit Kat came into this tournament with the second most experience of any team and it showed. They have 3 amazing two-way players that help on the offensive and defensive side in Mint+Dark Chocolate, Mocha+Chocolate and Strawberry+Dark Chocolate Duo flavors. Followed by a dominant backcourt of Blueberry Muffin and Pumpkin Spice flavors. Not only are their players fundamentally solid, their coach staff is an absolute Hall-of-Fame lock. Original Kit Kat and White Chocolate Kit Kat have built a culture of winning on their team and plan on dominating for years to come.
So there you have, two teams that both deserve October Madness glory and a championship banner to their names: but only one can be the winner. After a very close and hard fought battle the winner of the October Madness Tournament is (drumroll please)…
Kit-Kat!
After a close voting battle of 21-17 the Kit Kat squad was able to prevail over their Sour Patch Kids counterpart and come out victorious this year.
Thank you to everyone who participated and voted in this year’s October Madness Tournament! Sorry if your favorite candy didn’t make, but there’s always next season to cheer them on (or maybe you should just pick better candies… I’m looking at whoever voted for Pay Day). Make sure you get all the Kit Kats you can this year to celebrate their victory and Happy Halloween!
Who Won October Madness??? was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
