Please vote once for each match-up.

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The moment has arrived! It has all come down to this—Tweezer Madness’ championship game on the hallowed grounds of Limestone, Maine. 66 versions started and only two remain—The Palace of Auburn Hills from December 6, 1997, and Nassau Coliseum from February 28, 2003. Arguably, the two most illustrious Tweezers in history will battle it out for the ultimate in cyberspace supremacy. But how did we get here? Let’s take a look back at the national semi-finals.

Final Four Recap

#1 Nassau 58 #3 Denver, CO 45

This semi-final matchup saw two opposing squads that hadn’t been challenged all tournament long. Denver had pulled huge upsets in the past two rounds, taking out Mud Island and Raleigh by surprisingly large margins, and Nassau had steamrolled everything in its path on its way to Limestone. But when the ball tipped, the mettle of each version was put to the test. Nassau threw it’s multi-stylistic offense at Denver, while Denver responded with a groove-centric onslaught. versions wouldn’t budge in a highly competitive affair. It was the proverbial immoveable object versus the unstoppable force—which would crack first? The two versions remained within a couple points of each other for the for the first half of the game, with neither able to build any separation. At the beginning of the second half, however, Nassau built a ten point lead that it maintained the rest of the way. In an incredible showing, Denver’s version—a jam that is not even the main highlight if its own show—went toe-to-toe with the post-hiatus behemoth in a quest to reach the title game. But the show-opening version ultimately fell short, as Nassau—an early favorite to reach the title game—moves on to compete for all the marbles.

#1 Auburn Hills 79 #2 Lake Tahoe 28

The other semi-final matchup proved to be the polar opposite of the first game, as Lake Tahoe was no competition for the top-seeded version from Auburn Hills. After staging a battle for the ages versus Magnaball in the Gorge regional final, Tahoe came out flat against the monster from the Palace, and never made the game competitive. Meanwhile, Auburn Hills, expecting its first real test of the tournament, took no prisoners and ran up the score without concern, toppling the 3.0 version by the gaudy score of 79-28. Auburn Hills was able to sit its starters for the last ten minutes of the game, a rarity in a contest of such magnitude, and a luxury that may behoove them in the tournament final. Tahoe’s cheerleaders tried to “Woo!” their team back into it, but their enthusiasm fell on deaf ears, as the squad folded down the stretch.

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Elite Eight Recap

The four regional final games provided one instant-classic, one surprise upset, and two predictable results. Let’s take them one by one.

#2 Tahoe 38 #4 Magnaball 34 

The two-four matchup between Magnaball and Lake Tahoe pitted two modern classics against each other with a bid to Limestone, the site of the Final Four, on the line. The majority of pundits had Tahoe rolling fairly easily in this one, but the incredibly competitive contest illustrates why the games are played and the unpredictable nature of Tweezer Madness. The two versions staged, arguably, the most ferocious battle of the entire tournament, going back and forth from the opening tip. Neither version would give an inch, and the score remained within a bucket or two difference for the entirety of the game. This one came down to who would have the final possession, and that turned out to be Lake Tahoe. In a tie game, the 2013 version ran a set play and hit an improbable, three-point buzzer beater from the right wing as time expired! Magnaball aggressively closed out on the shooter, taking away its landing space and was whistled for a foul on the game-winner, accounting for the four-point margin of victory. And thus concluded one of the greatest games in the history of the tournament.

#3 Denver ’97 48 #1 Raleigh ’99 27

To put it frankly, this result was a total shocker. At no point during the tournament did the media or the selection committee expect to see the version from McNichols in the Final Four. Though the well-loved, groove clinic is comprised of straight Fall ’97 Phish crack, most thought that its one-dimensionality would keep it from advancing to the tournament’s final weekend. Raleigh—a looped-out, layered, psych-groove-quasi-shoegazing exploration—has it all, including one of the band’s most sublime peaks of all-time, but the cowfunk of Denver took an early lead and never looked back, leaving Raleigh in the dust in an incredibly surprising blowout.

#1 Auburn Hills 58 #3 Bomb Factory 18

This contest saw a stark juxtaposition of eras, pitting, arguably, the crowning achievement of Fall ’97 against the iconic Spring  ’94 version that jump-started the year in which Phish truly discovered long-form jamming. Each version has a place in the pantheon of Tweezers, but when stepping back to compare the music and level of improvisation between the two, there is really no contest. The final score of this game reflected this dichotomy, as The Palace trounced the Bomb Factory, advancing to Limestone by the colossal margin of 40 votes.

#1 Nassau 50 #2 Lakewood 00 23

Nassau has been a force to be reckoned with in Tweezer Madness, dominating its competition from the opening  tip of it’s first round matchup. The Long Island epic has demolished any version that has stepped in its path, with an unrelenting fury, seeking vengeance for the undeserved shade that has befallen the 2.0 era throughout much of the Phish community. It has looked every bit the monster of its legend, and rolls into the Final Four casually disposing of an incredibly strong version from Lakewood 2000. Nassau’s wide margin of victory came as a bit of a surprise against one of the elite versions of all-time. Its victory sets up an intriguing semi-final against Denver ’97 in which its dominance may be challenged for the first time.

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The tournament has reached its peak! The four regional champions will make the haul up to Limestone to settle the score. The Final Four vote will be live for 72 hours. Thanks to all who have participated along the way.

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Sweet Sixteen Recap

Well…the Sweet Sixteen round didn’t provide the the type of high drama that was expected between such standout versions. In fact, only two matchups were even close. The one-four contest between Alpine ’98 and Magnaball provided the only real intrigue of the round, as the modern favorite jumped atop the score from the get go, looking as if it was going to blow out the top-seeded classic from Alpine Valley. Magnaball got complacent with its lead, however, letting up on defense and allowing Alpine back in the game. Magna played with a single digit lead for much of the second half, but Alpine was never able to draw even, falling to the 2015 standout by the final tally of 50-37. Alpine ’98 is the first number one seed to topple in the tournament, as Magnaball’s Tweezer advances on the strength of two separate, standout jam segments sandwiched around Prince Caspian.

The other close game came in second-seeded Lake Tahoe’s 13-vote victory over the third-seeded version from the Great Went. Though Tahoe had the higher seed due to its iconic status in modern Phish, the Great Went boasted supremely locked-in, one-minded playing, and grooves that are among the band’s best ever. This one could have gone either way and the result wouldn’t have been surprising. Tahoe, however, took an early lead, and despite a legitimate effort from the Went to make it competitive, coasted to an easy 51-38 victory.

All the other Sweet Sixteen matchups turned out to be blowouts. The most notable upset came in Hampton’s two-three game as Denver ’97’s groove clinic toppled the longest version of all-time in Mud Island by the score of 57-25. Many saw the hallmark Summer ’95 version as a final four contender, but its run ended in the round of sixteen as McNichols will now battle Raleigh ’99 in a marquee regional final.

Jones Beach’s magic finally ran out as the Summer ’95 beast fell to 1994’s first long-form Tweezer from the Bomb Factory. Jones Beach had gone on a late-season tear, winning its conference tournament and vaulting to a two-seed in Tweezer Madness, but the Bomb Factory ended its quest for glory in dominating fashion by the score of 58-24.

Second-seeded Lakewood ’00 easily ousted Christiana’s Grey Hall rendition from Europe ’98 by the score of 48-32. Christiana made a nice run in the tourney, making it to the second weekend as a six seed and garnering the respect it deserves, but Lakewood proved too much for the international version to handle.

The three other top-seeded versions rolled once again. The Palace crushed Camden ’99, 62-24, Raleigh ’99 smoked Hampton ’13 by the count of 60-24, and Nassau easily disposed of Tokyo 64-19. These number one seeds all look like favorites for the final four, and will look to continue their dominance in the round of eight.

Above is the Elite Eight vote. These games will run for 72 hours. May the strong survive!

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Elite Eight Breakdown

By Year

1994: 1

1997: 2

1999: 1

2000: 1

2003: 1

2013: 1

2015: 1

By Season

Spring: 1

Summer: 3

Fall: 2

Winter: 2