If season 6 was “The Magic Season”, how do you take things even bigger? By creating “The New Era”! 2020 will see the Movie Trivia Schmoedown take its next step by having its very first draft. The factions and teams that we have come to know will be coming to an end (for the most part) and 9 new, larger teams will be taking their place, competing for a prize at the end of the season.

So here is what we know so far:

• The Draft will take place at The Comedy Store on January 11ᵗʰ 2020, following the Awards
• There were originally intended to be 10 teams, with the teams announced at Spectacular, however other commitments means that Jay Washington has had to pull out of being a manager, so he has taken on an advisory role, leaving us with the following 9 teams:
  • The Usual Suspects – Samm Levine
  • Roxstars – Roxy Striar
  • S.W.A.G. (Schmoedown Winners And Greatness) – Winston Marshall (Jay Washington advisor)
  • The Mouthy Mercs – Coy Jandreau
  • The Finstock Exchange – Tom Dagnino
  • The Dungeon – John Kaiser
  • The Fyffe Club – Emma Fyffe (Grace Hancock advisor)
  • KOrruption – Shannon Barney
  • The Burning Droogs – Robert Meyer Burnett
• Each team can sign up to 10 Schmoedown Pros at any moment. Managers will not compete, so Robert Meyer Burnett must keep a slot free for himself to face Andrew Ghai, and can then fill the spot afterwards
• The draft will be a snake draft, with the order picked out of a hat on Schmoedown Backstage #4
• Managers will be allowed to drop personnel and acquire new people during the season, as well as trade with other managers
• Mike Kalinowski has said that he will demand a trade if drafted by Roxy, similarly Ghai with Burnett
• Each victory will earn points for the team. Innergeekdom and Star Wars matches will earn more points as there are less matches, a win in a Championship will earn extra points, as will a knockout victory
• Managers who currently manage a champion can keep their Champions, with the cost being their first however many picks covers the champions they have (Kaiser 1 pick, Tom 3 picks)
• The top 5 teams in the rankings – other than the champions – are protected. If a manager drafts one of the team, they also get the teammate at the cost of their next pick (so as Who’s The Boss are protected, Reilly remains with the Finstock Exchange at the cost of Tom’s 4ᵗʰ pick)
• Due to his victory in Orlando, Tom Dagnino can swap a pick in his first eligible round with either Kaiser or Emma

With that in mind, it was time for me to do what all sports fans love doing for American sports: a mock draft. Now on the whole, I will be keeping this pretty basic and staying away from too many trades. I will also be looking to go through the first 6 rounds as that is what it appears we will get at the event, with the rest of the free agents being acquired over the following days. I will show you my draft board and then run through my predictions in a little more detail after. When putting this together, I’ve not had a copy of the roster to look at, so I have gone off names that I have heard mentioned and made some assumptions about the divisions that people will compete in… plus my memory is terrible so I’ve probably managed to miss out a big name somewhere – though I will admit that I can see Josh Macuga slipping out of the top 6 rounds due to availability questions, similarly Scott Mantz, who did not compete in 2019.

Let me know how you think the Draft will go!

Tom & Kaiser’s Champions

First off, I 100% expect both Tom Dagnino and Kaiser to keep hold of their champions. While the 4ᵗʰ pick overall may be a bit higher than you would expect for an Innergeekdom specialist, there is too much of a risk that someone would steal Smets if Kaiser didn’t sacrifice his first pick. Add to that, as defending champion and one of the most dangerous Schmoedown Pros in IG, you would expect Smets to have a chance of multiple title defences, while he has also mentioned that he is keen to enter the Star Wars division. Dagnino meanwhile has 2 of the best teams in the Division, comprised of 3 of the last 5 Singles Champions and another former Champion in Reilly who should never be ruled out for putting another title run together. Though it will mean that he can’t pick until the 5ᵗʰ round, there is no way that he would be able to get such a strong stable with his first 4 picks, while Murrell’s decision to enter the IG division means that he already has the 3 main divisions covered.

Round 1

I know a lot of people want a reunion between Samm and Drew McWeeny, but Samm is a competitor and he needs to consider the value of the 1ˢᵗ pick overall. Due to this being a snake draft, he won’t get to pick again until the end of Round 2, so are The Family really good value for him? Personally I see him taking Shazam! Both Bibbs and “The Kid” look like they have the potential to challenge for the Singles Title in 2020 (Bibbs already has a #1 Contender match) and Shazam! are arguably one of the strongest teams in the league. Add in “The Beast” still having his Free 4 All MVP prize of a #1 Contender shot and I thin that Samm has to take Shazam!

Next up is Roxy and this is an easy pick as she has worked so well with The Odd Couple since the beginning of Anarchy, so I can’t see her letting another manager build on that work. Things will get very interesting with the 3ʳᵈ pick, though. With Kalinowski and Chance both a factor in all 3 of the main divisions, KOrruption are the best value team left on the board (maybe even better value than some of the already acquired teams). However, Mike has already said that he will refuse to play for Roxy, and I think that would likely extend to many of the other managers too. However, Shannon will be the next manager to pick so I expect Coy to pull a move here and take KOrruption ahead of her, then immediately offering them to her for her 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Round picks, while also taking her 4ᵗʰ Round pick. With Shannon now having KOrruption via this trade, Coy will use her first 2 picks to take The Family, as this gets him an elite team, but also a great strategic mind in Andrew Ghai that will help an inexperienced manager so much.

With the protected teams now gone, Winston will look for the strongest name on the board, which I see as Paul Oyama, as he has shown how good he can be in Singles (which means the right teammate will make him a danger in the Teams Division), while he has also mentioned possibly entering the IG Division. Paul is not just great at trivia, but he is also great at the game, which will be another big aid for a new manager. Emma Fyffe will pick up Ethan Erwin, who clearly has a wide and deep knowledge of movie trivia and will benefit from a manager who knows the game well. The Round will finish with Robert Meyer Burnett, who I think will take the best ranked Singles competitor available: Paul Preston.

Round 2

With Round 2, I expect Burnett to look for another elite Schmoedown Pro to pair with Paul Preston. While he is yet to play in Singles, “Tom” has made a name for himself with The Loony Bin and looks like he will be a real danger in both Singles and Teams. Paul and “Tom” will be a strong team, and it will be interesting to see how their personalities gel on a team. Now the Fyffe Club have a big choice to make. Jeannine is probably one of the best competitors to have never won a belt and looks to have worked well with Ethan in their couple of matches as Time Machine. However, Ethan has shown a clear weakness in Disney and similar animated movies, so I think that Emma will instead pick another underrated competitor who knows the game well, has a good general knowledge but absolutely crushes Disney: Rachel Silvestrini! With Time Machine officially broken up, I expect Winston to pick Jeannine up with the next pick, reuniting her with Jay Washington and creating a strong team with Oyama. With everyone else having picked protected teams, The Dungeon are the only other pick in Round 2 and they will need a strong competitor to build around in Singles and Teams, so I think that they take a shot on Marc Edward Heuck, who has shown himself to be a great talent in his appearances for the Self-Righteous Brothers, even if results haven’t gone his way.

Round 3

With most of the big names from the Singles Division off the board, I can see Samm Levine taking Mara Knopic, who has a guaranteed Title Match in IG and will probably get a couple of chances to go for the title this year even if she does lose to Smets. I can see this sparking a run on the top names in the IG Division, with Roxy taking Chandru, who came close to beating Smets in their #1 Contender Match and will likely shine with a manager like her. Coy will follow that up by taking Brandon Hanna, who again knows both the IG categories and the game really well, probably being the last of the current top tier of IG competitors.

With Smets already in The Dungeon, I think that Kaiser will look to find a strong partner for Marc Edward Heuck and take Stacy Howard, who will bring experience to the pair even if her results have been somewhat hit and miss of late. With Mike and Chance covering all 3 of the main divisions, I expect Shannon to look for someone they think can look to compete in the Singles Division and potentially be the first name on a 2ⁿᵈ team. For me, that is Haleigh Foutch, who has shown promise and just needs more experience around her to help her grow in the league. While Oyama may compete in IG, I expect Winston to bring in a specialist here and I think that his time on SEN Live may benefit him here, as he will have heard mentions of Robert Parker as one of the big names coming up from the fan leagues, while Oyama’s experience there may also help solidify this pick.

The big IG names may be gone but I think that Emma may still draft a big name who will be competing in IG: Star Wars Division Champion Alex Damon, who looks nigh unbeatable in Star Wars and has a guaranteed match on the schedule already in IG. While we already know he’s unlikely to miss a Star Wars question in IG, he is also a big Indiana Jones fan and knows Middle Earth very well, so could be a strong sleeper pick in this division. Finally, Burnett will pick up the highest-ranked remaining competitor in IG: Emily Jacobson, who not only has a confirmed match, but also showed just how much she was growing over last season, so she could be another to keep an eye on in the division.

Round 4

With The Burning Droogs having 2 strong players but maybe not an obvious challenger in the Singles/Teams Divisions, I think that Burnett looks for another who can go on a strong run and takes Liz Shannon Miller, who could also work very well as part of their main team if either Paul/Tom doesn’t want to compete in Teams this season. The Fyffe Club will look at Eric Zipper who may not be challenging for the Singles/IG Titles but can still pick up wins in the divisions, while also being a reliable teammate. Considering Robert Parker is a (albeit slight) risk as he does not have the experience in the big leagues, I think that Wiston will pick up another big name in IG: Adam Hlavac, who will become a real danger again in the division if he takes the time to study Middle Earth and some of his other weaker categories. Per the earlier trade, Coy would have the next pick and take a veteran of 3 divisions: Ken Napzok. As well as being a potential challenger for the Star Wars Title, Ken will bring great experience for a new manager and could even be a helpful B player in a team like in the days of The Nerd’s Watch. The Dungeon will again look at the Singles and Teams Divisions and take a highly knowledgeable competitor in Alonso Duralde, someone who could again benefit from and experienced manager when it comes to tactics. Coy would have his second pick of the round and take Witney Seibold, whose results in Singles and with the Self-Righteous Brothers have not matched up to the ability he has shown in Critically Acclaimed. Roxy will look to Tim Franco, who again knows the game very well and is also a very knowledgeable competitor, and Samm Levine will end the round by taking VIDEODREW, who was an underrated part of The Loony Bin’s Ultimate Schmoedown run and could even prove to be excellent trade bait if Burnett wants to bow to public pressure to keep The Loony Bin together.

Round 5

There are still some big names available going into Round 5 and I think that Samm’s next pick could (with the right manager) be in the running for Comeback Player of the Year: Lon Harris. With her next pick, I expect Roxy to partner Tim Franco with his debut opponent Matt Atchity, who has great knowledge but struggles with the strategy, so would benefit from having Tim as his partner and Roxy as manager. The Mouthy Mercs can then pick up Adam Witt, who didn’t have a great debut, but gave a much better account of himself against Shazam!

The next pick would usually belong to Kaiser, but would instead go to Dagnino, courtesy of his victory in Orlando. With strength already there in Singles, Teams and IG, I see The Finstock Exchange looking to get a legit challenger for the Star Wars Division and taking Joseph Scrimshaw, who has ran Alex Damon close in multiple matches and has the benefit of being based more local than many of the others in the division. With a number of big names coming off the board in the Star Wars Division, I think that Kaiser takes the chance to pick up a specialist in the division in case Smets can’t get a match this season. On Beyond the Schmoedown, Dimalanta mentioned that he has been in discussions with Kaiser, so I see him going to The Dungeon with this pick. As the next pick would be only the 4ᵗʰ competitor for KOrruption, I see them getting a teammate for Foutch and going for Eliot Dewberry, who has an underrated level of knowledge as shown by his recent perfect round.

By this point, the big names are all off the board and it becomes looking for people who you think can pick you up some points and who you know a bit about. For that reason, I can see Wisnton looking at his fellow SEN Live regular RB3, whose likeable personality will see him go down well with fans and who will likely be picking up advice on studying and competing by spending so much time on SEN Live. I can see the Fyffe Club taking a punt on one of the big names I have been hearing about from the fan leagues, Jen Kempe, who will likely benefit from an established manager and form a possibly underrated team with Zipper. Burnett will finish the round by taking David Del Rio, who has looked good in his 3 matches last year.

Round 6

For Burnett’s final televised pick in the draft, I think that he looks to bring in another IG specialist and who better than Warfather, who looked decent on his debut and looks like he may be one of the few people who could come close to making himself heard over Burnett. The Fyffe Club don’t have an IG specialist, so I can see her picking up the former champion Hector Navarro, who would likely benefit from an established manager like her. Winston again will go back to the largely unknown quantities that he will have got to know through SEN Live and pick up Ben Goddard – even if he doesn’t get any wins, he gets to come out to an entrance song he is already in love with and free bagels could guarantee it.

With 2 decent teams and 2 representatives in IG, Shannon will use this pick to get a representative from the Star Wars Division, taking Laura Kelly, who just gets better with each match and now has the experience of competing both in studio and in a high-stakes match in front of a live crowd. With only their 2ⁿᵈ pick in the draft, I have The Finstock Exchange taking Jader Paramo, who has a guaranteed match after his win in the fan event and would be trained by some of the biggest names in the game. The Dungeon will take Sean Gerber, whose perfect match in the MCU exhibition should put him on managers’ radars, while he could also provide a could partner for Alonso Duralde with his IG knowledge and calm head. The Mouthy Mercs will look to take a competitor that lives up to that name, so take Devon Stewart, who may not be an elite player but will get matches due to his fun personality and can also put in very strong performance if the right categories get picked. The Roxstars have no representation in Star Wars to this point, so I see them bringing in Mollie Damon, who put in a good performance at Celebration and will only get better with experience. Finally, Samm Levine takes Sabina Graves with the final pick of the 5 rounds as she is another with a good range of knowledge who could do well with a great manager.