Keith, the big winner, warming up. (Sorry you look kinda weird in this photo dude but we're not so good with the red-eye-removal tool).

If you were there, then you may recall the chill in the room as Keith Sanders, from his spot in front of the World’s Largest Connect Four board, beat fiction blogger Constantine Markides in a slick five moves during Game 2 of the Connect Four championship last night. The masses chanted, they wanted more, perhaps there was a way! But there was no doubting Constantine’s fate, when—ten moves later—Keith became the winner of the World’s Largest Connect Four Tournament, and with it, a $200 prize. It happened last night, Nov. 24, 11:15 p.m., at the Bell House.

So what happened?! You’re dying to know, so here’s the round-up: Amber (you remember her) made it to the third round last night. In her first round she beat Beth Ann, then Caitlin. This was quite a feat, because Caitlin beat Rob Schultz, who beat me last week!  Vin.Di.Ca.Ted. Thanks Amber. But then Amber succumbed to Rob Arnow, who beat me two weeks ago!! Rob then lost to Jonathan, who lost in the semis to the aforementioned Constantine.

In the other bracket, Trevor Grayson from week one (the one who informed me that Thai prostitutes are ace Connect Four players) lost to Greg Carr of week two (the one who romantically plays Connect Four in ski lodges in Vermont—the romantic part is in my own mind). In the meantime, Keith was beating Justin Smith—a match that actually went 3-1, so Keith did lose a game. I asked him if he had ever lost before, and he said “no, no I won.” I said “yes, but you lost that one. Has that ever happened before?” He didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. I guess champions can’t carry that kind of baggage. Next game, Keith beat ski-lodge Greg, then defeated Evan in the semis and the rest is history.

Dan from the Universal Record Database.

Also on hand last night were some special guests. In attendance were Dan and Rob of The Universal Record Database, a newfangled Guiness Book for the YouTube generation, who officially to marked the Bell House’s wooden creation as the World’s Largest Connect Four board. A few other records were also set: Most Checkers Stacked in the Palm of a Hand (Amber!), longest word spelled out in a Connect Four board, and my favorite: “Fastest Symmetrical Filling of a Connect Four Board Using Your Non-Dominant Hand and Non-Dominant Eye” (yours truly and Rob Blatt): 39.1 seconds, thank you very much.

So, the tournament may be over, but the competitive spirit of the games still lives on in the hearts of all the great Connect Four warriors. And just in time for that “friendly” family game night on Thanksgiving…