Good morning Candy Connoisseurs and Bracketeers. Our first two rounds saw seasonal favorites, chocolate treats and non-chocolate confectionaries from across the land battle it out for the ultimate prize. And now we have arrived at one of the sweetest times of year…the Sweet 16! Those that have survived put it all on the line for the chance at glory. While many are deserving, there can only be one that will peel back the championship wrapper. With tensions high and taste buds at the ready, Candy Madness continued on Tuesday night.
Action began in the Chocolate West with top seed Twix looking to continue it’s twin tower dominance against another Mars original in Milky Way. Created by the great Frank C. Mars in 1923, Milky Way has been a global sensation for nearly 100 years. Relatively speaking, newcomer Twix originally joined the candy universe as part of the BCC (British Candy Conference) in 1967. After a decade of dominance across the pond, Twix was picked up by the Mars Conference in 1979 and the rest is history…40 years of delicious history. On Tuesday afternoon, the sweet combination of nougat, carmel and chocolate came out strong against the cookie crunch contenders. But that strength would start to melt under the heat and pressure that Left & Right Twix put onto the chocolate bar. After pulling ahead at half, Twix put on a show for the remainder of the match wiping out Milky Way and moving on with a 10-5 victory.
Sticking around after the game, Twix spent time scouting their next opponent as 3-seed 100 Grand took the floor against the peanut buttery goodness of 2-seed Reese’s Pieces. This one would be a battle to the very end. Formerly known as the $100,000 Bar when they were part of the Nestle Conference, a modernized 100 Grand squad from the Ferrara Conference dominated the over-seeded Whatchamacalits in the Round of 32. Likewise, the Hershey Conference favorite Reese’s Pieces crushed Payday to advance to the Sweet 16. In a dizzying array of back-and-forth action throughout, the score would remain tied until the closing seconds of the match when Yellow threw a long alley-oop to Orange who threw it down over the crispy rice treat as the buzzer sounded. The Hershey faithful in the crowd went wild as Reese’s Pieces closed it out 8-7.
Across the brackets we were treated with Easter favorites Cadbury, Robins Eggs, Peanut Butter M&Ms and Jelly Beans trying to hop their way into the Elite 8. Easter Candy Commissioner E. Bunny was on hand like a proud parent, watching his teams dominate a region that was once overrun by rival Christmas Candy Conference participants. Early in the day it would be the creamy center of the Cadbury Egg that overwhelmed the smaller Robins Eggs team, pushing the candy coated chocolates out of the way with a 10-5 win. In a much closer match, it was the variety of flavors that was just too much to handle for the PB-flavored favorites of M&M Eggs. Jelly Beans held onto their slim lead and barely moved on with an 8-7 victory.
At this point in the day, it was all chalk. #1 and #2 seeds from both conferences moved onto the Elite 8, but that wouldn’t be the case for the Non-Chocolate Region. Coming off of a stunning overtime win to knock out #1 Starburst, the kids from Sour Patch lined up against a fiercely squishy Gummy Bears squad to see if they could continue their improbable run. Breezing through the competition thus far, the Haribo Heroes would have their work cut out for them against their sweet and sour foes. Fouling out early, Little Red would not be there to save gummy treats. Tonight, it would take a full team effort. As the sourness wore out, the Bears attacked the now vulnerable Sour-less Patch Kids with a vengeance. First lime, then lemon, then the color-not-found-in-nature blue bear would hammer home the final nail in the Sour Patch coffin. Gummy Bears makes a statement with this 9-6 team win. In other non-chocolate action, the Rainbows had all the right moves against a now fully stretched Laffy Taffy team that took out Ferrara-favorite Lemonheads in the previous round. The Wrigley Conference standout Skittles squad just had too much to offer with Tropical and Wild Berry seeing significant action. Skittles slides across the candy madness rainbow into the Elite 8 with a 10-5 victory over Laffy Taffy.
To close out the night, it was back to the sugary cocoa delights of the Chocolate East Region that served up top seeded favorites and future hall of famers #1 Kit Kat, #2 Hershey’s, #3 Dove Chocolates and #5 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Becoming the top-selling candy in the US by 2017, Reese’s Cups need no introduction to this tourney. With statement wins in the first and second rounds, Reese’s would be put to the test against the top-seeded Kit Kat Bars. But there would be no break for the snap kids of Kit Kat in the Sweet 16. The PB Cups were absolutely dominate cruising to a 10-5 victory knocking the second #1 seed of this year’s tournament. In the bottom half of the bracket it would be the smooth chocolate of Dove that would rise up against like-minded Hershey’s. Having no luck from the classic Hershey bar, the chocolate confections from Pennsylvania tried to give Dove a sweet taste of their own medicine subbing in Hershey’s Nuggets. But it was too little, too late as Dove commanded the floor throughout pushing Hershey aside on their way to the Elite 8 with 10-5 win.
Hope everyone is doing well, and we look forward to crowning our Candy Madness Champion next week!
~ The Commish