Bollinger-Mukherjee Alliance

As observed while eating pizza after Chicago Open 2014, the alliance of Matt Bollinger and Eric Mukherjee (or Bollinjee) has won almost every open tournament they’ve played together, often against walls of superpowered teams. Since Matt Bollinger’s entry into college quizbowl, every Chicago Open has been either won by or written/contributed to by one member of the duo.

The trio of Jeff Hoppes, Seth Teitler, and Selene Koo have a similar claim to fame (as they have won every Chicago Open they’ve all played together).

Victories

• 2010 VCU Open Saturday (with Chris Ray and Dominic Machado)
• 2012 Chicago Open (with Chris Ray and John Lawrence)
• 2014 Chicago Open (with Tommy Casalaspi and Evan Adams. This tournament was particularly notable for having completed UVA’s Triple Crown)
• 2014 VCU Open (with Chris Manners and Aaron Rosenberg)

Non-Victories

• 2010 VCU Open Sunday – 2nd place (with Matt Jackson and Isaac Hirsch). Despite being ridiculously overpowered for the field, they were stopped by a team led by Jerry Vinokurov.
• Modern World - ? place (with Marshall Steinbaum and Sam Bailey). No one really knows how anyone finished at this tournament, but the team had a pretty decent performance nonetheless.