Antonin Artaud Tournament of Cruelty

The Antonin Artaud Tournament of Cruelty was held at Michigan on August 11, 2001. Like its well-received predecessor, the Summer of Kleist, it was written by Paul Litvak, Ben Heller, and a group of no-longer-so-Young Turks of Michigan quizbowl. Notably, after Noel Erinjeri failed to write enough science questions, Paul Litvak replaced 1/1 science in each round with social science, to the reported dismay of Subash Maddipoti.

The tournament was won by the undefeated "Two Gallants," a two-man team consisting of Andrew Yaphe and Ezequiel Berdichevsky. Andrew led the tournament in scoring at 71 ppg, while Kelly McKenzie finished second at 62.5 ppg.

Notably, the tournament also saw Vik Vaz struggle to get to Michigan, which led his teammate, Subash, to offer to charter a plane if it meant that Vik would get there on time. This episode was referenced in the Definitive Greatest Players List, where it was taken as indexical of "the regard in which [Vik] is held by a top player."