2021 ONCT
| 2021 AQBL ONCT | |
|---|---|
| Edited by | [1] |
| Champion | "Scalene Triangle" |
| Runner-up | Detroit Country Day |
| Third | St. Mark's |
| Fourth | Ladue |
| High scorer | Aiden Dartley, "Billy Joel A" |
| Site | Online |
| Field | 64 |
| Stats | [2] |
The 2021 ONCT took place on June 26–27. The tournament was held online though Discord. "Scalene Triangle" (Joel Miles and Brendan Fuller) cleared the field, defeating Detroit Country Day 280–260 in the first game of an advantaged final. St. Mark's and Ladue finished 3rd and 4th, respectively.
The tournament was heavily promoted on the high school quizbowl Discord, and was attractive due to its lower cost compared to HSNCT and NSC. 64 teams registered from across the US, though the number of top-ranked teams was lower than at the other two major nationals.
Issues
The tournament did not run as smoothly as intended. This was in part due to the use of Discord video (considered more lag-prone than Zoom) and to staffer inexperience. The tournament directors failed to communicate a schedule change until Saturday morning, causing teams to suddenly learn they had 9 rounds that day instead of 7, the number announced in pre-tournament emails. Due to delays, the schedule was changed again that evening, with the last 2 Saturday rounds being moved back to Sunday. (The latter issue also occurred at 2021's NSC and NASAT.)
By the end of prelims, several low-placing teams had dropped out of the tournament, leading to forfeits in multiple brackets. Additionally, several teams' wins were vacated after a player from each was found to have cheated by searched up answers over the course of the prelims; this could have been addressed more quickly had inexperienced readers not been assigned to rooms without separate scorekeepers, who would have helped to discern suspicious behavior.
Other critiques included the use of half-packet tiebreaker games for two-way ties (in accordance to AQBL tiebreaker policy), instead of the full packets used at other nationals; and the use of an advantaged final when the top two teams did not face common opponents in the superplayoffs.