Yall. The Sweet (and Savory) 16 was one of the tightest rounds of voting we have ever had with the exception of a few blowouts. I kept checking on a few of these match-ups and they were back and forth the whole time. As hard as voting in the last round was, I feel confident in how I’m going to vote in the Elite 8 – which I was reprimanded on Facebook last round for not finishing the pun at the end of the last post. I went with El-Eat 8. The appropriate pun, which I feel incredibly shameful about missing out on, is El-Eat Ate. Gotta finish the pun. I’ll be better. I promise.

The Regional Finals begins now and voting will end Sunday April 12 at 5pm Central. Good luck with making up your mind on some of these.

But first — Let’s get on to the results! Remember all “scores” are percentages from voting.

BURGER REGION

(1) McDonald’s vs (4) Wendy’s

We came out of the gate with a great match-up. Two of the biggest burger places in the world going up against each other. 4 seed Wendy’s gave Ronald all he could take but in the end, the 1 seed McDonald’s came out with a 4 vote victory 51-49.

(2) Whataburger vs (6) Five Guys

The other Burger Regional semi-final was, well, less of a question from beginning to end as the 2 seed Whataburger ran wire-to-wire getting the win 85-15 over 6 seed Five Guys.

 

This sets up a game that we all saw coming as the top two Burger Region seeds get to battle it out in the regional final.

 

SANDWICH REGION

(2) Firehouse Subs vs (3) Jason’s Deli

This one was tough for me to pick, but in the end I went with the hometown eatery. Most of you decided the same as I did as the 3 seed Jason’s Deli fought it’s way into the Regional Final on the back of a 78-22 win over 2 seed Firehouse Subs.

(4) McAlister’s vs (8) Schlotzsky’s

I love me some McAlister’s sandwiches and sweet tea. The result here was kind of a surprise to me as the 8 seed Schlotzsky’s pulled the upset over the 4 seed by a final of 63-37. Sleep well, sweet tea.

 

Neither of these games was super competitive, but the final sets up nicely as the strong 3 seed Jason’s Deli gets to face off against the Sandwich Cinderella 8 seed Schlotzsky’s.

 

CHICKEN REGION

(1) Chick-fil-A vs (4) Raising Cane’s

Chick-fil-A is a behemoth. They were always going to be a tough out and 4 seed Raising Cane’s gave them all they had but it just wasn’t enough as the 1 seed ran them out of the building 82-18.

(2) Popeyes vs (3) Church’s

This match-up y’all. For real. As far as straight chicken fast food joints go, this is the title match. This is the match-up I was most interested in because I really had no idea how to vote and it was back and forth all week. In the end this was the most competitive match-ups we have ever had. After almost 130 votes, 2 seed Popeyes came out victorious via a ONE VOTE win over 3 seed Church’s 50.39-49.61. This is the first time I’ve ever had to break it down to decimals, y’all. Unbelievable.

 

We get our second 1/2 seed regional final. Popeyes vs Chick-fil-A. Can Popeyes take down the 1 seed? The closest game Chick-fil-A has had so far has been 84-16.

 

MISCELLANEOUS REGION

(1) Dairy Queen vs (4) Taco Bell

This one was tough as well. I think the food at Taco Bell is better, but DQ has the treats. The Blizzard just wasn’t enough as the 4 seed Taco Bell moves on, taking down the 1 seed Dairy Queen 70-30.

(6) Sonic vs (10) Dunkin’ Donuts

I was consistently surprised by how much people loved them some Dunkin’. This game was back and forth all week as well but the 6 seed Sonic found a way to hold on late and take out our last remaining double digit seed Dunkin’ Donuts via a 3 vote final 51-49.

 

Or last region has been the most chaotic of the four and that continues as our last two remaining teams are a 4 seed and a 6 seed.

 

That leaves us with our bracket looking like this:

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Elite 8

BURGER REGION

(1) McDonald’s vs (2) Whataburger

 

SANDWICH REGION

(3) Jason’s Deli vs (8) Schlotzsky’s

 

CHICKEN REGION

(1) Chick-fil-A vs (2) Popeyes

 

MISCELLANEOUS REGION

(4) Taco Bell vs (6) Sonic

 

 

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Alright y’all, the Regional Finals are all set. Time to see who is our favorite in each category. Let’s get to voting! See you guys on Monday with our Final 4!