2021 Series Showdown Champions
In 2020, Waypoint created the Series Showdown to connect hunting and fishing communities through social media. It quickly turned into a fierce and formidable race to the top, with shows encouraging their fans and followers to get involved and vote to help them make it to the championship round. The flame had been lit, and it became our responsibility to carry it onward.
For Spring 2021, we started making plans to gear up for an even bigger competition.
Waypoint’s second annual March Madness-style contest put our top shows against each other through fan voting in order to see who will emerge as the fan-favorite. This year, we received over 300,000 total votes and reached over 2 million people, breaking all records from the previous year.
“This year, we received over 300,000 total votes and reached over 2 million people, breaking all records from the previous year.”
16 Shows competed in the Fishing Bracket as well as 16 in the Hunting Bracket. The Fishing Bracket qualifiers consisted of show titles: Into the Blue, Silver Kings, Guidelines, Lindner's Angling Edge, Fly Rod Chronicles, Spanish Fly, The Captain's Log, Saltwater Experience, Flats Class, The Next Bite, Uncharted Waters with Peter Miller, Guiding Flow, Breaking Boundaries, Two Conchs, Sweetwater, and Local Knowledge.
The Hunting Bracket qualifiers consisted of show titles: Struttinbuck, No Limits Hunting, Bone Maniacs, Small Town Hunting, Team 200, Wired Outdoors, Sporting Classics, Midwest Whitetail, Heartland Bowhunter, Red Rising, The Hunting Public, Backwoods Life, The Breaking Point, Rival Wild, Canadian Whitetail, and The Given Right.
From the first round, the contest immediately started heating up, with Bone Maniacs taking down last year's champions Struttinbuck, and The Captain’s Log putting up record voting numbers - we could tell this year was going to be great.
“Hats off to all the participants. A big thanks to everyone involved in making such a fun and successful event. I’m already looking forward to next year’s competition!”
As the contest moved on, we finally had our final four: Bone Maniacs, The Given Right, The Hunting Public, and Wired Outdoors in the Hunting Bracket, and The Captain's Log, Uncharted Waters, Guidelines, and Breaking Boundaries in the Fishing Bracket. With over 100,000 votes in, this year’s Showdown was shaping up to be our biggest yet. Doubleheaders created a fierce Final Four competition spread over two days, and things only got more intense. Votes climbed to record highs, and sponsors got involved, offering prizes and giveaways to incentivize fans to vote for their show.
After the smoke cleared, the finals were set—The Captain's Log vs. Uncharted Waters and Bone Maniacs vs. The Given Right. With voting continuing through the weekend and tens of thousands of votes per show coming in, it was a whole new level of competition. "Hats off to all the participants. A big thanks to everyone involved in making such a fun and successful event. I'm already looking forward to next year's competition!" said Builder Brock, CEO of Waypoint.
“The Waypoint TV Showdown was an exciting and humbling experience. To be in the Top 16 was amazing, then to make it all the way to the finals and win. Who saw that coming? No one!”
Both champions were thrilled with the result. The entire team at The Given Right was stated, "We are super proud and humbled by the tremendous support from our friends, family, and loyal fans who voted for us." As they took the trophy for the hunting bracket.
Jonathan Moss, host of The Captain's Log was ecstatic, "The Waypoint TV Showdown was an exciting and humbling experience. To be in the Top 16 was amazing, then to make it all the way to the finals and win. Who saw that coming? No one!"
Winners of this year's Series Showdown received exclusive bragging rights as well as an entire 6-hour marathon on the Waypoint network. Second place for each bracket will also receive a 3-hour mini-marathon. With the success of this year's Showdown, we are already planning to take things to a whole new level next year. Stay tuned for the winner and runner-up marathons coming to Waypoint soon.