All Over Albany

The Tournament of Pizza finals

Pizza King vs. Pasquale's

The final round of the Tournament of Pizza has arrived. After starting with 16 pizza places, we're down to just two: Schenectady's Pizza King and Albany's Pasquale's.

Which pizza will take the title?

Let's eat.

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Round 3: The Semi-Finals

Top: D'Andrea's vs. Pizza King; Bottom: I Love NY vs. Pasquale's

It's crunch time as the four remaining pizzerias in the Tournament of Pizza head into the semi-finals. Anyone left in the field could take the title -- it's all a matter of execution. And this round's challenge is a bit different than the first two: we ordered broccoli ricotta white pizzas. Yep, the red sauce stayed on the sidelines for this one.

Could the pizzas hold up to going sans tomato? Would anyone making a costly mistake? Who will face off for the title?

There's only one way to find out. Pizzas, please.

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The Tournament of Pizza semi-finals

We've come to the last week of the Tournament of Pizza. Here are how things have shaped up so far:

Round 3 is tomorrow. It will be a matchup of broccoli ricotta white pizzas.

Round 2: Albany

Pasquale's vs. Inferno

The pepperoni round makes its last stop in Albany for a matchup between Pasquale's and Inferno. Pasquale's topped one of the favorites in this competition, Paesan's, 2-1 in Round 1. Inferno breezed past an underwhelming effort by Sovrana 3-nil.

Who will be the final member of the semi-finals?

Let's eat!

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Round 2: Troy

Red Front vs. I Love NY

The pepperoni round rolls into Troy for a big, big showdown between Red Front and I Love NY. Both places are coming off convincing 3-0 wins in Round 1: Red Front over the famed DeFazio's and I Love NY over Knotty Pine.

It's a matchup not for the faint of heart -- or the small of stomach. These are pizzas that demand to be eaten. Who will prevail!

Let's eat!

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Round 2: Schenectady

Home Style vs. Pizza King

The pepperoni round stops in Schenectady today for a matchup between Home Style and Pizza King. A quick recap of Round 1 in this bracket: Home Style made it to the second round by beating its neighbor down the block, Scotti's, 2-1. Pizza King advanced with a convincing 3-nil win over Fireside.

That leaves us with a Downtown vs. Upper Union matchup. Whose pepperoni will come out on top?

Let's go the pizza!

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Round 2: Saratoga

D'Andrea's vs. Caputo's

The Tournament of Pizza returns to Saratoga for the opening of the second round. This time around, we ordered pepperoni pizzas. The scoring works the same way. After a blind side-by-side tasting, the judges vote on their favorite -- most votes wins.

Here's how we got here. In Round 1, D'Andrea's edged out Marino's 2-1 on the strength of its "very thin, crisp crust." And Caputo's beat out Broadway Pizza 2-1, though the judges didn't seem too impressed with either competitor.

OK, let's taste some pizza!

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The pepperoni round

Here are how things stand as we head into Round 2 of the Tournament of Pizza:

Round 2 is the pepperoni round. It kicks off tomorrow with D'Andrea's vs. Caputo's in the Saratoga Bracket.

Round 1: Albany

The Albany bracket.

The opening round of the Tournament of Pizza makes its last stop in Albany. The matchups: Paesan's vs. Pasquale's and Sovrana vs. Inferno.

Let's taste some pizza!

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Round 1: Troy

The Troy bracket.

The opening round of the Tournament of Pizza heads to Troy. Lots of favorites in this bracket. The matchups: DeFazio's vs. Red Front and Knotty Pine vs. I Love NY.

Let's go to the results.

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Round 1: Schenectady

The Schenectady bracket.

Round 1 of The Tournament of Pizza moves on to Schenectady. The matchups: Scotti's vs. Home Style and Fireside vs. Pizza King. Who will win the battle of upper Union? And can the Pizza King live up to its name?

Let's go to the action.

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Round 1: Saratoga

The Saratoga bracket.

Round 1 of The Tournament of Pizza opens in Saratoga. The matchups of cheese pizzas: Marino's vs. D'Andrea's and Broadway Pizza vs. Caputo's. Can the institution topple the funky crosstown rival? How will the downtown upstart handle the suburban stalwart?

There was only one way to find out.

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Meet the judges

The judges in Saratoga.

Right, so about this Tournament of Pizza business. Well, we needed judges. So we reached out to some local foodies. Here are the people who will be scoring this affair:

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The Tournament of Pizza

A whole lot of pizza is going to be eaten.

It seems like there's pizza a place on every other corner in the Capital Region. And for every one of those pizzerias, there are probably about 20 opinions about which one is the best. Pizza everywhere x 20 = a whole lot of talk about pizza.

Well, we can talk about which place in the Capital Region has the best pizza, or we can actually do something about it (mainly, eat a bunch of pizza). We've chosen the latter. So let us introduce the Capital Region Tournament of Pizza.

What, you may ask, is the Tournament of Pizza?

Well, it's a tournament. Of pizza. Here's how it works...

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