Zac Amico: 2016 RoastMasters NYC Champion!
Luis J. Gomez hosted a giant night of fights on Tuesday night at The Stand comedy club in NYC. Comedians and comedy fans filed into The Stand to see who would take home the first ever RoastMasters NYC Championship belt.
Sixteen comics went after the title in a single elimination tournament spanning 6 weeks, all hungry to win the belt. The final four took the stage on Tuesday– it was Zac Amico, Christi Chiello, J.P. McDade and Evan Williams — but it was Zac Amico who outwitted the top battlers to become the first titleholder in RoastMasters NYC history.
Zac first had a rematch with Comedy Central Roast Battle star Christi Chiello, while Williams and McDade faced off in the early round of the evening. Later in the night after winning their first battles, Amico took on J.P. McDade for the win.
A massive seven judge panel determined the outcome so there were more judges than roasters. Big Jay Oakerson, Sal Vulcano, Mike Lawrence, Dan Soder, Mark Normand, Nate Bargatze, and the host of Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, the Roast Master himself, Jeff Ross, voted in Zac’s favor crowning (or more accurately, belting) him the champion. Zac accepted the title belt and thanked everyone for their incredible support. “Huge thanks to everyone involved in Roastmasters. Thank you Mike Lawrence and Luis J. Gomez, Patrick Milligan, and everyone at The Stand…and thanks to all the incredible comics I’m honored and humbled to share a stage with: J.P., Christi, and Evan are all awesome, talented, and wonderful.”
Comedy Central’s Roast Battle Champion Mike Lawrence who also produces the NY show said Zac deserved the win. “No one worked harder than Zac and had it pay off as well. Lots of people worked as hard, but ultimately they were losers. Zac has a face only a mother could love and jokes only a racist uncle would repeat out loud.”
Not only did Zac win a championship belt, he will also be competing in Comedy Central’s Road To Roast Battle 2 this season. Currently, a total of 11 comedians, plus RoastMasters NYC host Luis J. Gomez, were selected out of the tournament field of 16 to test their might for the 2017 Comedy Central Roast Battle Championship.
Fans can log on to The GaS Digital Network now to watch the tournament finals in full High Definition.
The RoastMasters NYC circuit continues on Tuesday, November 15th @ 10:30pm as seeding begins to see who will be Zac’s opponent for his first title defense. FREE tickets will be available on The Stand NYC’s website soon.
