The Seattle International Comedy Competition is a month-long stand-up comedy competition held at various venues throughout Washington State. It has been held every year since 1980 until 2020, when the competition was not run due to pandemic restrictions.
Format Contestants are scored by a panel of judges, not by audience vote. 32 contestants are divided into two week-long heats. The 5 top-rated performers from each heat meet for a week of semi-final performances, and the top five of those compete in the finals week.
Competitors
Many well-known comedians and actors have competed, including 1997 winner Mitch Hedberg, Aisha Tyler, Christopher Titus, Ron Funches, Arj Barker, Sean Kent, radio host Bill Radke, Dwight Slade, Dax Jordan, Auggie Smith, Tom Cotter, Joe Klocek, Jeff Dye, Josh Gondelman, Anne Edmonds, Ria Lina, and Rory Scovel.
The winner of the 2016 Seattle International Comedy Competition was Preacher Lawson.
The winner of the 2019 Seattle International Comedy Competition was Nancy Norton, who became the second of only two women to ever win the Seattle International Comedy Competition, following the late Peggy Platt, who won in 1985. The 2021 Champion, Danny Martinello, also becomes the second of only two Canadian citizens to ever win the competition, following Damonde Tschritter in 2006.
The 2022 champion, Ari Matti from Estonia, became the first performer from outside of North America to win the competition.
Previous winners
Year Winner Runners-Up 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1980David Silverman Dave Parsons Peter Anderson Colin Campbell Gary Larson 1981Evan Davis Peggy Platt Rick Ducommun Arnold Mukai Jan Barrett 1982Gary Larson Chris Alpine Arnold Mukai W.D. Hall Ross Shafer 1983Ross Shafer Peggy Platt Arnold Mukai Steve Smith Dale Irvin 1984Billy Jaye Peggy Platt Rod Long Robert Jenkins Earl Burks 1985Peggy Platt Mike "Boats" Johnson Tom McTigue John Johnson James Stephens III 1986Chris Alpine Jebb Fink Monty Hoffman Robert Jenkins James Stephens III 1987Rod Long Christopher Titus James Stephens III Brad Upton Jebb Fink 1988Steve Stajich Brad Upton Mike Ferrucci Dean Oleson Mike Wally Walter 1989Matt Weinhold Dave Wehner Dwight Slade Louis Johnson Jr. Alpha Trivette 1990Elliot Maxx Greg Wingo Rodney Sherwood Andre Covington Johnny Ray 1991Kermet Apio Dean Oleson Stephen B Ngaio Bealum Rushion McDonald 1992Bill Radke Darryl Lenox Dan Almont Earl Burks Tracy Tuffs 1993Todd Sawyer Derrick Coleman Mike Wally Walter Earl Burks Paul Lyons 1994Tom Cotter Kenny C David Crowe Arj Barker Steven Allen Green 1995David Crowe Floyd J Phillips James Inman Randy Thompson Aisha Tyler 1996John McClellan Floyd J Phillips Don Friesen Dave Fulton Kerry Talmage 1997Mitch Hedberg Auggie Smith Duane Goad Costaki Economopoulos Heneghen 1998Ron Osborne & Joe Vespaziani (tied) n/a Tracy Tuffs Bengt Washburn Arlo Stone 1999Darryl Lenox Tanyalee Davis Damonde Tschritter Rick Kunkler Heneghen 2000Floyd J Phillips Bryan Kellen Heneghen John Beuhler Megan Mooney 2001Dwight Slade Dan Cummins Ron Vaudry Rob Little Bradley Lewis 2002Harrold Gomez Rob Pue Horace HB Sanders David Testroet PJ Walsh 2003 Drake Witham Kevin Williams Patrick Maliha Paul Bae Tommy Savitt 2004Gabriel Rutledge Jen Kober Tony Boswell Joe Klocek Vic Lippucci 2005Lamont Ferguson Heneghen Graham Clark Sadiki Fuller Andy Peters 2006Damonde Tschritter Paul Myrehaug Rory Scovel Tyler Boeh Dylan Mandlsohn 2007Marcus Tony Boswell Leif Skyving Key Lewis Geoff Lott 2008Tommy Savitt Nate Jackson Todd Johnson Justin Rupple Lars Callieou 2009Sean Kent Paul Hooper Travis Simmons Jose Sarduy Rodger Lizaola 2010Auggie Smith Billy Wayne Davis Dax Jordan Drew Barth Eddie Pence 2011Mike Baldwin Rodney Sherwood Rick Kunkler Patrick Keane Mrs. Hughes 2012Michael Malone Joe Klocek Tyrone Hawkins Landry Elliot Maxx 2013Zoltan Kaszas Graham Kay Trenton Davis Dave Merheje Rodger Lizaola 2014Nathan Brannon Kyle Bottom Sterling Scott Matt Donaher Cory Michaelis 2015Dino Archie Mitch Burrow Kortney Shane Williams Al Park Hans Kim 2016Preacher Lawson Mayce Galoni Pat Burtscher Ricarlo Flanagan Billy Anderson 2017 Matt Donaher Alex Falcone Nick Hart Myles Anderson Taylor Clark 2018 Drew Dunn Phillip Kopczynski Landry Bo Johnson Harry J Riley 2019 Nancy Norton James Hancock III Adam Pasi Andrew Rivers Andrew Packer 2020 No competition due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Danny Martinello Sam Miller Tre Tutson Matty Litwack Wyatt Cote 2022 Ari Matti Chase DuRousseau Timmy Booth Rodger Lizaola Mike Eshaq 2023 Brent Lowrey Benny Nwokeabia Mary Lou Gamba Birungi Birungi Jaci Terjeson 2024 Brittany Lyseng Ola Dada Jess Everett Dylan Jenkins John Gardner 2025 Tyrik Woods Brent Ayton Paul Goodwin Jordan Policicchio David Louis
References
External links Official Festival Site