CNN's Chris Cuomo forges ahead in 'Hack' tournament amid scandal, Jeffrey Toobin fails to pull out a victory

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo may be reaping the benefits of his brother's growing scandals as he eyes the top prize in the second annual "Liberal Hack Tournament."

The "Cuomo Prime Time" anchor was swept up in the latest bombshell report about Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is being accused of giving prioritized COVID testing to his relatives, including his famous younger brother. 

Despite his convenient absence from CNN's airwaves this week, Chris Cuomo had a heavy presence in his matchup on Saturday against MSNBC host Joe Scarborough with over 80% of the vote, which was the most decisive victory in the third round. 

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Cuomo is the clear frontrunner in the "Establishment" division and will face off in the league's championship against Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol. 

Kristol managed to put an end to Jeffrey Toobin's underdog winning streak with 56% of the vote. Toobin, a No. 16 seed, was hoping to seek redemption from his Zoom masturbation scandal last fall but underperformed at such a pivotal moment in the tournament.

As CNN's chief legal analyst, Toobin's comeback will sadly be furthered delayed as he holds out hope that he will be invited back to the network as a loyal CNNer since he failed to pull out a victory in the third round. 

"Toobin’s loss demonstrates that showmanship isn’t everything in this tournament. You gotta be special to earn your place, but winning is all about getting hot at the right time," a tournament analyst from the "Ruthless" podcast told Fox News, "And nobody has used the current covid crisis to his advantage like Chris Cuomo. The guy has been on fire."

CNN lost heavy titans this round as Jake Tapper and Don Lemon have also been eliminated, but the liberal network still dominates the tournament with political analyst Ana Navarro, editor-at-large Chris Cillizza, and returning 'Hack' champion Brian Stelter all seeking the crown, making up half of the Elite Eight. 

Navarro is set for an unprecedented "Liberal Activists" championship rematch against Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, whose fanfare over President Biden's press conference this week could carry her into the Final Four once again. Rubin previously defeated Navarro in last year's division championship and went on to face off against Stelter in the final "Liberal Hack" showdown, but was ultimately defeated. 

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In the "Fake News" division, Stelter handily beat PBS NewsHour correspondent Yamiche Alcindor despite her impressive performance at Biden's press conference where she grilled him intensely on the taxpayers' dime. CNN's left-wing media guru will go head-to-head with MSNBC star Joy Reid in the division championship, though it is all but certain at this point he has locked his position in the "Hack" Final Four. 

The third round was a massacre for The New York Times as its star magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones of the fact-challenged "1619 Project" was knocked out of the contest by Rubin and the Times' "internet culture" reporter Taylor Lorenz, a tournament newcomer who was a No. 1 seed in the "Way-Too-Online" division, was sent packing by Twitter's king of disinformation, Vox journalist Aaron Rupar, whose coveted work was recently featured in Chinese propaganda. 

John Weaver, the disgraced co-founder of the disgraced anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project who was accused of sexual harassment, also faced a disappointing finish, losing to CNN's Cillizza in the "Way-Too-Online" division and even appearing to delete his Twitter account in shame of the defeat before the polls closed. Cillizza and Rupar will enter a brutal cage match in the division championship. 

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The tournament, sponsored by the "Ruthless" podcast, is a viral NCAA Tournament-style contest pitting members of the mainstream media against each other in the ultimate fight to become the supreme hack. The matchups are conducted on Twitter by conservative personality and "Ruthless" co-host Comfortably Smug. 

"Ruthless," which is also co-hosted by Josh Holmes and Michael Duncan, is described as a "variety progrum" that "brings the next generation of conservative talk to the next level." New episodes are released every Tuesday and Thursday.