METUCHEN, NJ: The 3 remaining champions have been crowned in Toronto with two of them heading to the Cricket Bee Finals in New Jersey later this month. Param Desai of Brampton, ON was declared second runner up, Sandeep Singh of Brampton, ON was first runner up and the Regional champion was Vidyasagar Sethu of Scarborough, ON. The competition allows cricket fans to compete for prizes while sharing their knowledge of the game to win a cash prize of $10,000.

Opened to those 18 and older, the MoneyGram Cricket Bee continued the search of the brightest Cricket fan with regional rounds in San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, New Jersey and concluded in Toronto, each testing participantsâ€™ general cricket knowledge. The regional contest had two components, a written test and an oral test. In the written qualifier, contestants were asked 35 questions. They had to get at least 25 correct to advance to the oral round. In the oral round, the contest was held on a miss and out basis; simply if a contestant missed the right answer, they were eliminated.

Unlike quiz shows, the Cricket Bee is conducted so that contestants are competing with themselves and the question posed to them as opposed to their peers.

â€œWe are thrilled to sponsor the 2017 Cricket Bee and as always, we enjoy being a part of an initiative that our customers are passionate about,â€ says Wendi Schlarb, MoneyGramâ€™s head of marketing for the Americas. â€œCricket is a sport that brings friends and loved ones around the world closer together, much like MoneyGramâ€™s services. Itâ€™s always exciting to be a part of activities that support our South Asian communities.â€

Kawan Foods serves as the powered by sponsor for the innovative event and has been deeply involved with the South Asian community through various initiatives and hopes to connect with the entire Cricketing community here in the US and Canada.

â€œWe want to congratulate the winners of the regional contest and wish them continued success in their endeavor to win $10,000,â€ said Tim Tan, MD Kawan Foods.

â€œThere was a lot of excitement and immense talent at the regional which goes to show how passionate people are about the game. Participants had an opportunity to network and interact with other cricket players and enthusiasts from various cities and I am very happy to have our first set of finalists.â€ said Rahul Walia, Founder of the Cricket Bee.

In Canada Zee TV served as the media partner and helped spread the word to Cricket enthusiasts across the country.

The finals are slated for August 12th and are open for the public to watch. You can reserve seats by calling 848-248-4199.

The 2017 MoneyGram Cricket Bee Toronto announced