What? Just a minute. Is that right? OK then, this year, for the first time in the competition’s history, the winner is an American, Boston funnyman Tom Dustin, who was almost speechless by his win.

Confetti flies as Mark Breslin announces Tom Dustin as winner of the 2010 Laugh Off

David Baker and Martha Chaves look on as Mark Breslin brings a speechless Tom Dustin to the mic

2010 Laugh Off winner Tom Dustin is all smiles with his $25,000 grand prize cheque

Yuk Yuk’s Mark Breslin, the evening’s stellar host said, ‘I think this shows that Americans, when they apply themselves, can be just as funny as Canadians. We expect to see a lot more international contestants in the years to come.’ 

Another record was broken with a tie for second place. Ottawa’s Martha Chaves and England’s David Baker split the prize of a year’s worth of roach traps, the ultimate in comedy home decor. 

Special thanks to the judges: Ashley Olivia, booker for Conan O’Brien; Bruce Hills, COO of Just for Laughs; Late Show with David Letterman’s Eddie Brill and Michelle Daly from The Comedy Network. With tonight’s high calibre talent, they had their work cut out for them. And thanks to warm-up man, the always warm, Lawrence Morgenstern.

And with that, another Laugh Off comes to a close. Thanks for joining us!

Tonight, they’ll be competing in the Yuk Yuk’s Laugh Off finals and a chance to win the grand prize of $25,000.

Please welcome:  Patrick Haye, L.A. King, Tim Gilbert, Darcy Michael, Martha Chaves, David Baker, Tom Dustin and Landry.

MC for tonight is Yuk Yuk’s founder and CEO, Mark Breslin.

Celebrity judges:

- Eddie Bill, Comedy Booker for The Late Show with David Letterman
- Michelle Daly, Director of Content forThe Comedy Network
- Ashley Olivia, Comedy Booker for Conan O’Brien
- Bruce Hills, Chief Operating Officer of Just for Laughs

The show begins at 8 PM at Yuk Yuk’s, 224 Richmond Street West - west of University Ave between Simcoe & Duncan.  For reservations call 416-967-6425 or visit the online reservations desk.

And don’t forget to watch for the Comedy Network special.

The first show was dominated by the first two performers, with Ottawa’s local Laugh Off winner Martha Chaves and London’s David Baker moving on to the big show.

The second show had the audience rocking and rolling out of their seats. Some comedians were crass, some were clean, but it was Tom Dustin and Landry who took the cake.

Congratulations to all the Laugh Off comedians who have yukked their way tthrough the Laugh Off. We wish we could take all of you to the finals! (But we cannot.)

See you all tomorrow night for a spectacular finale!

Check back for more funny video recaps as we continue posting clips as videos come in.

Tonight’s MC was the high energy, raucus Alyson Smith - who kept the audiences captivated through both shows with her quick wit and catchy lines.  Rob Ross headlined both shows with his laid back cranky hilarity.

The jokes were flying through the whole first show, leaving the audience soar-jawed from laughter.  Esteemed judges Rudy Blair, Mike Bullard, Shinan Govani and Spencer Rice had tough decisions to make, but it’s Patrick Haye and L.A King that will be performing again on Sunday.

The second show kept the pace going and had the crowd rolling in the aisles.  Judges Millan Curry-Sharples, Jeff Seymour and Vinessa Antoine had tough decisions to make, but Tim Gilbert (left) and  Darcy Michael (right) won them over to make their way into the finals.

The semis continue on Saturday night with two more shows to determine who will join Patrick, L.A, Tim and Darcy in the finals on Sunday.  Only one can take home the $25,000 grand prize -  you don’t want to miss this!  To reserve tickets call 416-967-6425 or reserve online.

Tonight is THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE LAUGH OFF SEMIFINALS! We’re expecting a packed house, so call the box office ASAP to get tickets and avoid disappointment.

Crowd energy was high as the MC took the stage and did some hilarious back and forth banter with the audience.  After getting the crowd under control with “We have to stop this because you guys will never be as good as me at this,” the competition started with Imran Yusuf all the way from London, England. It was a stiff competition full of international talent, but only two could move on, and the North Americans stole the show.

It was the edgy humour of Tom Dustin from Boston, Massachusetts, and the quick wit of Darryl Purvis from Nova Scotia who brought the laughs the hardest and will be moving on to this weekend’s semi-finals!

Pictured above, Tom (left) and Darryl (right), had a rough start to their relationship, which escalated to an almost physical altercation, (we’re joking of course - they’re comedians) but ended in a warm embrace  as they move closer to winning the $25,000 grand prize.

The semi-finals start Friday - come down this weekend to watch the winners battle it out and see who claims victory on Sunday.  Call 416-967-6425 or reserve your tickets online .

We had some stellar performances, but in the end it was the dry wit of Andrea Henry (Norton) and screaming antics of Bobby Mair (LLO Winner, Vaughn) that won our esteeemed judges over.

It’s only going to get busier and crazier so snap up those tickets while you still can! Reserve tickets by calling 416-967-6425 or reserving online.

The young crowd stayed laughing as Lars Calleiou (right) and Peter White (left) won the judges over to move to the semifinals.

Our thanks to the judges, and everyone that came out to enjoy a night of laughs.  The next night of fun starts Wednesday at 8 pm.  Reserve tickets by calling 416-967-6425 or reserve online.

Didn’t catch the shows? Oh no, not to worry! Resident Laugh Off laughologist Fatima has been cooking up some video highlights from the first five rounds of the contest!

Here are the highlights from March 19’s Laugh Off:

MC Dave Martin (photo: left) started the evening with a high-tech warning: Please turn your cellphones to vibrate. If you have a pager, what’s wrong with you? It’s time to get a cell phone.

Special guest was Jeff McEnery, the winner of the first Laugh Off whose Olympic Closing Ceremony bit should win comedy gold. Watch for Jeff on his upcoming Comedy Now special.

In the early show, the talent to watch out for performed at the end. The winners were both Yuk Yuk’s Laugh Off local champs: from London, L.A. King and from Calgary, Trent McLellan. Their high energy material made them shoe-ins for the semifinals next weekend.

Competition was stiffer in the late show with five comics turning in near winning sets.  But only two get to move onto the semifinals: Kitchener’s local Laugh Off rep and former Rasta with a mullet, Landry and London’s (England, that is)ginger-tongued, David Baker.

Thanks to all the comic contestants and Glen Foster for the all-Canadian-all-the-time feature sets.

See you tomorrow!

Trent McClellan & L.A. King

Landry & David Baker

The first show was a great start to the night with Bryan O’Gorman and Tim Gilbert moving on to the semi-finals.

The second show was full of laughs and left the audience wanting more. When it was all said and done, Martha Chaves and Patrick Haye won the judges over to move on to the semi finals next week.

We would like to thank the judges for the shows, who had very tough decisions to make: Canadian celebrity and comedian Tony Rosato, Rachel Goldstein-Couto from The Comedy Network, Tim Shore from BlogTO, agent Kathryn McCartney, casting director Jeff Marshall, Ryan Bruce from Fade to Black TV, Carlos Hicks from Hicks Talent Management and talent agent Maria Sant’Angelo.

Of course, the Laugh Off wouldn’t be possible without the support of our great sponsors:

Toronto Star
Belair Travel
Town Inn Suites
Via Rail Canada

A big hand to everyone that came out and enjoyed the show - see you Saturday for day two!

After much anticipation, we’re finally here. Tonight is the first night of the Yuk Yuk’s Laugh Off and it’s going to be a stellar one! Tell your family, friends, dog and cat to follow the hooting and hollering all the way to 224 Richmond Street.

The contest has been popping up all over the news, from the Toronto Star to NOW Magazine.

Lucky funny man Anthony Mlekuz got a special feature written about him in the Hamilton Spectator. He beat out more than 30 comedians for the title of Hamilton Local Laugh Off Champion. You can read the full article here.

Don’t wait a second longer to get your tickets for the Laugh Off! The fun starts tomorrow.

For reservations, please call, 416-967-6425 or visit yukyukslaughoff.com.

If you’re a comedy student or aspiring comedian in the GTA, take advantage of this opportunity to come to Yuk Yuk’s Toronto and watch live performances from March 19th - 28th.  Click here for show dates and times.  Tickets can be reserved online, or by calling 416-967-6425.

Most Canadians will recognize Bullard from his late-night talk show career, hosting Open Mike with Mike Bullard on CTV and The Mike Bullard Show on Global.

He currently hosts ‘The Mike Bullard Show’ on Talk820 Radio in Hamilton, Ontario.

Photo credit: jam.canoe.ca

In today’s Ottawa Citizen, Peter Simpson wrote about Local Laugh Off winner Martha Chaves who is on her way to Toronto after winning in Ottawa.

Don’t forget to reserve your tickets to the Laugh Off by calling 416-967-6425 or reserve them online!

In no particular order, the second wave of comedians competing in the Laugh Off are:

NAME - (Laugh Off Category) - FROM

Martha Chaves  -  (LLO)  -  Ottawa Canada
Tim Gilbert  -  (Can Pro)  -  Toronto Canada
Kate Anderson  -  (US Am)  -  Buffalo USA
Chelcie Rice  -  (US Am)  -  Atlanta USA
James Harris  -  (US Am)  -  New York USA
Matt Esteves  -  (LLO)  -  St. Johns Canada
Keith Lenart  -  (US Pro)  -  Westland USA
Spencer King  - (US Pro)  -  Orem USA
Allyson Smyth  -  (Can Pro)  -  Toronto Canada
Darryl Purvis  -  (Can Pro)  -  Toronto Canada
Christopher Owor  -  (US Am)  -  Houston USA
Tom Dustin  -  (Us Pro)  -  Everett USA
Gary Peterson  -  (US am)  -  Weymouth USA

Keep checking the Newsroom for more contest information, including the final list of comedians that make up the 64 comedians competing in the Laugh Off that starts Friday, March 19th.