Whoa, Nelly! This is it, folks. The whole enchilada. The grand finale. The ultimate test of civic subjectivity! For the first time in Atlanta's Curbed Cup tournament history, the Finals sees a No. 1 seed squaring off with a No. 2. So in some ways, this year's quest for everlasting bragging rights was predictable, but don't tell that to West End and Kirkwood, who've scratched and clawed their way to this glorious, gleaming plateau. Voting for the Finals will be open until the very end of 2015, and Atlanta's next "Neighborhood of the Year" champion will be officially crowned on Monday.

West End (No. 1) has been on a warpath for nearly a month, since the nominations stage of this year's Curbed Cup contest, racking up the most pre-tourney shout-outs in 2015, by far. West End followed its seeding success by edging East Atlanta, downing downtown and dethroning 2014 Curbed Cup champion Reynoldstown in convincing fashion (capturing 2,375 votes of 3,555 cast). This burgeoning Beltline neighborhood has been one of the strongest Curbed Cup performers in cities around the country this year.

Meanwhile, Kirkwood (No. 2) is making a strong bid to become Atlanta's first-ever repeat Curbed Cup champion, after snatching the prestigious fake trophy in a heated 2013 Finals with Grant Park. Kirkwood's path to near-legendary status hasn't been easy, as match-ups with Curbed Cup heavyweights Inman Park and Westside were relatively close this year. And its Final Four face-off with neighbor East Lake was insanely close — decided by just 87 votes of 6,819 cast.

So it's come to this: two prideful neighborhoods on flipsides of Atlanta, hungry for that hardware. Let the people determine the victor, and let the last elimination of 2015 commence!



