raised eyebrows
surprised people, perhaps in an unpleasant way

rout
overwhelming defeat

runners up
people or team in second place

eliminated
removed from the competition

unexpected
unforeseen, surprising

crack down
put a stop to

corruption
dishonest behaviour, especially of people in authority for profit

suspicious
making you feel that something is wrong, illegal or dishonest

divisive
causing people to disagree with each other strongly

elite
superior