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The first four-way contest match immediately showed how different the new format could be. Yoshi took first comfortably, while Knuckles survived Rikku after major voting swings and Vaan's shared fanbase hurt Rikku in the fight for second.

LFF: The writeup explicitly identifies Vaan as the contest's first clear LFF case, saying his shared Square support drained enough from Rikku to cost her an advancing spot.

Mega Man took the expected first place, but the real story was KOS-MOS advancing while Diablo and Arthas split overlapping support. The writeup treats the result as the match that taught Board 8 how LFF worked in four-way polls.

LFF: The writeup says Diablo and Arthas weakened each other by sharing the same Blizzard fanbase, allowing KOS-MOS to advance despite neither Blizzard entrant being individually helpless.

Ryu took first in a result that surprised many bracket players but made sense once Bowser's two fellow Nintendo entrants were considered. Bowser still advanced, but the writeup treats his weak showing as a serious warning for later rounds.

LFF: The writeup says Bowser was weakened by sharing Nintendo support with both Mewtwo and Toad, allowing outside entrant Ryu to take first place comfortably.

Kratos took first in a result that surprised many casual brackets but looked straightforward to the writeup. Donkey Kong still advanced, though sharing Nintendo support with Marth made an already difficult matchup much worse for him.

LFF: The writeup says Donkey Kong and Marth drained each other's Nintendo support, making outsider Kratos's first-place finish effectively inevitable.

Samus dominated while Scorpion comfortably secured the other advancing spot. Midna's earlier weakness and the Nintendo vote drain from Samus left her with little realistic path forward.

LFF: The writeup says Samus drained Nintendo support from Midna, worsening Midna's position against the outside contenders.

Leon won comfortably while Pikachu capitalized on the divided Square field to advance again. The writeup presents Tidus and Vivi as holding each other back and turning Pikachu's favorable draw into another survival.

LFF: The writeup says Vivi and Tidus split Square support badly enough that neither could catch Pikachu, allowing the outside Pokémon entrant to take the second advancing spot.

Kratos took first, but the important result was L-Block advancing again while Kirby was weakened by Donkey Kong. The writeup marks this as the point when L-Block stopped looking like a harmless joke and became a serious contest threat.

LFF: The writeup explicitly says Donkey Kong drained Nintendo support from Kirby, costing Kirby the advancing spot and allowing L-Block to move on.

Squall took control immediately, while Sora decisively reversed his old loss to Aeris. Aeris nearly fell behind Lara as well, making the writeup treat the result as a sharp confirmation of her decline.

LFF: The writeup argues that Squall's presence hurt fellow Square entrant Aeris far more than Sora, helping Sora reverse their old matchup and advance comfortably.

Samus and Mega Man produced a dramatic early duel before Samus eventually established control, while Yoshi and Scorpion fell away. The result strengthened the case that Samus had moved clearly ahead of Mega Man despite the unfavorable Nintendo overlap.

LFF: The writeup says Yoshi's Nintendo support hurt Samus more than Mega Man, making their early first-place battle much tighter than it otherwise would have been.

Cloud overwhelmed the field and further fueled speculation that he could challenge Link. Ryu advanced ahead of Auron, with the writeup treating Cloud's effect on Auron as central to the result.

LFF: The writeup says Cloud's shared Final Fantasy support held Auron down, allowing outside entrant Ryu to benefit and claim the other advancing position.

Pikachu produced one of the contest's biggest shocks by taking first over a field of Capcom characters. The writeup treats the result as a major turning point in Pokémon's growing contest reputation.

LFF: The writeup says the three Capcom entrants divided overlapping support, creating the opening that allowed outside entrant Pikachu to beat them all.

Sonic held off Squall for first, but Squall remained unexpectedly competitive despite sharing support with Sora. The writeup treats Sonic's narrow-looking advantage as another sign that four-way matches exposed his weaknesses.

LFF: The writeup says Sora drained enough Square support from Squall that Squall probably would have beaten Sonic without Sora in the poll.

Link and Sephiroth advanced as expected, but Mario held up better against Link than many anticipated. The writeup treats Link's diminished dominance as the first meaningful encouragement for people hoping Cloud could beat him later.

LFF: The writeup says Mario clearly weakened fellow Nintendo entrant Link, narrowing Link's advantage over Sephiroth and briefly making Link look vulnerable.

Master Chief took first while Dante survived for the other advancing spot. Luigi led early but could not overcome the continued presence of Pikachu, whose run ended while also dragging a major Nintendo character out with it.

LFF: The writeup says Pikachu continued to siphon Nintendo support from Luigi, helping Dante take the second advancing position and eliminating Luigi.