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Link opened the second round by overwhelming Fox and reinforcing his status as the contest favorite. The writeup acknowledges heavy Nintendo SFF but says the performance still looked dominant enough to keep repeat-title expectations intact.

SFF: The writeup explicitly treats Link's rout of fellow Nintendo entrant Fox as an SFF result, while arguing that the size of the win remained impressive despite the overlap.

Cloud comfortably dismissed Auron in a match some had hoped could produce a same-company upset. Instead, the writeup says conventional SFF took over and strengthened the case that Cloud sat near the top of Square's hierarchy.

SFF: The writeup explicitly describes Cloud's victory over fellow Final Fantasy entrant Auron as an SFF beating that overwhelmed any hoped-for reverse-SFF upset effect.

Bowser quickly erased Yoshi's brief opening lead and won a matchup most of the board had expected Yoshi to take. The writeup treats the result as both an upset of prevailing assumptions and a clear SFF performance.

SFF: The writeup says Bowser caught Yoshi and then laid an SFF beatdown on him, overturning expectations built from an earlier favorite-Mario-character poll.

Crono obliterated a Kefka whose first-round struggle had already ended most upset expectations. The unusually severe result sparked arguments about Square SFF and set up the heavily anticipated Mario-Crono rematch.

SFF: The writeup retrospectively treats Crono's blowout of Kefka as an SFF match, while noting that Square SFF was still disputed and poorly understood at the time.

Ocarina of Time crushed the highly regarded Super Mario 64 and added another emphatic result to Zelda's unbeaten run. The writeup treats the same-fanbase matchup as evidence that Ocarina might be closer to Final Fantasy VII than earlier results had suggested.

SFF: The writeup explicitly describes Ocarina of Time versus fellow Nintendo icon Super Mario 64 as a match riddled with SFF when comparing it with Final Fantasy VII's same-round result.

The Wind Waker beat Metroid Prime after the two Nintendo games stayed relatively close until the morning vote created separation. The writeup views the SFF matchup and weak turnout as further signs that Wind Waker was the vulnerable member of Zelda's otherwise dominant contest run.

SFF: The writeup groups Wind Waker versus fellow Nintendo title Metroid Prime with the contest's other SFF matches while discussing its unusually weak turnout.

Link annihilated Ganondorf so thoroughly that the writeup treats the result as both a historic SFF extreme and a championship statement. Ganondorf's standalone strength effectively vanished against the flagship character of his own series.

SFF: The writeup calls Link's destruction of fellow Zelda character Ganondorf the largest SFF beating yet seen, arguing that Ganondorf's normal strength was almost completely suppressed by Link.

Yoshi beat Luigi in a heavily debated Nintendo matchup that ultimately followed the available statistical clues more closely than the hype suggested. The writeup calls the result disappointingly predictable despite the same-fanbase conditions.

SFF: The writeup explicitly describes Yoshi versus Luigi as an SFF affair between Nintendo characters, though it notes that older extrapolated standings still predicted the matchup unusually well.

Crono crushed Magus in a matchup the writeup considers another casualty of the company-based bracket. Magus briefly led with Board 8 support, but the eventual SFF blowout left no useful opportunity to test his real strength.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Magus was hit by SFF against fellow Chrono Trigger character Crono, making the lopsided result a poor measure of Magus's standalone strength.

Mario routed Bowser in another predetermined Hyrule Division matchup, with the writeup again criticizing the bracket for sacrificing strong villains to company-based pairings. The result's main use was as an imperfect SFF comparison before Mario met Crono.

SFF: The writeup says Bowser was SFF'd heavily by Mario in their same-franchise matchup, and treats the result mainly as a distorted comparison point for the upcoming Mario-Crono rematch.

Mario annihilated Ness in a result the writeup treats as an extreme SFF beating. The performance strengthened Mario's championship case while making Ness's earlier upset over CJ look even stranger statistically.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Mario SFFed Ness and argues that the suppression was even stronger than prior same-fanbase results involving Ness.

Zelda crushed Mega Man X in a second-round SFF matchup and kept pace with Final Fantasy in the contest's emerging strength race. The writeup treats the result mainly as another statement that Zelda could realistically win the tournament.

SFF: The writeup explicitly treats Zelda versus Mega Man X as an SFF match, while noting that voters may differ on how strongly they associate Mega Man X with Nintendo.

Metroid beat Pokémon, but Pokémon stayed surprisingly competitive and won scattered updates throughout the match. The writeup treats the result as another example of Metroid struggling inside Nintendo and as long-overdue evidence that Pokémon was stronger than its old reputation suggested.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Pokémon versus Metroid an SFF match and treats overlapping Nintendo support as part of the context for Metroid's unexpectedly weak-looking win.

Resident Evil narrowly held off Street Fighter after a much closer fight than most of Board 8 expected. The writeup credits Street Fighter's favorable picture for helping the upset threat while arguing that current Capcom fanbase overlap ultimately leaned toward Resident Evil.

SFF · Pic: The writeup says the heavily Street Fighter-favored picture gave Street Fighter an advantage, while also arguing that Capcom fanbase overlap likely favored Resident Evil because Resident Evil 4 was then the stronger current draw.

Luigi pulled away after an initially even start, and the writeup says the final closeness overstated how competitive the match really was. It also treats the result as further evidence that Kirby's prior Dream Division strength was misleading.

SFF: The writeup says SFF favored Luigi and made a Kirby comeback effectively impossible once Luigi pulled away.

Link dominated, but the match is remembered as the real beginning of ZackFAQs. Zack's convincing advancement transformed him from a promising newcomer into one of the contest's central bandwagon stories.

SFF: The writeup says Link SFFed Wario into irrelevance, leaving the meaningful race to Zack and Zidane.

Mega Man X seriously challenged Mario for first before Mario's morning surge reversed the race. Zelda narrowly escaped last place but was eliminated, while Mudkip's inability to reproduce a joke run made the match a turning point for bandwagon expectations.

SFF: The writeup characterizes the all-Nintendo field as a heavily leeched matchup and describes Zelda's elimination as another result shaped by overlapping support.

Sephiroth took first as expected, while Kratos again benefited from a field that disadvantaged one of his stronger rivals. Tifa's elimination made the fanbase dynamics more important than the nominal matchup strength.

SFF: The writeup says Sephiroth's shared Final Fantasy support suppressed Tifa, allowing Kratos to take advantage and claim the other advancing spot.

Mario defeated Zelda much more easily than many expected, while Metroid and Ninja Gaiden were reduced to afterthoughts. The result appeared to settle the old NES hierarchy before later rounds complicated it again.

SFF: The writeup says Mario and Zelda crushed Metroid and Ninja Gaiden through heavy Nintendo overlap, leaving the real contest entirely between the two NES giants.

Mario 3 dominated the field, while Sonic recovered from an overnight Street Fighter II lead and used its strong day vote to secure second. The match reinforced both Mario-Sonic overlap and Street Fighter's limited strength.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Super Mario Bros. 3 SFFed Sonic, though Street Fighter II still could not take advantage enough to advance.

A Link to the Past dominated, while Super Metroid and Super Mario Kart repeated almost the same close race and voting trends as their first-round meeting. Metroid again survived, but the rematch lacked the tension its margin suggested.

SFF: The writeup says A Link to the Past was clearly SFFing all three fellow SNES and Nintendo-era games in the poll.

Chrono Trigger built an overnight lead on Mario 64, only to collapse badly once Mario's morning vote arrived. Mario 64 turned the match into a convincing win and shattered expectations for Chrono Trigger's deeper run.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Yoshi's Island was SFFed into a very weak last-place showing, with Mario 64 providing the clearest source of the overlap.

Melee won easily, while Diablo II repeated its first-round success and comfortably advanced again. Halo collapsed to last behind a SFF-affected Wind Waker, producing another major embarrassment for the series.

SFF: The writeup says Melee SFFed Wind Waker, though Wind Waker still held up better than expected and even finished ahead of Halo.

Brawl annihilated Galaxy and sent Call of Duty 4 through in second, turning Galaxy's disappointing first round into a full collapse. The writeup elevates Brawl into serious finals contention after the result.

SFF: The writeup calls Brawl's suppression of Super Mario Galaxy one of the most meaningful SFF beatings in contest history.

Sonic comfortably suppressed Knuckles and used the result to undercut the idea that single-series favorite polls translate directly into contest matchups. Knuckles's brief early lead supplied the only real drama.

SFF: The writeup says Sonic easily SFFed Knuckles despite Knuckles having won an old Sonic-series favorite poll.

Cloud rebounded from his weak first-round showing and dominated an RE5-boosted Chris far more decisively than expected. The writeup treats fanbase overlap as the most plausible explanation for Chris collapsing so badly.

SFF: The writeup says Final Fantasy VII-over-Resident Evil SFF is the likeliest explanation for Chris Redfield performing worse against Cloud than Ridley had.

Link won comfortably while Raiden secured second after Yoshi faded under heavy Nintendo overlap. The writeup also treats Link's low turnout as another sign that voters were tiring of his dominance.

SFF: The writeup says Yoshi tried to resist Link's SFF but could not stay competitive, allowing Raiden to take second in the Expert Challenge ordering.

Pikachu decisively eliminated Crono after Magus collapsed under same-series overlap. The result became one of the clearest signs that the old Noble Nine hierarchy no longer controlled the bracket.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Magus was SFFed into the ground by Crono, giving Pikachu the opening it needed.

Red dominated while Wrex took advantage of Wario's severe Nintendo overlap to claim second in the Expert Challenge ordering. The result made Wrex's first-round upset look more legitimate.

SFF: The writeup says Red SFFed Wario, allowing Wrex to pass the Nintendo character comfortably for second in the Expert Challenge ordering.

Kirby demolished Isaac in a matchup the writeup considers heavily distorted by shared Nintendo and handheld appeal. The blowout further strengthened Kirby's status as a division favorite.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Kirby versus Isaac an SFF match, arguing that Kirby's handheld-heavy Nintendo fanbase strongly overlaps with Golden Sun's audience.

Smash Ultimate crushed A Link Between Worlds in a badly drawn same-audience matchup. The writeup treats the loss as unusually harsh for a Zelda game but heavily distorted by Nintendo overlap.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Smash Ultimate versus A Link Between Worlds a standard SFF match and says the Zelda game was likely suppressed heavily by the stronger Nintendo title.

The Witcher 3 obliterated Mass Effect 3 and looked increasingly untouchable in the lower half of the bracket. The writeup treats the scale of the rout as partly fanbase suppression and partly genuine elite strength.

SFF: The writeup says The Witcher 3 suppressed Mass Effect 3 through what became known as Western SFF, with their overlapping Western RPG audience making the blowout even larger.

God of War demolished Nioh and continued to look strong enough for a deep run. The writeup sees some fanbase overlap in the rout but still considers God of War's underlying performance impressive.

SFF: The writeup says Nioh was probably suppressed to some extent by God of War because both games appealed to overlapping PlayStation action audiences.

Sonic Mania unexpectedly routed Super Meat Boy in what had been treated as a close matchup. The writeup attributes part of the blowout to overlapping platformer support.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Sonic Mania versus Super Meat Boy an SFF match, arguing that the two platformers share enough audience for Sonic to suppress the indie game.