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Alucard's victory surprised most of Board 8 even though the broader bracket predictions were nearly split. Tails cut into the percentage at times, but the writeup says Alucard controlled the match throughout and turned an apparent fluke into the start of a real contest reputation.

Alucard followed his surprise win over Tails by beating Duke even more convincingly, turning an obscure entrant into an unexpected divisional semifinalist. The writeup also notes that weak opposition had helped make the run possible.

Cloud ended Alucard's surprise run, but did not dominate as thoroughly as his earlier matches suggested he might. The writeup says that performance, combined with Mario's previous showing, restored genuine uncertainty before Mario versus Cloud.

Alucard comfortably beat Bomberman while remaining less trusted than his previous contest results warranted. The writeup treats the victory as another steady step toward the much more debated Alucard-Kirby matchup.

Alucard won a heavily debated match with Kirby after an almost even opening. Though the final result looked close, the writeup says Alucard established control almost immediately and captured his fourpack for a second straight year.

Sephiroth dispatched Alucard in a match largely ignored because it followed the Mario-Crono controversy. The writeup mainly uses the result to strengthen Sephiroth's case before facing Mario in the divisional final.

Ganondorf beat Alucard in a respectable matchup between two characters the writeup considered badly underseeded. Much of the discussion centers on the bracket apparently being arranged to produce Link versus Ganondorf in the next round.

Alucard beat Kratos, but Kratos's strong daytime showing made the favorite look far less convincing than expected. The writeup saw the result as a warning that Alucard was aging and would be vulnerable against Sora.

Sora turned one of the contest's most debated statistical matchups into a clear win over Alucard. The writeup argues that recent Kingdom Hearts momentum and Alucard's stagnation mattered far more than the old x-stats.

Auron beat Alucard comfortably, continuing a long decline from Alucard's early-contest upset reputation. The writeup is left debating whether Alucard had truly weakened or whether earlier statistical distortions had simply hidden his real level.

Alucard erased Liquid Snake's large daytime lead and briefly moved ahead at the very end, only for Liquid to snatch first on the final update. Because both characters advanced anyway, the writeup says the historic photo finish carried less consequence than a one-on-one result would have.

Rally · Cheat: The writeup describes a last-minute Metal Gear rally after Alucard completed his comeback and records complaints that cheating or vote-stuffing may have influenced the razor-thin finish.

Master Chief followed his strong opening round with an even more convincing performance against improved competition. The writeup treats him as the clear star of the contest to that point and a heavy favorite to take the division.

Alucard advanced as expected, but Captain Falcon's strong showing overturned his reputation as perennial fodder and sent him through as well. Diddy Kong's failure was the sharper disappointment.

Pikachu and Alucard advanced after an unexpectedly fierce battle for first that swung repeatedly across the day. The writeup treats the duel as another good match diminished by the top-two-advance format.

LFF: The writeup says Captain Falcon's overlapping Nintendo support held Pikachu down, helping turn Pikachu's fight with Alucard into a much closer race than their standalone strength suggested.

Pikachu finally ended L-Block's title defense after a tense early struggle, marking a major shift in both joke-character expectations and Pokémon's standing on the site. Crono advanced comfortably alongside him.

SFF: The writeup explicitly says Crono SFFed Alucard into the floor, leaving the real advancing fight to Pikachu and L-Block.

A heavily debated 8/9 matchup ended almost immediately when Alucard took control and never yielded an update. The writeup treats the rout as further evidence that Magus and Chrono Trigger had continued to decline.

Link beat Alucard comfortably but looked weaker than the writeup expected for a second straight match. The commentary identifies growing anti-Link voting as a new factor even though it was not yet threatening his championship path.

Captain Falcon built a substantial early lead, but Alucard erased it overnight and then survived an unexpectedly weak Nintendo daytime response. The narrow finish became the contest's first true photo finish and one of its most entertaining early matches.

Snake crushed Alucard and Bayonetta in a match with almost no suspense. The performance later became important because Snake was one of the few Noble Nine members still looking consistently dominant.

Alucard beat Peach without much drama in a matchup that some had overhyped because of Nintendo momentum. The writeup sees both characters as having looked respectable and rejects any need for a firm SFF explanation.

Alucard beat Yuna far more comfortably than pre-contest expectations suggested and continued his recurring habit of producing deep contest runs. The writeup treats Yuna's loss as another sign of Final Fantasy X's long-term decline.

Alucard crushed pre-contest favorite Kefka and turned what had looked like a wide-open division into his breakout run. The writeup attributes Alucard's rise to a mix of Castlevania revival, Netflix exposure and Smash visibility.

Alucard decisively beat Pokémon Trainer Red and completed the unexpected divisional run almost no one had predicted before the contest. The writeup celebrates the long-running 'Plan' joke finally paying off.

Cloud beat Alucard comfortably, but Alucard performed far better than in their early-contest meetings. The writeup treats the loss as confirmation that Alucard's breakout run reflected genuine strength rather than only a weak division.

Bowser eventually pulled away from Alucard, but Alucard stayed competitive long enough to validate his surprising divisional run. The writeup treats the loss as a strong final statement for Alucard rather than an embarrassment.