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Mario finally produced the dominant performance people had been waiting for, restoring confidence before his expected match with Cloud. The result also became an early case used to develop Board 8's SFF theory.

SFF: The writeup says Mario's unusually dominant result against the closely linked Donkey Kong helped introduce what Board 8 would later universally call Same Fanbase Factor, though it was still treated as a fledgling theory at the time.

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.

Crono demolished top-seeded Lara after her earlier matches had already exposed warning signs. The writeup treats Lara as a seeding fraud and Crono's performance as proof that his unexpected run had become a legitimate championship threat.

Solid Snake ended Aeris's underseeded run in an expected victory. The writeup focuses less on the match itself than on how Snake's showing might translate against the much stronger Crono.

Scorpion's decisive win over Pac-Man shocked most observers and exposed how weak the entire half-division had been. The writeup remembers the fallout, including outside attention from Penny Arcade, as the moment the first contest truly became a larger event.

Link overwhelmed Jill in another match the writeup considered a formality. His weak division had effectively handed him a direct route toward the Final Four while he continued to look like the tournament favorite.

Samus erased what had looked like a decisive late Sonic lead and won after an extraordinary closing surge. The match triggered a massive backlash, outside vote recruitment on both sides, cheating suspicions, and lasting changes to how contest results were followed.

Rally · Cheat: The writeup says Samus and Sonic supporters spammed for votes across the internet, chat rooms, buddy lists, and gaming chats. It also says many users suspected cheating behind Samus's extraordinary late comeback despite CJayC stating that no cheating was detected.

Mega Man built a surprising early lead on Sephiroth before Sephiroth reversed the match and pulled away late. The writeup considers it one of the contest's best fights, but one overshadowed by the famous matches immediately before and after it.