GameFAQsContests.com

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.

Duke and Altair emerged from a chaotic matchup that punished Marth and further damaged the pre-contest Brawl narrative. Duke's unlikely run continued while Lucario confirmed his disappointing debut.

LFF: The writeup says Lucario's presence badly hurt fellow Nintendo entrant Marth, helping outside contenders Duke and Altair take the advancing positions.

Liquid took advantage of a badly divided field to win, while Luigi survived for the other advancing spot and Bowser fell out. The writeup uses the result as another example of four-way fanbase splitting producing strange outcomes.

LFF: The writeup says the Nintendo-oriented support was split among Luigi, Bowser and Phoenix, allowing Liquid Snake to benefit as the outside option.

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.

Samus and Ganondorf advanced through what the writeup openly calls a rest-break match. Frog's old upset magic never appeared, and the result remained straightforward throughout.

Vincent advanced comfortably, while Gordon Freeman completed another major step in his reversal of the old GFNW reputation by beating Scorpion for the second spot. Falco never became a serious factor.

Pic: The writeup says Scorpion's poor match picture was not the sole reason he lost, but explicitly states that it hurt his chances against Gordon Freeman.

Crono and L-Block advanced in a much quieter sequel to L-Block's chaotic opening match. The defending champion looked strikingly ordinary, creating the first real sense that the repeat bid might be beatable.

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.

Mega Man and Weighted Companion Cube advanced in an anticlimactic match whose outcome settled almost immediately. The Cube now looked less like a volatile joke rally and more like a stable, legitimately dangerous entrant.

Snake delivered another statement performance, while Zero and Vivi fought a much more entertaining battle for the second advancing spot. Zero survived, but Vivi's late resistance made the race memorable.

Squall and Sora advanced together yet again, while Yoshi collapsed far more badly than expected. The result reinforced the strange independence of the Squall-Sora pairing and exposed Yoshi's vulnerability in the field.

LFF: The writeup says Fox's presence hurt fellow Nintendo entrant Yoshi, while Sora remained largely independent of Squall and benefited from the contrast.

Cloud overwhelmed the field, while Mewtwo held off Midna for the other advancing position without the race ever becoming the epic duel its closeness suggested. The writeup sees Cloud's dominance as the larger statement.

Kirby advanced, but the real battle was Master Chief's comeback against Big Boss. Chief's late surge turned a long, competitive fight into another memorable rally-driven reversal.

Rally · LFF: The writeup says Master Chief's fans rallied hard enough to erase Big Boss's lead and secure advancement. It also says Raiden's near-total Metal Gear overlap drained support from Big Boss.

Dante and Leon advanced in the same order their prior meetings suggested, despite a brief burst of early excitement. Riku and Hogger never developed the upset or bandwagon threat some had imagined.

Auron decisively beat Sonic in one of the contest's most shocking strength results, even though the format still allowed Sonic to advance. The writeup treats the performance as a genuine breach in the Noble Nine's aura.

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.