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Aqua comfortably beat Quiet in a matchup that had looked more debatable before the contest exposed Metal Gear Solid V's weakness. The writeup treats the result as a routine close to an overlong first round.

KOS-MOS upset Ellie despite an outside appeal for The Last of Us fans to vote. The writeup treats the result as another case where GameFAQs' old-JRPG preferences overwhelmed the popularity of a major recent Western game.

Rally: The writeup quotes an Ellie supporter posting to The Last of Us community and explicitly asking people to visit GameFAQs and vote for her during the match.

Commander Shepard survived an unexpectedly strong King K. Rool challenge after trailing for much of the opening portion of the match. The writeup blames Mass Effect's decline and K. Rool's Smash boost for making the result far closer than expected.

Ryu routed Lloyd in another demonstration that the Tales series had little character-contest strength. The writeup treats Ryu as a durable veteran who remained comfortably above ordinary fodder despite years of decline.

Lara Croft comfortably beat a Board 8-backed Robot Master whose real accomplishment was reaching the bracket. The writeup frames the match primarily as a celebration of the community nomination campaign behind Metal Man.

Amaterasu annihilated former champion Draven after the League rally machine that carried him in 2013 failed to return. The writeup treats the result as both catharsis and the contest's clearest proof that old rallybait had lost its power.

Captain Falcon beat newly Smash-boosted Richter comfortably and erased the upset hype created by Richter's recent announcement. The writeup treats Falcon's long Smash pedigree as more valuable than Richter's fresh exposure.

Sephiroth beat Wesker comfortably but failed to look as dominant as a Noble Nine character once would have against similar opposition. The writeup treats the result as another sign that Sephiroth had clearly declined from his peak.

Mega Man X obliterated Isabelle and immediately looked like one of the strongest characters in the main bracket. The writeup treats the blowout as a rare modern performance resembling the massive margins of the earliest contests.

Ocelot survived Dedede in a wire-to-wire thriller where neither side ever established a secure advantage. The writeup remembers the match as a record-level close contest and notes that even a small outside push mattered.

Rally: The writeup says a small Reddit rally helped Revolver Ocelot avoid an upset during an extremely close match with King Dedede.

Mewtwo beat GLaDOS comfortably and resisted pre-match claims that his earlier deep runs had made him look stronger than he really was. The writeup treats the performance as a solid validation of his natural mid-to-high strength.

Tifa routed Geno and remained one of the few Final Fantasy VII characters still looking consistently strong. The writeup also uses the match to revisit Geno's extraordinary history of repeated contest appearances without a win.

Tails upset Nathan Drake after most casual and expert predictions had favored the Uncharted protagonist. The writeup celebrates the result as both a fan-favorite victory and another failure of recent Western characters to translate into contest strength.

Master Chief beat Majima comfortably but still performed far below what the writeup expected against such weak opposition. The showing is framed as another example of GameFAQs' longstanding hostility toward Halo and Xbox.

Frog demolished Monokuma after another heavily discussed rallybait character failed to attract meaningful outside support. The writeup treats Monokuma as genuine bottom-tier fodder rather than a suppressed rally threat.

Luigi produced one of the round's largest blowouts against Edgeworth and continued the contest-wide Nintendo surge. The writeup treats the result as another reminder of Luigi's unusually strong first-round history.

Claire beat Joker after an initially close match turned sharply in Resident Evil's favor. The writeup considers the result clouded by Joker's naming and picture controversy and uses it as evidence that presentation can materially affect a close contest match.

Pic: The writeup says Joker's nonstandard name and unmasked picture hurt his recognition and explicitly argues the match would have been closer with a proper Joker presentation, even though Claire's picture was also poor.

Sub-Zero beat Shulk without serious difficulty despite expectations that Smash and Xenoblade growth might produce a stronger challenge. The writeup treats Sub-Zero as one of the most durable non-Nintendo midcarders.

Vincent survived a surprisingly strong Magus challenge in a matchup between two former contest heavyweights who had both declined badly. The writeup treats the narrow win as evidence that Vincent's fall had been even steeper than expected.

Auron comfortably beat Lucina, though Lucina performed well enough to demonstrate the growth of Fire Emblem and Smash-era Nintendo strength. The writeup still regards Auron as the clear favorite to emerge from the division.

Bayonetta demolished Riku in a matchup many had expected to be close or even favor Kingdom Hearts. The writeup treats the result as one of the contest's largest apparent boosts, driven by Bayonetta's Nintendo and Smash relevance.

Pac-Man annihilated Sans in a matchup many had debated because of Undertale's rally history. The expected outside push never appeared, and the writeup treats Sans's natural weakness as one of the contest's biggest disappointments.

Simon Belmont upset Ryu Hayabusa after taking an early lead and resisting a long, slow comeback. The writeup credits Simon's Smash announcement and improved presentation for transforming a historically weak character into a legitimate threat.

Pic: The writeup says Simon Belmont's new Smash design was shown especially well in the match picture and treats that presentation as part of the boost that helped him beat Ryu Hayabusa.

Geralt survived an alarming opening against Rosalina and eventually pulled away, avoiding what would have been a humiliating top-seed upset. The writeup treats the result as validation that a recent Western character could still possess real contest strength.

Aerith comfortably beat Waluigi after fears of joke votes or a meme rally failed to materialize. The writeup treats Waluigi's loss as another example of rallybait collapsing under the contest's quieter environment.

Captain Toad edged Shovel Knight in one of the most debated first-round matches, rewarding the simple 'pick Nintendo' logic over the indie favorite. The writeup treats the result as another bracket embarrassment for casual expectations.

Fox narrowly beat Jill in a match the writeup considers much closer than a Smash-boosted Nintendo character should have allowed. Jill's respectable loss and Fox's weak showing left both characters difficult to evaluate.

D.Va won a close newcomer matchup against Aloy, but the heavily discussed possibility of an outside rally never materialized. The writeup treats the result as evidence that rallybait alone no longer guaranteed anything on GameFAQs.

Zelda crushed Ezio far more severely than in their earlier contest meeting and effectively ended debate about the division's natural favorite. The writeup treats the performance as another major Zelda and Nintendo statement.

The Boss beat Metal Sonic after a community nomination effort unexpectedly turned the Sonic side into a respectable opponent. The writeup gives most of the credit to the Board 8 campaign that got Metal Sonic into the bracket at all.

Garrus and Ramza traded leads for most of the match before Garrus finally gained enough daytime separation to survive. The writeup remembers it as the contest's first true nailbiter and one of its best early matches.

Squall crushed Hat Kid but still looked weaker than expected for a character some had placed near the top of the non-Noble-Nine field. The writeup treats the early struggle as another warning about Final Fantasy's broader decline.

Kirby delivered another huge Nintendo blowout while Guile never became remotely competitive. The writeup treats the result as part of the contest-wide pattern of Smash and Nintendo characters outperforming expectations.

Isaac comfortably dispatched a Board 8-backed newcomer and reinforced his role as a reliable dividing line between fodder and real midcarders. The writeup treats Estelle's appearance itself as the bigger community achievement.

Ike overwhelmed Joel and looked substantially stronger than Phoenix had in the neighboring matchup. The writeup treats the performance as evidence that Fire Emblem's growth and Ike's Smash popularity had translated into real contest strength.

Phoenix Wright beat Chris Redfield comfortably enough to confirm his gradual rise from joke status into legitimate midcard strength. The writeup also notes Phoenix's strong early vote and harsher decline as the poll continued.

Bowser demolished Gordon Freeman far more thoroughly than historical comparisons suggested he should. The writeup treats the result as one of the clearest early signs that Nintendo characters had received a major boost.

Charizard survived a surprisingly strong challenge from Terra after spending much of the early match looking vulnerable. The writeup treats the narrow win as a major warning that Charizard was far weaker than his earlier contest reputation suggested.

Ness won a debated matchup that stayed fairly close and stable, with Shadow never quite finding enough momentum to complete the comeback. The writeup treats the result as proof that Ness had quietly become a more reliable midcarder.

2B crushed Cayde-6 and immediately proved she had legitimate contest strength even if her top seeding was inflated. Cayde is treated as one of the weakest entrants in the entire field.

Bomberman demolished the heavily overseeded Kiryu and produced one of the bracket's clearest seeding embarrassments. The writeup treats the result as evidence that recognizability still mattered more than recent niche popularity.

Kefka turned one of Round One's hardest prediction calls into a comfortable win over former champion L-Block. The writeup treats the result as another example of Kefka's unpredictability and of fading support for rallybait joke characters.

Yuna overwhelmed the Board 8-favorite Godot in a matchup that was never competitive after the opening moments. The writeup treats Godot's appearance as a community victory even though the broader site gave him little support.

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.

Big Boss beat a Smash-boosted Ridley comfortably, though Ridley performed well enough to show clear improvement. The writeup frames the result as a rare case where an established non-Nintendo character resisted the contest's Nintendo surge.

Crash decisively beat Cecil in another matchup the Final Fantasy IV protagonist had been widely expected to win. The writeup treats the result as both a Crash nostalgia boost and the formal birth of the Cecil Harvey Never Wins meme.

Pokémon Trainer Red crushed an unusually high-seeded newcomer and looked stronger than Sora had in the neighboring top-seed matchup. The result made their impending Round Two contest feel like a genuine tossup.

Sora won easily but failed the writeup's real test: looking strong enough for a top seed before the coming Red matchup. Ryo's modest resistance immediately became another warning sign for Sora's familiar pattern of high seeding and underachievement.

Kratos produced by far one of the strongest performances of his contest career while Marston looked far weaker than his game-level popularity suggested. The writeup attributes much of the gap to same-audience suppression.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Kratos's unusually large win over John Marston SFF, arguing that two similar Western tough-guy fanbases overlapped heavily and that the stronger, more established Kratos suppressed Marston.

Pikachu overwhelmed a stable measuring-stick opponent in Scorpion and immediately looked near-elite. The writeup treats the result as the first major evidence that Pokémon, and Pikachu specifically, would be a serious force in the contest.

Velvet turned a mildly debated matchup with James Sunderland into an easy win and gave the Tales series a rare character-contest victory. The writeup mentions recognizability and presentation as possible helpers but still treats the result as fundamentally legitimate.

Yoshi delivered the expected blowout over Shantae, but the match sparked a disproportionate argument over whether Shantae had any meaningful contest strength. The writeup ultimately treats her as ordinary fodder with a dedicated niche fanbase.

Monika drew the outside support many bracketmakers feared, but Wario remained safely in control throughout. The writeup treats the failed upset as evidence that small fandom rallies were much less dangerous under the contest's anti-rally setup.

Rally: The writeup explicitly says Monika received a real Reddit and community rally, visible in the higher turnout and several stalls or small cuts, but that the push was far too weak to threaten Wario.

Master Hand crushed Noctis in a matchup that had been treated as a true tossup beforehand. The writeup sees the result as one of the clearest signs that modern Final Fantasy had fallen badly while Smash-era Nintendo strength had risen.

Knuckles crushed a matchup many experts had favored Zidane to win and extended his remarkable history of first-round success. Rally spillover from the neighboring Monika poll is treated as an extra tailwind, not the sole reason for the upset.

Rally: The writeup says the simultaneous Monika rally brought in outside voters who disproportionately favored Knuckles, with one analysis explicitly saying Square was hurt by the spillover.

Zero handled Primrose in a routine top-seed matchup, though the writeup gives Primrose credit for avoiding a complete collapse. Any possible benefit from the simultaneous Monika rally is described as unclear.

Leon comfortably beat Dragonborn and looked strong enough to justify confidence in a deep run. Dragonborn's large recovery over the day is treated as a trend quirk rather than a meaningful threat.

Donkey Kong demolished Tidus in a matchup built around two characters with long reputations for choking. The writeup attributes the result to Donkey Kong's renewed relevance, broader Nintendo momentum and Tidus's continued decline.

Aya Brea turned a heavily debated matchup into a stable, comfortable win over Victor Sullivan. The writeup treats the result as another example of 1990s GameFAQs nostalgia beating a newer Western series.

Vivi handled Yu Narukami in a routine blowout and stood out as one of the few Final Fantasy characters still retaining old strength. The writeup mentions possible Square overlap only as an uncertainty rather than a confirmed explanation.

Ganondorf crushed Neku far more severely than expected and immediately looked like the division favorite. The writeup treats the result as an early sign that Zelda, Switch and Smash hype would dominate the contest.

Chun-Li beat Spyro in a debated matchup, but Spyro stayed competitive enough to validate his recent nostalgia-driven recovery. The writeup explicitly rejects the old Jug Factor as the reason for the result.

Lightning turned a match that had generated second-match paranoia into an immediate blowout. The writeup treats Chloe as likely bottom-tier fodder and says the result did little to prove Lightning had genuinely recovered.

Dante won the opening matchup comfortably but failed to look as overwhelming as the writeup expected from the contest's top overall seed. Cuphead's respectable showing is treated as evidence that the indie newcomer was underseeded rather than truly dangerous.