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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.

Zero dispatched Lloyd exactly as the bracket had seemed to prescribe from the start. The writeup mainly uses the match to reassess Lloyd's place among Tales characters and to leave Zero's real test for Mario.

Samus demolished Frog and erased the mystique built by Frog's string of close 2004 matches. The writeup treats the rout as another sign that Frog had been badly overrated and as strong evidence that Samus remained a championship threat.

Ganondorf beat Auron more comfortably than the pre-match debate suggested, turning the first match of the much-hyped Gauntlet into an anticlimax. The writeup still credits Auron with legitimate strength while sending Ganondorf onward to Samus.

Snake quickly dismantled a Zelda upset bandwagon that had grown from mismatched old statistics and concern over his ugly picture. The writeup treats the match as another example of Board 8 talking itself into a close contest that never materialized.

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.

Kirby decisively beat Tidus after the board had once treated Tidus as the overwhelming favorite. The writeup sees the result as both a major Kirby validation and another humiliation in Tidus's long decline from his 2003 reputation.

Bowser beat Ryu without the close fight that had once made the matchup a major bracket debate. The writeup treats the anticlimax as one more piece of evidence for a site-wide Nintendo boost and another failure of the Gauntlet hype.

Donkey Kong unexpectedly built a substantial lead, only for Master Chief's daytime strength to erase it and carry him past DK. The writeup remembers the match as a rare surprise after the failed Gauntlet and as a record-setting comeback and vote swing.

Crono easily disposed of Vercetti in a quiet follow-up to the chaos required for Vercetti to reach him. The writeup treats the match mainly as confirmation that Crono still belonged among the contest's elite characters.

Vincent survived Dante after an unexpectedly competitive start, but the writeup treats the result as a major correction to weeks of Vincent hype. Dante's showing is framed as a moral victory that exposed Vincent as strong but not elite.

Squall quickly ended the post-upset Knuckles bandwagon and controlled the match despite Knuckles' familiar daytime strength. The writeup uses the result to bury Magus's old statistical reputation and set up a difficult Vincent-Squall division final.

Sonic won an otherwise routine match that mainly served as a measuring stick for his coming clash with Mega Man. Diablo's performance improved after a Diabloii.net link appeared, reinforcing the writeup's view that outside-site support mattered to him.

Rally: The writeup says Diablo improved noticeably after Diabloii.net finally posted a link to the poll, costing Sonic about a percentage point and confirming that outside-site support was part of Diablo's strength.

Tifa beat Luigi, but Luigi performed far better than the writeup says most of Board 8 expected. The result is framed as another warning against overvaluing one prior match and as more evidence of Nintendo's broader 2005 rise.

Mega Man won comfortably, but Leon performed much better than older Resident Evil comparisons suggested. The writeup treats Leon's showing as evidence that previous statistics had badly understated the series.

Yoshi crushed Pac-Man in one of the contest's steadiest matches and confirmed that his 2004 strength was real. The writeup also uses the result to revisit the casual bracketmakers who had failed to trust Yoshi's path this far.