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Ryu comfortably ended KOS-MOS's unlikely run through one of the weakest sections of the bracket. The writeup treats the result as a return to normal after KOS-MOS reached Round Three for the first time.

KOS-MOS upset Aqua and reached Round Three for the first time, despite much of the writeup framing her as an unlikely survivor of an exceptionally weak fourpack. The result is linked to renewed visibility from guest appearances rather than cheating.

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.

Vincent won but performed far below what his old contest strength suggested against KOS-MOS and Dunban. The writeup sees the result as another unmistakable sign that Final Fantasy VII had fallen sharply.

Ganondorf won comfortably while Frog held off KOS-MOS without the expected daytime collapse. The delayed match picture caused controversy, but once it appeared the writeup says it did little to change the Frog-KOS-MOS race.

Pic: The writeup says the eventual match picture hurt Ganondorf while giving KOS-MOS no meaningful advantage over Frog, even though KOS-MOS supporters had expected her image to help.

Mega Man and Yoshi advanced with little suspense after Knuckles's weak opening-round showing had already killed most of the debate. Knuckles again disappointed and never seriously threatened Yoshi.

Mega Man took the expected first place, but the real story was KOS-MOS advancing while Diablo and Arthas split overlapping support. The writeup treats the result as the match that taught Board 8 how LFF worked in four-way polls.

LFF: The writeup says Diablo and Arthas weakened each other by sharing the same Blizzard fanbase, allowing KOS-MOS to advance despite neither Blizzard entrant being individually helpless.

Aeris beat KOS-MOS but performed much worse than the writeup believed she needed to before facing Zelda. Although some fans blamed the picture, the author rejects that explanation and treats the result as a straightforward warning of trouble ahead.

KOS-MOS beat Amy more easily than the writeup expected, helped by Amy's poor standing even among Sonic fans. Amy's strong daytime recovery was the only notable trend and foreshadowed how important that voting bloc could become later.

Luigi demolished KOS-MOS despite projections that had the matchup much closer. The writeup treats the result as one of the clearest early examples of the contest-wide Nintendo boost and a warning that Tifa's next match might not be easy.

Ryu beat KOS-MOS as expected, but the writeup uses the result mainly to infer that Samus had grown much stronger than older standings indicated. That implication sharply reduced the plausibility of Sonic upsetting her later in the division.

Samus decisively ended the brief KOS-MOS hype created by her first-round upset of Crash. The writeup saw the win as a partial recovery from Samus's disappointing opener and as evidence that Squall was unlikely to upset her next.

KOS-MOS decisively beat the favored Crash, confirming that his old platforming fame no longer guaranteed contest support. The writeup says the blowout made KOS-MOS look stronger than she really was while symbolizing Crash's decline.