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The first contest match was treated as a predetermined Mario win, with the real question being how dominant he would look. The writeup also stresses the unusual joke-vote and early-contest atmosphere surrounding the result.

Mario defeated Morrigan without serious trouble, yet the writeup viewed it as a second straight underwhelming performance compared with the contest's other elite characters. Cloud's next result therefore took on added importance for their expected meeting.

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 controlled much of the match before Mario mounted a comeback aided by unusually favorable circumstances and outside attention. The close finish, enormous board reaction, rallying, and unresolved cheating allegations made the match the writeup's choice for the greatest contest match ever.

Rally · Cheat: The writeup credits Mario's comeback partly to a Planet GameCube link and widespread vote solicitation, explicitly treating those efforts as rallying. It also describes alleged proxy voting and supposed vote-stuffing admissions, while emphasizing that the cheating claims were never proven.

Crono nearly completed another remarkable comeback against Mario before CJayC intervened over fraudulent voting. The controversy ended Crono's Cinderella run but began the long-running Mario-Crono rivalry remembered by Board 8.

Cheat: The writeup says Crono's comeback included blatant vote-stuffing and that CJayC removed fraudulent votes. It also discusses later statements suggesting the amount of fraudulent voting may have been larger than the number removed during the match.

Link comfortably defeated Mario in a final the writeup considers anticlimactic. The result established Link as GameFAQs's strongest Nintendo character and closed a first contest successful enough to guarantee more tournaments.

Mario opened the heavily anticipated South Division by crushing Olimar. The writeup treats the result as a routine SFF blowout that revealed little about how Mario would fare against the division's elite opposition.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Mario's victory over fellow Nintendo entrant Olimar a mundane SFF beating and says SFF was in full swing during the match.

Mario beat Shadow but performed so poorly that the result immediately fueled Crono upset talk. The writeup speculates that a reverse-SFF effect may explain Shadow's unusually strong showing, but treats the mechanism as uncertain.

Mario and Crono produced an enormous rematch in which Crono appeared to have the win secured before Mario erased a late lead and survived a controversially extended poll. Rallying, cheating allegations, and the disputed timing made it one of Board 8's most controversial matches.

Rally · Cheat: The writeup describes supporters on both sides frantically rallying for votes during the late collapse of Crono's lead. It also records extensive cheating accusations around Mario's comeback, while noting that CJayC said his check found no cheating in the decisive extra period.

Sephiroth unexpectedly demolished Mario in what had been expected to resemble the previous year's Mario-Cloud classic. The result became the writeup's clearest evidence yet for a broad Kingdom Hearts-era boost to several Square characters.

Mario finally delivered the kind of overwhelming first-round performance the writeup had long expected from him against a non-Nintendo opponent. The result is used to reassess earlier supposedly weak Mario showings as evidence that those opponents were stronger than believed.

Mario routed Bowser in another predetermined Hyrule Division matchup, with the writeup again criticizing the bracket for sacrificing strong villains to company-based pairings. The result's main use was as an imperfect SFF comparison before Mario met Crono.

SFF: The writeup says Bowser was SFF'd heavily by Mario in their same-franchise matchup, and treats the result mainly as a distorted comparison point for the upcoming Mario-Crono rematch.

Crono finally defeated Mario after their two legendary earlier meetings, but the long-awaited rematch was anticlimactic. Crono controlled the match while the writeup framed the result as overdue revenge and the likely end of the rivalry's classic era.

Mario opened the contest with the expected blowout, and the writeup mainly watches turnout and whether the result strengthened his case as the favorite. It also notes the Gamespot banner and the unusual ability to keep voting after the poll had technically ended.

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.

Mario turned a mildly debated division final into an immediate rout of Zero. The writeup treats the result as a major SFF statement and a warning that Mario and Nintendo were much stronger than the old statistics suggested.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Mario's win an SFF beatdown and argues that Mario was able to suppress Zero far beyond ordinary expectations.

Mario demolished Samus in the contest's most heavily debated quarterfinal and invalidated the old statistical case for a Samus win. The writeup later apologizes for its original hostility, but still treats the result as a decisive SFF showcase of Mario's 2005 strength.

SFF: The writeup repeatedly describes Mario's victory as an enormous SFF beating that overwhelmed Samus despite pre-match statistical expectations favoring her.

Mario controlled Snake throughout the semifinal, although Snake earned the moral victory his fans wanted by stealing a handful of updates. The writeup sees the overall margin as further proof that Mario had risen sharply and was the clear tournament favorite.

Mario ended the latest chapter of his Crono rivalry with a convincing championship win, reversing the previous year's result without another dramatic finish. The writeup treats the entire contest as a showcase of Mario's enormous 2005 rise.

Sephiroth overwhelmed the newly crowned Mario and ended speculation that Nintendo's 2005 boost had lifted Mario above him. The writeup sees the result as strong evidence that Advent Children had substantially strengthened the Final Fantasy VII cast.

The first Battle Royale largely followed expectations at the top, while Samus became the first elimination after being squeezed by the other Nintendo heavyweights. Snake finishing ahead of Mario was the main unexpected development and set up the next day's drama.

SFF: The writeup says Link and Mario SFFed Samus heavily enough to drive her into last place and eliminate her.

Mario became the second elimination as Link absorbed the Nintendo support that had been shared with Samus the day before. Snake again outperformed expectations, while Sephiroth's repeated struggles to escape last place foreshadowed the next round.

SFF: The writeup says Link SFFed Mario to death, pushing Mario into last place despite his status as a traditional heavyweight.

Mario dominated as expected, but his suppression of Pac-Man made Big Boss's second-place finish much easier than many anticipated. The writeup treats Pac-Man's shared old-school appeal with Mario as the key reason the debated advancing spot became one-sided.

SFF: The writeup says Mario was an especially disastrous matchup for Pac-Man because of their overlapping old-school appeal and describes Pac-Man as being SFFed to death.

Mario cruised while Big Boss demolished Magus for the other advancing spot. The writeup treats the newly revealed Naked Snake picture as the defining factor that transformed expectations before the poll even began.

Pic: The writeup calls Big Boss's Naked Snake image one of the clearest picture-factor examples, saying the strong recognizable picture helped turn the matchup against Magus decisively in Big Boss's favor.

Sephiroth beat Mario comfortably in a result that had become predictable by match day. The more notable secondary story was Fox collapsing in Mario's presence after looking strong against Nintendo opposition earlier.

SFF: The writeup says Mario heavily suppressed fellow Nintendo entrant Fox, leaving Fox far weaker than his prior-round performance suggested.

Link and Sephiroth advanced as expected, but Mario held up better against Link than many anticipated. The writeup treats Link's diminished dominance as the first meaningful encouragement for people hoping Cloud could beat him later.

LFF: The writeup says Mario clearly weakened fellow Nintendo entrant Link, narrowing Link's advantage over Sephiroth and briefly making Link look vulnerable.

Mario won as expected, but Zelda resisted the feared fanbase suppression and comfortably held the second advancing spot over Knuckles. The writeup treats the result as another blow to Sonic Team's standing and a strong performance for Zelda.

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.

Mario and Mega Man X advanced after an early fight that briefly made another Mario upset look possible. Luigi's collapse under Mario's presence removed the feared family interference and left Liquid out as well.

SFF: The writeup says Mario directly SFFed Luigi, leaving his brother far weaker than his standalone strength and clearing the way for Mega Man X to advance.

Link remained untouchable, while Zack made a dramatic but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to steal the other advancing spot from Mario. The loss ended one of the contest's most popular bandwagon runs.

SFF: The writeup says Link SFFed both Mario and Mega Man X, with Mega Man X falling to a distant position after initially challenging Mario.

Link took the expected first position, while Crono finally reached a true contest final by reversing his old rivalry with Mario. The writeup frames it as the payoff to Crono's long redemption arc.

LFF: The writeup says Link and Samus drained Nintendo support from Mario, allowing outside entrant Crono to beat Mario comfortably for the other final berth.

Mario overwhelmed Falco and delivered one of the rare extreme blowouts of the contest. The writeup treats the result as a straightforward display of Mario's fanbase dominance.

SFF: The writeup says Mario dropped an SFF nuke on fellow Nintendo entrant Falco, producing one of the contest's largest blowouts.

Mario and Big Boss produced yet another rematch, and the writeup uses their history mainly to illustrate how unstable four-way extrapolations can be. The match itself adds little new beyond that comparison.

Mario crushed Ike in a result the writeup considered inevitable once they met. The scale of the Nintendo suppression made the matchup effectively noncompetitive.

SFF: The writeup explicitly calls Mario's win over fellow Nintendo entrant Ike a total SFF beating.

Mega Man's excellent run made the divisional final look more interesting than it had pre-contest, but Mario still won as expected. The writeup treats the result as another example of Mario resisting would-be upsets regardless of surrounding form.

Charizard's bandwagon could not seriously threaten Mario, but the Pokémon star still performed well enough to complete a remarkable contest run. The writeup treats the loss as further proof that Pokémon had become one of the site's strongest franchises.

The rematch of the original character-contest final produced much the same hierarchy, with Link suppressing Mario and winning comfortably. The writeup notes that even widespread anti-Link sentiment did little to change the matchup.

SFF: The writeup invokes Link's 'King of SFF' reputation to explain why Mario again performed much worse against Link than people hoped.

Mario produced a completely routine top-seed blowout over Duke and Fawful, giving no hint that his next match would become one of the contest's major shocks. The writeup is striking mainly in hindsight.

Vivi produced one of the contest's defining upsets by holding off repeated Mario comeback attempts and finally eliminating him. Nintendo vote splitting and a modest outside push helped create the opening, but the writeup still celebrates Vivi's composure against Mario's legendary clutch.

LFF · Rally: The writeup says Ganondorf leeched Nintendo support from Mario and that 4chan also rallied Vivi during the close fight.

Mario finally avenged years of losses to Sephiroth by beating him decisively. The writeup frames the result as the emotional payoff to one of Mario's oldest contest frustrations and another sign of Sephiroth's decline.

Mario beat Samus in their long-awaited 1v1 rematch, but the match stayed close enough to validate years of arguments that Samus could compete with him. The writeup treats the result as an unusually satisfying resolution to their old rivalry.

Zelda beat Mario after leading essentially the entire match and pulled away late to deepen her extraordinary 2018 run. The writeup treats the win as a genuine strength result even though some outside rallying also occurred.

Rally: The writeup explicitly says Zelda received porn-site rallies during the match, while also stating that she was strong enough to beat Mario without them.

Mario survived Samus by the narrowest margin after hours of lead changes and an extraordinary final stretch. The writeup treats it as the best match of the contest and a reopening of their supposedly settled rivalry.

Rally · Cheat: The writeup describes active late match vote pushes, including Samus rallies, porn-site rallies, workplace solicitation and the author's own last-minute requests for Mario votes. It also reports contemporaneous accusations that Mario supporters were vote stuffing, though no fraud is established.

Cloud finally beat Mario in their long-awaited 1v1 rematch, reversing the old trend pattern and surviving Mario's late reputation for clutch finishes. The writeup credits Cloud's Smash-era boost and possible anti-Mario sentiment rather than a confirmed current rally.