No, the board will miss you too much for you to go. :-)

>_> <_<....Don't look at me like that.

You`re a whimp. No guts whatsoever.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

I hate WW's chances next round. Either way, if SSBM wins tomorrow, Ulti has an excellent shot at winning this contest.

Aww, how sweet. Just don`t start jinxing me by pulling any guarantees.

Oh, and are you letting me get you the SC Battle Chest should lightning happen to strike?
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

Sent it, Ulti. It should all be there, let me know if it's not and I'll try to figure out what I screwed up.
---
Theifenburg Uncertainty Principle - Without any witnesses, who's to say what happened?
Proud warrior of THE LUCA BLIGHT ARMY

Thanks. I`ll check it out later.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

I have to say that I`m very surprised with how well StarCraft has managed. In fact, SC is just like FFVI I gave both no chance and bam all of a sudden they once lead and then kept it close. After today the division finals should be pretty good, whether its FFX or SSBM. Speaking of which though, tomorrow should be another good, close match but with the winner probably going the same way as today.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Dodongo Dislikes Smoke - Old Man; The Legend of Zelda

And wreck YOUR prize? No way. I'd look like a leech, no matter how you look at it.

Just an idea. Probably untrue, but still... you know how Master Chief is an oddball in Summer Contests, right? Well, maybe since Starcraft can pull so many outside votes when the situation calls for it, maybe Starcraft can have a closer match than expected with just about anything because of that. Starcraft's vote-drawing power surpasses FF7's for crying out loud, and no way that is coming from GameFAQs users. That would be Wind Waker's only hope next round. After all, after pulling "only" 60% against Master Chief, Aeris was expected to get crucified by Sonic.

Since I'm a bit sick today (no, not seasick, you WW haters you), I'm only going to do an abridged version of my preview.

COMPARISONS GAME - FF10 vs. SSBM

Sales: FF10 - SSBM beats FF10 slightly in North America, but in Japan FF10 wins 2 to 1.

Franchises: SSBM - Look at the match pic!

GameFAQs Status: TIE - 2 to 2 again: FF10 wins the number of FAQs and reviews by a large amount, while SSBM has better scores and a busier board, even against 4 FF10 boards (though to be fair, the FF10 boards have more topics, but I consider posts to be more indicative). The tie is because the difference is very large in all categories... and a bit because I don't want another riot over my tiebreaking techniques.

Board Odds Project: FF10 - Wins 61-33 in picks, and 863-608 in point value.

Previous Rounds: SSBM - FF10 was unimpressive against weak opponents, while SSBM dispatched two strong ones (turns out MGS2 was one) with a bit of trouble, but nothing really disappointing like FF10.

Summer Contests / PotDs: FF10 - It won GotY 2001 easily, and SSBM was a distant third... behind GTA3.

Intangibles: SSBM - The aging factor. As I said, SSBM was beat by GTA3 in 2001, yet it got past the more powerful Vice City. Can it pull the same trick again? Also, there's the pic... if the pic ever matters, it will be tomorrow. An army of Nintendo's best against the sole Tidus?
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 081/088 --- Matches: 48/54 --- Rank: 00197/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

And wreck YOUR prize? No way. I'd look like a leech, no matter how you look at it.

I think I can spare one game out of ten for one of my favorite users on the board. You`re one of the VERY few people I actually place on a pedestal, though I will admit that the assumptions based off of the recursive rankings get annoying sometimes. I`m believer that we don`t know for sure until we see ourselves.
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Married to smitelf on 5/21/04
I would like to take this moment to politely orgasm over Ulti's Halo/Starcraft analysis. -smitelf

Of course, when they prove their reliability over a two-contest span, it's more tempting to go with them.
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 081/088 --- Matches: 48/54 --- Rank: 00197/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

"turns out MGS2 was one"

You're damn right it did. I'm not even any sort of Metal Gear fanboy, either. It's not a favorite series of mine, but you people WILL give it respect, it's done everything possible to earn it, and you'd have to be blind to miss that. With all this said, I hope to see Raiden again this year as his first round exit may have been unjustified, and if nothing else it shows a great deal of innacuracy as it MUST have been SFF at work. If it weren't, even with sp/s making bad proxies for eachother, there is no way MGS2 could have looked respectable.

On another note, as Starcraft is showing, it's all really friggin close on the top half. It was said many times by many people that under a normal nomination system that Soul Calibur 2 would be here instead of SC1, but as it looks Soul Calibur 1 must be much stronger than anybody really expected. IIRC is had the bracket advantage over KH as well, so a lot of poeple must have liked it. Now before anyone jumps on my case let me explain myself. There are two major type of bracketmakers; people who play to win and people who play to see how well their favorites will do. The second group would choose SoCali over KH because it's their favorite game, but it seems to me that any serious bracketmaker (us being perfect examples) would take KH over Soul Calibur as it appears to be the safe bet, right? Perhaps that is a sign that it was liked more than we expected, and it could also be true that it's liked more than its sequel. Even if our quirky little system was what gave it the nod we can't really deny that it did in fact earn its place.

*breathes*
So, anyone here who thought that SSBM had no chance to win tommorow change their opinion to "open to any possibility" yet? SC wasn't expected to keep it this close, but it did. Sometimes the "longshots" aren't that far off :) and who knows, the day isn't over yet, SC could bring it closer come closing time.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

Going to hold off on Tnotez Take for a couple hours, as Starcraft has decided to make things interesting. I will say the 55% I expected was not close, however today proves (to me, at least) Starcraft is a game that cannot be blown out. I really think even against a FFVII or OoT it would be able to gather 40%. Is this because of the Korean vote? I do not know, but I do know that when I get home from the bar around 12ish pacific time, Wind Waker will probably be up less than 500, if it even is up at all... you heard it here first folks.
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Contest: 83/88; Should be tied for 4th if I went with SSBM like I should have...

Match #54 Review:

Hmm...looks like FFVII and OoT are gonna be dead even going into their big match next round. Perhaps it will live up to the hype after all...

Match #56 Preview:

I can't really give an advantage to either game, since neither of them have been particularly impressive thus far. Gotta go with SSBM here, if only because of the match pic.
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"Thank you, Mario. But our princess is in another castle."
-Toad in Super Mario Bros.

And Starcraft still refuses to die. It's brought the lead from around 1800 to 1600 in 45 minutes. It is still alive.

1446 difference now by my count, SC is the pythonesque contender that I thought by chance it might be...
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

and by that I mean, of course, It's not dead yet!
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

This is ridiculous, SC needs to cut the lead by just 600 in the next two hours...I'm starting to believe...
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Married to UltimaterializerX on 5/21/04
Current Sp2K4 Score: 79/88, Next Winner: Wind Waker

I'm still reeling by that one 201 vote update starcraft pulled. It has already exceeded anyones expectations, and it could yet take this match.

By the way, just wondering - how does anyone feel about Kerrigans chances in a character contest now? Possibly more than complete cannon fodder?
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Starcraft vs WW - Kerrigan is just getting started.

Pull through Wind Waker... pull through...
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Dodongo Dislikes Smoke - Old Man; The Legend of Zelda

This match seems like a foregone conclusion. Damn.

This is the first time that Starcraft has truly surprised me. We knew that its previous matches were difficult to call, but this...sheesh. Seems that we completely mis-evaluated this entire division, rather than simply over-estimating Kingdom Hearts. While we can't be certain that Halo would beat Metroid Prime, you would be hard pressed to bet otherwise. I guess that makes sense, since the main reasons we didn't think Halo was strong was anti-XBox sentiment and Master Chief's lackluster performance. But as we have repeatedly seen by now character contest stuff is not relevant to the game contest, so Halo is apparently a powerhouse (relative to this division, anyway).

I think that Soul Calibur 2 may have actually been very capable of winning this division, or at least the top half.
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smitelf is a far better forecaster of this contest than I could ever hope to be.
I am in awe of her PWNage.

Nope, still fodder. A PC game may do well, but a character from a PC game is still next to nothing.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

"Seems that we completely mis-evaluated this entire division"

A big "duh" there. Everytime people in this topic come to a consensus of what they think they know it turns out wrong. That's why I never counted Starcraft out. I wasn't ocmmited to it, but I never counted it out. And all the statments that people made that made it sound like anyone who thought sc had any real chance... yeah... garbage. You people know who you are, and you should all go ahead and make a blanket appology before I start naming names. If you said anything to the affect of "If SC wins then that means Halo could be stronger than Prime and we know that can't happen" I highly suggest you stop saying what can and cannot happen. You know how you are, I know who you are, and now you've gotta eat your crow.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

*correction

that made it sound like anyone who thought sc had any real chance was an idiot...
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

I woud like to note that this is the only division I'm perfect in so far. With a SC and SSBM win, I'll be one win away from a perfect 128. Now if I could only fix the other 3 divisions...

CJayC with the fascinating stats in his topic. I don't recall him ever posting anything like this before. Good job by him:

"The biggest voters, by IP block:
* Comcast subscribers are voting for Starcraft 51%
* Cox Cable users are pro-Zelda, voting 52%
* AOL users are the biggest Zelda fans at 65%
* Just as unsurprisingly, the Korean netblock is voting Starcraft, but again, just at 65%"
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smitelf is a far better forecaster of this contest than I could ever hope to be.
I am in awe of her PWNage.

So "The Korean Factor" does exist...
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''Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts...''
''All dreams are but another reality. Never forget...''

AOL users are giant Zelda fans...hmm....

Someone want to analyze that? It's gotta mean something.
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Starcraft vs WW - Kerrigan is just getting started.

Someone want to analyze that? It's gotta mean something.

They're kiddie n00bs who vote Nintendo due to their obvious mainstream, sell-out bias ;)

J/K :)
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smitelf is a far better forecaster of this contest than I could ever hope to be.
I am in awe of her PWNage.

I must say, this is a bittersweet victory. I thought I might have a chance at the top 50 if the rest of my picks went right, but alas it's not meant to be. This was meant for the end of FF3/LttP, but I might as well start tuning up now.

na na naaa naaaaa...

It's an awesome turn of events though. No "respectable" people in this topic were even leaning towards sc over ww and so many of them thought that there was no chance.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

And starcraft broke into the lead with an hour left.

Did anyone on the BoP get this right?
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Starcraft vs WW - Kerrigan is just getting started.

It's an awesome turn of events though. No "respectable" people in this topic were even leaning towards sc over ww and so many of them thought that there was no chance.

I'm not respectable? I'm the only one whose came up with a legit theory for why the 128 division was behaving so irrationally, and it still is the best theory we have.

I just came back, and I think my heart stopped upon seeing the results.

Starcraft... beating... Zelda?!? And unlike FFT, it doesn't seem to stop!

So, these Koreans are not a myth... could Starcraft end up taking the whole damn division? Why not the championsip at this rate?
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 081/088 --- Matches: 48/54 --- Rank: 00197/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

Like I said I would be before...

I`m speechless.
---
Nintendo® - We Make Games Worth Playing
Dodongo Dislikes Smoke - Old Man; The Legend of Zelda

Three BOP brackets had Starcraft in the Elite 8, and ONE in the final 4.

Zero in the finals, of course.
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 081/088 --- Matches: 48/54 --- Rank: 00197/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

Tarrot, that's whay respectable was in quotes. It's not that anyone insinuates you aren't repecatable, it's just that the majority lemminged their way into believing it wasn't possible and anyone who thought it was was a tad crazy.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

na na naaa naaaaa...

Hey hey hey.......goodbye....

65 percent of Korean votes went for starcraft. They helped make this all possible. Now to get this match analyzed and figure out how on earth this happened.

The best case scenario? Starcraft wins by enough so that Halo>WW in the recursive rankings. THAT would cause havoc with everyones conception of the alreayd confusing 128 division.
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Starcraft vs WW - Kerrigan is just getting started.

And that havok would be good. I can't count the number of people who said it was a crazy and unpredictable division then turned around and made some pretty bold statements that won't likely turn out true.
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

Only 65% of the Korean vote went to Starcraft? People made it sound like that's the only game they play.

Oh, and I suppose it's too late to go back and change our brackets now, huh? I'd like to rearrange the 128 division a bit.
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Contest Stats: http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com

^lol^

wouldn't we all like to rearrange our brackets?
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ChichiriMuyo is officially the Discussion Guru Encyclopedia - UltimaterializerX
And I'm 23/24 myself. My loss was all part of Alucard's plan. - BigCow

Wow, just wow. I don't think I stated it here, but I never thought StarCraft could do this. For my bracket, I would want SC to win the next round too, but I'm far too bitter for that. Go Melee or even FFX next round. I just remember completely laughing at my friend when I saw his bracket, he never comes here at all, and he had it in the finals or something. Next round scares me now...a lot.
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Silly Rabbit...Trix are for....kids.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.-Old Klingon Proverb

I'm far worse off than the rest of you, because I have WW winning the division. My only hope... is a Starcraft division championship!

I think this may beat out the Cloud championship for least correctly predicted match, don't you think?
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 081/088 --- Matches: 48/54 --- Rank: 00197/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

Sorry, was that an understatement? ;)
---
Contest Stats: http://solarshadow-stats.tripod.com

So Starcraft = Windwaker = Kingdom Hearts = Soul Calibur = Halo

Something really doesn't feel right about that. Chalk up Starcraft as a voting anomaly?
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''Those whose memories fade seek to carve them in their hearts...''
''All dreams are but another reality. Never forget...''

Yeah, that's what I was just thinking slow. And also, yeah, I had ww beating melee, so the rest of this division isn't going to far, but hey it was fun while it lasted. If melee wins tomorrow, I want it to win, but if ffx I think I would rather...actually no, I can't put up with sc anymore. Go anything that beats SC.
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Silly Rabbit...Trix are for....kids.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.-Old Klingon Proverb

Something really doesn't feel right about that. Chalk up Starcraft as a voting anomaly?

Very possibly. People were saying this before. "Mario syndrome", if you would. Starcraft vs. Mario would be interesting...except, Mario would probably blow Starcraft out.

...wouldn't he???
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smitelf is a far better forecaster of this contest than I could ever hope to be.
I am in awe of her PWNage.

So, i guess this stops the possibilities of all an Zelda Final Four cold, doesnt it?
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Starcraft vs WW - Kerrigan is just getting started.

The only thing that really makes sense to me is that StarCraft gained popularity since round one. Had this match happened instead of Halo/SC, I do believe Wind Waker would have won comfortably.

The number of StarCraft fans on the board seemed to have increased a lot. And Jesus they're annoying. >_<

Kudos to StarCraft, though. It may actually make it to the Final Four. If it does, I wonder how it'll do against real competition.
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"Delicious morsel! Let me get my bib...!" - Ultros
Vote SSBM!

No way, I'm voting Starcraft next round. Now I may think twice if it's SSBM it's going to face, however... wait, no, I think so few people picked Starcraft that I still have cards to play.

A ****ing shame we're losing Amazing Telephone. Not even a thought for him on this? That's disgusting. ;) Seriously, if there is ever a user that helped define this board from day one, it's him. RIP, oh great one, pwner of n00bs, Gordon Freeman destroyer, smartest user alive. We're already missing you.

Halo > WW going to be official mere minutes from now. I think Starcraft really is a huge oddball, the likes of Master Chief or Mario.
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SpC2K4 Status --- Points: 081/088 --- Matches: 48/54 --- Rank: 00197/40940 --- Today's pick: Wind Waker

It's an awesome turn of events though. No "respectable" people in this topic were even leaning towards sc over ww and so many of them thought that there was no chance.

With all due respect, you guys should go take a look at my Oracle prediction...there was ONE of us leaning towards Starcraft =)
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Match#53 - 1st in Spread Betting, 2nd in Betting, 3rd in the Oracle, T-105th (78pts)

You know, I think this match clearly show how much vote totals have suffered since CJayC has stuffed the poll down below. If it was still in its original spot, this match should have had more vote than Halo/SC, not over 25000 less.

---
The Americans spent $12 billion dollars developing a pen that would work in outer space.
The Russians used a pencil.

The only thing that really makes sense to me is that StarCraft gained popularity since round one.

Indeed, this seems to be a side-idea for the Starcraft anomaly thing. The one time where the boards have made a big difference in the contest. I'm still dubious about its gain in popularity being significant, since at this point it's easy to imagine Halo being equal to Wind Waker (something we all mocked before the contest), but it's certainly a possibility that Starcraft has gained quite a bit in strength.

As for the next match, SSBM appears to be the clear, but not overwhelming favorite right now. I still think Final Fantasy X might win comfortably...but there's a huge chance I'm just deluding myself.
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smitelf is a far better forecaster of this contest than I could ever hope to be.
I am in awe of her PWNage.