rdfs:comment
| - This match, to me, exemplifies everything that is stupid about this format, and why to this day I deride Bacon for running this debacle again. It's not about predicting character popularity. It's not even about predicting fanbase splits. It's about chaos, luck, and the draw of a match picture. After Ocelot's bomb, though, along with Snake underperforming, Raiden doing only so-so and Big Boss' performance being attributed to the picture, all eyes suddenly turned to Liquid, the odd man out. Was the first round miracle against Luigi a fluke? Was Snake's twin set for another Round 2 epic bombing?
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abstract
| - This match, to me, exemplifies everything that is stupid about this format, and why to this day I deride Bacon for running this debacle again. It's not about predicting character popularity. It's not even about predicting fanbase splits. It's about chaos, luck, and the draw of a match picture. The only thing that was supposed to be debatable about this match was who would come in first. Ocelot seemed like a longshot of longshots when the bracket was released, but with the way MGS had lit the contest on fire, it seemed plausible. And Ocelot was the character that had the MOST to gain from MGS4. He had more screentime than ever, he had more importance than ever, and his role in the finale involves some of the most climactic scenes in all of video gaming. No one had as big a reason to boost than Ocelot. If MGS4 could take Liquid, who was equal to Alucard, to near-Luigi level, what could it do for Ocelot? The end result is one of the most nonsensical you'll ever see in these contests. As the match started, it quickly became apparent Ocelot wasn't going to beat Kratos - he was barely ahead, and Ocelot has one of the best board votes while Kratos has one of the worst. But something even weirder was going on. Jill wasn't dying. As Ocelot began his percentage fall back down to earth, Jill was right there to catch him. Despite, y'know, having ZERO bracket support from us after she had just lost to Ocelot last year. Pre-MGS4 Ocelot. From there, it was like last year's match in reverse. After a minor struggle, Jill surged ahead and never lost the advantage, and ReSTALLver Lossalot was never in the match from there on. As evidenced by last year, the two had almost exactly the same trends, thus leaving no room for a comeback on either end. We probably should see Jill/Ocelot 1v1 next year, just for the hilarity of seeing two characters deadlocked for 24 hours. It was strange retribution, in a way. One year ago, Jill was in the heavily favored position, after having nearly upset Jokefodder while Ocelot blew it against Pac-Man. Ocelot basically took that match from the start and never let go. So the board ends up switching to Ocelot en masse this year, and what happens? Exact opposite. Also, because it can't really be said enough - Metal Gear Solid 4. So, what happened? Well, for starters, Ocelot is referred to as "Liquid" for pretty much all of MGS4 - which explains Liquid's boost, but apparently voters are either against the concept of a 2 for 1 or somehow were able to play through the game without eyes. I mean, c'mon, it's Liquid Ocelot. Jill was also the beneficiary of some nice STF - not TJF, but Sore Thumb Factor: her baby blue background and cute artwork really stood out in a sea of testosterone (whoa there Heavy). And, of course, having Kratos as the big man in the match is a lot different than having Cloud breathing down everyone's neck. But let's get serious here. Even with all that, Ocelot shouldn't even have had a chance to lose the match. He'd already won. He had the biggest game of his career. Any excuses were just that - Jill winning here was just nonsense, and while it was nice for her to finally pull an upset after so many near-misses, it just proves how pointless this format is. This would be evidenced in even more bittersweet fashion in later rounds, but this is what exemplifies it the most, I feel. After Ocelot's bomb, though, along with Snake underperforming, Raiden doing only so-so and Big Boss' performance being attributed to the picture, all eyes suddenly turned to Liquid, the odd man out. Was the first round miracle against Luigi a fluke? Was Snake's twin set for another Round 2 epic bombing? We left the first round on that apprehensive note - but thankfully, ZackFAQs was waiting for us!
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