Considering the fact that Mario had just defeated Cloud, there was no way in the world Crono should have been able to stand toe to toe with the icon of video games; Final Fantasy 7 > Chrono Trigger on GameFAQs, after all. In fact, most people were writing in Mario's ticket to the finals at this point, considering that it was nearly impossible for Crono to win this match. Still, it was a true shock to even see Crono this close. Mario was expected to roll over him by most people, and seeing Crono even this close was a moral victory in and of itself. Not that moral victories matter or anything.