Welcome to my sixth annual Final Fantasy Character knockout game! I have 134 characters, from Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy XIV, and Final Fantasy Tactics all meshed in and spat out to form battles. Who will be victorious?

It was decided from last year's game onwards that the winner from the previous year will take the year off, so this year we say goodbye to Kefka from Final Fantasy 6, and welcome back Vivi from Final Fantasy 9!

Here's the podium finishes each year thus far:
The 1st Games 2011: Squall, 46 points | Sephiroth, 37 points | Shadow, 31 points
The 2nd Games 2012: Vivi, 42 points | Beatrix, 36 points | Zidane, 32 points
The 3rd Games 2013: Vivi, 26 points | Zidane, 25 points | Squall, 21 points
The 4th Games 2014: Vivi, 37 points | Gilgamesh, 26 points | Laguna, 30 points
The 5th Games 2015: Kefka, 36 points | Auron, 29 points | Edgar, 27 points

Also next year I will take out a certain "number" of characters to make room for FF15 characters that will be introduced, I'm unsure how many will be coming in and leaving the game but I will try to be lenient with characters introduced from last year's game (that's not to say they are guaranteed a place though). At the moment I'm thinking along the lines of introducing 9 characters from FF15 but removing around 15 characters from this year's game, this will make the game round with 128 characters, but we'll see how things go when FF15 is released and how the game goes this year first.

So with Kefka out and Vivi back in who is going to win this year? Next to each character I've put down the game they appeared in, followed by position each character is in tally wise, and their votes tally from the result of both years as well. In Round 2 onwards I'll also post their total tally this year. This is all for information purposes, if you're a statistical nerd like me. If that doesn't make sense, here's what Kefka's name would look like, if he were playing this year:

Vivi (VI, 6th, 98)

The 15 characters introduced last year will remain highlighted in blue to give them a bit of love, mainly because they were introduced later than everyone else so are still quite low on the rankings!

If you haven't played any of my FF Knockout Games in the past, here are the rules:

The Rules
1. To vote, simply check who is going against who and reply with your favourite character in each roundup, preferably in a column format.
2. When a round finishes, if there are any tiebreakers, I'll post them up at the end. Tiebreakers are to be decided by listing them, and asking the question again about who is their favourite, the first response wins the tiebreak (eg. if the tiebreaker was Kefka vs Cloud, and the first poster to respond chooses Kefka, Kefka goes through to the next round).
3. Round 1 has 64 fights to it. Because 134 doesn't work into 64, there are 6 battles where there are three characters who will fight for the place in Round 2.
4. All these battles are chosen randomly, I've used a simple Excel spreadsheet and the "Rand" formula to help me make it fair and square. The only exceptions I've made is that there's no two characters from the same game going against eachother. I'm going to try and keep characters from the same games apart for as long as possible, although that may get difficult later.
5. I'll keep these rounds open for around a week before posting the next one.
6. Because Round 1 has 64 battles, I'll split it into four sections (so you'll see 16 battles today, 16 in the next update etc). Round 2 will have 32 battles and I'll split that into two sections. Round 3 onwards will be posted in the complete forms.
7. Don't take this seriously, it's just a bit of fun. By all means debate why you love or hate certain characters, just be respectful of others feelings of those same characters.

Can I also bring your attention to Shad's Final Fantasy Music Rumble, a similar game where you can vote for your favourite songs in the series! Thread 205116

So without any further delay, here's the first part of Round 1...

Round 1A
Shadow Lord (XI, 86th, 15) vs Gordon (II, 90th, 14) vs Niellefresne (XIV, 119th 8)
Gabranth (XII, 47th, 32) vs Seymour (X, 52nd, 29) vs Hojo (VII, 29th, 51)
Bahamut (I, 79th, 18) vs Irvine (VIII, 42nd 35)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 118) Aldo (XI, 106th, 10)
Penelo (XII, 67th, 23) vs Thancred (XIV, 94th, 23)
Papalymo (XIV, 106th, 10) vs Hope (XIII, 99th, 12)
Seifer (VIII, 52nd, 29) vs Garland (I, 58th, 25)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 85) vs Selphie (VIII, 39th, 36)
Squall (VIII, 7th, 94) vs Tifa (VII, 21st, 61)
Vincent (VII, 15th, 67) vs Shantotto (XI, 116th, 9)
Fran (XII, 46th, 33) vs Beatrix (IX, 5th, 103)
Terra (VI, 8th, 88) vs Vaan (XII, 90th, 14)
Ellone (VIII, 131st, 1) vs Guy (II, 106th, 10)
Vanille (XIII, 72nd, 21) vs Rubicante(IV, 79th, 18)
Golbez (IV, 58th, 25) vs Kuja (IX, 16th, 66)
Djinn (III, 106th, 10) vs Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 71)

Dude insane timing, I just thought about this a couple minutes ago and checked in to see if it had started yet.

I'll have to get my music equivalent up and running too.

Will vote a bit later. :)

Looking forward to it! :D

Here's my votes:

Shadow Lord
Hojo
Irvine
Zidane
Penelo
Papalymo
Seifer
Edgar
Tifa
Vincent
Beatrix
Terra
Ellone
Vanille
Kuja
Gilgamesh

Stickied as usual! :D (Also I'm sorry for not being active here lately - my computer died and after setting up a new one I lost my password for the site and couldn't log back in for some weird reason). But anyway...

Round 1A
Shadow Lord (XI)
Gabranth (XII)
Irvine (VIII)
Aldo (XI)
Thancred (XIV)
Papalymo (XIV)
Seifer (VIII)
Edgar (VI)
Tifa (VII)
Vincent (VII)
Beatrix (IX)
Terra (VI)
Ellone (VIII)
Rubicante(IV)
Golbez (IV)
Gilgamesh (V)

Shadow Lord
Hojo
Bahamut
Zidane
Thancred
Papalymo
Garland
Edgar
Tifa
Vincent
Beatrix
Terra
Guy
Rubicante
Golbez
Gilgamesh

Round 1A
Shadow Lord (XI, 86th, 15)
Seymour (X, 52nd, 29)
Irvine (VIII, 42nd 35)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 118)
Penelo (XII, 67th, 23)
Hope (XIII, 99th, 12)
Seifer (VIII, 52nd, 29)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 85)
Squall (VIII, 7th, 94)
Vincent (VII, 15th, 67)
Beatrix (IX, 5th, 103)
Terra (VI, 8th, 88)
Ellone (VIII, 131st, 1)
Rubicante(IV, 79th, 18)
Golbez (IV, 58th, 25)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 71)

Just a reminder that you can vote for 1A still, I'll be posting Round 1B tomorrow, if you haven't voted by then you can do Round 1A and 1B together :)

Here's Round 1B! If you haven't voted for Round 1A yet you can vote for both rounds together :)

Round 1B
Kain (IV, 27th, 55) vs Cid (IX, 37th, 39) vs Shadow (VI, 10th, 77)
Setzer (VI, 22nd, 60) vs Dycedarg (Tactics, 106th, 10) vs Vivi (IX, 2nd, 119)
Galuf (V, 33nd, 42) vs Sara (III, 82nd, 16)
Sazh (XIII, 62nd, 24) vs Vayne (XII, 101st, 11)
Rosa (IV, 58th, 25) vs King Tycoon (V, 86th, 15)
Leon (II, 81st, 17) vs Wakka (X, 94th, 13)
Ashe (XII, 62nd, 24) Maria (II, 120th, 7)
Rafa (Tactics, 94th, 13) vs Steiner (IX, 23rd, 58)
Rinoa (VIII, 34th, 41) vs (Tidus, X, 62nd, 24)
Marilith (I, 86th, 15) vs Josef (II, 101st, 11)
Lion (XI, 106th, 10) vs Exdeath (V, 72nd, 21)
Unei (III, 106th, 10) vs Kraken (I, 134th, 0)
Agrias (Tactics, 47th, 32) vs Krile (V, 70th, 22)
Lulu (X, 24th, 56) vs Edea (VIII, 44th, 34)
Lightning (XIII, 101st, 11) Locke (VI, 14th, 68)
Barret (VII, 31st, 44) vs Prishe (XI, 70th, 22)

My votes... :)

Shadow
Vivi
Galuf
Sazh
King Tycoon
Wakka
Ashe
Steiner
Rinoa
Marilith
Exdeath
Kraken
Agrias
Edea
Locke
Barret

Round 1B

Kain (IV)
Vivi (IX)
Galuf (V)
Sazh (XIII)
Rosa (IV)
Leon (II)
Ashe (XII)
Steiner (IX)
Rinoa (VIII)
Marilith (I)
Lion (XI)
Unei (III)
Agrias (Tactics)
Lulu (X)
Locke (VI)
Barret (VII)

Kain
Dycedarg
Galuf
Sazh
Rosa
Leon
Maria
Steiner
Tidus -- at least one of these two awful characters will be eliminated in round 1. :P
Marilith
Exdeath
Unei
Agrias!
Lulu
Locke
Barret

Round 1B
Shadow (VI, 10th, 77)
Setzer (VI, 22nd, 60)
Galuf (V, 33nd, 42)
Sazh (XIII, 62nd, 24)
Rosa (IV, 58th, 25)
Wakka (X, 94th, 13)
Ashe (XII, 62nd, 24)
Rafa (Tactics, 94th, 13)
Rinoa (VIII, 34th, 41)
Josef (II, 101st, 11)
Exdeath (V, 72nd, 21)
Kraken (I, 134th, 0)
Agrias (Tactics, 47th, 32)
Edea (VIII, 44th, 34)
Locke (VI, 14th, 68)
Barret (VII, 31st, 44)

By the way

The 3rd Annual Final Fantasy Music Knockout (Thread 205116) has begun. :)

Round 1A
Shadow Lord (XI)
Hojo (VII)
Bahamut (I)
Aldo (XI)
Thancred (XIV)
Papalymo (XIV)
Seifer (VIII)
Edgar (VI)
Squall (VIII)
Vincent (VII)
Beatrix (IX)
Terra (VI)
Ellone (VIII)
Rubicante(IV)
Golbez (IV)
Gilgamesh (V)

Round 1B
Kain (IV)
Setzer (VI)
Galuf (V)
Sazh (XIII)
Rosa (IV)
Leon (II)
Ashe (XII)
Rafa (Tactics)
Rinoa (VIII)
Marilith (I)
Lion (XI)
Unei (III)
Agrias (Tactics)
Lulu (X)
Locke (VI)
Prishe (XI)

Here's Round 1C! Remember if you haven't voted for Round 1A and 1B yet you can do all three at the same time :)

Round 1C
Cid (Tactics, 50th, 30) vs Matoya (I, 106th, 10) vs Cid (V, 67th, 23)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 72) vs Alma (Tactics, 122nd, 6)
Cid (III, 131st, 1) vs Jecht (X, 32nd, 43)
Kimahri (X, 16th, 66) vs Aeris (VII, 38th, 37)
Lilisette (XI, 122nd, 6) vs Lenna (V, 56th, 26)
Yunalesca (X, 127th, 3) vs Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 19)
Boko (V, 106th, 10) vs Celes (VI, 28th, 52)
Auron (X, 1st, 123) vs Cloud (VII, 20th, 63)
The Emperor (II, 76th, 19) vs Balthier (XII, 24th, 56)
Montblanc (XII, 131st, 1) vs Dagger (IX, 16th, 66)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 34) vs Fang (XIII, 122nd, 6)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 66) vs Yda (XIV, 101st, 11)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 29) vs Leila (II, 122nd, 6)
Lich (I, 90th, 14) vs Faris (V, 50th, 30)
Basch (XII, 67th, 23) vs Zeid (XI, 116th, 9)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 31) vs Firion (II, 76th, 19)

Round 1C
Cid (Tactics)
Alma (Tactics)
Cid (III)
Kimahri (X)
Lilisette (XI)
Y'shtola (XIV)
Celes (VI)
Auron (X)
The Emperor (II)
Dagger (IX)
Tellah (IV)
Yda (XIV)
Leila (II)
Faris (V)
Zeid (XI)
Ramza (Tactics)

Cid (V)
Alma
Jecht
Lilisette
Yunalesca
Boko
Auron
Balthier
Montblanc
Tellah
Ultros
Quina
Faris
Basch
Firion

Round 1C
Cid (V, 67th, 23)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 72)
Jecht (X, 32nd, 43)
Kimahri (X, 16th, 66)
Lenna (V, 56th, 26)
Yunalesca (X, 127th, 3)
Celes (VI, 28th, 52)
Cloud (VII, 20th, 63)
Balthier (XII, 24th, 56)
Dagger (IX, 16th, 66)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 34)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 66)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 29)
Faris (V, 50th, 30)
Basch (XII, 67th, 23)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 31)

Round 1C

Cid (Tactics)
Rydia (IV)
Cid (III)
Aeris (VII)
Lenna (V)
Y'shtola (XIV)
Celes (VI)
Auron (X)
Balthier (XII)
Garnet (Dagger) (IX)
Fang (XIII)
Yda (XIV)
Leila (II)
Faris (V)
Zeid (XI)
Ramza (Tactics)

Cid (Tactics, 50th, 30)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 72)
Jecht (X, 32nd, 43)
Kimahri (X, 16th, 66)
Lenna (V, 56th, 26)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 19)
Celes (VI, 28th, 52)
Auron (X, 1st, 123)
The Emperor (II, 76th, 19)
Montblanc (XII, 131st, 1)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 34)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 66)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 29)
Faris (V, 50th, 30)
Basch (XII, 67th, 23)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 31)

Hmm... i can't believe i haven't seen this. I'll be voting for 3 rounds this time.

Round 1A
Gordon
Seymour
Bahamut
Zidane
Thancred
Papalymo
Garland
Edgar
Tifa
Vincent
Beatrix
Terra
Ellone
Rubicante
Kuja
Gilgamesh

Round 1B
Kain
Vivi
Galuf
Vayne
Rosa
Wakka
Ashe
Steiner
Rinoa
Marilith
Exdeath
Unei
Krile
Edea
Locke
Barret

Round 1C
Cid
Rydia
Jecht
Aeris
Lenna
Y'shtola
Celes
Cloud
Balthier
Dagger
Tellah
Yda
Quina
Faris
Basch
Ramza

Round 1C
Cid

Welcome aboard! Which Cid, FF Tactics or FF5? :)

Welcome aboard! Which Cid, FF Tactics or FF5? :)

Whoops! my bad! well i'd go for either, but in this instance, cid the grampa. (technically, both are? i dunno, don't know tactics lore too much)

Whoops! my bad! well i'd go for either, but in this instance, cid the grampa. (technically, both are? i dunno, don't know tactics lore too much)

I'll take that as a vote for FF5's Cid, let me know if I'm wrong! :D

I'll take that as a vote for FF5's Cid, let me know if I'm wrong! :D

yes, ff5 cid.

Round 1D coming tomorrow, and of course if you haven't voted for 1A, 1B and 1C yet you can do all four parts at the same time :)

Round 1A
Shadow Lord (XI, 86th, 15)
Gabranth (XII, 47th, 32)
Irvine (VIII, 42nd 35)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 118)
Thancred (XIV, 94th, 23)
Papalymo (XIV, 106th, 10)
Garland (I, 58th, 25)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 85)
Squall (VIII, 7th, 94)
Vincent (VII, 15th, 67)
Beatrix (IX, 5th, 103)
Terra (VI, 8th, 88)
Ellone (VIII, 131st, 1)
Rubicante(IV, 79th, 18)
Kuja (IX, 16th, 66)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 71)

Round 1B
Shadow (VI, 10th, 77)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 119)
Galuf (V, 33nd, 42)
Vayne (XII, 101st, 11)
Rosa (IV, 58th, 25)
Leon (II, 81st, 17)
Ashe (XII, 62nd, 24)
Steiner (IX, 23rd, 58)
Rinoa (VIII, 34th, 41)
Marilith (I, 86th, 15)
Exdeath (V, 72nd, 21)
Kraken (I, 134th, 0)
Agrias (Tactics, 47th, 32)
Edea (VIII, 44th, 34)
Locke (VI, 14th, 68)
Barret (VII, 31st, 44)

Round 1C
Cid (Tactics, 50th, 30)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 72)
Jecht (X, 32nd, 43)
Aeris (VII, 38th, 37)
Lenna (V, 56th, 26)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 19)
Celes (VI, 28th, 52)
Auron (X, 1st, 123)
Balthier (XII, 24th, 56)
Dagger (IX, 16th, 66)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 34)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 66)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 29)
Faris (V, 50th, 30)
Basch (XII, 67th, 23)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 31)

Here's Round 1D! Last part of Round 1 now, so if you haven't voted for Round 1A, 1B, or 1C yet this is your final week to vote for all four parts of Round 1! :)

Round 1D
Rufus (VII, 39th, 36) vs Leo (VI, 58th, 25) vs Quistis (VIII, 36th, 40)
Lahabrea (XIV, 126th, 5) vs Cid (VII, 13th, 70)
Cecil (IV, 19th, 64) vs Freya (IX, 34th, 41)
Aria (III, 101st, 11) vs Astos (I, 72nd, 21)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 51) vs Xande (III, 120th, 7)
Desch (III, 106th, 10) vs Semih Lafihna (XI, 82nd, 16)
Cid (IV, 55th, 27) vs Malak (Tactics, 116th, 9)
Yuna (X, 39th, 36) vs Jihl (XIII, 130th, 2)
Chaos (I, 75th, 20) vs Red XIII (VII, 134th, 0)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 3) vs Laguna (VIII, 4th, 110)
Larsa (XII, 56th, 26) vs Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 24)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 24) vs Ricard (II, 90th, 14)
Aphmau (XI, 94th, 13) vs Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 3)
Zemus (IV, 86th, 15) vs Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 13)
Tiamat (I, 82nd, 16) vs Yang (IV, 99th, 12)
Rikku (X, 42nd, 35) vs Serah (XIII, 82nd, 16)

Round 1D
Quistis (VIII)
Lahabrea (XIV)
Cecil (IV)
Aria (III)
Sephiroth (VII)
Semih Lafihna (XI)
Malak (Tactics)
Yuna (X)
Red XIII (VII)
Laguna (VIII)
Ovelia (Tactics)
Zell (VIII)
Aphmau (XI)
Mustadio (Tactics)
Yang (IV)
Rikku (X)

Leo
Cid (VII)
Freya
Astos
Sephiroth
Desch
Cid (IV)
Jihl
Red XIII
Sabin
Larsa
Zell
Stiltzkin
Zemus
Yang
Rikku

Round 1D

Quistis (FFVIII)
Lahabrea (FFXIV ARR)
Cecil (FFIV)
Aria (FFIII)
Sephiroth (FFVII)
Semih Lafihna (FFXI)
Cid (FFIV)
Yuna (FFX)
Chaos (FFI)
Sabin (FFVI)
Ovelia (FF Tactics)
Zell (FFVIII)
Stiltzkin (FFIX)
Mustadio (FF Tactics)
Yang (FFIV)
Serah (FFXIII)

Round 1D
Leo (VI, 58th, 25)
Cid (VII, 13th, 70)
Cecil (IV, 19th, 64)
Aria (III, 101st, 11)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 51)
Desch (III, 106th, 10)
Cid (IV, 55th, 27)
Yuna (X, 39th, 36)
Red XIII (VII, 134th, 0)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 3)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 24)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 24)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 3)
Zemus (IV, 86th, 15)
Yang (IV, 99th, 12)
Rikku (X, 42nd, 35)

Round 1D

Leo (VI, 58th, 25)
Cid (VII, 13th, 70)
Cecil (IV, 19th, 64)
Aria (III, 101st, 11)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 51)
Semih Lafihna (XI, 82nd, 16)
Cid (IV, 55th, 27)
Yuna (X, 39th, 36)
Red XIII (VII, 134th, 0)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 3)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 24)
Ricard (II, 90th, 14)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 3)
Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 13)
Yang (IV, 99th, 12)
Serah (XIII, 82nd, 16)

Rufus (VII, 39th, 36)
Cid (VII, 13th, 70)
Freya (IX, 34th, 41)
Astos (I, 72nd, 21)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 51)
Semih Lafihna (XI, 82nd, 16)
Cid (IV, 55th, 27)
Jihl (XIII, 130th, 2)
Chaos (I, 75th, 20)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 3)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 24)
Ricard (II, 90th, 14)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 3)
Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 13)
Yang (IV, 99th, 12)
Rikku (X, 42nd, 35)

Round 1D
Leo (VI, 58th, 25)
Lahabrea
Cecil (IV, 19th, 64)
Aria (III, 101st, 11)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 51)
Desch (III, 106th, 10)
Cid (IV, 55th, 27)
Yuna (X, 39th, 36)
Red XIII (VII, 134th, 0)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 3)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 24)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 24)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 3)
Zemus (IV, 86th, 15)
Yang (IV, 99th, 12)
Rikku (X, 42nd, 35)

Last chance to vote for all of Round 1! So that's Round 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D! Any tiebreakers (if any) will be posted tomorrow before we move onto Round 2! :)

I think for the first time in the game's history there's no tiebreakers in the first round!

Round 1 Roundup

Most Popular Characters - 10 characters lead the way so far, with 7 points, but obviously this will open out as the game goes forward. I'll list them in Round 2 onwards due to how many people "lead" at the moment.
Most Popular Characters (All Time) - Auron still leads the way but Vivi, after a year of absence is now tied with Zidane in 2nd place. A bit lower down Gilgamesh has pipped Rydia to 11th place but they're both still in the tournament so anything can happen.
Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings - Lord Larsa from FF12 has dropped 10 ranking places so far, only getting a single vote in this year's game. He was ranked 56th place but currently ranks 66th and could drop further still.
Highest Rise in All Time Rankings - Papalymo had a super first round getting 6 points, he only had 10 points in the five previous games! He was ranked 106th but now sits in 90th place, rising 16 places as a result.
Centenarians - If you didn't know, we have five Centenarians - characters who have over the years of this game have accumulated 100+ points. They are Auron from FF10, Zidane, Vivi and Beatrix from FF9 and Laguna from FF8. The closest to 100 points was Kefka but he's out of this year's game after winning last year, and then Squall was knocked out by Tifa. So next in line really is Terra from FF6, who is five points away from the landmark.
"Biggest Upsets" - You have to really say the biggest upset in this year's game is Laguna getting absolutely destroyed by Sabin 6-1! Sabin, ranked 127th place (he is a newer character to the game) defeated 4th place Laguna. Sabin didn't even get to the second round last year! Otherwise, 58th place Golbez beating 16th place Kuja was a surprise with me personally, they're both brilliant villains of course.

I've announced which characters which will be removed from this knockout tournament to make room for FF15 characters next year - click here for more info. (Thread 205802)

Now it's time for Round 2! Once again Round 2 will be in two parts, so here's Round 2A, and Round 2B will be done next week:

Round 2A
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year�s Rank, This Year�s Points Tally)
Newer characters joined last year are still in blue

Cecil (IV, 19th, 5) vs Dagger (IX, 16th, 5)
Irvine (VIII, 42nd, 4) vs Ultros (VI, 24th, 4)
Exdeath (V, 72nd, 5) vs Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 7)
Papalymo (XIV, 106th, 6) vs Edea (VIII, 44th, 4)
Sazh (XIII, 62nd, 5) vs Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 5)
Seifer (VIII, 52nd, 4) vs Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 6)
Basch (XII, 67th, 5) vs Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 6)
Rosa (IV, 58th, 6) vs Tifa (VII, 21st, 4)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 5) vs Jecht (X, 32nd, 5)
Terra (VI, 8th, 7) vs Beatrix (IX, 5th, 7)
Agrias (Tactics, 47th, 6) vs Celes (VI, 28th, 6)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 6) vs Kimahri (X, 16th, 4)
Rinoa (VIII, 34th, 6) vs Yang (IV, 99th, 7)
Shadow Lord (XI, 86th, 6) vs Cid (Tactics, 50th, 4)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 5) vs Vincent (VII, 15th, 7)
Cid (VII, 13th, 5) vs Steiner (IX, 23rd, 5)

Round 2A

Cecil (IV)
Irvine (VIII)
Exdeath (V)
Papalymo (XIV)
Y'shtola (XIV)
Seifer (VIII)
Stiltzkin (IX)
Rosa (IV)
Quina (IX)
Terra (VI)
Agrias (Tactics)
Kimahri (X)
Rinoa (VIII)
Shadow Lord (XI)
Vincent (VII)
Cid (VII)

Cecil
Ultros - tough choice, gotta go with the octopus kids!
Sephiroth
Edea
Sazh
Seifer
Stiltzkin
Tifa
Quina
Beatrix
Celes
Sabin
Rinoa
Shadow Lord
Vincent
Cid (VII) - very tough, I love Steiner but if I've got to make Cid's goddamn tea or he'll be pissed!

Round 2A

Cecil (IV, 19th, 5)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 7)
Edea (VIII, 44th, 4)
Sazh (XIII, 62nd, 5)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 6)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 6)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 4)
Jecht (X, 32nd, 5)
Terra (VI, 8th, 7)
Celes (VI, 28th, 6)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 6)
Yang (IV, 99th, 7)
Shadow Lord (XI, 86th, 6)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 5)
Cid (VII, 13th, 5)

Cecil (IV, 19th, 5)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 7)
Papalymo (XIV, 106th, 6)
Sazh (XIII, 62nd, 5)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 6)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 6)
Rosa (IV, 58th, 6)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 5)
Terra (VI, 8th, 7)
Agrias (Tactics, 47th, 6)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 6)
Yang (IV, 99th, 7)
Cid (Tactics, 50th, 4)
Vincent (VII, 15th, 7)
Cid (VII, 13th, 5)

2A

Dagger (IX, 16th, 5)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 4)
Exdeath (V, 72nd, 5)
Edea (VIII, 44th, 4)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 5)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 6)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 6)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 4)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 5)
Beatrix (IX, 5th, 7)
Celes (VI, 28th, 6)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 6)
Yang (IV, 99th, 7)
Cid (Tactics, 50th, 4)
Vincent (VII, 15th, 7)
Cid (VII, 13th, 5)

Round 2A
Cecil (IV, 19th, 5)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 7)
Papalymo (XIV, 106th, 6)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 5)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 6)
Basch (XII, 67th, 5)
Rosa (IV, 58th, 6)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 5)
Terra (VI, 8th, 7)
Celes (VI, 28th, 6)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 6)
Rinoa (VIII, 34th, 6)
Cid (Tactics, 50th, 4)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 5)
Steiner (IX, 23rd, 5)

I have to admit, after hearing what happened to Papalymo this year, it's made me conscientious to vote for Him when I can.

I'm really enjoying this competition. it makes me appreciate playing ff more :)

It's been a while since I've logged in here last time... Glad you still keep doing this Johnny :)

Round 2A

Dagger (IX, 16th, 5)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 4)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 7)
Edea (VIII, 44th, 4)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 5)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 6)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 6)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 4)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 5)
Beatrix (IX, 5th, 7)
Agrias (Tactics, 47th, 6)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 6)
Yang (IV, 99th, 7)
Cid (Tactics, 50th, 4)
Zell (VIII, 62nd, 5)
Steiner (IX, 23rd, 5)

Round 2A

Garnet ('Dagger') (FFIX)
Irvine (FFVIII)
Sephiroth (FFVII)
Papalymo (FFXIV)
Y'shtola (FFXIV)
Ramza (FFT)
Basch (FFXII)
Rosa (FFIV)
Quina (FFIX)
Terra (FFVI))
Celes (FFVI)
Sabin (FFVI)
Rinoa (FFVIII)
Cid (FFT)
Vincent (FFVII)
Steiner (FFIX)

It's been a while since I've logged in here last time... Glad you still keep doing this Johnny :)

I'm glad you all keep coming back to do it, it's a fun little thing every year to do :D

- Round 2B will be posted tomorrow, of course you can vote for Round 2A and 2B together if you haven't yet voted :)

Here's Round 2B! So if you've not yet voted for Round 2A, you can do both Round 2A and 2B at the same time :)

Round 2B
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Newer characters joined last year are still in blue

Ashe (XII, 62nd, 6) vs Red XIII (VII, 134th, 5)
Cid (IV, 55th, 6) vs Unei (III, 106th, 4)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 4) vs Rikku (X, 42nd, 5)
Leo (VI, 58th, 4) vs Hojo (VII, 29th, 3)
Lenna (V, 56th, 5) vs Tellah (IV, 44th, 6)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 5) vs Leon (II, 81st, 4)
Golbez (IV, 58th, 4) vs Yuna (X, 39th, 5)
Aria (III, 101st, 5) vs Marilith (I, 86th, 6)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 7) vs Thancred (XIV, 94th, 5)
Barret (VII, 31st, 6) vs Balthier (XII, 24th, 5)
Rubicante (IV, 79th, 6) vs Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 7)
Semih Lafihna (XI, 82nd, 4) vs Auron (X, 1st, 5)
Locke (VI, 14th, 7) vs Faris (V, 50th, 7)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 6) vs Edgar (VI, 9th, 7)
Kain (IV, 27th, 4) vs Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 4)
Ellone (VIII, 131st, 6) vs Rydia (IV, 11th, 5)

Round 2B


Red XIII (VII)
Cid (IV)
Vivi (IX)
Hojo (VII)
Tellah (IV)
Leon (II)
Golbez (IV)
Aria (III)
Thancred (XIV)
Barret (VII)
Gilgamesh (V)
Semih Lafihna (XI)
Locke (VI)
Edgar (VI)
Kain (IV)
Ellone (VIII)

Red XIII
Cid (IV)
Vivi
Hojo
Tellah
Zidane
Golbez
Marilith
Galuf
Balthier
Rubicante
Auron
Locke
Edgar
Kain
Ellone

Round 2B

Red XIII (VII, 134th, 5)
Cid (IV, 55th, 6)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 4)
Leo (VI, 58th, 4)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 6)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 5)
Yuna (X, 39th, 5)
Aria (III, 101st, 5)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 7)
Balthier (XII, 24th, 5)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 7)
Auron (X, 1st, 5)
Locke (VI, 14th, 7)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 7)
Kain (IV, 27th, 4)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 5)

2B

Red XIII (VII, 134th, 5)
Cid (IV, 55th, 6)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 4)
Leo (VI, 58th, 4)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 6)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 5)
Yuna (X, 39th, 5)
Aria (III, 101st, 5)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 7)
Balthier (XII, 24th, 5)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 7)
Auron (X, 1st, 5)
Faris (V, 50th, 7)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 7)
Kain (IV, 27th, 4)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 5)

Red XIII (VII, 134th, 5)
Cid (IV, 55th, 6)
Rikku (X, 42nd, 5)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 3)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 6)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 5)
Golbez (IV, 58th, 4)
Marilith (I, 86th, 6)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 7)
Barret (VII, 31st, 6)
Rubicante (IV, 79th, 6)
Auron (X, 1st, 5)
Faris (V, 50th, 7)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 7)
Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 4)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 5)

Round 2B

Ashe (FFXII)
Cid (FFIV)
Vivi (FFIX)
Leo (FFVI)
Tellah (FFIV)
Zidane (FIX)
Yuna (FFX)
Aria (FFIII)
Thancred (FFXIV)
Balthier (FXII)
Gilgamesh (FFV)
Semih Lafihna (FFXI)
Locke (FFVI)
Edgar (FFVI)
Kain (FFIV)
Rydia (FFIV)


Sorry Enki, you've forgotten Galuf vs Thancred :)

Urk, I don't know how I missed that. I even remember typing out Thancred's name as my choice. Stupid CTRL+A overwrite. >< Anyway, fixed! Thanks for that. ;)

Round 2B

Ashe (FFXII)
Cid (FFIV)
Vivi (FFIX)
Leo (FFVI)
Tellah (FFIV)
Zidane (FIX)
Yuna (FFX)
Aria (FFIII)
Balthier (FXII)
Gilgamesh (FFV)
Semih Lafihna (FFXI)
Locke (FFVI)
Edgar (FFVI)
Kain (FFIV)
Rydia (FFIV)

Sorry Enki, you've forgotten Galuf vs Thancred :)

Round 2B

Ashe (XII, 62nd, 6)
Cid (IV, 55th, 6)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 4)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 3)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 6)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 5)
Yuna (X, 39th, 5)
Aria (III, 101st, 5)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 7)
Balthier (XII, 24th, 5)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 7)
Auron (X, 1st, 5)
Faris (V, 50th, 7)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 6)
Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 4)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 5)

Round 2B
Ashe (XII, 62nd, 6)
Unei (III, 106th, 4)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 4)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 3)
Lenna (V, 56th, 5)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 5)
Yuna (X, 39th, 5)
Aria (III, 101st, 5)
Thancred (XIV, 94th, 5)
Barret (VII, 31st, 6)
Rubicante (IV, 79th, 6)
Auron (X, 1st, 5)
Locke (VI, 14th, 7)
Ovelia (Tactics, 62nd, 6)
Mustadio (Tactics, 94th, 4)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 5)

Last chance to vote in Round 2A and 2B, tomorrow we'll sort out any tiebreakers and move on to Round 3 :D

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTE WINS!

Who do you prefer?
Rosa (IV) or Tifa (VII)?
Rinoa (VIII) or Yang (IV)?
Papalymo (XIV) or Edea (VIII)?

Round 3 will begin soon! :)

Tifa (VII)
Yang (IV)
Edea (VIII)

Rosa (IV)
Rinoa (VIII)
Papalymo (XIV)

Darth Raven's tiebreaker votes don't count because it's only the first person to respond that makes the decision.

Round 2 Roundup
Most Popular Characters – 5 characters are now edging in front with 13 points, they are Tellah and Cid from FF4, the twins Edgar and Sabin from FF6 and Sephiroth from FF7.
Most Popular Characters (All Time) – Still leading is Auron and Vivi and Zidane are still tied in 2nd place. Laguna’s awful run this year means that Beatrix has pipped him to 4th place, but she too has now been eliminated.
Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings – Tiamat from FF1 and Sara from FF3 have now dropped lower than anyone else, dropping 15 places so far, both having got zero points this year.
Highest Rise in All Time Rankings – Sabin’s rocketed 30 places so far this year, but in fairness he’s a newer character so it’s easy for him to rise the rankings, providing he still gets your votes. Out of the characters who aren’t new, Aria from FF3 has risen 18 places from 101st place to 83rd, having her best ever run in the competitions.
Centenarians – We have a new centenarian in Terra from FF6! She’s our sixth person to hit 100 points. You’d imagine the next one would be Edgar also from FF6, who has 98 points at the moment.
"Biggest Upsets" – In terms of rankings, 127th place Sabin thrashing 16th place Kimahri is probably the biggest, that being said it’s harder with the newer characters to determine how they do against the older characters. Other than that there hasn’t really been many upsets.


I've announced which characters which will be removed from this knockout tournament to make room for FF15 characters next year - click here for more info. (Thread 205802)

Now it's time for Round 3! Round 3 onwards now will be the entire rounds, no splitting them over weeks anymore!

Round 3
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Newer characters joined last year are still in blue

Cid (Tactics, 50th, 9) vs Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 12)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 12) vs Locke (VI, 14th, 12)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 12) vs Cid (VII, 13th, 10)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 10) vs Kain (IV, 27th, 9)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 13) vs Vivi (IX, 2nd, 11)
Red XIII (VII, 134th, 10) vs Rydia (IV, 11th, 11)
Yang (IV, 99th, 11) vs Auron (X, 1st, 11)
Yuna (X, 39th, 10) vs Tifa (VII, 21st, 8)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 12 ) vs Ultros (VI, 24th, 10)
Cid (IV, 55th, 13) vs Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 12)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 13) vs Cecil (IV, 19th, 10)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 12) vs Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 13)
Celes (VI, 28th, 11) vs Edea (VIII, 44th, 8)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 8) vs Aria (III, 101st, 11)
Terra (VI, 8th, 12) vs Vincent (VII, 15th, 12)
Balthier (XII, 24th, 10) vs Edgar (VI, 9th, 13)

Cid (Tactics, 50th, 9)
Locke (VI, 14th, 12)
Cid (VII, 13th, 10)
Kain (IV, 27th, 9)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 13)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 11)
Yang (IV, 99th, 11)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 8)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 12) ~~haha, a suitable pairing
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 12)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 13)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 12) ~~oh why not mix it up a bit
Celes (VI, 28th, 11)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 8)
Terra (VI, 8th, 12)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 13)

Round 3

Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 12)
Locke (VI, 14th, 12)
Cid (VII, 13th, 10)
Kain (IV, 27th, 9)
Tellah (IV, 44th, 13)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 11)
Auron (X, 1st, 11)
Yuna (X, 39th, 10)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 10)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 12)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 13)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 13)
Celes (VI, 28th, 11)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 8)
Terra (VI, 8th, 12)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 13)

Round 3

Gilgamesh (FFV)
Locke (FFVI)
Cid (FFVII)
Y'shtola (FFXIV)
Vivi (FFIX)
Rydia (FFIV)
Yang (FFIV)
Tifa (FFVII)
Ultros (FFVI)
Ramza (FFT)
Cecil (FFIV)
Sephiroth (FFVII)
Celes (FFVI)
Aria (FFIII)
Terra (FFVI)
Edgar (FFVI)

Tifa (VII)
Yang (IV)
Edea (VIII)

Nooooooooooooooo.......................

Round 3
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 12)
vs Locke (VI, 14th, 12)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 12)
Y'shtola (XIV, 76th, 10)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 11)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 11)
Auron (X, 1st, 11)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 8)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 12 )
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 12)
Cecil (IV, 19th, 10)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 13)
Celes (VI, 28th, 11)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 8)
Terra (VI, 8th, 12)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 13)

Round 3

Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 12)
Zidane (IX, 3rd, 12)
Galuf (V, 33rd, 12)
Kain (IV, 27th, 9)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 11)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 11)
Auron (X, 1st, 11)
Tifa (VII, 21st, 8)
Ultros (VI, 24th, 10)
Cid (IV, 55th, 13)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 13)
Stiltzkin (IX, 127th, 12)
Celes (VI, 28th, 11)
Aria (III, 101st, 11)
Terra (VI, 8th, 12)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 13)

Gilgamesh
Zidane
Cid (VII)
Kain
Vivi
Red XIII
Auron
Tifa
Quina
Cid (IV)
Sabin
Sephiroth
Edea
Hojo
Vincent
Balthier

Last chance to vote on Round 3! Hoping to start Round 4 tomorrow :)

TIEBREAKER! NEXT VOTE WINS!

Who do you prefer?

Quina (IX) or Ultros (VI)?

Round 4 will commence soon! :)

Quina

Round 3 Roundup
Most Popular Characters – Edgar now leads the way for the final 16 characters, having got 18 points in the three rounds so far. Gilgamesh from FF5, Terra and Sabin from FF6 and Sephiroth from FF7 all trail behind with 17 points.
Most Popular Characters (All Time) – Still leading is Auron but Vivi has now pipped Zidane into second place due to Zidane's shock exit against Locke! Terra and Edgar's fantastic runs has moved them two places each, taking over Kefka and Squall into sixth and seventh place respectively.
Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings – Lord Larsa from FF12 has joined Tiamat from FF1 and Sara from FF3, they've all dropped 12 places in the rankings (Tiamat and Sara had dropped 15 rankings in the previous round but somehow have risen 3 rankings in between rounds).
Highest Rise in All Time Rankings – Having rocketed 30 rankings prior to Round 3, Sabin has now gone up 10 more places in between rounds. Sabin is a newer character however, so out of the characters who have been here from the beginning, Aria, who was knocked out in Round 3 has risen a total of 27 places, from 101st place to 74th, having her best ever run in the competitions.
Centenarians – As predicted the next Centenarian was Edgar from FF6. I have a feeling we may not get any more centenarians in this year's game, as the next two characters are Rydia from FF4 and Gilgamesh from FF5, who have to get more 12 points to reach the milestone.
"Biggest Upsets" – It seems like anyone who Sabin beats makes it an upset, he beat Kimahri in Round 2 and has now beaten Locke in Round 3, who were ranked 16th and 19th place respectively. Not bad considering he was ranked 127th before the start of the game! Otherwise, 14th place Locke beating 3rd place Zidane was a pretty big upset too. Also Quina, originally ranked 52nd place beating Ultros who was ranked 24th is another upset I'd say.

I've announced which characters which will be removed from this knockout tournament to make room for FF15 characters next year - click here for more info. (Thread 205802)

Now it's time for Round 34! 16 characters left, one week until The Quarter Finals!

Round 4
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Newer characters joined last year are still in blue

Edgar (VI, 9th, 18) vs Cid (VII, 13th, 14)
Auron (X, 1st, 15) vs Locke (VI, 14th, 16)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 15) vs Hojo (VII, 29th, 12)
Sephiroth (VII, 29th, 17) vs Sabin (VI, 127th, 17)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 15) vs Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 17)
Terra (VI, 8th, 17) vs Tifa (VII, 21st, 13)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 16) vs Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 16)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16) vs Kain (IV, 27th, 13)

Round 4

Edgar (VI, 9th, 18)
Locke (VI, 14th, 16)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 12)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 17)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 17)
Terra (VI, 8th, 17)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 16)
Kain (IV, 27th, 13)

Cid (VII)
Auron
Quina
Sephiroth
Vivi
Tifa
Rydia
Kain

Edgar (VI, 9th, 18)
Locke (VI, 14th, 16)
Hojo (VII, 29th, 12)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 17)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 15)
Terra (VI, 8th, 17)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 16)
Kain (IV, 27th, 13)

4


Cid (VII, 13th, 14)
Auron (X, 1st, 15)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 15)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 17)
Gilgamesh (V, 12th, 17)
Terra (VI, 8th, 17)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 16)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

Round 4

Edgar (VI, 9th, 18)
Auron (X, 1st, 15)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 15)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 17)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 15)
Terra (VI, 8th, 17)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 16)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

it was a hard decision to go with celes. Kain is a favourite pick since i like him the most out of all dragoons in the series. I enjoyed him the most in 4 as well.

Round 4


Cid (VII, 13th, 14)
Auron (X, 1st, 15)
Quina (IX, 52nd, 15)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 17)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 15)
Terra (VI, 8th, 17)
Ramza (Tactics, 49th, 16)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

Round 4

Edgar (FFVI)
Locke (FFVI)
Hojo (FFVII)
Sabin (FFVI)
Gilgamesh (FFV)
Terra (FFVI)
Rydia (FFIV)
Celes (FFVI)

No surprise I mostly voted for FFVI characters. ;)

Last chance to vote before we start preparing for the Quarter Finals! :)

No tiebreakers so straight to the Quarter Finals!

Round 4 Roundup
Most Popular Characters – Terra and Sabin from FF6 have now pipped the others, and both have accumulated 23 points.
Most Popular Characters (All Time) – No change at the top but Terra from FF6 is now in joint fifth place with Laguna, who had a terrible tournament. Edgar has now pipped Kefka into 7th place.
Lowest Drop in All Time Rankings – The latest switcharound in the rankings now means that the lowest drop in the rankings is now quite a few characters! In name they are Tiamat from FF1, Firion from FF2, Sara from FF3, Selphie from FF8, Cid from FF9 and Larsa from FF12, they've all gone down 12 ranks at the moment.
Highest Rise in All Time Rankings – Sabin’s brilliant tournament means he's now risen rocketed 57 places so far this year, but as stated previously he's a newer character so it’s easy for him to rise the rankings. Out of the characters who aren’t new, Aria from FF3 has now risen 26 places from 101st place to 75th.
Centenarians – Congratulations to Edgar from FF6, our newest character to hit 100 points! If Rydia keeps doing well you'd expect her to be the next centenarian, she has 95 points at the moment.
"Biggest Upsets" – Another scalp for Sabin, being ranked 127th and beating 29th place Sephiroth has got to be another upset. In terms of other characters, 52nd place Quina from FF9 beating 29th place Hojo was an achievement!

It's Quarter Final Time! At this point in the competition we start to remove the statistics and talk more about who's left and how they've done in the past. Please welcome, the Top 8!

Auron - He may be ranked at no.1 but he's never won this tournament! He was the runner up last year, losing to Kefka. He has however, gotten to the Quarter Finals. Every. Single. Year. It's an amazing achievement, six years in a row now. That's the consistency that makes him ranked at no.1. Incredible.

Celes - Congratulations Celes, this is your first Quarter Final! It's a big ask for her to make the semis, she's the third lowest ranked character left in the competition but you never know!

Edgar - Edgar has only got to the Quarter Finals once before, and that was last year too. He won Bronze last year. Can he make it two in two for the semi finals?

Quina - Another character who is having the tournament of he/she's life! This is the first time Quina has gotten this far, it's their highest points tally too, and other than newbie Sabin, Quina is the lowest ranked character in the game. But he/she can make it to the semis with your support!

Rydia - Despite being quite high in the rankings, this is the first time Rydia has made it to the Quarter Finals. Actually she's the first character from Final Fantasy IV to ever get this far! Congratulations Rydia! But is this the end of the line or can she go one step further?

Sabin - Obviously this is Sabin's first Quarter Final appearance. Sabin is definitely the wildcard in this whole tournament. Let's see the scalps he's taken so far - Laguna (#4), Kimahri (#16), Cecil (#19) and Sephiroth (#29). It's an impressive list. Ranked 127th? Yeah right! But still, he may not make it any further though, it's all in your hands!

Terra - This is Terra's third quarter final, and it's also three in a row. She had never got to the Quarter Finals before 2014. A semi finalist last year, can she get to her second semi?

Vivi - The three time champion ranked at no.2. Removed from last year's game because it was decided a change was needed, leading to the rule that the winner takes the year off. Can he do it for the fourth time this year? Despite taking the year out he's only four points behind Auron in the rankings. He's truly truly popular. This is his fourth quarter final in six years.

Okay. Quarter Final time. Let's do this!

I've announced which characters which will be removed from this knockout tournament to make room for FF15 characters next year - click here for more info. (Thread 205802)

Round 5: The Quarter Final
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)
Newer characters joined last year are still in blue

Quina (IX, 52nd, 19) vs Terra (VI, 8th, 23)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 23) vs Rydia (IV, 11th, 23)
Auron (X, 1st, 19) vs (Edgar, VI, 9th, 22)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 19) vs Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

Round 5: The Quarter Final

Quina (IX, 52nd, 19)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 23)
Auron (X, 1st, 19)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 19)

:o

Terra (VI, 8th, 23)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 23)
Edgar (VI, 9th, 22)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

Round 5: The Quarter Final

Terra (VI, 8th, 23)
Sabin (VI, 127th, 23)
Edgar, VI, 9th, 22)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

:D

Quina
Sabin
Auron
Vivi

Terra (FFVI)
Rydia (FFIV)
Edgar (FFVI)
Celes (FFVI)

Round 5

Quina (IX, 52nd, 19) - I want to see him/her make it! I think it would be great to see someone that's not so universally loved make it!
Rydia (IV, 11th, 23)
Auron (X, 1st, 19)
Celes (VI, 28th, 16)

I normally don't participate in these things but what the hey.

Quina (IX, 52nd, 19)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 23)
Auron (X, 1st, 19)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 19)

Round 5: The Quarter Final

Terra (VI, 8th, 23)
Rydia (IV, 11th, 23)
Auron (X, 1st, 19)
Vivi (IX, 2nd, 19)

Last chance to vote before the Semi Finals! :)

TIEBREAKERS! NEXT VOTE WINS!

Who do you prefer?
Quina (FF9) or Terra (FF6)?
Auron (FF10) or Edgar (FF6)?

The Semi Finals will be posted shortly after! :)

Quina FFIX
Auron FFX

A few notes before we start the semi finals:

- None of these characters have ever won the game before - so officially, we'll have a new champion!
- This is Auron's second semi final. He got there last year when he actually finished runner up. Being ranked at #1 and being the only person to have gotten this far definitely means he's the favourite.
- Quina being Ranked 52nd means he/she's the lowest ranked character to ever get to a Semi Finals.
- Rydia was the first character from FF4 to get to the Quarter Finals, she's now the first character from FF4 to get to the Semis.
- Vivi's been knocked out of the game for the first time since the first ever tournament! A five year record!
- That character that beat Vivi all those years ago was Terra from FF6. So Vivi's only lost twice in 6 games, both to female characters from FF6.

Let's do this then! Who will our two finalists be?

Round 6: The Semi Finals
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)

Quina (IX, 52nd, 22) vs Rydia (IV, 11th, 27)
Auron (X, 1st, 22) vs Celes (VI, 28th, 20)

Rydia (IV, 11th, 27)
Celes (VI, 28th, 20)

Easy choices in both semi-finals. :)

Rydia (IV, 11th, 27)
Celes (VI, 28th, 20)

Quina
Auron

Easy choices for me but for seemingly opposite reasons :D

Rydia
Celes

There's simply no comparison. ;)

Round 6: The Semi Finals
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)

Rydia (IV, 11th, 27)
Celes (VI, 28th, 20)

Quina

Celes


btw Guys, is it just me or there was a point mistake in round 5? O_O Shouldn't Vivi vs Celes be in a tiebreaker instead Auron vs Edgar? #hardcorevivisupporter

Quina

Celes


btw Guys, is it just me or there was a point mistake in round 5? O_O Shouldn't Vivi vs Celes be in a tiebreaker instead Auron vs Edgar? #hardcorevivisupporter

Crap you're right... Auron would have won anyway so his vote isn't compromised but still. Let's do it again right now and see who would be voted.


TIEBREAKER! NEXT VOTE WINS!

Who do you prefer?
Vivi (IX) or Celes (VI)?

Celes

Thanks Shad :)

So the game will continue as normal now then, so if you have already voted for the Semi Finals your votes remain the same :)

Round 6: The Semi Finals
(Key: Character, Game, Last Year’s Rank, This Year’s Points Tally)

Quina (IX, 52nd, 22) vs Rydia (IV, 11th, 27)
Auron (X, 1st, 22) vs Celes (VI, 28th, 20)

6

Quina
Celes

Last chance to vote for your favourite characters before we start getting ready for The Final! :)

It's the final! :)

(http://postimage.org/)

Route to the Finals

Rydia
Game: Final Fantasy IV
Ranking prior to 2016 game: 11th
Ranking in 2011: 14th
Ranking in 2012: 15th
Ranking in 2013: 41st
Ranking in 2014: 17th
Ranking in 2015: 11th
Total points prior to 2016 game: 72
Points in 2016 game: 31
Opponents in 2016 game: Alma (Tactics), Ellone (FF8), Red XIII (VII), Ramza (Tactics), Sabin (VI), Quina (IX)
Interesting stat: Rydia is the first and only FF4 character to get to the Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and the Final!

Celes
Game: Final Fantasy VI
Ranking prior to 2016 game: 28th
Ranking in 2011: 11th
Ranking in 2012: 84th
Ranking in 2013: 43rd
Ranking in 2014: 40th
Ranking in 2015: 17th
Total points prior to 2016 game: 52
Points in 2016 game: 26
Opponents in 2016 game: Boko (V), Agrias (Tactics), Edea (VIII), Kain (IV), Vivi (IX), Auron (X)
Interesting stat: Celes has beaten the Top 2 ranked characters in the game to get to this final!

It's our first ever all-female final! But who is your favourite character and will be crowned the 2016 champion! Vote now! :)

Cheers!

Celes took the harder route to reach this final. No doubt about it.

But she won't be getting the first vote.

Sadly, I'm going to have to vote for Celes, as I just thought her story was more tragic and, lets face it, who can beat the opera scene? (Yes I admit it, I just love that dress she wore). :p

So my vote is for General Celes Chere I'm afraid.

Personally speaking I'm not a big fan of either of these two lovely ladies, nothing against them I just preferred other females and other characters in many other games to them.

That being said, General Celes gets my vote here :)

I love these two, I would've loved to have seen Quina make it though. I'm surprised how far s/he made it too! But my vote is going to go to Rydia.

Not long now until voting ends, I'll extend it for an extra day due to being away... and because it's so tight as well! One vote can make the difference at this stage! Winner/tiebreaker will be announced on Sunday :)

So this year's winner is...

https://67.media.tumblr.com/d15dc2f9e5b94f7d40f784b8a22e0a99/tumblr_njci4hQTVz1s2wenvo1_500.gif
Rydia!

Statistics after the Sixth Annual Final Fantasy Character Knockout Game


Rydia is the fourth character to win this annual game and is the first character from FF4 to do so.
She is also the first female winner. This was also the first time we had an all-female final.
Despite never winning a tournament Auron is still at the top of the rankings, in fact the Top 3 hasn't changed.
With the new ruling being two years old Rydia being newly ranked at 8th place means she's the lowest ranked character to take a year off.
Kefka started his honeymoon being ranked at 6th place, he'll start next year's game ranked at 9th place.
Auron is STILL the only character to get to the Quarter Final every single year - six years in a row!
Rikku from FF10 has done worse year upon year, she's gone from 17th to 19th, to 29th, to 39th, last year she was 42nd and now she'll rank 43rd.
Kefka aside, the highest ranked character to note register a single vote this year was Cid from FF9. He's only dropped twelve places as a result from 37th to 49th.
Laguna from FF8 was the highest ranked character to get knocked out of the first round, despite the shock exit he's only dropped two places from 4th to 6th.
As previously stated Sabin being a newer character added to the game only last year, and getting to the Quarter Finals mean he's rocketed through the rankings, he was ranked 127th and is now sitting in 70th place, a surge of 57 places.
Also stated earlier, out of the none "new" characters Aria from FF3 had the best game, she was ranked 101st place with 11 points, but has over doubled her tally this year getting 13 points and has rose 26 places in the rankings as a result, to 75th place.
There's a total of six characters this year who share the award of "lowest drop in the rankings", they are Tiamat from FF1, Firion from FF2, Sara from FF3, Selphie from FF8, Cid from FF9 and Larsa from FF12 and they have all dropped 12 places each.
Xande from FF3 hasn't got a single point in the last three years of the game! This is a key reason why he has been removed from next year's game.
This year we had 892 votes in the game, a slight increase from the 812 from last year. It's the most votes we've had since 2012 so many thanks to all of you for playing again, and perhaps if you know others on this forum that may find the game interesting maybe invite them next year? Thanks again and much love to you all!

Quarter Finalists
Auron - 6 time
Vivi - 4 time
Zidane - 4 time
Beatrix - 3 time
Laguna - 3 time
Terra - 3 time
Dagger - 2 time
Edgar - 2 time
Shadow - 2 time
Squall - 2 time
Cid (FF7)
Celes
Cloud
Gilgamesh
Kimahri
Kefka
Kuja
Locke
Lulu
Quina
Rydia
Sabin
Sephiroth
Setzer
Steiner
Vincent
Yuna

Semi Finalists
Vivi - 3 time
Auron - 2 time
Beatrix - 2 time
Squall - 2 time
Zidane - 2 time
Celes
Edgar
Gilgamesh
Kefka
Kuja
Laguna
Lulu
Quina
Rydia
Sephiroth
Shadow
Terra

Finalists
Vivi - 3 time
Auron
Beatrix
Celes
Gilgamesh
Kefka
Rydia
Sephiroth
Squall
Zidane

The Winners
2011 - Squall
2012 - Vivi
2013 - Vivi (2nd time)
2014 - Vivi (3rd time)
2015 - Kefka
2016 - Rydia

So here’s the big table of the results of the six years combined for the characters, and the characters in order of official rank… I'm not going to list all the archived points anymore though, I do keep a record but it's getting a bit too much to list them :)

(Key: New Rank, Character Name, Game, Total Points, Previous Rank, 2015 Points)
1) Auron (X, 146, 1st, 23)
2) Vivi (IX, 140, 2nd, 21)
3) Zidane (IX, 132, 3rd, 14)
4) Terra (VI, 114, 8th, 26)
5) Beatrix (IX, 113, 5th, 10)
6) Laguna (VIII, 111, 4th, 1)
7) Edgar (VI, 110, 9th, 25)
8) Rydia (IV, 107, 11th, 35) (this year's winner)
9) Kefka (VI, 98, 6th, N/A) (last year's winner didn't take part this year)
10) Squall (VIII, 97, 7th, 3)
11) Gilgamesh (V, 91, 12th, 20)
12) Locke (VI, 87, 14th, 19)
12) Cid (VII, 87, 13th, 17)
14) Celes (VI, 81, 28th, 29) (this year's runner up)
15) Shadow (VI, 80, 10th, 3)
15) Vincent (VII, 80, 15th, 13)
17) Cecil (IV, 76, 19th, 12)
18) Tifa (VII, 75, 21st, 14)
19) Dagger (IX, 74, 16th, 8)
20) Kimahri (X, 71, 16th, 5)
20) Kain (IV, 71, 27th, 16)
22) Kuja (IX, 69, 16th, 3)
22) Ultros (VI, 69, 24th, 13)
22) Sephiroth (VII, 69, 29th, 18)
25) Balthier (XII, 67, 24th, 11)
26) Steiner (IX, 66, 23rd, 8)
26) Hojo (VII, 66, 29th, 15)
28) Cloud (VII, 65, 20th, 2)
29) Setzer (VI, 62, 22nd, 2)
30) Lulu (X, 59, 24th, 3)
31) Galuf (V, 56, 33rd, 14)
32) Quina (IX, 54, 52nd, 25) (third place this year)
33) Barret (VII, 53, 31st, 9)
34) Rinoa (VIII, 51, 34th, 10)
35) Jecht (X, 49, 32nd, 6)
35) Tellah (IV, 49, 44th, 15)
37) Yuna (X, 47, 39th, 11)
37) Ramza (Tactics, 47, 49th, 16)
39) Freya (IX, 43, 34th, 2)
39) Edea (VIII, 43, 44th, 9)
41) Quistis (VIII, 42, 36th, 2)
41) Cid (IV, 42, 55th, 15)
43) Agrias (Tactics, 41, 47th, 9)
43) Rikku (X, 41, 42nd, 6)
43) Irvine (VIII, 41, 42nd, 6)
46) Faris (V, 40, 50th, 10)
46) Aeris (VII, 40, 38th, 3)
46) Cid (Tactics, 40, 50th, 10)
49) Cid (IX, 39, 37th, 0)
50) Rufus (VII, 37, 39th, 1)
51) Selphie (VIII, 36, 39th, 0)
52) Rosa (IV, 35, 58th, 10)
52) Seifer (VIII, 35, 52th, 6)
54) Gabranth (XII, 34, 47th, 2)
55) Ashe (XII, 33, 62th, 9)
55) Fran (XII, 33, 46th, 0)
57) Ovelia, (Tactics, 32, 62nd, 8)
57) Zell (VIII, 32, 62nd, 8)
57) Sazh (XIII, 32, 62nd, 8)
57) Golbez (IV, 32, 58th, 7)
57) Leo (VI, 32, 58th, 7)
57) Lenna (V, 32, 56th, 6)
63) Seymour (X, 31, 52nd, 2)
63) Y'shtola (XIV, 31, 76th, 12)
65) Basch (XII, 30, 67th, 7)
66) Exdeath (V, 28, 72th, 7)
66) Garland (I, 28, 58th, 3)
70) Sabin (VI, 28, 127th, 25)
68) Rubicante (IV, 27, 79th, 9)
68) Larsa (XII, 27, 56th, 1)
70) Cid (V, 26, 67th, 3)
72) Penelo (XII, 25, 67th, 2)
72) Tidus (X, 25, 62th, 1)
72) Yang (IV, 25, 99th, 13)
75) Shadow Lord (XI, 24, 86th, 9)
75) Aria (III, 24, 101st, 13)
77) Marilith (I, 23, 86th, 8)
77) Astos (I, 23, 72nd, 2)
77) Krile (V, 23, 70th, 1)
80) Prishe (XI, 23, 70th, 1)
81) Semih Lafihna (XI, 22, 82nd, 6)
81) Leon (II, 22, 81st, 5)
81) Chaos (I, 22, 75th, 2)
81) Vanille (XIII, 22, 72nd, 1)
85) Thancred (XIV, 21, 94th, 8)
85) Bahamut (I, 21, 79th, 3)
85) The Emperor (II, 21, 76th, 2)
88) Papalymo (XIV, 20, 106th, 10)
88) Mustadio (Tactics, 20, 94th, 7)
88) Firion (II, 20, 76th, 1)
91) Zemus (IV, 18, 86th, 3)
91) Serah (XIII, 18, 82th, 2)
93) Stiltzkin (IX, 17, 127th, 14)
94) Wakka (X, 16, 94th, 3)
94) Ricard (II, 16, 90th, 2)
94) King Tycoon (V, 16, 86th, 1)
94) Tiamat (I, 16, 82th, 0)
94) Sara (III, 16, 82th, 0)
99) Unei (III, 15, 106th, 5)
99) Rafa (Tactics, 15, 94th, 2)
99) Gordon (II, 15, 90th, 1)
102) Yda (XIV, 14, 101th, 3)
102) Aphmau (XI, 14, 94th, 1)
104) Desch (III, 13, 106th, 3)
104) Hope (XIII, 13, 99th, 1)
106) Lion (XI, 12, 106th, 2)
107) Boko (V, 11, 106th, 1)
107) Dycedarg (Tactics, 11, 106th, 1)
107) Lightning (XIII, 11, 101st, 0)
107) Red XIII (VII, 11, 134th, 11)
111) Djinn (III, 10, 106th, 0)
112) Ellone (VIII, 9, 131st, 8)
113) Leila (II, 8, 122nd, 2)
113) Alma (Tactics, 8, 122nd, 2)
113) Lilisette (XI, 8, 122nd, 2)
113) Niellefresne (XIV, 8, 119th, 0)
117) Lahabrea (XIV, 7, 126th, 2)
118) Yunalesca (X, 5, 127th, 2)
119) Jihl (XIII, 4, 130th, 2)
120) Cid (III, 3, 131st, 2)

We say goodbye to 15 characters to make room for 9 new characters from FF15 next year. To find out more go to this post. (Thread 205802)

So that's it for another year! Say goodbye to the winner, Rydia, who will be taking a year out!

And say welcome back to...

http://files.gamebanana.com/img/ico/sprays/kefka_laugh_giant.gif
Kefka!

Thanks for another year of fun. :D

Thanks so much for hosting this, and I love the stats! See you next year. I'll be back with the music knock-out as well. ;)

Thanks for doing this, I look forward to it every year. I also love the stats!

Thanks everyone, I'm glad we do it every year, no idea how it's been six years it's gone way too quick! :)

Thanks for the competition, it was a pleasure battling with you! kefka looks menacing in all his pixelated glory!

Thanks for doing it every year Johnny and a for fun time guys :)