BRACKET ONE:
ZERO VS. SPIKE SAUNDERS:
OOC made this a bit of a cluster**** due to vacations and such, but I have Spike Saunders as the clear winner here. Zero's stuff was solid, but not IMO as good as the work that got him this far in the tournament, while Saunders wrote two very very solid promo pieces. To me, the easiest decision in the evenly contested matches.
WINNER: SPIKE SAUNDERS, 6-4.
SEAN STEVENS VS. JEFF ANDREWS
This was a nice, spirited RP battle between two talented handlers. While I think Mr. Andrews doth protest too much about not being talked about (believe me, that's the spot you WANT to be in during a tournament like this), there's no denying his skill with the written word, nor that of Mr. Triple X. Nice, hard-hitting, back and forth stuff. Andrews' second RP, however, was the virtuoso piece of the match IMO, and he did an excellent job of tearing down the veteran. Close contest, but i'll give him the nod thanks to that promo.
WINNER: Jeff Andrews, 5-5.
JOEY MELTON VS. SHOWTIME
Joey Melton is this insane brand of delusional that somehow goes all the way around again and makes him oddly endearing. He reminds me of Ric Flair when he'd go on his rants and elbowdrop articles of clothing. He does good work here again in a total and utter complete stylistic clash with Showtime that can honestly go either way and be judged with almost any score and I probably wouldn't be astonished at all. Showtime's story is solid, the writing is good, and yet, it's not particularly memorable.
Melton stands out more, when all's said and done. For that, he gets my nod.
WINNER: Joey Melton, 5-5.
CAMERON CRUISE VS. TROY DOUGLAS
Three RPs beats one, unless that one is Godlike. The one in this case is not Godlike, so it's going to be an easy call in favor of the Crippler We Can Still Talk About.
WINNER: Cameron Cruise, 8-2.
BRACKET TWO:
CHRIS HOPPER VS. PETE WHEALDON
I have a saying in tournaments that, in order to make a deep run, you have to win every match you should win, and at least one match you shouldn't. This is, for the winner of this match IMO, either the last of the matches they should win, or the first of the matches they shouldn't.
Pete Whealdon's a solid but non-spectacular writer who does very well at the old-school style of retorting to what his opponent says. It does make me wonder how he'd do if he had to roleplay first, but that's not the case so I can't judge that. There are some good oneliners, some nice catchy phrases. Get F***ed as a catchphrase doesn't work for me so much, but shrug.
Chris Hopper's a character straight out of the Attitude Era, with attendant catchphrases and put-downs and the like. I feel like he was a little more creative in setting and such, while Whealdon might have had slightly better barbs, but not by much.
Throw in the advantage in judging Hopper may get for posting first, and the hand begins to point to Too Cool. The problem I have with both is it's really the same thing with them, especially Whealdon. Whealdon is who he is, and there doesn't seem to be a done of depth to who he is, but he's a solid writer. Hopper seems to have more (albeit sliiiightly) range.
OOC bull**** aside in a match with tons of it, I give the nod to Hopper. If we had 5.5-4.5, I'd make that the margin, but since I can't...
WINNER: "Too Cool" Chris Hopper, 5-5.
SPOOKY DOOM VS. ORPHAN
No prediction. Best of luck to His Spookiness.
KHRISTAIN KELLER VS. CASTOR V. STRIFE
The third RP from either man takes this match. With that said, I thought the two best RPs of the thread where Keller's first, and Castor's second. As someone who never really rated Castor that highly, I came away pretty impressed with him. He's creative, comes up with a lot of good lines and word usage that sticks in your head after you finish it, and is a solid (but not, in my opinion, worldbeating) writer.
This is CLOOOOOSE. I like Keller's first a little bit better than Castor's second, which'll ultimately decide this for me. This is razor thin, but I thought Zezu's approach to Castor's run of luck was really solid, and while Castor fired back on it more than gamely, the Khristain Keller character comes off as more memorable to me in the end than Mr. V. Strife.
WINNER: Khristain Keller, 5-5.
THE SERGEANT VS. ANARKY
Another tight match. Old school slugfest with both guys going back and forth throwing bombs until someone drops from the exertion. Both guys are very similar stylistically, so while it's tight, it also makes it easier for me to pick a winner, in the sense that I thought Anarky did what he did a little bit better. I liked the Sarge's training focus, but Anarky had a bit more zip in his promos, in my opinion. Still really close, and props to both guys for a fun battle.
WINNER: ANARKY, 5-5.
