Round 1 of Middle-earth Madness is over and the results were surprising! Two of the match-ups were separated by approximately 30 votes: (5) Merry narrowly outlasted (4) Eowyn (results) and (4) Gollum barely beat out previous leader (5) Treebeard (results). The only ‘big’ upset in the last round was (6) Smaug taking down (3) Arwen. All of the match-up results can be seen on our ‘Round 1’ page (click here). In Round 2, the Sweet Sixteen, we have some historical competitions. In the Ralph Bakshi Division, the battle for the Ring takes on new meaning when (1) Bilbo faces (4) Gollum. Then we have the battle of manly actors as (3) Thorin Oakensheild takes on (2) Aragorn. In the Rankin/Bass Division, the only remaining Silmarillion character, (4) Feanor, will have his hands full with the top seed (1) Gandalf. And (2) Galadriel could possible feel the extreme wrath of everyone’s favorite Middle-earth dragon (6) Smaug. In the Tolkien Family Division, poor little ole (4) Pippin faces off against the top seed (1) Legolas, fresh off his too-close-for-comfort battle with Elrond. (3) Faramir may have been tempted by the Ring in TTT, but can he overcome the temptation to beat (2) Frodo? And finally, in the Peter Jackson Division. Non-film character (1) Glorfindel takes on yet another Hobbit (5) Merry! And we know (3) Boromir tried to snag the Ring from Frodo, but can he handle the onslaught of (2) Sam? These Round 2 match-ups are going to be close, so vote now, and vote often! This round ends on March 26th 2012 at Noon ET. Continue after the break for the updated bracket (download) and some additional notes!
Just a quite note on voting. We deliberating left this competition vague. The goal is for you to personally vote however you see fit. If you want to vote based on whether these characters can physically ‘beat’ each other, then go for it. If you want to vote on whether you think one is better looking than the other, then go for it. Or if you want to combine reasons, go for it! You will notice as well that we did not limit the number of times you can vote – so vote often! We’ve seen your comments and are definitely taking into account some changes for next year’s Middle-earth March Madness! Enjoy Round 2 and get your friends and family to vote! Most of all, have fun with it!
Rankin/Bass Division – Round 2
March 22nd – March 26th 2012
Ralph Bakshi Division – Round 2
March 22nd – March 26th 2012
Tolkien Family Division – Round 2
March 22nd – March 26th 2012
Peter Jackson Division – Round 2
March 22nd – March 26th 2012
