middleearthmarchmadness13-verticalWe’ve reached the Elite 8 line-up for Middle-earth March Madness 2013! 68,000 votes were cast in our last round which eliminated some big names in Middle-earth: Sauron, Gollum, Gwaihir, Beorn, Pippin and more! Our list of eight remaining combatants contain three members of the white council, two unlikely romantics, an inanimate object, and two of the main characters from The Hobbit.

Here are your Elite Eight Match-ups…

The Shire Division

So after all is said and done in The Shire, the battle comes down to (1) Galadriel vs. (6) Luthien. While Galadriel may be the more popularly known character, Luthien will give her a run for her money. This is a match-up of some of Middle-earth’s most powerful female characters!

The Erebor Division

Luthien’s lover (4) Beren, a mortal man, has his hands full facing battle-tested (6) Elrond. Elrond is hot off a significant victory over another star-crossed elf lover, Aragorn. But can Beren pull out the victory to give us one of the most memorable semi-finals of all time?!?

The Mordor Division

That gold hungry worm, (1) Smaug, managed to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron and will now face the flawed stubbornness of (3) Thorin Oakenshield. As this played out in ‘The Hobbit,’ Smaug handled the dwarves with ease, but will it happen again?!

The Angmar Division

As this reporter predicted, the number one seed (1) The One Ring has made it to the divisional final with a resounding victory. This inanimate object however has its hands full (wait, it has no hands…) as it faces off against one of Middle-earth’s most popular characters, (2) Gandalf the Grey. In this round we’ll finally see just who would conquer whom in this epic battle.

Voting starts right now and will run until April 1 at 10pm ET.

[Download Division 4 Bracket] [Round 3 Results] [Round 2 Results][Round 1 Results]

The Shire – Round 4
March 29th – April 1 2013



Erebor – Round 4
March 29th – April 1 2013



Mordor – Round 4
March 29th – April 1 2013



Angmar – Round 4
March 29th – April 1 2013



With our Middle-earth Madness being so popular, we were considering creating a t-shirt to commemorate the experience. Would you be interested in purchasing a t-shirt?