🏀 2026 Middle-earth March Madness Round 2 — The Company of 16

Results from Round 1 set the matchups for Round 2

The dust has settled from the clash of characters in the first round of our Tolkien Tournament and 16 of our original contestants are moving on to Round 2.

Like the members of Thorin’s Company, these characters took various paths to “The Company of 16.” Many handily defeated their opponents, some prevailed in close contests, a handful won unexpected upsets over higher-ranked opponents, and one even was decided by almost a 50-50 split!

Here’s a reminder of our schedule for this tournament:

The Round of 32 began on 3/17

The Company of 16 is today, 3/20

On Tolkien Reading Day, Tuesday 3/25, I am planning to announce another giveaway!

The Fellowship of the of 8 will happen on Thursday, 3/26

The Four of Power will take place on Thursday, 4/2

The Championship matchup will occur on Monday, 4/6

The WINNER will be officially announced Thursday, 4/9

So let’s see who advanced and who went home defeated in Round 1!

But first, special shout-out and thank you to Dexter, LMel, Pauline S, Kirsten O, Brad N, and Jake T who all upgraded to a paid subscription to the Jokien with Tolkien: Extended Edition this month! This newsletter is possible because of supporters like you: thank you!

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“Middle-earth March Madness” — The Company of 16

Partners

This region of the bracket was squeaky clean from a matchups perspective: every higher-ranked duo advanced against their lower-seeded opponent.

(1) Frodo and Sam took down (8) Celebrimbor and Annatar in a decisive defeat, 95% to 5%, which was fitting: the Ring bearer ending the work of the makers of the Rings of Power. Frodo and Sam take on (4) Thorin and Bilbo, who eeked out a victory against (5) Morgoth and Sauron 51% to 49% in the regions closest match.

(3) Gollum and Sméagol made quick work of (6) Saruman and Wormtongue (73% to 27%), who have slithered off to go try to Scour wherever Gollum came from in revenge. Gollum and Sméagol will will face a tough matchup though in (4) Bilbo and Gandalf, who have already dealt with (7) Sauron and Saruman 84% to 16%.

Unlikely Friendships

In this region, three of the four matchups were upsets! I saw one or two of them as possibilities, but having 75% go the underdog’s way was quite a shock!

This is only the third year I’ve been running this contest, but for only the second time in three years we had an eighth-ranked team knock out a favorite! (8) Elrond and Durin took down Lúthien and Huan 56% to 44% in a result I would never have guessed!

Luthien’s lover Beren fared better than she did (and they both did well together in another region, but I’m getting ahead of myself): (5) Beren and Finrod Felagund sent the Bow and the Helm (4) Túrin Turambar and Beleg home early, with a final result of 70% to 30%. Perhaps it’s for the best, as we know the longer Túrin sticks around the worse things get for him and everyone around him.

(2) Legolas and Gimli cruised by (7) Pippin and Beregrond 87% to 13%, and (6) Sam and Bill the Pony proved too much to withstand for (3) Elendil and Gil-galad, defeating them convincingly 73% to 27%.

Now Legolas and Gimli must face their fellow members of the Fellowship in Sam and Bill, while Beren and Finrod square off against Elrond and Durin looking for some revenge for Lúthien and Huan’s defeat.

Brothers (or Brothers in Arms)

Our Brothers region was split between upsets and expected results, with two sets of brothers and two sets of brothers in arms each advancing.

Boromir and Faramir made father Denethor proud (though Boromir a little bit more, let’s be honest) by making quick work of Orc Shagrat and Gorbag 91% to 9%. They will face (5) Merry and Pippin, who proved too much for Elrond’s sons (4) Elladan and Elrohir and defeated them 88% to 12%.

(2) Elrond and Elros (who, despite my typo in last post, were not sons of Elrond haha) defeated the Blue Wizards 79% to 21%. The poor Blue Wizards found no more success here than in the East on their mission to defeat Sauron.

Elrond and Elros now take on (6) Aragorn and Éomer, who dispatched another set of elven brothers (3) Maedhros and Maglor by a score of 85% to 15%.

Destined Duos

Our final region saw love conquer all, with four romantic pairings advancing on to the next round.

As expected, (1) Beren and Lúthien and (2) Aragorn and Arwen easily advanced past (8) Telperion and Laurelin and (7) Galadriel and Halbrand. But what I did not expect was (5) Tom and Goldberry to defeat (4) Eärendil and Elwing 80% to 20% and (6) Galadriel and Celeborn to take down (3) Sauron and the One Ring 54% to 46%!

This means Beren and Lúthien go up against Tom and Goldberry, while Arwen takes on her grandmother Galadriel and Aragorn and Celeborn get dragged into the family dispute.

Who will advance and who will fall in this Round? Find out next week when the Company of 16 narrows to the Fellowship of the 8!

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