🏀 Middle-earth March Madness Round 3 — The Fellowship of the 8
🏀 Middle-earth March Madness Round 3 — The Fellowship of the 8
The field has narrowed again. Who continues on?
Characters from all across Middle-earth have faced off in the first two rounds of Middle-earth March Madness. And what was once a group of 32 contestants has narrowed to the Company of 16 and then again to the Fellowship of the 8!
Each character who still stands can almost taste victory! This is the championship round of each region and the winners of these matchups will proceed to the semifinals and then, just maybe, to the championship matchup.
Before the recap and matchups, here’s a reminder of our schedule for this tournament:
Round 1: Thursday 3/7
Round 2 (The Company of 16): Tuesday, 3/12
Round 3 (The Fellowship of 8): Monday, 3/18
Round 4 (the Final Four): Thursday, 3/21
Middle-earth Madness Championship and Tolkien Reading Day: Monday March 25
Company of 16 Results
Whereas the first round had upset after upset, the second round was a more straightforward affair. There was only one upset in this round, and you might argue that it was an expected one.
Heroes of The Hobbit
After easily defeating Radagast in the first round, Gandalf once again cruised to victory against Thorin, 90 to 10. And in the other matchup, the Halfling overcame the Half-elven as Bilbo defeated Elrond 63 to 37. It seems that though Elrond wielded a Ring of Power of his own, Vilya, that was still not enough to overcome one of the bearers of the One Ring.
Heroes of The Lord of the Rings
No upsets in this bracket! Both top-seeded characters took care of business and will advance to face each other. Éowyn got cooked by Sam, who prevailed 75 to 25, and the superior stewmaker advances to the next round. And in one of the most heartbreaking choices so far, Aragorn proved too much for dear Frodo, winning 67 to 33 and sending him across the sea to recover from his wounds.
Villains of The Hobbit
Smaug’s domination continues unchecked, as he roasted the Giant Spiders 91 to 9. Meanwhile, the three trolls fended off the Wargs and Riders 52 to 48 in one of the closest matches of this round.
Villains of The Lord of the Rings
Sauron’s seemingly inevitable collision with Smaug took another step forward as he retired his most trusted servant 72 to 28. And though he put up a valiant fight, poor Gollum proved no match for the Flame of Udun: the Balrog won by a small but still convincing margin 52 to 48.
“Middle-earth March Madness” — Round 3: The Fellowship of the 8
Here is our updated bracket for the third round:
Heroes of The Hobbit
It’s the matchup that we might have expected coming out of the Heroes of The Hobbit bracket: Gandalf versus Bilbo! Will Bilbo sneak past Gandalf to the Final Four? Or will our favorite wizard say “You cannot pass,” to Bilbo’s quest to burgle the championship right out from under everyone’s noses?
Heroes of The Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring is down to its final two members in this portion of the bracket as Sam takes on Aragorn. Will Sam get revenge for Aragorn’s victory over Master Frodo? Or will Aragorn continue on his path to being crowned King?
Villains of The Hobbit
Smaug faces the Three Trolls here in the final matchup of this region. Will Tom, Bert, and William prove to be the ones to take down the ancient dragon or will they, like all who have dared stand against him to this point, go up in smoke?
Villains of The Lord of the Rings
In ages past, Sauron and Durin’s Bane both served the Dark Lord Morgoth. But with Morgoth defeated and exiled to the Void by the Valar, there is room for a new Dark Lord to reign supreme. Which of these two Maia will rise to the top?
This week the Fellowship of the 8 will break and only four will move on to the next round. Who will it be? See you Thursday with the results and the final two matchups!
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Picking between Samwise and Aragorn is the hardest thing I've ever had to do...
I would say I could see Gandalf taking the whole thing, but I love Sam so much that I'm just not so sure. Makes me want to go back and rewatch them all.