Bracket Breakdown! - Round of 16 (Patreon)

The Round of 16 is officially complete, and what a round it was! Punishing upsets, major surprises, and a truckload of tickled toes along the way. Let’s dig into the stats and profile the survivors with our next Bracket Breakdown!

Top 8 Success Rate: 2/8 (25%)

Despite 12 of the opening round matches ending in a victory for the favorites, the bracket took a BEATING this time! Six of the eight fights resulted in upsets, with all three of the top seeds eliminated, including defending champion Katara. Other strong performers from last season like Raven and even promising newcomers such as Nicole Watterson have also been sent packing. That means the only tournament veterans left are Harley Quinn (4), and Starfire (6), still hanging in there by the tips of their toes. Is this now the dream final pairing? Hard to say, since with a bracket this busted, it really is anyone’s tournament for the taking now!

Strongest Win: Alex (83% victory)

The strongest win of this round goes to Alex, who ended the unbeaten streak of defending champion Katara with an astonishing 83% victory! Katara’s time had definitely come, and maybe it shows that a cocky attitude isn’t the way to go if you want to defend your title in this competition. Alex now holds the record for the strongest victory in the tournament, but after taking down the champ, has she just painted a massive target on her back? Anyone she faces from now on might be thinking the exact same thing.

Closest Win: Marie Kanker (1 vote difference)

No tiebreak votes in this round, but a couple matches were decided by just one measly vote! Harley Quinn only managed to scrape past Demona by the grace of one generous voter, but the closest match in my eyes was won by Marie Kanker. Both of the Footsie Queen’s battles so far have been decided by only one vote, leaving barefoot girls Toph and Mavis to wonder what could have been. Some might say Marie is lucky to get this far by cutting it so close, but take her at your peril, as this crazy Kanker can strike when you least expect it!

Biggest Upset: Alex (16) over Katara (1)

A tough one to decide with so many upsets in this round, and both Sandy Cheeks and Marie Kanker continuing their bracket-busting runs. But Alex enters the spotlight again by scoring the biggest upset of them all, eliminating the #1 seed and defending champion from the tournament and confirming that a new Tickle Champion will rise to the top this time around! In any other sport, the crowd would be going wild at a #16 seed beating a #1 seed, and here in the TickleTickles Championship, it isn’t any different! Alex is trending upwards after such a big win, but she can’t make the same mistake as Katara and let all this attention go to her head.

One to Watch: Medusa (14)

Entering the tournament as a modest #14 seed, Medusa has been on a tear so far on the bracket, making light work of Sedusa and hot favorite Blackfire to make it this far. Yet to dip below a kinky 69% in the vote, the barefoot witch is looking like she could be a dark horse for winning it all, and next she has her sights set on taking down Starfire to reach the Final Four. A serious clash of good against evil, and if Medusa can stomp out the cutest girl left in the field, it could be a vicious villain who claims the championship this time. Medusa is this round’s One to Watch!

And that’s your latest Bracket Breakdown! Only eight ticklers are left standing in the hunt for the championship, and now it’s a race to the finish as they do battle to see who will reach the Final Four, and who will be left laughing in the tickle stocks. The search for a new Tickle Champion is nearing its end!

The Quarter-Finals kick off tomorrow!