LogFAQs > #914134114

I'll give you the real answer

It's because this is a popularity contest

A very small minority of voters are like you and us, who think about which character is actually better.

The vast majority of voters just see a poll, they think "oh hey I know that character", they click, they vote, they move on

everyone has played zelda so link is one of the most recognizable in the contest.

and despite not being a good character, he's not bad either. his design is cool. he's neat.

so when link is vs someone that the person doesn't know and/or is from a game/series they don't care about as much, they will just vote link without thinking

and thus he makes it to the end

their thought process is "oh link is cool" and that's it