LogFAQs > #948092053

Division 8 Round 2: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sandbag, Auron, and Sub-Zero

Sonic - 38702 [29.69%]
Sandbag - 19756 [15.15%]
Auron - 45155 [34.64%]
Sub-Zero - 26756 [20.52%]
Total Votes - 130369

Tohoya, The Real Truth, Terrafire, amyvitality, Zagro, Explicit Content, and Xuxon are the only gurus who picked Auron to get first place here. You guys are geniuses and get to be immortalized in PCA lore forever. Nice job, folks! Bizarrely, two of you went the extra mile and thought Sonic wouldn't even get second place -- Terrafire had Magus(?) in this spot, and TRT picked Sandbag. Doesn't make this insanely beautiful upset pick mean any less though, no worries.

As for the match, I was there. I remember the hype. I remember all the people saying there was clear data Auron was a 4way all-star and had the chops to pull this off. I remember ignoring the litany of terrible matches Sonic has had since 2006. I remember looking at this match in 2007, shrugging it off, and thinking "nah, I'll be fine" like a Critical Drinker skit: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/2918-division-8-final-squall-sora-sonic-sub-zero

And to this day, I still cannot <i>believe</i> this result actually happened. Like I'm sitting here looking at this thing in 2020, going "Did this actually happen? Did Auron seriously beat the tar out of Sonic in the year Brawl came out?"

Yep. It's real. It actually happened. Props to everyone who called it, and props to everyone who hyped this thing up all contest. It shocked me when it happened and it still shocks me now to look at it all these years later. It wasn't just that Auron won; it was the <i>way</i> he won. After the freeze, this match was never even <i>close.</i> Auron just beat the shit out of the guy for 24 straight hours. You know those weird sports upsets where the underdog wins, but plays the entire game like they knew they were the better team the whole time, and even after it's over the fans are left scratching their heads? The 18-1 Super Bowl felt like that. The Magic randomly beating Lebon's Cavs that one year felt like that. The Pistons getting a gentlemen's sweep over the Lakers <i>definitely</i> fits the bill, and is probably the biggest example I can think of.

That was what watching this match felt like for me. It was just like... what on earth was I even seeing? I know Auron boosted from Kingdom Hearts 2 and Sonic wasn't looking too great there in the mid-2000s, but this was something else. The Noble Nine very rarely loses to outsiders, so any loss is a big deal. A loss this decisive is just.... yeah. This was much deeper than one upset, almost as if Sonic fans were punishing the guy for having such a garbage series for so long. I'd bring up how this not being a 1v1 was highway robbery in terms of longstanding contest lore, but I've ranted enough on that subject for now. For all the WTF factor of Auron winning this match, Sonic still advanced anyway. Dumb.

Last point. Sandbag was a bit of a dud. There was some fear he would pull an L-Block, but instead it was just one upset over a choke artist before bowing out in an easy last place. It was another data point in an increasing line of them that the joke factor, while still existent, would not be the end-al be-all of deciding this contest. The big names were all out for revenge.

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