(1)Mario vs (5)Crono 2002

'''Mario vs Crono (2002 Characters)

The semifinals of the first contest had seen arguably the finest Cinderella run in contest history until L-Block came around: Crono. Practically no one expected Crono to make it out of Round Two against Dante, let alone beat gaming icons Lara Croft and Solid Snake (and to a lesser extent, Simon Belmont). And here was this match, where Crono almost did the unthinkable and beat the gaming icon himself and the undisputed favorite to win the whole shebang, Mario.

Sadly, this was not meant to be. This was one of the only times CJayC actually intervened and took votes away from a particular entrant, in this case removing about 300 votes from Crono for blatant vote-stuffery. Still, the excitement and thrill of the best contest rivalry (besides Gordon Freeman and winning) had begun.