Semifinals Results + Season 3 Season Awards
The results of the semifinals are in! It was an interesting battle on the right with no clear favorite, everyone being on about the same level. Then on the left, we saw @Fire fail to post on time and @NiTheGuy straight up withdraw because he got top blogger (boooooo). The delay in the announcement is that we had a tie to break, and one of our judges is on vacation.... so we needed a replacement judge for one result 😅 anywho, we got everything set in stone, so let's see the results...
On the left side of the bracket we essentially had top-seeded @Mugiwara taking on underdog @nbrasington. This was interesting to watch unfold, as I had believed that @fire would post on time and that @NiTheGuy would as well. But still, between Mugi and nbrasington, we saw what arguably were the two best blogs this round, but that of course is up for debate.
However. @mugiwara was so far above the rest of the competition this round and will come away with a 4-0 vote to advance here. @nbrasington did very well, and I personally think he would have had a good shot to win if he was on the right side of the bracket instead, but @Mugiwara was simply better here. Congrats on a great season, @nbrasington, hope to see you return stronger next season. Congrats to @Mugiwara for living up to his top-seed status and making a run to the championship. Now.... who shall his opponent be?
Now the right side of the bracket, consisting of @Lethal_Knights, @HornetCruise, @AstroTheoretical_Physics, and @Xhive24, was a bit more dramatic...
The problem for the judges here was that these were all fine, but none really stood out and were clearly better than the others.
Normally we favor originality and creativity over common topics, but in the case of @Xhive24... while that was a funny troll blog, there were enough errors for it to not pull through here. As for @HornetCruise, he has already edited his main blog mistakes, but you can check out the comments if you want to see the problem.
So slowly, but surely, the judges narrowed it down to an agreed-upon top 2 between Astro and Lethal. And this is where we no longer agree. Two of us believed Astro deserved to go through, while two of us believed Lethal should advance. As I put it, there was no wrong choice - there just also isn't an obvious choice. It seemed the 2-2 tie would not be broken by us... and because one of our judges is unavailable to judge, we got a fellow top blogger to break the tie for us.
And now, by the thinnest of margins.... congratulations to @Lethal_Knights, the surprise winner of the right side of the bracket, who will take on @Mugiwara in the championship. Congrats to Astro as well on an exceptional season, top blogger is in your future if you want it.
@Mugiwara and @Lethal_Knights, you have two weeks from today (Deadline is June 19th at 6 PM CST) to post and submit a new blog for the championship here. If you will not be able to post, please let me know in advance so that someone can sub in. @Xhive, as the highest seed to be knocked out last round, you are first in line to sub in if necessary.
Congrats to Lethal and Mugi, in a finals match that nobody really saw coming. And congrats to everyone else on a solid season 3 performance, you had a nice run, and we hope to see you return next season!
Now.... how about some Season 3 awards? I've got a few to give out...
BLOGCHAMPS SEASON 3 AWARDS
Rookie Of The Season
Congratulations @nbrasington, you are the Season 3 rookie of the season, advancing farther than any other BlogChamps newcomer! Not bad, kid. Not bad at all.
Most Improved Blogger
Congratulations @Lethal_Knights, you are the most improved blogger of Season 3! Pretty dramatic jump from last season... still have work to do, however, but we're getting there.
Biggest Surprise
Congratulations @Xhive24, you are the biggest surprise of Season 3! Xhive's success, I believe, was more surprising than Lethal's success - Lethal had at least made the knockouts before, after all. Xhive sort of came out of nowhere. I was more surprised by him than anyone else. Keep it up, dude.
Comeback Blogger Of The Season
Congratulations @AstroTheoretical_Physics, you are the comeback blogger of Season 3! Having never had any previous success in BlogChamps, Season 3 showed us a dramatic difference there as he very nearly made it to the championship. hopefully we see more bloggers like Astro go from failing to come close to qualifying, to rising to the top of the competition.
Thumbnail-Maker Of The Season
Congratulations @Fire, you win the award we all knew was yours as the best thumbnail-maker in the competition! I was gonna just go with "Thumbnail Of The Season" but didn't know which of yours to pick, so... yeah.
Most Underrated Blogger
Congratulations, @OnyxOrca, you were the most underrated blogger in Season 3. I am still perfectly puzzled by the fact that you did not qualify for The Knockouts... still got to compete, but even still, I don't understand how you missed out in The Qualifiers lol
Blogger Of The Season
Congratulations, @Mugiwara, regardless of what happens in the championship, you are the Season 3 BlogChamps Blogger Of The Season! pretty easy pick, really. Earned the top seed in The Knockouts, and then proceeded to destroy the competition (which says a lot, your knockouts opponents would have won many other groups...) on the way to the championship. Top blogger is coming soon if you want it, just keep up the grind.
Alright, that's all I got regarding awards and results. I would like to quickly remind you that this is my last season serving as judge and the guy who does mostly everything here, and I still need to pick a replacement. https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/applications-for-replacing-lightning here if you're interested.
Congrats again to Mugi and Lethal, and congrats to all the Season 3 award winners! Let's hope for an exciting matchup here. Good luck, and.... happy blogging (:
