LogFAQs > #982616475

47. Master Chief vs. Sub-Zero (Fall 2006) R1

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0aae2d06.jpg

Master Chief 49.05% 62932
Sub-Zero 50.95% 65358
TOTAL VOTES 128290
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/(2)Master_Chief_vs_(7)Sub-Zero_2006
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/2530-time-division-round-1-master-chief-vs-sub-zero

Theres been no more reliable source of newcomers over the years than the Nomination Rally Tournament. Started by Leonhart in 2005 as a way to create consensus on which newcomers had enough potential to be rallied into the next Character Contest, its winners and finalists over the years have gone on to make their mark in contest history: Tifa, Charizard, Pokemon R/B/Y are just some of the entrants who were able to build up support via the NRT and then turn that support into bracket placement and contest success. Even though the entrants mentioned above might have been the strongest to come out of the NRT, this match is the one that comes to mind when I think of what its greatest successes were, and how the entertainment it brought to the contests.

And I think part of that association is because this was supposed to be the year that the NRT was a waste. The rallied newcomers of 2005, both from the NRT and otherwise, while not always successful, had managed to produce a string of interesting matches and discussion. The hope was that the 2006 NRT winners (Prince of Persia, Captain Falcon, Nightmare, and Sub-Zero) would be able to do the same. When the format for 2006 was announced though, it became clear that a repeat of 2005 would be quite difficult. With a bracket divided in half by Gender, and only 32 spots available for the much stronger Male half, it was clear that this limited space (both in terms of nominations and bracket space) would be dominated by the standard set of characters wed already seen four times before. If the NRT winners got in at all, they would be low seeds fed up to an Elite character right away, with no opportunity to create an interesting match. And when the bracket was released, that assumption was proved true. Nightmare didnt make it in at all, and PoP, Captain Falcon, and Sub-Zero all received low seeds, placed in first round matches that they had little shot at winning.

And as the First Round went on, that assumption held true. Prince of Persia and Captain Falcon looked good, but they were ultimately up against characters that were just too strong for them. The only NRT winner left at this point was Sub-Zero, whose chances were better than the other two, but who was still stuck in a bad spot behind Master Chief. Now this wasnt the Master Chief wed seen in 2003, or the one thats shown up in the past several contests. Post Halo 2, with Halo 3 hype steadily rising, Chief was ascendant, and he had turned in a very strong performance against Crono the previous year. Sub-Zero had his backers, but Master Chief was a bridge too far for most everyone else, and the Halo star had the vast majority of brackets on his side. There was one small complication however, which no one seemed to notice during the prediction period: a new Mortal Kombat game would be released several days before the match. But no one really cares about new MK games anymore, do they? Theres no way that would effect the final results.

Friday the 13th dawned, and for Master Chief, it would turn out to be his unluckiest match day yet. Despite actually winning the initial Board Vote, Chief was already behind by 32 votes at the freeze, and as the match went on, Sub-Zeros numbers kept going up and up, approaching 54% of the vote overnight. In other words, Master Chief was in a lot of trouble. There was still a shot when the Morning Vote kicked in though. Sub-Zeros lead was approaching 3,000, which would have necessitated the largest successful comeback we had ever seen. A huge reach, but still barely within the realm of possibility for Chief. The Morning Vote kicked in, and true to form Chief started gaining in percentagebut he failed to cut into the lead. The match, for all intents and purposes, was over.

Chief, to his credit, would put on a very strong show with the ASV later in the day, pulling off a ~2,000 vote comeback over the back third of the match, but it was just too little, too late at that point. The first round of 2006 had come to an end with an absolute shock. Master Chief, who we all thought had redeemed himself in 05, and put his embarrassing performances/losses behind himself, had one last shock for us after all. And the 2006 NRT, which we had thought was a waste, had proved itself, right at the last minute. When I talk about impressive debut performances, it usually involves some kind of shocking blowout, but when it comes to Sub-Zero it was the exact opposite. He had managed to pull off an iconic upset on his very first try, setting a R1 prediction record that has yet to be beaten in a 1v1, and becoming a contest mainstay that would make every subsequent year. Hard to be a more successful rally entry than that.