We come to it at last – the great battle of our time… Just twelve days after it started, with 64 characters from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power divided amongst four categories, Middle-earth March Madness 2023, Rings of Power Edition is drawing to a close. Only two remain – and only one battle. Here’s how the Final Four played out.
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness: time to VOTE in the Grand Final!”Tag: maiar
Sixty-four began the contest; in the end it came down to just two costumes, in TheOneRing.net’s March Madness 2021: the Battle of the Best Dressed in Middle-earth. Aragorn’s Strider garb took on Legolas’ ‘hero’ outfit – and the voting was fast and furious. Thousands of votes were placed – this final round saw the biggest turn out by far. The lead swung back and forth between the two costumes; but in the end, there could be only one. This year’s Grand Champion is…
Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness Champion 2021”‘We come to it at last – the great battle of our time….’ From 64 costumes at the start, we are down to the last two; which of those will be the Grand Champion of March Madness 2021, the Battle of the Best Dressed in Middle-earth? Here are the results of the Final Four:
![](https://www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-middleearthmadness-bracket-rd6-1024x682.jpg)
Strider took on the Witchking. It is said that no man can kill him; but the clothing of a ranger could defeat the wraith’s robes. By a margin of only about 150 votes, it is Aragorn who strides into the final.
![](https://i2.wp.com/www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image.png?ssl=1)
And then there were four! We move out of the regional divisions and into the Semi Final of this year’s March Madness, the Battle of the Best Dressed in Middle-earth. Here’s how the table stands now:
![](https://www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-middleearthmadness-bracket-rd5-1-1024x682.jpg)
So who triumphed in the Elite Eight? This was a nail biting round; this very post was drafted with certain costumes as winners, but then there was a late surge in voting and a couple of outfits made a comeback!
Beginning with the Humans and Maiar, a fully armoured Eomer was taking on Aragorn in ranger garb. This duel had the widest margin in the Quarter Final, with just under 60% of the vote going to Aragorn’s outfit. He’ll meet the Witchking in the Semi Final; in the Villains region, the Balrog was finally defeated, with the epic helm and long robes of the Witchking claiming about 10% more votes.
![](https://i2.wp.com/www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image.png?ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image-1.png?ssl=1)
Quarter Final time! Only the Elite (or Elegant?) Eight remain in the Battle of the Best Dressed in Middle-earth; one final round in the region divisions. Here’s the latest table:
![The bracket for Middle-earth March Madness 2021, showing the costumes which have made it into the Elite Eight round.](https://www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-middleearthmadness-bracket-rd4-1024x682.jpg)
Let’s take a look at the Round Three results; starting with the Villains this time. The Mouth of Sauron was no match for the Balrog, only managing to muster a third of the vote; and the regular Witchking took 70%, to crush his Twilight self. This means we’ll see the ruler from Angmar taking on the demon of the ancient world in the Quarter Final; and just to prove that there are Balrog cosplays, here’s a brilliant one from a TORn staffer:
![TORn staffer Rasputin created an amazing cosplay as a Balrog showgirl - complete with sparkly costume, and horned headdress with red and orange plumes. And what looks like wings...!](https://www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1615906968834blob.png)
The Sweet Sixteen round is upon us! The costumes are dropping like flies in the Battle of the Best Dressed in Middle-earth; here’s how things stand now:
![The Middle-earth March Madness bracket for 2021, showing the costumes still in play for the Sweet Sixteen round.](https://www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-middleearthmadness-bracket-rd3-1024x682.jpg)
So, what happened in Round Two? Let’s begin this time with the Elves. Galadriel’s Lorien gown beat Arwen’s dress when on the bridge with Aragorn; but now she has to take on her granddaughter again, as Galadriel meets Arwen’s blue and red dress in Round Three. Here’s a certain TORn founder looking very fetching in that gown:
![TORn founder Calisuri in a cosplay of Arwen's blue and red gown; with a lovely wig, and a flower behind his ear!](https://www.theonering.net/torwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Charwen-2.jpg)