{"id":117807,"date":"2024-04-02T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=117807"},"modified":"2024-04-03T05:17:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T10:17:07","slug":"middle-earth-march-madness-2024-time-for-the-final-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2024\/04\/02\/117807-middle-earth-march-madness-2024-time-for-the-final-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle-earth March Madness 2024: time for the Final Four!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" class=\"intro\">And then there were four&#8230; It is semi-final time in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2024\/03\/18\/117706-it-is-time-middle-earth-march-madness-2024-launches-today\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments\">Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; from 64 starters, we&#8217;re down to just our bracket winners remaining. Which magical happening has emerged triumphant from each division? Let&#8217;s take a look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Hobbit Division<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alas! Speaking personally, I (staffer greendragon) was really hoping the Moon Runes would win this bracket. TORn staffers had voted those glowing, secret runes the #1 seed in this group; but the power of the Ring is of course not easily overcome, and the #2 seed took the lead and held on to it. The margin wasn&#8217;t huge &#8211; this was the closest contest across all the brackets this round, and only a little over 50 votes came between them &#8211; but Bilbo&#8217;s disappearing act is the winner here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bilbo&#8217;s Ring Turns Him Invisible (2)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"614\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2.-Bilbos-Invisible.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117771 no-lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2.-Bilbos-Invisible.png 614w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2.-Bilbos-Invisible-300x232.png 300w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/2.-Bilbos-Invisible-207x160.png 207w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fellowship of the Ring Division<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We saw the widest margin of the Elite Eight in this bracket; no amount of saying &#8216;Mellon&#8217; could overcome Gandalf&#8217;s epic conquest of the Balrog. The last act of Gandalf the Grey (seeded #6) garnered twice as many votes as Durin&#8217;s magical doors (which were actually seeded higher, at #5), so the wizard goes through to the Final Four. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gandalf Confronts the Balrog with Glamdring and the Flame of Anor (6)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"323\" height=\"272\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6.-Gandalf-Balrog-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117751 no-lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6.-Gandalf-Balrog-1.jpg 323w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6.-Gandalf-Balrog-1-300x253.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/6.-Gandalf-Balrog-1-190x160.jpg 190w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 323px) 100vw, 323px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Two Towers Division<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gandalf on Gandalf action was the order of the day in this regional final! These moments are two kinds of resurrections &#8211; Mithrandir&#8217;s own, returning as Gandalf the White; and the rediscovery of his strength by Theoden, as Gandalf releases him from Saruman&#8217;s spell. The choice was pretty clear right from the start of voting, with the wizard&#8217;s return from the dead taking the lead and keeping it. Gandalf the White goes through to face an invisible Bilbo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gandalf the White Returns from the Dead (1)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"329\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1-Gandalf-the-White.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117808 no-lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1-Gandalf-the-White.jpg 329w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1-Gandalf-the-White-263x300.jpg 263w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/1-Gandalf-the-White-140x160.jpg 140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Return of the King Division<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It looked like those Riders of Rohan might sweep all the way to ultimate victory, repeating their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2020\/04\/16\/107823-middle-earth-march-madness-finalresult\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"2020 glory, when they were Champions\">2020 glory, when they were Champions<\/a> in the battle amongst scenes from Peter Jackson&#8217;s Middle-earth movies. But it was not to be. By a larger margin than might have been expected, taking 1.5 times as many votes, the triumph of &#8216;No man&#8217; over the Witch-king won this regional final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Witch-king Is Destroyed by &#8220;No Man&#8221; (1)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"718\" height=\"901\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1.-Witch-King-Death.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117774 no-lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1.-Witch-King-Death.png 718w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1.-Witch-King-Death-239x300.png 239w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1.-Witch-King-Death-128x160.png 128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 718px) 100vw, 718px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eowyn slays the Witch-king, by Stephen Walsh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Staffer Madeye Gamgee had these thoughts on what we&#8217;ve seen so far &#8211; and what is to come!<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other than the FotR region, the OneRing staff ended up forecasting our final seeds fairly well, with two # 1 seeds (the Resurrection of Gandalf the White and the Death of the Witch King), and one #2 (Bilbo&#8217;s Discovery of the One Ring). The lowest seed left in the tournament comes from the FotR Region, the epic battle between the Flame of&nbsp;Ud\u00fbn&nbsp;and the Flame of Anor wielded by Gandalf.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We&#8217;re left with some truly epic magic in the Final Four, and it&#8217;s really anybody&#8217;s tournament to win:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The first appearance of the One Ring, its true power still largely veiled<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One of the most epic Maiar battles in the entire legendarium, as Gandalf and the Balrog face off on the Bridge of&nbsp;Khazad-d\u00fbm<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The return from death by the super-charged Gandalf the White as he replaces Saruman as the true leader of powerful resistance against the reign of Sauron<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The fulfillment of long prophecy of the fall of the Witch King of Angmar, a combination of a humble hobbit wielding a spell-lace&nbsp;N\u00famen\u00f3rean blade, and desperate Dernhelm revealed to deliver her final&nbsp;coup de gr\u00e2ce&nbsp;to destroy Sauron&#8217;s chief lieutenant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will it be a Gandalf vs. Gandalf finale? Only if his White-robed persona can overcome the Power of the Ring, and his Balrog-battered bridge match can move past the crowd favorite, a climactic contest between&nbsp;\u00c9owyn and the&nbsp;Lord of the Nazg\u00fbl.&nbsp; Could we see Gandalf the White versus Gandalf the Grey in the championship match?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will the One Ring prove its Power at last, with the Black Speech echoing across Middle-earth?&nbsp;<em>Ash nazg durbatul\u00fbk<\/em>&nbsp;indeed!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will we see one of Tolkien&#8217;s most beloved scenes and themes, the triumph of the weak over seemingly insurmountable strength, embodied by a Shieldmaiden of Rohan, resound in victory even as her opponent wails and fades, powerless before her?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Only the magical Tolkien fandom can tell.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Place your votes! Now that we are down to the Final Four, we&#8217;ll just have one bracket to vote. Use the embedded experience below, or <a href=\"https:\/\/common.ninja\/ea9299f1-520d-432c-9580-b90e56f7c186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"click here\">click here<\/a>. Then click the &#8216;Vote Now&#8217; option that appears at the top left of the page. Let&#8217;s get voting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.commoninja.com\/sdk\/latest\/commonninja.js\" defer><\/script>\n<div class=\"commonninja_component pid-d9c41699-4f49-4756-8ac2-286521f9ade8\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/common.ninja\/ea9299f1-520d-432c-9580-b90e56f7c186\">Vote in the Final Four<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"932\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/image-10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117809 no-lazyload\" style=\"width:988px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/image-10.png 932w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/image-10-300x232.png 300w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/image-10-768x593.png 768w, https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/image-10-207x160.png 207w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 932px) 100vw, 932px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You have until the end of the day<strong> Saturday April 6th <\/strong>to vote in Round Five; Sunday 7th we&#8217;ll open voting for the Championship round. And then join us for TORn Tuesday on April 9th, when we&#8217;ll reveal this year&#8217;s Grand Winner! But which moment will it be? That&#8217;s up to YOU &#8211; vote now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And then there were four&#8230; It is semi-final time in Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments &#8211; from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":117815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14,197,36,7,35,3619,38,148,149,37,156,159,152,3656],"tags":[1438,1801,2044,1807,807,771,1970,2462,3135,3741],"class_list":["post-117807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-fans","category-fotr-book","category-hobbit-book","category-lotr-books","category-march-madness","category-rotk-book","category-hobbit","category-lotr","category-ttt-book","category-torn-announcements","category-torn-community","category-tolkien","category-tolkiens-writing","tag-dwarves","tag-elrond","tag-elves","tag-galadriel","tag-gandalf","tag-hobbits","tag-magic","tag-march-madness","tag-middle-earth-march-madness","tag-runes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Battle-for-Middle-earth.webp","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tLoH-uE7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117807"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117843,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117807\/revisions\/117843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}