Now for the main event, the moment you've all been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winner of The Colosseum, who will receive a prize comic with their character facing off with the Colosseum champion, *kilojara16's Kilo Monster...


~BlindKnight's Ophelia Hearteater!!!

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Both entries were visually stunning from BK's use of red and designs for the demon army and Squids inventive use of color and fluid movements and expressions. It really came down to storytelling and while both of them provided strong entries, BlindKnight wins this for me. Over the entire course of the tournament, there was a steady progression in Ophelia's character and her relationship with Major Domo and her father. Just a compelling story through and through, I would like to see it in print one day.

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It has been one grand journey for both these competitors. Great art and masterfull storytelling has brought everyone up to this point. The hardest now is deciding the winner. After much careful thought and consideration my vote goes for Blindknight. Character portrayal, developement, and intriguing plot twists have kept everyone on edge to see how far Ophelia would go in this tournament alone. From becoming an uptight princess with parental issues to a full fledged warrior standing her ground and facing her father has brought Ophelia to a whole new light.

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The introduction really made me chuckle. I thought that perhaps this was going to be medias-res but then you get Ophelia standing in a bed sheet startled by the knock at her door. Blindknight succeeded in making the final round seem epic and the action spanked along at a great pace. Full of comedic turns to keep your interest and not fall into the brooding emo trap. The new relationship that develops between Ophelia and her father was a welcome touch as well as the conclusion of the relationship between Domo and Ophelia.

Coelasquid's entry gets started at a much slower pace. I quite like this however. A lot of humour is crammed in and even has two fights! (the comedy initial fight between Opheila and Blue then the REAL battle). This entry really focused on the humour and I'm glad Coelsquid DID. Throughout the competition this has been her strength and to make a sudden switch for the sake of an "Epicness" would have been very jarring. Not to say that the entry doesn't have enough "epicness". Key points being when Blue reels off his list of injuries during his fight and the return of sol (setting up EVEN MORE plot points).

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PRIZES

Subscription Prizes will be given in January 2009. The final prize comic and drawings will be uploaded here as they are completed.

After much deliberation here are the final results. Thank you so much for your participation in the Colosseum. You guys made this one of the most entertaining tournaments yet.


Most Memorable Match

Sol Thundard v Ophelia
Runner up: Blue and Daggett vs. Billy and Cecil
Exhibition Winner: Tyler and Darcy vs. Lourdes and Cervantes


Best Male Gladiator

Sol Thundard
Runner up: Major Domo
Exhibition Winner: Asylum


Best Female Gladiator

Ophelia
Runner up: Merichi
Exhibition Winner: Misty


Best Tag Team

Hunter and Niko
Runner up: Billy and Cecil
Exhibition Winner: Lourdes and Cervantes


Most Outrageous Character

Scarecrow
Runner up: Dogfin
Exhibition Winner: Alan


Funniest Match:

Hunter and Niko vs. Shrike and BB
Exhibition Winner: Alan vs. Asylum


Best Weapon

Melody Fasola's Axe Guitar
Runner up: Ophelia's Mace
Exhibition Winner: Asylum's Hands


Best Special Ability

Bop Velvet
Runner up: Craig
Exhibition Winner: Cervantes' Transformation


Best Character Design

Ophelia and Major Domo
Exhibition Winner: Asylum


Best Backstory

Sol Thundard
Runner up: Blue and Daggett
Exhibition Winner: Asylum


Most Improved

~BlindKnight
Runner up:~AstroCrush
Exhibition Winner: =shazmatthews


Best One True Pairing

Yuki and Tabby
Runner up: Blue and Newt
Exhibition Winner: Lourdes and Cervantes

And that's all folks! Or is it?

VS

The results should be posted within the next few days as well as the Golden Gladiator Awards.

It's been a fun ride. I want to thank you all for making the Colosseum what it became. It couldn't have done it without you guys. I for one am pleasantly surprised by the support this tournament has gotten. So much so that I'm considering possibly another down the line? We shall see.

So again. Thank you all for watching!

This is it folks. The last round. This match will be a no holds barred, free for all. The artists have the freedom to do what they wish this match up as far as the arena venue, conditions of winning, etc are concerned. Just please try to leave the Colosseum standing, all right?

VS

Ophelia Daggett and Blue

Entries will be due November 24th, 11:59 PST. Give 'em hell!

*** Exhibitions Cancelled ***

We at the Colosseum are eager to see numerous fellow OC tournaments begin to flourish. So the decision has been made to cancel exhibitions rather than compete with other tournaments. We wish you well in your OC tourney adventures!

*** The Colosseum Golden Gladiator Awards ***

With the Colosseum coming to an end, we at the Colosseum thought it would be best to honor those who make this tournament as amazing of a journey as it has been. But we need help from you the viewers! Below are the categories for Colosseum participants, both official gladiators and exhibition participants, to be nominated in. To nominate an artist/character, please note TheColosseum with your nominations before November 1st.

Most Memorable Match

Best Tag Team

Best Male Gladiator

Best Female Gladiator

Most Outrageous Character

Funniest Match

Best Weapon

Best Special Ability

Best Character Design

Best Backstory

Most Improved

Best OTP (One True Pairing)

Remember! Only one nomination per category and DON'T nominate yourself.

This is it folks.

It is unfortunate that gladiator ~rainyday had to withdraw from the tournament, but we wish her well in her studies in Beijing. *BlindKnight automatically advances to the final round, which means that his opponent will be either =Zeurel or *Coelasquid. This did not make things any easier for our remaining four judges, and it was actually the vote from a OC tournament outsider but insightful comic enthusiast that decided the final match.

I was going to wait for them to send me their detailed evaluations, but I know many of you are very very anxious to here the results, so I'm going to do my best to briefly paraphrase their observations.

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Both entries were entertaining and had very different approaches, making it hard to put them side to side. Coelasquid's had a very humorous twist on the concept of a deathtrap arena and the way she handles movement and expressions is just very refreshing. There was some issues with panel layout in the beginning, but cleared itself up as it went on. Zeurel's entry was injected with pure adrenaline, like a wild and crazy action movie. It's easy to find yourself on the edge of your seat while reading it, though it feel that there was just so much going on that the characters actually involved with the match were neglected and almost forgetable. This is where Coelasquid beats Zeurel. I don't have a history with these characters as people who have followed this contest, so when Zeurel had all these different characters in his entry, and so much going on has far as evil villain plots, I didn't find myself as connected with them as I did in Coelasquid's entry. Strong plots also need strong characters, and I think Squid has got that. So I'm gonna have to give my vote to her.

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And there you have it folks. Here are your Colosseum finalists!

VS.

Enjoy your two week break guys. Exhibition matches will be posted later tonight.