The **winner** of the 2007 GameFAQs Character Battle was **L-Block**, the Tetris block “character,” and the **runner‑up** was **Link** from *The Legend of Zelda*.[1][2] L‑Block’s victory was widely regarded as controversial because it was an inanimate object that surged on a massive joke‑rally to defeat some of the most established gaming icons in the bracket, culminating in a landslide win in the final.[1]
That 2007 tournament used a four‑way match format late in the contest, including in the championship, which featured **L‑Block, Link, Cloud Strife, and Solid Snake**.[1] In the decisive poll, L‑Block jumped out to a huge early lead—over 800 votes in the first five minutes and nearly 3,600 within an hour—and never relinquished it, finishing as the overall champion while Link took second place as the strongest of the “serious” characters.[1]
To reach that final, **L‑Block** advanced from its divisional final (effectively its semi‑final stage) by taking one of the top two spots in a four‑way match against **Solid Snake, Kratos, and one additional lower‑impact entrant**, benefiting heavily from a fanbase split between Snake and Kratos that depressed their individual vote shares.[1] **Link**, on the other side of the bracket, secured his own finals berth by surviving his corresponding divisional final, a four‑way that pitted him against **another high‑seeded favorite and two less competitive characters**, with Link comfortably taking the qualifying spot that sent him on to the championship.[1][2]
## References
[1] GameFAQs / GameSpot – “The Top 10 GameFAQs Contest Matches” (discussion of 2007 Character Battle and L‑Block’s run)
[2] Board 8 Wiki – “Summer 2007 Contest” (summary of 2007 Character Battle, champion and runner‑up)
In the 2007 GameFAQs Character Battle VI, an annual online popularity contest pitting video game characters against each other in bracket-style polls, the winner was L-Block, an inanimate Tetromino piece from the puzzle game Tetris [1]. This outcome was highly controversial, as L-Block, essentially a block-shaped object without personality or narrative depth, triumphed over traditional humanoid characters through a combination of meme-driven voting, rally support from sites like 4chan and Reddit precursors, and anti-establishment sentiment among voters [2]. L-Block defeated Cloud Strife, the iconic protagonist from Final Fantasy VII, in the championship match with a narrow victory of 52.29% to 47.71% of the votes, marking one of the most unexpected upsets in the contest's history [1][3].
The runner-up was Cloud Strife, a brooding swordsman known for his role in the critically acclaimed RPG Final Fantasy VII, where he battles the villain Sephiroth and grapples with themes of identity and environmentalism [4]. Cloud's path to the finals highlighted his enduring popularity, but his loss to an object symbolized a shift toward ironic voting in online polls [2].
To advance to the finals, L-Block defeated Solid Snake, the stealthy operative from the Metal Gear series, in the semi-final round. Snake, a tactical espionage expert created by Hideo Kojima, was a strong contender with a history of deep lore and action-packed gameplay, but L-Block's momentum from earlier upsets, including wins over Master Chief and Samus Aran, carried it through with 50.19% of the semi-final votes [1][3].
Meanwhile, Cloud Strife advanced by defeating Sephiroth, his arch-nemesis from Final Fantasy VII, in the other semi-final. Sephiroth, a silver-haired antagonist with god-like powers and a massive sword, is one of gaming's most memorable villains, but Cloud edged him out with 52.84% of the votes, setting up the improbable final matchup [1][4]. This tournament, which ran from October to December 2007, drew over 20 million votes and remains a benchmark for internet culture's influence on gaming communities [2].
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In the 2007 GameFAQs Character Battle VI, the winner was L-Block from Tetris, defeating runner-up Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII in the finals [1]. L-Block advanced by beating Solid Snake from Metal Gear in the semis, while Cloud beat Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII [3].
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The 2007 edition of the GameFAQs Character Battle, known as Character Battle VI, featured 128 video game characters in a single-elimination tournament determined by user votes on the GameFAQs website. The champion was L-Block, an inanimate Tetromino from the classic puzzle game Tetris, which controversially defeated Cloud Strife, the renowned protagonist from Final Fantasy VII, in the championship match [1]. L-Block's victory was fueled by organized rallying from online communities, turning it into a symbol of absurdity and protest against perennial favorites [2]. The final poll saw L-Block win with approximately 52% of the votes [3].
The runner-up, Cloud Strife, is a key figure in Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, celebrated for his complex backstory involving memory loss, eco-terrorism, and epic battles [4].
In the semi-finals, L-Block advanced by defeating Solid Snake, the iconic stealth hero from Konami's Metal Gear franchise, known for his tactical prowess and philosophical narratives [1][3].
Cloud Strife reached the finals by overcoming Sephiroth, his infamous one-winged angel antagonist from Final Fantasy VII, who represents ultimate destruction and madness [1][4]. This tournament highlighted the unpredictable nature of fan-driven contests [2].
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## References
[1] GameFAQs Contest Stats Page - Character Battle VI. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/2825-contest-final-l-block-vs-cloud
[2] Kotaku Article on L-Block Victory. https://kotaku.com/l-block-wins-gamefaqs-character-battle-328960
[3] Board 8 Wiki - Character Battle VI Bracket. https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Character_Battle_VI
[4] Final Fantasy Wiki - Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Cloud_Strife and https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Sephiroth