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After a suspenseful fortnight of ups, downs, thrills and frill, the first round of the Middle Earth Popularity Cup is concluded and 32 have become 16. We have seen plenty of heavily favoured heroes bask in glory after a job well done but also a few upsets leading to return trip much earlier than expected for some participants. Of the original nine walkers only five now remain and even Gollum, one of the pre-tournament favourites to win, has been eliminated, along with Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Gimli. So far, this Cup has not been for the vertically challenged: ten Hobbits and Dwarves entered the competition but now only three remain: Frodo, Sam and the unlikely figure of Mim. The yellow boots and questionable poetry of Tom Bombadil will no longer grace the audience, nor will the fiery temper of Fëanor or the wisdom of Faramir. But here, without further ado, are the second round match-ups:

Second Round:

Frodo Baggins (7) vs. Beleg Strongbow (8)
Mim the Petty Dwarf (5) vs. Sauron (10)
Maedhros (10) vs. Glaurung (4)
Boromir(8) vs. Saruman (7)

Gandalf (14) vs. Elrond (1)
Lúthien (4) vs. Galadriel (10)
Aragorn (7) vs. Samwise Gamgee (9)
Túrin Turambar (10) vs. Beorn (7)

Odds for every match-up have also come in from The Betberry Bookmakers as well as odds on the winner of the whole tournament. At present Gandalf is the favourite at 11/2, closely followed by dynamic duo Frodo and Sam at 13/2. The odds on Gandalf’s old chum and fellow wizard Saruman have dropped dramatically after his emphatic first round win against Gollum and is down to 7/1. Aragorn and Boromir round out the top-favoured group and are both at 11/1.

The rest: Turin 20/1; Maedhros 25/1; Galadriel 80/1; Glaurung, Sauron, Elrond 100/1; Beorn 200/1; Lúthien, Beleg 250/1; Mim 1000/1