@Taz:
I have to say the results shocked me. After seeing Crocodile destroyed in the match with Luffy, I really believed the best Buggy could manage was something like 100 votes against mighty Zoro. Definitely exceeded my expectations.
Of course, it would've been nice if he won.. cough but a close defeat is the next best thing.
Yeah, stop right there.
Buggy has a big cult following around here. (I'm actually one of them! – still waiting impatiently for Oda to give me that Buggy vs Foxy DBF cover story). Buggy also benefited from the timing of the tournament: it coincided with his return to the spotlight and his Impel Down caper, so that magnified his fanbase.
But Zoro also benefited from timing, too. If the tourney had been held just before Thriller Bark, Zoro probably would have gone down in the quarterfinals or sooner -- back then, most people were bitter about what he did at W7, so only the "badass contingent" of the fanbase would have given him their support ... But the match took place long after that, so people remembered Zoro in a more positive light, because by then he'd bartered his life for the crew, helped some citizens repel a Noble, helped Hachi escape, and been rescued by Usopp.