Let's take a stroll down memory lane and look back at the Third Round in 2009
Van Augur vs. Boa Hancock (141:289)
Neither contestant remains; Hancock lost to Zoro in a Second Round rematch of a bout that happened in the Fourth Round last year. She beat Bonney in the First and Hatchan in the Second. This year, her sole victory came in the First Round against Dr. Kureha.
Augur lost to Arlong in the Second Round opener after beating Aphelandra in the First Round. Last year, he defeated Alvida in the First and Marco in the Second.
Luffy vs ShuShu (326:86)
Luffy had surprisingly close matches against Franky and Ace, but remains a favorite to repeat his win in last year's Tournament. He did so by going through Spandam, Urouge, ShuShu, Robin, Roger, Crocodile, and Zoro.
His opponent in this Round is Magellan, who we'll get to in a minute.
ShuShu didn't make it through the First Round this year when he lost to Scratchman Apoo in the opening match of the 2010 Tournament. Last year, he beat Lafitte in the First Round and Kumadori in the Second.
Hiruluk vs Whitebeard (160:264)
Both men remain and both have proven extremely durable against all comers. Whitebeard went up against Aokiji in the First and Makino in the Second; neither match was close. This is completely different from last year where Pops struggled early against Kaku and Mr. 3 before picking up steam in the Third Round. He beat Usopp in the Fourth and lost to Crocodile in the Fifth.
Hiriluk defeated Oars and Bellemere last year and has beaten Rakuyou (aka Dreadlock Chain-Chomp) and Gaimon this year. Whitebeard is one of the most highly touted non-Straw Hat contestants and Hiriluk might surprise us.
Speaking of surprises, Ryuma is the opponent for Whitebeard this Round and did so by upsetting Django in the First Round and Lucky Roo in the Second in close matches. The zombie swordsman made an early exit in the First Round last year when he ran into a brick wall named Jinbei.
Hiriluk's opponent is Hannyabal. Hannyabal won a shocker against Arlong last year when a chapter of One Piece largely dedicated to his resolve and willingness to fight against a superior opponent came out at just the right time. Too bad for him that he drew Crocodile in the Second Round last year. This year he's had solid wins against Calico Yorki and Shiki.
Beckman vs Nico Robin (96:313)
Beckman fell victim to The Shadow Express in the Second Round this year after winning against Genzo in the First while Robin has not had to work too much to put away Donquixote DoFlamingo in the First and Zeff in the Second Round. Last year Beckman tied Paulie in the First Round before beating Paulie and Perona both in the Second. Robin beat Margaret, Shanks, Beckman, and then lost to Luffy in the Fourth Round.
Her opponent in the Third Round is Bellemere who edged out Mr. 1 Daz Bones in the First Round last year before losing to Hiriluk in the Second. Bellemere went up against Chimney in the First Round and finished off the Blackbeard Pirates by beating Lafitte in the Second Round this year.
Ivankov vs Moria (276:173)
Ivankov had a solid year last year (winning against Kureha, Gedatsu and Moria before losing to Ener in the Fourth), but didn't make it through the Second Round this year as he drew the newest Straw Hat, Dead Bones Brook as his opponent after beating Doma and his Monkey in the First.
Moria has made a career of living on the edge; he narrowly edged out Jaguar D. Saul in the First Round last year before a much more solid victory over Aphelandra in the Second. This year he had a narrow victory over The Red-Hair Pirates in the First Round and fended off the largest comeback in Tournament history to beat Benn Beckman in the Second. It's fitting that his latest opponent is the Captain of the Red-Hair Pirates.
Shanks beat Norla last year in the First Round, but lost to Robin in the Second. This year, he's enjoyed massive support against Bege and Crocus in the First and Second Rounds.
Garp vs Crocodile (248:248)
Garp has destroyed his competition so far this year with laughers against First Round opponent Akainu and Second Round opponent Yokozuna. He had a similar year last year when he trounced designated Tournament whipping boy Rob Lucci in the opening match of the 2009 Tournament and then proceeded to demolish Pandaman in the Second. He lost a fairly sizable lead against Crocodile (in spite or perhaps because of e1n's campaigning on his behalf) and came in third in his match with Crocodile and Brook in the Fourth Round.
His opponent this year is Going Merry, who effortlessly polished off Kuro in the First Round last year and lost a close match to the Pirate King Gold Roger himself in the Second. This year, Merry edged out Kaku in the First Round and handily defeated Dorry and Broggy in the Second.
Crocodile has had it in cruise control this year as he destroyed Rob Lucci in his first match of the 2010 Tournament and handily disposed of irritating forum joke Pwngoat in the Second Round. Last year, he had little trouble with his First and Second Round opponents of Vivi and Hannyabal and went on to tie Garp in the Third Round before beating Garp and Brook in the Fourth and Whitebeard in the Fifth before losing to Luffy in the Sixth Round.
His opponent this year is Bon Kurei.
Brook vs Smoker (251:210)
Brook had little opposition on his way to the Third Round last year as he defeated Rayleigh with little fanfare in the First Round and Miss Goldenweek in the Second. In the Fourth Round, he came in second place in his match with Crocodile and Garp. He had a slightly more difficult time this year in the Second Round with Ivankov, but easily won in the First against Margaret. This year, he goes up against Gold Roger.
Smoker was the 800 pound gorilla of the First and Second Rounds last year as he defeated both Domino and Gin by almost seventy percent of the vote. He had a slightly more difficult time this year in the First Round against Tom, but reverted to form against Banchi for the Second Round.
Smoker's opponent this year is Arlong, who lost in the First Round to Hannyabal in 2009. This year Arlong managed to squeak past Hatchan in the First Round by a single vote before a very solid beating of Van Augur in the Second.
Magellan vs Gold Roger (207:240)
Magellan had great early success last year and beat Jean Bart and then Hina without too much trouble. This year has been similar as he effortlessly defeated Vista in the First Round and Mr. 1 in the Second. His opponent this year is Luffy.
Roger had little trouble beating Kalifa in the First Round last year and won a close match against the Going Merry in the Second. He won over Nami in the Fourth Round via a single vote cast by one Robbybevard before losing to Luffy in the Fifth. He won easily enough over Pandaman in the First Round this year and had a more difficult time of it against Jinbei in the Second. This year he's going up against the newest Straw Hat Brook.
Law vs Usopp (162:267)
Law is no long in the Tournament as he lost an extremely close match to Nami after leading by over twenty votes in the Second Round after a decisive win over Paulie in the First. Last year he had an easy time against Ohm in the First Round, a close win over Tom in the Second, and lost to Usopp by a good margin.
Usopp has beaten Calgara and Mr. 3 by sizable margins this year. By this point last year, he had had similar results against Lola and DoFlamingo. His opponent this year is Nami.
Zeff vs Ener (174:247)
Zeff lost in the Second Round against Robin after pummeling San Juan Wolf in the First. He had a similar match in the First Round last year against Jesus Burgess and beat First Round wonder Richie in the Second.
Ener has pretty much slept through the First and Second Rounds this year as he proved once again that God really, really hates Kuina. He beat Kidd in the Second. Last year, he had a fairly easy earlier-than-scheduled match against Basil Hawkins in the First Round and flattened Don Krieg in the Second.
Ener goes up against Dragon this year, who stomped Bege in the First Round last year before losing to Sanji in the Second. He's not had any real trouble against his Zoan opponents this year with solid wins against Jabura in the First and Marco in the Second.
Cricket vs Jinbei (90:334)
Neither contestant remains this year.
Cricket lost early this year when he was beaten by Drake in the First Round. He edged out Foxy in the First Round last year before a more solid victory over Momonga in the Second.
Jinbei beat Johnny and Yosaku by a sizable margin before losing to Roger in the Second Round of the 2010 Tournament. In 2009, he defeated Ryuma and Mihawk in the first two Rounds.
Bon Kurei vs Zoro (261:277)
Bon Kurei waltzed through the First and Second Rounds last year against Inazuma and Duval before losing a close match to Zoro in the Third Round. This year he effortlessly crushed Yasopp in the First Round and had an impressive victory over Sanji in the Second. Like last year, the Third Round is a much tougher proposition as he faces perennial favorite Crocodile.
Zoro made it all the way through the Tournament last year and did so by beating Banchi, Chopper, Bon Kurei, Hancock, Ener, and Buggy before losing to Luffy in the Championship Match. This year he beat Inazuma after fans of that character sabotaged themselves in the Preliminary Round and beat Hancock in a rematch from last year.
His opponent this year is Mihawk who received more than 70% of the vote against Momonga and Apoo this year. Last year he faced Camie in the First Round before losing to Jinbei in the Second.
Carue vs Nami (128:308)
Last year, Carue beat Minotaurus and Dorry. The combination of Dorry and Broggy proved too much for him this year as he lost in the First Round.
Nami made it to the Fourth Round last year by beating Drake via disqualification, Kuma, and Carue. She then lost to Roger. This year, she beat Doc Black Beard in a laugher and made a major comeback to slip by Law with a single vote victory.
Franky vs Sanji (245:272)
Neither contestant remains (bwahahaha!).
Franky, The Odaverse's Answer to Ubiq, lost in the First Round to Luffy this year. Last year he won pretty handily against Aokiji and Wiper before losing to Sanji in a rematch from the previous Tournament, which the cyborg won. It should be noted that his win over Sanji in the 2005 Tournament was via coinflip after a 20-20 tie.
After narrowly avoiding a match against Zoro thanks to the dedication of Inazuma's fanbase, Sanji beat Shiliew in the First Round of the 2010 Tournament. He then turned right around and lost to Bon Kurei in the Second Round by almost fifty votes. Last year, he opened against Laboon before beating Dragon, Franky, Django and then losing to Buggy in the Fifth Round after blowing a fairly sizable lead in less than a hour.
Django vs Bepo (247:186)
Django was the dubious beneficiary of Michael Jackson's untimely death during the Tournament last year and made it all the way to the Fourth Round by beating Hogback, Iceburg, and Bepo before losing to Sanji. Different story this year as he was upset by Ryuma in the First Round.
Bepo has had an easy time of it this year by beating Wiper and then Sadi by sizable margins. He won closer matches last year against Olvia and Jabura before losing in the Third Round.
His opponent this year is Tournament newcomer Montblanc Norland, who won the Revenge Match last year after being snubbed in the nomination process. This year he has easy, nondescript wins against Hiking Bear and Gin.
Blackbeard vs Buggy (210:248)
Teach didn't even make it through the First Round as he fell victim to a joke character. That would have been the opening match of the Tournament, but I was overruled and it was moved to later in the month to make it easier for people to come up with campaigns. Bitter? No, why do you ask? Last year, he beat Tashigi in the First Round and Apoo in the Second. Oddly enough, both of his early Tournament matches last year roughly coincided with appearances by him in the manga. He also appeared in the chapter that came out around the same time as his match with Buggy, but that chapter was late and only came out after the match was already over.
Buggy has crushed his two opponents this year, Foxy the Silver Fox and Drake on his way to the Third Round this year. Last year, he made it all the way to the Semifinals where he lost to Zoro by a mere eight votes, but not before beating Pell, Kidd, Teach, Jinbei, and Sanji.
His opponent this year is Silvers Rayleigh, who lost to Brook in the First Round last year. This year the Dark King has had a great deal more success against Nico Olvia and the Kung Fu Dugongs. He's attracted a notable following in the process and has won each match by sizable margins.
The Movie Star and the Rest.
Kuma vs Sengoku
Kuma beat Ace in the First Round last year before losing to Nami in the Second. This year, he's crushed Laboon in the First Round and absolutely murdered poor Doc Q in the Second.
Sengoku lost a stunner to Richie in the First Round last year in one of the first great matches of the 2009 Tournament. This year he's had fairly quiet matches against Gedatsu and Saul.
Chopper vs Gun Fall
Chopper beat Stronger last year in the First Round; presumably by nauseating the poor horse to death with his "cuteness". He then ran into a chainsaw named Roronoa Zoro in the Second Round. This year, he beat T-Bone in the First Round and Camie in the Second in a match that would have a diabetic reaching for their insulin.
Gun Fall didn't make the field last year, but placed second in the Revenge Match. One of the many old geezers kicking around in the Tournament, the former God and pumpkin-grower extraordinaire beat Nojiko in the First Round and Bonney in the Second Round.
And there you have the Third Rounds of 2009 and 2010.