What would a showdown of popular culture jerks be with out one really jerk transfer within the Ultimate 4? Early in that spherical’s vote, it turned clear that Shooter McGavin would rout fellow 1-seed Biff Tannen, however on the opposite facet of the bracket, Larry David was deadlocked with the 5-seed who might, Eric Cartman. For hours, the adversaries have been cut up roughly 50-50, however after fastidiously tallying the votes and diligently following our particular election recount protocol, we’re shocked to announce that Cartman—freaking Cartman!—edged his method into the Jerks Bracket closing … by one vote.
By a closing rely of 6,541 votes to six,540, the South Park resident took down the legendary creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry narrowly defeated Cartman on X and Instagram, however it was finally the ballot outcomes on our web site that pushed the Comedy Central icon to victory. I’d enterprise to guess that there has by no means been a slimmer margin of victory within the historical past of Ringer popular culture brackets.
Don’t get me flawed: Cartman is not any slouch, however there have been some extremely jerky contestants on this match—tricksters Loki and Ferris Bueller have been two of my early favorites to win all of it. Discovering a approach to get one further vote in opposition to one of many biggest comedians of all time—somebody who many thought-about a lock for the ultimate after taking out George Costanza, his personal creation—stands out as the jerkiest transfer to date. Admittedly, I used to be daydreaming in regards to the shouting match that jerk Corridor of Famer Shooter and Larry might have had on the inexperienced within the championship—however the finish consequence could also be much more intriguing.
Right here’s how Shooter and Cartman took down their rivals to succeed in this pivotal level:
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Cartman’s skill to edge out his competitors is the actual story of this contest. The jerks left in Cartman’s wake—Roman Roy, Gob Bluth, Derek Huff, and Marnie Michaels—finally felt like gentle work. They’re all stable jerks in their very own distinctive methods, however Cartman constantly ran by means of his challengers. Even nonetheless, you needed to assume Larry was the favourite heading into the semis. He humiliated the likes of Dr. Perry Cox and Johnny Lawrence—basic jerks in their very own proper—however Cartman is solely unstoppable proper now. Defeating Larry David is the closest Cartman got here to dropping, however that slender triumph is much less about the truth that Cartman was at risk and extra about simply how highly effective he’s change into.
On the opposite facet of the bracket, Biff Tannen simply dispatched elite contenders similar to Ferris Bueller and Kenny Powers, however ultimately, Tannen didn’t have sufficient juice to ship Shooter packing. Regardless of how arduous Biff fought—regardless of what number of instances he known as Shooter a “butthead”—he was no match for the golf professional. Now, Shooter’s true take a look at arrives. Positive, he can sink the putt—and if he was going up in opposition to Larry, the ultimate would have felt like a more in-depth name—however at this level, is that this simply Cartman’s recreation to lose?
Nonetheless, we now have to offer some credit score to Shooter. The person greater than held his personal in opposition to his rivals—Caillou within the first spherical, adopted by everybody from Invoice Lumbergh to the freaking Iceman. And these are severe victories—he had 11,000 extra votes than Caillou, took out the Iceman by over 9,000 votes, and had upwards of 5,000 extra votes than Biff within the semifinal. It definitely wouldn’t be truthful to say he was dealing with weak jerks. However Cartman took out two of the largest pricks in HBO historical past—Larry and Roman.
Let’s simply name this what it’s: Shooter McGavin is the underdog going into the ultimate. Each Shooter and Cartman haven’t had an issue bringing within the numbers up up to now, however Cartman’s run is much extra spectacular. Shooter could also be an all-timer in terms of being a jerk, however Cartman, just a few punk child in a parka, might find yourself being his biggest foe.
Possibly that is how the ultimate was at all times meant to be: the veteran jerk trying to tackle the younger gun in coaching. Does Cartman have what it takes to outclass his elder? That reply is as much as you.
Ballot
Which character ought to advance?
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50%
(1) Shooter McGavin, ‘Glad Gilmore’
(86 votes)
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49%
(5) Cartman, ‘South Park’
(85 votes)
171 votes complete
Vote Now
Voting on the championship spherical is formally open. Keep in mind: You may place votes right here, on X, and on Instagram till 9 p.m. ET.