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BEL2026 Video Game Madness - West Region Super Sixteen: 3 Baldur's Gate 3 vs. 10 The Last of Us Part II
2026 Video Game Madness - West Region Super Sixteen
West Region Super Sixteen Matchup Preview: 3 Baldur's Gate 3 vs. 10 The Last of Us Part II
The 2023 Game of the Year Against the Most Divisive Game of Its Era
Baldur's Gate 3 beat God of War 2-1 in the Round of 32, and the result deserves recognition before the Super Sixteen matchup is previewed. God of War 2018 won virtually every major Game of the Year award in its year, scored a 94 on Metacritic, and received over 200 GOTY awards from publications and ceremonies worldwide. It is one of the defining games of the PS4 era. Baldur's Gate 3 beat it by one vote. Larian Studios' RPG has been winning by the minimum in this bracket and it is now in the Super Sixteen on the strength of results that have never been comfortable but have never failed to go its way.
Baldur's Gate 3 scored a 96 on Metacritic and won every major GOTY in 2023. It is one of the largest games ever made by an independent studio, built on Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition rules, with three acts spanning dozens of hours, hundreds of voiced characters, and thousands of choices that create genuinely different experiences across playthroughs. The freedom of approach. The quality of the writing. The depth of characterization that makes the game treat its players as intelligent adults capable of engaging with moral complexity. It beat Hollow Knight by one vote in the Round of 64 and God of War by one vote in the Round of 32. One-vote margins both times. The fanbase is present at every round and it is exactly large enough to win by the minimum.
The Last of Us Part II reached the Super Sixteen by upsetting Sekiro 3-1 in the Round of 64 and then beating Red Dead Redemption 2 in overtime in the Round of 32. That Round of 32 result is one of the more striking outcomes of the tournament. Red Dead Redemption 2 scored a 97 on Metacritic. It sold over 63 million copies. It won virtually every GOTY in 2018. It is one of the most technically and artistically ambitious games ever made. The Last of Us Part II beat it in overtime 3-2, with the seeding tiebreaker going to Red Dead 2, and the Last of Us Part II community found the extra vote when it mattered most.
The Last of Us Part II is one of the most divisive games of its era. It scored a 93 on Metacritic and won the 2020 Game of the Year at The Game Awards. Its story decisions divided the player base in ways that straightforward quality assessments cannot resolve. The community that loves it loves it with the conviction of people who feel it was made specifically for them and who feel the discourse has never given it proper credit. That conviction beat Sekiro and Red Dead Redemption 2. It is now facing the 2023 GOTY.
A 96-rated RPG that won everything in 2023 against a 93-rated game that won everything in 2020 and has been beating games with more copies sold and higher Metacritic scores in every round since. Both games have devoted communities. Both have been finding the votes they needed at every stage. The West's Day 2 Super Sixteen matchup is one of the most compelling second-week stories the tournament has produced.
The West Super Sixteen opens March 27. 12PM.
