Once again, the best MMORPGs go head-to-head to determine the number one MMORPG of the Year. In the first MMORPG Showdown, Guild Wars managed to topple World of Warcraft in the finals. The last tournament also featured a bitter match where Maple Story barely slid by RuneScape. This year there are several new games and several new match-ups due to a stronger free MMORPG genre and a few major releases. A few of the older MMOs are also not showing their age well. In fact, less than half of the games that were in the tournament last year are back again for this year. With several older games gone from last year, recently launched or soon-to-be launched games such as Fury, Hellgate: London, and Tabula Rasa will have a shot at the crown this year. These new games will have their matches at the end of the first round in order for players to get a better chance to play them.

Missing The Cut

The 16 MMORPGs that made the cut this year are either leaders, are free, in a good niche, or are young with a great deal of potential. That said, several older MMORPGs are missing from the tournament this year including Dark Age of Camelot, Anarchy Online, and EverQuest 2. Of those that missed the cut, EverQuest 2 and Dark Age of Camelot were the closest to come to making it. Both games were beat in the first round last year, but still are very solid MMORPGs. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Dark Age of Camelot is showing its age and EverQuest 2 will likely always be in the shadow of World of Warcraft. Vanguard barely beat out EverQuest 2 because it is newer and has added a nice innovation to the genre with its diplomacy system. Although it was not in last year's tournament, Silkroad Online is another game that narrowly missed being chosen.

The Tournament

GameOgre.com will have 16 of the top MMORPGs square off against each other in battles to the death in order to determine the MMORPG champ. The winning MMORPG will also be the MMORPG of the Year at GameOgre.com's 2007 Online Game Awards. Since the goal is to find only one winner, Free MMORPGs and Pay-to-Play MMORPGs will be able to go head-to-head with each other. This tournament will also be a major factor in determining the Best Free MMORPG of the Year. 

The Rules

Each week, two MMORPGs will face each other until only one is left. You will be able to vote and leave comments for each game on special pages solely dedicated to this tournament. For example, you can leave a 10 for the game you love and then a 0 for the game you hate. This is a battle after all! The game with the highest total score at the end of each week (Thursday morning at 12:01 A.M. CST) will move on. Comments that capture the spirit of the battle without bad language and overuse of caps will be displayed in the results article at the end of the week. There will be a total of 15 matches and the tournament will begin on October 25, 2007.  

The Competitors

Guild Wars - Last year's winner and GameOgre.com's Online Game of the Year for 2006. Guild Wars Nightfall is one of the highest ranked games on GameOgre.

World of Warcraft - World's most popular MMORPG with one highly successful expansion and another on the way. Was the runner-up in the first tournament. 

Runescape - Popular free MMO that continues to be one of the most and hated games on the entire Internet. 

Eve Online - Continues to be one of the strong pay-to-play MMOs. Was barely defeated by World of Warcraft last year.

Maple Story - Free MMORPG that looks more like a console game than a popular MMO. Managed to pull off a mild upset by beating RuneScape last year.

City of Heroes/City of Villains - One of the best mainstream MMOs.

Final Fantasy XI - Continues to be a fantasy alternative to World of Warcraft.

Rappelz - Has become a major player in the free MMORPG genre over the past year with great graphics.

FlyFF - One of the best free MMORPGs with cartoony graphics.

Lord of the Rings Online - Has become one of the best pay-to=play MMOs in less than a year.

9 Dragons - Free martial arts MMO that is one of the best in its niche.

Sword of the New World - Has become a major player in the free MMORPG genre over the past year with great graphics.

Hellgate: London - Combination of two of best online games ever, Diablo and World of Warcraft.

Tabula Rasa - Scifi MMO that has been eagerly anticipated for years.

Fury - Retail MMORPG that can be be played online without a subscription and focuses on intense PvP action.

Vanguard - Once billed as a possible World of Warcraft killer, but was plagued with an incredibly bad launch. Vanguard is definitely the biggest underdog in the tournament.

First Round Match-Ups

World of Warcraft vs. Vanguard - Match Concluded

Final Fantasy XI vs. Lord of the Rings Online - Match Concluded

FlyFF vs. Maple Story - Match Concluded

9 Dragons vs. City of Heroes/City of Villains - Match Concluded

RuneScape vs. Sword of the New World - Match Concluded

Guild Wars vs. Rappelz - Match Concluded

Tabula Rasa vs. Eve Online - Match Concluded

Hellgate: London vs. Fury - Match Concluded

Second Round Match-Ups

World of Warcraft vs. Lord of the Rings Online - Match Concluded

Maple Story vs. Sword of the New World - Match Concluded

Eve Online vs. 9 Dragons - Match Concluded

Guild Wars vs. Hellgate: London - Match Concluded

Semi-Finals

Lord of the Rings Online vs. Sword of the New World - Match Concluded

Guild Wars vs. Eve Online - Match Concluded

MMORPG Showdown 2 Final

Guild Wars vs. Lord of the Rings Online - Match Concluded