While the regular Saimoe tournament is definitely a "must follow" for me since 2005 (that was when I first found out about the event), I myself don't follow the International Saimoe League.

As for the preliminary groups, here's my take on each of them (note that if I'm not familar enough with that group or if it's tough to call, I'll leave it as a N/A):

Group 1:
Favorite: Mio (K-On!)
Who I Want to See Advance: Yuno (Hidamari Sketch)

Group 2:
Favorite: Nagi (Hayate the Combat Butler)
Who I Want to See Advance: Tsumugi (K-On!)

Group 3:
Favorite: N/A (not familiar)
Who I Want to See Advance: N/A

Group 4:
Favorite: (tie) Rena (Higurashi)/Tsukasa (Lucky Star)
Who I Want to See Advance: Tsukasa (Lucky Star)

Group 5:
Favorite: N/A (too tough to call)
Who I Want to See Advance: Ritsu (K-On!)

Group 6:
Favorite: Holo (Spice and Wolf)
Who I Want to See Advance: (tie) Tomoyo (Cardcaptors Sakura)/Tsuruya (Haruhi)

Group 7:
Favorite: Fuuko (Clannad)
Who I Want to See Advance: (tie) Eruruu (Utawarerumono)/Ui (K-On!)

Group 8:
Favorite: N/A (not familiar)
Who I Want to See Advance: N/A

Group 9:
Favorite: Nanoha (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha)
Who I Want to See Advance: Konata (Lucky Star) (sorry, Secchan)

Group 10:
Favorite: Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Who I Want to See Advance: Sakura (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Group 11:
Favorite: Suiseiseki (Rozen Maiden)
Who I Want to See Advance: Akari (Aria)

Group 12:
Favorite: Yuuki (Saki)
Who I Want to See Advance: Alice (Aria)

Group 13:
Favorite: (tie) Shinku (Rozen Maiden)/Saki (Saki)
Who I Want to See Advance: N/A

Group 14:
Favorite: N/A (Only character I'm familiar with is Rei)
Who I Want to See Advance: N/A

There may be a little confusion here when it comes to who I see as the "favorites". Here's a better understanding what each choice means:

Favorite: The character(s) that I consider to be the most likely ones in each group to advance into the main event.
Who I Want to See Advance: Characters that I'd like to see make it into the main event.

As for the ones you mentioned, I definitely am interested in seeing Mio make it into the main event.

Interestingly enough, I already have one figurine of Mio (which I got in December).

You don't like Hinagiku, do you? :)

No, it's definitely not sufficient :)

Yap, only nine... eeehmm... there should be a reason, shouldn't it?
Well-well-well... Ah! Senjougahara vs Louise vs Asuka Langley! A dreadfully hard choice. I guess you don't like Asuka very much (just like me), but she has an army of fans without us. So... who did you vote for? Senjougahara? Soretomo... Louise? XD

You didn't answer my question... Louise vs. Senjougahara = ?

I voted for Senjougahara as well! I l.o.v.e Louise, but.. ya, that's probably because I'm watching Bakemonogatari right now and it's quite addictive :) The other character I appreciate is Hanekawa :) Very reasonable one.

なんでも知らないわよ。知っていることだけ。
～＾＿＾～

First day's results are posted and Day 2 voting is open.... I'm happy for Senjougahara. I'm sure she won't have any trouble making it into one of the open Contestant spots. Louise got second place so maybe there's a chance of them both making it in. But sadly Sawako got crushed. -_- I'm sure there just aren't enough people who know her, being she's from a shoujo series. Oh well. Hopefully Ami, Mion, and Misaka will have better luck. Hmmm, I'm curious to see what this code looks like (hopefully it works):

ARENA 01: Shiina Minatsu Kinomoto Sakura [Oshino Shinobu]
ARENA 02: Saginomiya Isumi Evangeline A.K. McDowell [Hanato Kobato]
ARENA 03: [Tsukamoto Yakumo] Haibara Ai Ikeda Kana
ARENA 04: [Abstained] Suiseiseki Nogizaka Haruka Aizawa Sakuya
ARENA 05: Index Librorum Prohibitorum Hanekawa Tsubasa [Furude Rika]
ARENA 06: [Abstained] Akashiya Moka Hoshina Utau Mizunashi Akari
ARENA 07: Akaba Chizuru [Kawashima Ami] Segawa Izumi
ARENA 08: Kataoka Yūki Alice Carroll [Shirai Kuroko]
ARENA 09: Sawatari Makoto [Furude Hanyū] Hinamori Amu
ARENA 10: [Abstained] Shinku Miyanaga Saki Minase Nayuki
ARENA 11: Amamiya Yūko Sheryl Nome [Saten Ruiko]
ARENA 12: Teletha Testarossa [Sonozaki Mion] Minami Kana
ARENA 13: [Misaka Mikoto] Tōyoko Momoko Isurugi Noe
ARENA 14: [Minami Chiaki] Misaka Shiori Ushiromiya Ange
ARENA 15: [Abstained] Katagiri Yūhi Illyasviel von Einzbern Ayanami Rei
ARENA 16: Kotegawa Yui [Akiyama Mio] Kawasumi Mai
ARENA 17: [Uiharu Kazari] Ryōgi Shiki Yuno
ARENA 18: Felli Loss Senō Natsuru [Ichinose Kotomi]
ARENA 19: Sawachika Eri [Senjōgahara Hitagi] Kamio Misuzu
ARENA 20: Sanzen'in Nagi [Louise Vallière] Fujibayashi Ryō
ARENA 21: Winry Rockbell Sōryū Asuka Langley [Kotobuki Tsumugi]
ARENA 22: Hinaichigo [Shiina Mafuyu] Kurata Sayuri
ARENA 23: [Sangō Shizuku] Takei Hisa Lambdadelta
ARENA 24: Kusakabe Misuzu [Sonozaki Shion] Maria
ARENA 25: [Niche] Sakurano Kurimu Bernkastel
ARENA 26: Hiiragi Tsukasa Ryūgū Rena [Lisa]
ARENA 27: Kirishima Akari Shindō Chihiro [Alice]
ARENA 28: [Abstained] Chii Suigintou Yin
ARENA 29: Saber [Tainaka Ritsu] Nagi
ARENA 30: Tsukimiya Ayu Ranka Lee [Furukawa Nagisa]

Only 4? XP
At least we agree on the two that really count. ^_^

Day 2 results are in, but Day 3 voting doesn't open for another 7 hours. I woke up at 2am and am bored out of my mind so I'm going to do some detailed commentary on the results just for fun. So starting with the new groups who just got their first round of voting in:

Group 10: ....I actually don't have any strong opinion. Moving on!

Group 11: Rika pulled off a win over Tsubasa and Index. Can she take the Group? Her biggest competion seems to be internet anime idol Suiseuseki.

Group 12: Ami, one of my favorites, just barely beats out Chizuru from strong newcomer anime Seitokai no Ichizon with only 37 votes to spare! Will this round's other winners Hanyuu and Kuroko put up more of a fight in rounds 2 & 3? Or is Ami set for victory?

Group 13: Mion, another favorite of mine, pulls off a pretty decent win. I'd like to say her competition from the other Arenas in the Group doesn't look very strong, but who knows....

Group 14: Misaka just dominated in her Arena! Doesn't look like she'll have any trouble at all with taking the Group in the other three rounds. Nice to see Chiaki also win in her Arena, but sorry, Misaka will crush you in Round 2. ^_^

Group 1: Back up to the top with the first Group with two rounds of voting finished. Mio and Kotomi are the only ones who still have full points. They won't face each other until Round 4. Personally I'll have to vote for Kotomi when the time comes, but I think Mio will end up beating her. But they might both finish strong enough to get a Contestant spot.

Group 2: Senjougahara continues to win, but sadly Louise suffers a critical last place defeat at the hands of Ryo and Nagi. This Group has a lot of strong players. Will Senjougahara be able to beat Nagi in Round 4? (maybe I should get around to watching Hayate so I can know what the big deal is about these characters....)

Group 3: No really strong opinions about this Group, but for me Shizuku and Mafuyu were two decently enjoyable characters in two very mediocre shows from last season (in my opinion anyway). It will be interesting to see what happens when these two meet up against another Hayate girl in Round 4.

Group 4: Poor little Niche has been taking the worst beating out of anyone I've been voting for. Like Sawako I think there just haven't been enough otaku types watching her show. Lisa has also been getting beat pretty bad. And this is another group which has a three way tie for first which isn't going to face off until Round 4.

Group 5: In the final set of Day 2 voting, Saber and Nagisa have been dominating this Group. Again, they'll be facing off in Round 4. It's going to be an interesting fight. Personally my vote will be going to Nagisa, but I think it can go either way.

In conclusion, Round 4 is going to be very interesting when the time comes.

I know 61% of the girls in the running. Yes, I was bored enough to count and do the math. XP
Yeah, poor Louise. :(

No, I actually have a bunch of anime loaded on my laptop to watch. I just figure since I'm at my parents' house to spend time with my family I should at least be in the same room with them from time to time. Doing that just isn't very exciting. =P

Day 3:

ARENA 01: Daidōji Tomoyo [Holo] Sōseiseki
ARENA 02: [Abstained] Konjiki no Yami Kushieda Minori Yoko Littner
ARENA 03: Kirishima Kotone [Tsuruya] Ikaros
ARENA 04: Miyamura Miyako [Sengoku Nadeko] Yagami Hayate
ARENA 05: [Hirasawa Ui] Suō Pavlichenko Mishima Akane
ARENA 06: [Abstained] Erurū Enma Ai Ibuki Fūko
ARENA 07: [Abstained] Chiba Kirino Kuronuma Sawako Amae Koromo
ARENA 08: [Abstained] Nymph Sunohara Mei Shirayuki Mizore
ARENA 09: [Isayama Yomi] Nishizawa Ayumu Beatrice
ARENA 10: [Abstained] Yūki Mikan Takamachi Nanoha Mizuno Kaede
ARENA 11: [C.C.] Ushiromiya Maria Sakurazaki Setsuna
ARENA 12: [Hachikuji Mayoi] Shihō Matsuri Izumi Konata
ARENA 13: [Abstained] Tsukamoto Yakumo Shiina Minatsu Saginomiya Isumi
ARENA 14: [Abstained] Haibara Ai Kinomoto Sakura Evangeline A.K. McDowell
ARENA 15: Ikeda Kana [Oshino Shinobu] Hanato Kobato
ARENA 16: Akashiya Moka [Suiseiseki] Index Librorum Prohibitorum
ARENA 17: Hoshina Utau Nogizaka Haruka [Hanekawa Tsubasa]
ARENA 18: [Abstained] Mizunashi Akari Aizawa Sakuya Furude Rika
ARENA 19: [Abstained] Sawatari Makoto Akaba Chizuru Kataoka Yūki
ARENA 20: [Abstained] Furude Hanyū Kawashima Ami Alice Carroll
ARENA 21: [Hinamori Amu] Segawa Izumi Shirai Kuroko
ARENA 22: Teletha Testarossa [Shinku] Amamiya Yūko
ARENA 23: [Abstained] Sonozaki Mion Miyanaga Saki Sheryl Nome
ARENA 24: Minami Kana [Minase Nayuki] Saten Ruiko
ARENA 25: [Abstained] Katagiri Yūhi Misaka Mikoto Minami Chiaki
ARENA 26: [Illyasviel von Einzbern] Tōyoko Momoko Misaka Shiori
ARENA 27: [Ayanami Rei] Isurugi Noe Ushiromiya Ange

Half the arenas are abstained :P I'm pretty picky about anime, so if none of the series managed to touch me, I abstain.

Day 3 results have been posted so it's commentary time!

Group 6: Ikaros is doing better than I expected, just barely beating out Tsuruya this round. Holo dominated in her Arena and shouldn't have any trouble taking the Group.

Group 7: We still have a three way tie between Nadeko, Ui, and Fuko, all girls I voted for. Yay! Those three will meet in Round 4, so again, it will be interesting.

Group 8: Sawako got second place this Round! Not much, but it's nice to see her get a few points.

Group 9: Another three way tie that won't be decided until Round 4. Poor Mayoi is getting crushed. :(

Group 10: Shiina is the only one who still has max points here. Interesting.

Group 11: Rika continues to win, and yet another three way tie for Round 4. Poor Tsubasa still has no points.

Group 12: Ami was able to take down Hanyuu. Now we just need to see if she can beat Kuroko next Round and she should be good to go.

Group 13: Mion gets another win and we have yet another three way tie to be decided in Round 4!

Group 14: Misaka wins again with one of the largest number of votes this Round. Only ones to get more were Konata and C.C. Rei also gets her first win of the competition.

Well, with Bakemonogatari the different characters are definitely not getting the same amount of love. Senjougahara and Nadeko are doing really well, but the rest aren’t doing so good. But then series like Clannad are very deeply character driven where "moe" is pretty much the driving plot device, and that's what this poll is all about. Also, Clannad fans seem to be very passionate. I'm assuming Hayate fans are also pretty passionate, but I can't really say from experience.

I missed the 4th day! Noooooo! :(

Day 4 results are out and Day 5 voting just opened. First the commentary:

Group 1: Mio and Kotomi still have full points. Who will come out on top in Round 4?

Group 2: Ryo put up a decent fight but wasn't enough to take down Senjougahara. Will Nagi put up more of a fight? Sadly Louise winning this Round only puts her up to 5th place in the Group. :(

Group 3: We still have a three way tie here. Don't really care that much about this Group. Shizuku is just barely my favorite girl, but we'll see.

Group 4: Be interesting to see who wins between the parody anime girls. Will it be the new Seitokai no Ichizon or the old favorite Lucky Star?

Group 5: Saber versus Nagisa? Who knows? I'm actually pretty surprised that Nagi has been getting totally shut out in this Group. I thought she had a lot more fans....

Group 6: Holo is the only one in this group with full points. Pretty much guaranteed win here.

Group 7: Three way tie between some very cute loveable girls. Who will win?

Group 8: My Sawako loses again. :( And I'm not really that big of a fan of Mei, the leader. I don't know. Maybe she's more fun in the second season? I really need to get around to watching that....

Group 9: And one more three way tie. I have no idea who might win. C.C. is the only one I voted for last time, but I don't know if she can stand up to uber otaku bate Konata and Nanoha. Maybe those two can cancel each other out??

Anyway, here is my voting for Day 5:

ARENA 01: Evangeline A.K. McDowell Ikeda Kana [Shiina Minatsu]
ARENA 02: Hanato Kobato Tsukamoto Yakumo [Kinomoto Sakura]
ARENA 03: Saginomiya Isumi Haibara Ai [Oshino Shinobu]
ARENA 04: [Hanekawa Tsubasa] Mizunashi Akari Suiseiseki
ARENA 05: [Furude Rika] Akashiya Moka Nogizaka Haruka
ARENA 06: [Index Librorum Prohibitorum] Hoshina Utau Aizawa Sakuya
ARENA 07: Alice Carroll Hinamori Amu [Akaba Chizuru]
ARENA 08: Shirai Kuroko Sawatari Makoto [Kawashima Ami]
ARENA 09: Kataoka Yūki [Furude Hanyū] Segawa Izumi
ARENA 10: Sheryl Nome [Minami Kana] Shinku
ARENA 11: [Saten Ruiko] Teletha Testarossa Miyanaga Saki
ARENA 12: Amamiya Yūko [Sonozaki Mion] Minase Nayuki
ARENA 13: Misaka Shiori Ayanami Rei [Misaka Mikoto]
ARENA 14: [Ushiromiya Ange] Katagiri Yūhi Tōyoko Momoko
ARENA 15: [Minami Chiaki] Illyasviel von Einzbern Isurugi Noe
ARENA 16: Akiyama Mio [Ichinose Kotomi] Uiharu Kazari
ARENA 17: [Abstained] Ryōgi Shiki Kawasumi Mai Felli Loss
ARENA 18: [Abstained] Senō Natsuru Yuno Kotegawa Yui
ARENA 19: [Senjōgahara Hitagi] Kotobuki Tsumugi Sanzen'in Nagi
ARENA 20: [Louise Vallière] Kamio Misuzu Winry Rockbell
ARENA 21: [Sōryū Asuka Langley] Fujibayashi Ryō Sawachika Eri
ARENA 22: Shiina Mafuyu Maria [Sangō Shizuku]
ARENA 23: [Abstained] Takei Hisa Kurata Sayuri Kusakabe Misuzu
ARENA 24: [Sonozaki Shion] Lambdadelta Hinaichigo
ARENA 25: Sakurano Kurimu [Alice] Hiiragi Tsukasa
ARENA 26: Ryūgū Rena [Bernkastel] Kirishima Akari
ARENA 27: Shindō Chihiro Lisa [Niche]
ARENA 28: Suigintou [Furukawa Nagisa] Saber
ARENA 29: [Tainaka Ritsu] Yin Tsukimiya Ayu
ARENA 30: Ranka Lee [Nagi] Chii

Wow, 8 votes alike! Interesting. ^_^

Yap, I also got confused when I saw the post disappeared from the main page. I was thinking about sticking it to the top but it's not that easy. If you want you can be our "special correspondent" and create as many posts as you like :) Though not many people are interested in gossiping about every days results, so it's up to you.

I am happy for Mio and Saber. Mio is just cute and Saber is one of my favorite characters ever, although I watched only Fate/Stay Night and never played any games. Yaa.. Senjougahara, Louise and other girls from my list above make me worry... :(

Aha! And here is mine:

ARENA 01: [Holo] Ikaros Konjiki no Yami
ARENA 02: [Kushieda Minori] Sōseiseki Kirishima Kotone
ARENA 03: [Tsuruya] Yoko Littner Daidōji Tomoyo
ARENA 04: Sengoku Nadeko Ibuki Fūko [Hirasawa Ui]
ARENA 05: [Abstained] Suō Pavlichenko Yagami Hayate Erurū
ARENA 06: [Abstained] Enma Ai Mishima Akane Miyamura Miyako
ARENA 07: Kuronuma Sawako Beatrice [Nymph]
ARENA 08: Sunohara Mei Amae Koromo [Isayama Yomi]
ARENA 09: Nishizawa Ayumu [Shirayuki Mizore] Chiba Kirino
ARENA 10: Takamachi Nanoha Izumi Konata [C.C.]
ARENA 11: Ushiromiya Maria Mizuno Kaede [Hachikuji Mayoi]
ARENA 12: [Abstained] Shihō Matsuri Sakurazaki Setsuna Yūki Mikan
ARENA 13: [Abstained] Shiina Minatsu Hanato Kobato Haibara Ai
ARENA 14: [Abstained] Kinomoto Sakura Saginomiya Isumi Ikeda Kana
ARENA 15: [Oshino Shinobu] Evangeline A.K. McDowell Tsukamoto Yakumo
ARENA 16: [Suiseiseki] Furude Rika Hoshina Utau
ARENA 17: Nogizaka Haruka [Index Librorum Prohibitorum] Mizunashi Akari
ARENA 18: Aizawa Sakuya [Hanekawa Tsubasa] Akashiya Moka
ARENA 19: [Abstained] Akaba Chizuru Shirai Kuroko Furude Hanyū
ARENA 20: Kawashima Ami Kataoka Yūki [Hinamori Amu]
ARENA 21: Segawa Izumi Alice Carroll [Sawatari Makoto]
ARENA 22: [Shinku] Saten Ruiko Sonozaki Mion
ARENA 23: Miyanaga Saki [Amamiya Yūko] Minami Kana
ARENA 24: [Minase Nayuki] Sheryl Nome Teletha Testarossa
ARENA 25: Misaka Mikoto Ushiromiya Ange [Illyasviel von Einzbern]
ARENA 26: Tōyoko Momoko Minami Chiaki [Ayanami Rei]
ARENA 27: [Abstained] Isurugi Noe Misaka Shiori Katagiri Yūhi

同じ：７　＾＿＾

...
*turns up her nose* You've checked my result? Why?! You don't believe me???
:))))))

Phase I is over! Here are the rest of the winners who are moving on to be Contestants:

Group 6 Winner: Holo! No surprise here. Second place went to Toradora's Minori who Holo defeated in the first Round of voting.

Group 7 Winner: Sengoku Nadeko! Congratulations Glory, your shy girl made it! Sorry she beat your main choice of Ui, though. =P So far she's the only Bakemonogatari representative in the Contestant line-up. Again, hopefully Senjougahara can change that in Phase II or III.

Group 8 Winner: Sunohara Mei! Meh, wasn't too interested in this fight. My Sawako ended with 4 total points. :(

Group 9 Winner: Izumi Konata! I guess C.C. wasn't strong enough to defeat the ultimate otaku bate. She did beat Nanoha, though. I guess that counts for something. And damn! I just realized that she only lost to Konata by 6 points! Very close fight. She should be a strong contender in the next two Preliminary Phases. Hopefully they don't put her up against Senjougahara. =P

Group 10 Winner: Shiina Minatsu! No surprise here, either. Another win for Seitokai no Ichizon. If Chizuru manages to come out of one of the next two Phases alive, all four of the student council girls will get Contestant spots.

Group 11 Winner: Furude Rika! Our only Higurashi representative in the Contestant line-up so far, taking down internet idol Suiseiseki. Index also had a pretty strong showing at third place so she may still have a chance.

Group 12 Winner: Kawashima Ami! Yay! One of my girls made it!

Group 13 Winner: Saten Ruiko! Ahhh, my Mion lost it in the final Round.... Oh well, another reason to care about Phases II & III. ^_^"

Group 14 Winner: Misaka Mikoto! Yay! Another one of my girls! She just dominated her Group. Mio from K-ON was the only girl to have a stronger showing in Phase I. But how will she do against the full Contestant Line-up? Who knows....

And that's all for Phase I. Again, congratulations to the girls who won and good luck to the ones who continue to figure in the Preliminaries. The first Round of Regular Season Seeding starts Sunday. Happy voting!