The RRFF voting has entered round two and this year that means that we are nearly half way done. (Score one point for the changes this year.) There weren’t a lot of surprises in round one, and quite a few brackets were quite lop-sided. Round two has some very close brackets at this point and is shaping up to be very interesting. In each bracket during round two, the top two voter getters will advance. That will give us a solid Top 10 fan favorite list and set up the fun for the final four during the last week of voting.
Let’s take a look at what we’ve got so far.
Best Company:
Round one offered us no shocks here. The top ten companies have dominated this poll for years and it usually boils down to Evil Angel, Red Light and Anabolic. Platinum X and 3rd Degree are doing well, as is Zero Tolerance. Wicked is usually the last “feature” company standing and they appear to be headed to the top 10 as well. The really interesting bracket here is #5. Currently five of the six companies are polling at over 10%. Digital Sin is in the lead, but three other companies are within 5% of each other for second place. Digital Playground, DVDX and Hustler are going to battle it out for the final spot from bracket 5.
Best Newbie:
This race looks to be coming down to a few names this year. Sunny Lane and Taryn Thomas are currently among the hottest girls in porn and are looking to make it easily into the next round. Jasmine Byrne is also doing well and may be the best performer overall, newbie or otherwise. Nadia Styles is polling really well and currently would knock Marie Luv out of the top ten. (How on earth is that happening?) Tiana Lynn and Kelly Wells are in a close race for the final slot in their bracket. This battle should be very close when we get it down to the final four. (Taryn, Jasmine, Nadia and Penny Flame I predict.)
Best Male Performer:
This one usually boils down to Erik Everhard and Lexington Steele. Both of them are in the round of 30 and look to advance. Everhard’s bracket 1 also has Justin Slayer who seems destined to miraculously end up in the top 10 as both performer and director. (How?) Rocco and Manuel Ferrera are dominating their bracket. Lex is leading a really strong bracket that has Peter North and Steve Holmes fighting hard for second place. That leaves other strong performers like Mandingo, Mark Davis and Tommy Gunn on the outside looking in. Brandon Iron and Michael Stefano also look to be strong contenders for the title this year.
Best Female Performer:
This is always an interesting category and has been won in the past by Linda Thoren, Serenity (twice), Monica Sweetheart, Jenna Jameson and Bisexual Britni. Monica is the defending champ and she looks like a good bet to make the top ten next week. Hillary Scott is running second to her in bracket one and looks like she will hold off the rest of the pack. Bracket 2 has 5 women polling at over 12% which is pretty impressive. Katja Kassin looks to be the early favorite to win, but second place could go to Tiana Lynn, Eva Angelina, Ariana Jollee or even Jesse Jane. (Lanny Barbie is last in the bracket at just under 10% so this one is really good.) Lauren Phoenix and Taryn Thomas look to be very tough to beat though I will always wonder why Aurora Snow doesn’t poll better on the site. Perhaps she can come on strong late. Teagan, Flower, Tiffany Mynx and Keri Sable are in the lead for the other four slots. At the very least, the top ten should be very hot.
Best Director:
Jules Jordan is running away with his bracket again, but that should be expected. He is one of only two winners of this award. (Tom Byron won the first two.) Riding a four year winning streak, Jordan is a lock for the next round. Mike John is running second in the same bracket and should take a well-deserved spot in the top 10. Joey Silvera and Belladonna are outlasting John Stagliano and Chico Wang in bracket two. Interesting choice, but the female directors all seem to be getting quite a push from an apparently horny voting base. Seymore Butts and Vince Vouyer are taking care of a challenge from Van Styles, Kylie Ireland and Aurora Snow in bracket number three. Michael Ninn’s big year is paying off and looks to be pushing him into the third round along with Jonni Darkko. Bracket five has two guys, Brandon Iron and Rocco, who will end up in the top ten in two categories.
Best Celebrity:
Only two women have won this one. Britney and Lindsay Lohan. Both of them look like pretty good bets for top 10 finishes. Let’s see how this goes and talk more about it next week. After all, the next time one of the these women responds to her finish in the poll will be the first time.