The initial matches were spectacular, full of great battles. The later matches proceeded without a hitch. These matches were much closer, and many contestants couldn't have reached the end had they not gotten lucky. The ranking list was based on their overall performance during their matches. Many on the list were predicted, like first place going to Eugene and Michael, while other ranks were a shock to all, The Dwarf, for example.
The top guilds were all drooling at the thought of recruiting even one of them into their guilds/organizations. It can be said that if nothing extraordinary happens, then these 16 were basically guaranteed to become at least rankers. That was how much potential was within the top 16 of the Colosseum contestants.