Who's in the Character Cup?

Since there have been several requests by readers to know who all is going to be in this Character Cup tournament, I've decided to list them for you. As of this posting, there's less than 10 hours to go before the first matchups go active, so feel free to use this time to speculate, argue and complain over who's in and who's out.

AUTOMATIC BIDS: These characters were deemed worthy of being guaranteed a spot in the main tournament:
Alexandra “Alex” Rousseau/Linus, Ana-Lucia Cortez, Anthony Cooper, Bea Klugh,
Benjamin Linus, Bernard Nadler, Boone Carlyle, Carmen Reyes,
Cassidy Phillips, Charles Widmore, Charlie Pace, Christian Shephard,
Cindy Chandler, Claire Littleton, Danielle Rousseau, Danny Pickett,
Desmond Hume, Dr. Leslie Arzt, Eko “Mr. Eko” Tunde, Ethan Rom,
Goodwin, Helen, Hugo “Hurley” Reyes, Jack Shephard,
Jacob, Jae Lee, James “Sawyer” Ford, Jin-Soo Kwon,
John Locke, Juliet Burke, Karl, Kate Austen
Kelvin Joe Inman, Liam Pace, Libby, Marvin Candle/Mark Wickmund,
Michael Dawson, Mikhail Bakunin, Mr. Paik, Naomi Dorrit,
Nikki Fernandez, Noor “Nadia” Abed Jazeem, Paulo, Penelope “Penny” Widmore,
Randy Nations, Richard Alpert, Richard Malkin, Rose Nadler,
Roger “Work Man” Linus, Sarah Shephard, Sayid Jarrah, Shannon Rutherford,
Smoke Monster, Sun-Hwa Kwon, Susan Lloyd, Tom/ “Mr. Friendly”,
US Marshal Edward Mars, Vincent, Walter “Walt” Lloyd, Yemi Tunde


PRELIMANRY TOURNEY CONTESTANTS: These folk just didn't quite cut it and have to fight their way for a chance to the main tourney (remember, your votes determine who fills those 4 empty slots):
Aaron Littleton, Achara, Bonnie, Brother Campbell,
Colleen Pickett, Dave, David Reyes, Diane Janssen,
Dr. Brooks, Eddie, Edmund Burke, Emeka,
Emily Annabeth Locke, Essam Tasir, Isaac of Uluru, Isabel,
Jin’s Mother, Johnny, Kevin Callis, Leonard Simms,
Lucy Heatherton, Mr. Kwon, Ms. Hawking, Rachel Carlson,
Ryan Pryce, Sabrina Carlyle, Sam Austen, Steve Jenkins,
Teresa Cortez, The Pilot, Thomas, Tom Brennan


CUT FROM THE LIST: In order to make everything work just right, a few characters that had been on my list had to go. Say goodbye to:
Brian Porter (Walt’s step-father), Greta, Hibbs, Lindsey (Claire’s Aunt), Margo Shephard (Jack’s mom), Mr. LaShade/Billy Dee Williams


And since some of you asked for a little background info on me:
I'm 23 and work in the corporate offices for a holding company that owns a regional reprographics company and an international architectural/engineering firm. My title is Corporate Communications Coordinator- I work on company publications and get to take pictures of different projects our a/e firm designs. In college I studied E-Commerce, English Communications and Religion & Philosophy. I have experience in theatre (mostly Shakespearean), and I enjoy playing soccer and volleyball. I'm engaged to a terrific girl and we're getting married next summer. I run a crappy little Blogger site where I post movie reviews (accessible through my profile- *shameless plug*). When I was a kid I wanted to be either an astronaut or a paleontologist. Oh, and I can fit through a wire hanger. Satisfied? :-P


I hope you enjoy the Character Cup and you may begin debating my Character Cup choices......NOW!