As the Ground Zero Grand Prix heads into the quarter finals, the remaining MCs are a mix of seasoned veterans and impressive new arrivals. With only one or two GZGP battles going on in each city, the cards have opened up for some KOTD main event battles too. Here’s what you need to know for Round 3:

TORONTO

Luciano Crakk vs Step Easy

This is a championship-level match. Step Easy and Luciano Crakk competed in last year’s main channel Grand Prix, where both lost to Arcane, the eventual champion. Thus far, both battlers have brought their A-games to the Ground Zero tourney. Step made easy work of eMCeeBill in Round 2, as expected. The path to Round 3 has been a little tougher for Crakk. First he scored a debatable victory over Kinaze, and last round, he edged Made Wade on a three-two decision. Regardless, his writing has been top-notch and his performances well-executed. The winner of this match will be the odds-on favourite to win the $1,500 grand prize.

Notez vs Wize Guy

Notez is arguably the breakout star of the Ground Zero tournament. As we’ve mentioned before, Notez must be seen live to fully appreciate what he’s doing. His combination of high-energy performance and street-savvy lyricism has made him a crowd favourite in victories over Yung Casper and Postal. One advantage for Notez is that his Round 3 battle versus Wize Guy will go down in Toronto, his home turf. That being said, Wize Guy is popular in his own right. So far, he’s beaten Adamantium and edWORDS in the Calgary bracket, and he’s clearly one of the best newcomers to emerge from the city. He typically swings the crowd in his favour by clowning on his opponents and generally relying on his likeability. Wize Guy will likely need the performance of his career to beat Notez.

Headlining the card are two main channel battles:

Tycoon Tax vs Scandalis

Tycoon Tax didn’t disappoint in front of his first big crowd at Blackout 3 and now it looks like he’s the latest Toronto MC being groomed for bigger opponents. Here he takes on Toronto freestyle legend Scandalis. He was one of the city’s best back in the day and now fans are watching to see whether he can adapt to the written format.

HFK vs Kaliente

We’re surprised this battle, between two guys from the earliest days of KOTD, didn’t go down four years ago. Coming off loses in their last battles (HFK to Charron and Kaliente to Tycoon Tax), both MCs have something to prove to fans. With HFK’s comedic style, we wouldn’t be surprised if he asks for a promo OT round because he has so much material on Kaliente living in a homeless shelter.

The event goes down Saturday, July 6 at the Annex Wreckroom in Toronto. Check the Facebook event for more details.

VANCOUVER

Manik vs DDSS

This match will determine the winner of the Vancouver bracket. Thus far, Manik has brought quick-fire aggression to his victories over Kryple and Spyte. DDSS had a tougher go of reaching Round 3. In his last battle, he escaped with a three-two decision over Cody The Catch, largely because his final round was cut short with a bad choke. Still, his first two rounds were filled with enough biting content and haymaker jokes to secure victory. If he can execute in Round 3, DDSS should coast into the final four.

Headlining the card is another main channel battle:

Sun Tzu vs Nov

Sun Tzu is one unlucky rapper. To date, the Seattle native has battled in five KOTD matches, and four of them were debatable losses. (We’d even go so far as saying his loss to Big Mac was a flat-out robbery.) Getting another win won’t be any easier for Sun Tzu when he faces Nov, a KOTD newcomer from Las Vegas. Nov made his league debut against Skelly in March, and his claim to fame is an AHAT battle with nearly 2.5 million views. Chances are this battle will be the best to go down in Vancouver this weekend.

This event is happening Saturday, July 6 in Vancouver at the Red Room. Click here for more details.

LOS ANGELES

Megadef vs Cobalt 45

Both Cobalt 45 and Megadef are coming into their own. Cobalt’s Round 2 victory over Lex D was one of the most entertaining battles of the GZ tourney. Ultimately, his variety of jokes and hard punches – as opposed to solely humour from Lex D – was the deciding factor. Megadef barely escaped Round 2 when he faced Ayem. It was a three-two decision – including votes against him from Avocado and Cadalack Ron – but Megadef was a deserving victor. He’s likely the favourite to win the California bracket.

This quarter-final is going down with a bunch of undercard battles on July 13 at Basement 818 in Los Angeles. More details here.

Catch up with our our full recap of Round 2 of the GZGP.

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