Voting Begins For T. GIF, The Official March Madness-Style Tournament Of Animated GIFs

Be it Kittenwar or the lineup on your Youtube playlist, it's no small secret that the Internet thrives on A-vs-B-styled competition. Whether it's due to the finitude of attention spans, or the performative autonomy demanded by decision (sup, Politics?), it's always a constant contest over users' eyes and imaginations, pitting pros and prosumers alike on an even pixel proving ground. Ever glazed over your Dashboard and wondered which GIF would win in a fight? Of course you have; it's human nature. T.GIF, the new e-competition from VIA and gifpop, takes this idea to the next level, pitting sixty-four artist-made GIFs against each other in all out single-elimination madness.

There will be blood: from LaTurbo Avedon to Kim Asendorf to Sara Ludy, participants make up a veritable smorgasbord of reblog royalty. Between March 12-14, over 80 artists were invited to submit GIFs "made during the March 2013-March 2014 gifcal year", alongside submissions sent it by the general public, and the best of the best have come out swinging. While the selected GIFs themselves have yet to be released, enjoy a few below, from competitors, followed by the the official tournament bracket:

Ole Fach's Louis Vuitton Frog

Rick Silva's Antlers Wifi

Kim Laughton's Don’t share your password. We will never send you an email asking for your password. If you get an email like this, please let us know right away. 

Looking at these contestants, we have no idea where this could go. Thankfully, we've got until March 20 to start our Fantasy GIF league before voting begins on March 20. Hold onto your hats, March just got a lot madder.

GIFs will be voted upon between March 20 and April 7, for the winning prize purse of a $100 GIF certificate to Gifpop. While we'll keep you updated on the competition's progress, stay tuned to the official T.GIF page for updates!