Cinderella run
Unlikely championship bid
A Cinderella run is an unexpected deep advance by an underdog in a tournament or competition, evoking the fairy tale's rags-to-riches arc.
The term appears most often in sports, especially during March Madness when a low-seeded team defeats favored opponents: Their Cinderella run ended in the Elite Eight.
The magic eventually runs out—Cinderella runs are defined partly by their eventual conclusion.
- underdogPresumed loser beforehand
- Cinderella teamUnexpected tournament success story
- miracleSupernatural occurrence beyond explanation
- upsetDisturb, topple, or shock
- bracket busterUnderdog victory spoiling predictions
longshot · against all odds · fairytale · glass slipper · midnight · tournament · bracket · March Madness · Sweet Sixteen · Final Four · dark horse · David vs Goliath · unexpected · stunning · championship · Cinderella story · pumpkin · magic
- Upsetsupset, upset victory, upset win, underdog victory, underdog win
Cinderella rundynasty
Successive family rulers
chalk · juggernaut · coronation · foregone conclusion · business as usual