Bannex won the battle, plain and simple. His new unlocked demon form was unmatched by his enemy. His illusory attack speed made it hard to deflect his strikes, whittling away at Barbruh's hit points.
Apart from that, he didn't make the same mistake as he did with Bob. He didn't dig too deep at his enemy could eliminate him in a few swings if he was careless. That's right. When he couldn't move away from Bob's vice-like grip, he became more cautious when dealing with people who had the strength to keep him confined.
"Congrats. You're qualified for the semi-finals already," Balding-Man said to Bannex as soon as he teleported back to the waiting room.
"Hmm? Oh, yea… Wait, what? I'm already in the semis?"
The tournament was structured as so. That contenders of the first and last match of the first round were to compete for a spot within the semi-finals. That means Balding-Man had to fight an extra battle with the winner of the first match of the round.