Zesto Defeats Seacoast Soaps to Advance to Finals

UPDATE (4:30 p.m.): has earned the first berth in the Finals after receiving 57 comment votes compared to the 's 27 total votes.

Each business had a strong wave of poll votes early in the , although the voting was changed to a comment-based system after someone violated the contest rules and "gamed" the poll.

We knew the total number of votes would drop off due to the change, although there were still many passionate fans that took the time to laud great praise on both businesses while voting in the new system.

Congratulations to both businesses, and best of luck to Zesto Pizza, which will face either KB's Bagels or Marelli's Market in the Finals. The , so be sure to cast your vote before 8:30 p.m. Thursday in order to set matchup for the Finals, which begin at 8 a.m. Friday.

The Finals voting will be conducted by posting a review of your favorite businesses on its respective Patch Places directory listing, so get those positive vibes ready. Each resident will get the chance to vote once before the Finals voting period closes at 5 p.m. Saturday.

ORIGINAL STORY (TUESDAY, 10 a.m.): Due to some confirmed instances of poll "gaming," the voting rules for the rest of the have been changed mid-bracket.

While investigating some sizable jumps in the , strong evidence was found to indicate an individual or group of individuals has bypassed the IP address restrictions built into our polling system in order to cast multiple votes for one of the businesses.

Due to this, readers must now vote for either or the by posting the name of the business in the comments of this article (a quick review of the business or a reason behind your vote is encouraged, but completely voluntary).

Each reader may vote once per day, and this bracket will close at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Only votes cast in this article will count toward the first Patch-tastic 4 bracket.

The second and final Patch-tastic 4 bracket will be open an identical period of time — 30 hours — starting at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

I apologize for the abrupt change, which more than likely will cause inconveniences for those of you voting honestly, although I cannot in good conscience let cheating slide.

These changes, and this article in general, is not meant to single out any particular business or individual, and you as a reader shouldn't consider anyone "guilty" of gaming the first poll.

With that said, let's have a honest end to what's been a really enjoyable contest. Who do you think should move on to the Finals: Zesto Pizza or the Seacoast Soap Company?

Cast your vote in the comments!