Despite being outclassed by a handful of the competitors in Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power, Android 17 somehow held on to become the last fighter standing - here's how. The Dragon Ball Z villain was one of nine characters to accept an invitation to join Goku’s Universe 7 team for the Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super. His impressive performance in the event made him the saga’s breakout star. Android 17, who hadn’t been in action since the Cell Saga, was elevated to a new role by Dragon Ball Super, which put him on the side of the Z-Warriors for the first time.
It was revealed early on that Android 17 has made some significant gains offscreen. Thanks to the strength he’s acquired over the years, 17 proved to be a valuable asset in the fight against the warriors of the seven opposing teams in the Tournament of Power. In the beginning, 80 fighters were competing, many of whom were forces to be reckoned with. As the tournament raged on, each team was whittled down, with Universe 7 losing Krillin, Tien, and Master Roshi within the first half.
In the final seconds, all that was left of the competitors were Goku, Frieza, Android 17, and Universe 11’s Jiren. Goku and Frieza sacrificing themselves at the very end to take out Jiren allowed 17 to be crowned the winner. 17 didn’t beat Jiren by his own devices, but he did manage to hang on for more than 30 episodes of non-stop fighting. The character being one of Universe 7’s best and most reliable weapons was actually foreshadowed by his sparring match with Goku before the tournament. Android 17’s ability to fight him to a tie made it abundantly clear he’s Super Saiyan Blue-tier now and much stronger than his sister was. From the looks of things, 17 is likely about as strong as Goku during the Universe 6 Saga, which puts him above the majority of the Tournament of Power’s fighters.
That explains how he outlasted most of the competition, but not how he managed to survive longer than the best the tournament had to offer, such as Vegeta, Ultimate Gohan, Anilaza, Hit, and Dypso. These characters are equal or stronger to 17, yet didn’t do as well. This can be attributed to a couple of factors, one being the fights 17 had to endure in comparison to the others. Admittedly, he did go toe-to-toe with some of the top fighters at certain points but didn’t have to fight with them for as long as Goku, Vegeta, and some of the others in the Tournament of Power.
Most importantly, there’s the nature of the androids themselves and how Doctor Gero designed them. Both 17 and 18 possess unlimited energy, which means they don’t get tired. Never running out of stamina is huge, because it’s an advantage most Dragon Ball Super characters don’t have. Naturally, fatigue and low energy can fell the strongest warriors. After all, this is what wore down Goku, Vegeta, and Jiren. That’s what made the format of the Tournament of Power so perfect for 17. One long match without breaks may be bad for everyone else, but it ended up working out in Android 17’s favor.