The first leg of BlackBerry's it "Could Get Better, Before Getting Worse" scenario has been playing as its new BlackBerry 10 device hit the market, Daniel Ernst, principal at Hudson Square Research, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. But he added that a material drop in subscribers revealed in the struggling company's latest earning release highlights a major challenge.
(Read More: Thursday's Facebook Phone Announcement: What to Expect)
BlackBerry's year-to-date gains of 26 percent put the stock in the top seed on its side of our "Squawk Box Money Madness" bracket. It goes against four seed, flat-on-the-year, Facebook in our second Favored Four contest. Vote to send either BlackBerry or Facebook through to play Apple for it all.
(Vote Now! — Facebook vs. BlackBerry)
The iPhone and iPad maker just barely beat out Bank of America in our other Favored Four matchup on Wednesday (recap).
Our "Squawk Stock Championship" will be on Friday with the winner of it all revealed on Monday morning ahead of the real championship game in "March Madness" basketball that evening.
—By CNBC's Matthew J. Belvedere; Follow him on Twitter @Matt_SquawkCNBC
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