Smogon Snake Draft IV Power Rankings

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Welcome to the Power Rankings for the fourth edition of the Smogon Snake Draft. The goal of this article is to hype the tournament. As a community, it is rare that we can bring together some of the strongest and most passionate players from all of our most active communities together. Smogon Snake Draft grants an opportunity to some of our most experienced players to prolong their spans of greatness while it also opens the door for new talent to begin their journey in to the Smogon tournament community. Smogon Snake Draft should be an exciting experience to everyone with a long-term stake in the tournament community and to all competitive Pokemon enthusiasts.

This article itself provides a solid foundation about each and every team in the tournament, as well as helping you, the reader, decide how each team stacks up against one another. To gather the rankings, we asked ten—twenty for OU—knowledgeable users per tier to rank that tier's expected players. If the user in question is a teammate of an individual who is being ranked, that user would refrain from ranking them. In addition, we applied an outlier system to the OU rankings due to having double the sample size of rankers. The scores were then aggregated, creating what, in theory, should be an unbiased Power Ranking. The number one—or top four for OU—ranked player in each tier earns 10 points for their team, and the number two—or next four for OU—ranked player earns 9 points, etc. The final points were then tallied by everyone's favorite Smogon YouTuber; they are displayed at the bottom of the article!

The Power Rankings will obviously not end up being entirely accurate. In fact, it will be a surprise if they even defeat undisputed's famous prediction-making ape! If everything went according to plan, there would be no reason to play the tournament in the first place. If you're ranked too low, use it for motivation and smash the competition. If you're ranked too high, brag about it to all of your friends like I will until I inevitably go even for the millionth time! Make sure to not take your standing for granted, however, as it only takes one bad showing for either "the Jerk", "the Gerk", or whatever other "erk" people are frequenting nowadays to promptly decide you are "unviable". And this viability is not as easy to regain as CharizardMaster123 posting for you to be ranked again in the PU Viability Rankings V2 thread.

I hope you all enjoy reading the Power Rankings and I wish all participants good luck in the tournament, besides when they face the soon-to-be champion Astrotias! Thanks to the following people for contributing in the creation of this article: ABR, Accelgor, Ajna, atomicllamas, Christo, col49, dcae, Eo Ut Mortus, Eternal Spirit, EviGaro, Expulso, Ezrael, false, FMG, Frania, Garay oak, Gondra, HJAD, Ho3nConfirm3d, hs, ima, Indigo Plateau, jacob, John W, Jordy, Kiichikos, KingKdot, Kingler, kjdaas, Ktütverde, lax, Lilburr, LilyAC, Lopunny Kicks, Memoric, Mishimono, Moutemoute, Nails, Nat, Ninjadog, odr, Osh, Paraplegic, Pepeduce, Pohjis, qsns, Ren-chon, robjr, roman, Sabella, Sensei Axew, Serene Grace, Shrug, Sjneider, Skipkan, soulgazer, Specs, Star, starry blanket, suapah, Tace, talah, talkingtree, TDK, TJ, tlenit1, TonyFlygon, TPP, Tricking, Vaboh, vivalospride, Xizaaa, xray, z0mOG, and Z Strats. A special thanks to the following people who contributed significantly to the creation of this article through writing, quality and grammar checking, HTML, graphic making, and so many more things that make this possible: Accelgor, Bouff, col49, deetah, Estronic, EviGaro, Feliburn, Kalalokki, Kingler, Kris, Lumari, MajorBowman, Quite Quiet, Rabia, rozes, talkingtree, and TonyFlygon.

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1. lax
2. watashi
3. mncmt
4. Lopunny Kicks
5. Finchinator
6. Star
7. xray
8. Eo Ut Mortus
9. John w
10. Santu
11. Sacri'
12. Tace
13. robjr
14. Tamahome
15. ima
16. Bloody alfa
17. FMG
18. Raiza
19. dice
20. 1 True Lycan
21. Kebab mlml
22. BK
23. Relous
24. Eeveeto
25. Rexus
26. Garay oak
27. frisoeva
28. random
29. Malekith
30. BIHI
31. Ewin
32. Samqian
33. Fear
34. Storm Zone
35. beatiful
36. Steve Angello
37. le LLiolae
38. ramboss
39. ZDen
40. High Impulse

Serpents stealthily slithered so somehow standout SS superstar strategically sunk seventeen selections. Perhaps the story of the draft, a number of great players fell through the majority of the second round to teams like the Serpents and Rattlers. One of these players is second-ranked SS OU player watashi, formerly known as FLCL, who went eighteenth overall. The Serepents have what might be the most experienced OU core in Snake history, and it is led by a player who nobody in their right mind could label as "crust" or past their prime. watashi was able to dominate SPL in SS OU and followed this up with a positive WCoP showing, which added up to an impressive 10-4 start to the generation. While the pride of Canada may not be a metagame innovator or an outspoken team chat presence, watashi is able to win consistently. Joining him will be other SPL standout and third overall pick, Star. Unfortunately, the one-time Little Cup mainstay ran into some big stage issues in WCoP, where he finished 0-3, but many believe this record does not reflect his play as much as his team choices. If he is capable of replicating his process from his 7-2 run in a strong SPL field, then the Serpents will be pleased with their first-round pick. Accompanying what might be the strongest one-two punch this Snake will be a pair of veterans, both of whom have 100 or more official team tournament games played. The all-time leader in games won, Tamahome, finds himself in unfamiliar territory as the third highest-ranked player in this OU core, barely making the top 15. Many believe he is not fond of this generation and is yet to perform up to his normal level, but if Tamahome can figure it out, then his ceiling is as high as anyone in the field. Malekith also does not have much to show this generation or in Snake historically, but he is one of the most crafty and versatile players of all time. With the support of promising prospect Vaboh and Star, the Serpents hope that these two veterans can return to peak form for this Snake. If they are able to, then this may be one of the best OU cores ever. If not, they should still be alright, but they may not live up to their top ranking.

When Team Italy won WCoP this year, managers Christo and FlamingVictini must have been impressed, as they spent both of their first two picks on Italian players. Lopunny Kicks and Santu are not ones to disappoint either, as they both put up positive records in this masterful run. Now as Bushmasters, this duo looks to continue the positive momentum and win another trophy together. Many WCoP followers believed that Team Italy was a step ahead of the metagame, capitalizing on trends with creative team structures and impressive execution. If that is indeed the case, then the matches this OU core has may be some of the most important to spectate this Snake. The aforementioned Lopunny Kicks leads the way as their first round pick. In all honesty, his 2020 has not been amazing, as he had a mediocre SPL and just scraped out a positive record in WCoP; however, many anticipate a breakout Snake, as he understands the current metagame well and recently qualified for OLT. Santu, on the other hand, has had a superb 2020 thus far, posting an 11-3 record in team tournaments up to this point. While Santu may be more quiet than a lot of other big names, he is making all of the noise with his play, as he solidifies himself as a top 10 player in this field. Had you asked many people if he would be ranked in the top 10 last year, the consensus answer surely would have been no. Santu is not the only surprising up-and-comer for the Bushmasters either, as Bloody alfa is having a breakout 2020 as well. He had a bloody brilliant WCoP, finishing 4-0 in his first team tournament, and he also made it to the semifinals of Smogon Tour earlier this year. And if this is not enough reason to be excited for this Bushmaster's bunch of OU players, then rounding out the lineup is frisoeva, who is also off to a strong start as a newer tournament player, even if he is coming off of a mediocre WCoP showing. Another Team Europe player, MetalGro$$, finds his way on to the roster as a substitute, too. However, long-time substitute and Team Latin America leader Leo may be the predominant source of support on this roster, as he has more experience in the metagame. If the Italian duo can keep it up and the Team Europe players manage to hold their own, the Bushmasters should be able to live up to their strong ranking. However, this will take lots of strong execution and no mid-season hiccups to achieve.

Top BW OU player Finchinator and DPP OU standout BIHI look to continue their recent success this Smogon Premier—wait... it's Snake!? How is an OU core with two BW mains and a DPP main ranked in the top 3 of SSD? I guess Finch really does rig the Power Rankings after all

Over the last five years or so, perhaps nobody has experienced more losing in team and individual tours than Finchinator. Hell, as he writes this in third person, his computer just imploded—it's never going to be pretty when it comes to Finch's showings is the point. Be it his eager pursuit of Smogon Tour pink or leading any team to glory, he has come up short on dozens of occasions and incurred plenty of embarassment along the way. This time around, he was picked higher than ever before and ranked within the top 5 of a 40-player field. While it may be true that Finch knows the metagame better than just about anybody and will put in ridiculous amounts of effort, will this be worthwhile at all if he cannot shake his historic shortcomings? Only time will tell on this front, but at the very least, the second overall pick will be a great supporter to the remaining three OU slots. One of these slots is Tace, who is off to quite the impressive start to his time in tournaments. He went positive in a winning campaign last Snake and has two dominant WCoPs under his belt, too. Raiza is seen as more of a BW player, but with a 5-1 WCoP recently, many are impressed with his SS capabilities. Finally, BIHI, who is known for DPP, had a 2-3 WCoP, but the Astrotias are hopeful he will see more success. If BIHI and Raiza can prove their multi-generation competency, then this core will do very well. If not, then look for reliable supporter devin, who went 2-0 in WCoP, or veteran z0m "sludge" OG to fill in at a respectable level.

Nine years ago, a YouTuber who had the Smogon name mencemeat joined the competitive Pokemon universe. Seven years later, a new Brazilian player misspelled his name and the rest is history. One game away from an OST trophy and with an SPL under his belt, mncmt finds himself ranked third after what may be the strongest 2020 of any SS player besides Empo. He may never reach the enigmatic status of Jamvad himself, but mncmt's crafty bulky offensive style has taken SS OU by storm in recent months, and everyone should be eager to watch what he has in store for this tournament. He is joined by a fairly average cast of players when it comes to this field. FMG was hyped up a bit more last year, but he is still more than capable of holding his own. He is ranked within the top half of the field and can easily go positive if he plays his cards right. Ironically enough, FMG was also a Cobra last year when they fell just short of the playoffs, so hopefully this will be his redemption season. 1 True Lycan—also known as The Baron—also finds himself in the starting lineup, and he is poised to reach the impressive heights he previously has reached. After a rough WCoP that his team ultimately failed to qualify for and some quiet months, 1 True Lycan is looking to regain his superb SPL form. Steve Angello rounds out the lineup. He has yet to do much in SS OU, but many believe he can hold his own in any tier with enough support, so there is some promise here despite his low overall ranking. That support will come in the form of TPP, who is one of Smogon's nicest users. He managed to win his first official game against Trosko this WCoP but still has a long way to go as a player. Thankfully, he actively follows the tier, so as a substitute he is placed perfectly, and this should go a long way towards rounding out the SS OU core for the Cobras so long as everyone remains active throughout the tournament.

Once upon a time years ago, an ungodly presence spawned from the depths of the Pokémon Showdown labratories. A presence not confined by metagame standards and one that was born capable of scaling ladders with the utmost efficiency no matter the stormy conditions the metagame may be subject to. Some time passed, and now ladder hero Storm Zone is here to save us all. Do not let his #34 ranking fool you, as once this tournament is over, you will absolutely remember his name as one of the most unique players this generation has to offer. Alongside Storm Zone happen to be three very respectable players, too. robjr seemed to forget his in-game nuzlocke did not carry on to Smogon and 18-0d his WCoP pool in impressive fashion. While it may be only a three-game sample size and his building requires support, robjr is one of the hottest SS OU players and managed to score a top 15 ranking because of this, despite a poor SPL showing. Sacri', on the other hand, had an SPL that warranted great praise but followed this up with an abysmal WCoP showing. Hopefully for the Nagas—and the rest of Smogon, as we need more humble players who won't bring out Toxapex every week—this WCoP was an outlier performance for Sacri', who did run into a rough group and some troublesome matchups. Finally, ima finds himself ranked 15th after an impressive year dating back to last Snake. Many believed ima was just another fringe OU pick before that showing, but since then he has been one of the better OU players. Recently, he has seemed a bit less motivated after not getting picked to manage, but if the US West standout can use this as motivation, then perhaps he can have an even better Snake than his famously memed 8-3 showing last time around. Spanish player Regnite joins this group as a substitute; he is a fairly unknown quantity in this community, but it has been said that he will be dedicated towards helping improve his team, so there are high hopes for this substitute slot, too. Overall, the firepower is here, especially among the three proven slots, and this core could be disruptive, but they lack a true anchor, leaving us to wonder if any of their performances will be compromised or if someone will rise up to the occasion to fill those shoes. That will be one of the biggest storylines to follow for the Nagas and their promising OU players!

The Rattlers have what might be the most diverse cast of SS OU starters. Ranging from a user named after Snorlax's nickname to the best Snorlax pilot in recent Smogon history, the Rattlers seemed to prioritize some dominant early- to mid-round picks over a dedicated OU foundation. It seems like that was a very wise strategy, too, seeing as over half of their starting lineup is within the top third of their respective fields. lax, who was the first pick overall in the draft, is the only OU player on this team that qualified for that, however. His placement at #1 in the rankings is nothing to laugh at either, as lax was able to strike fear into the entire Pokemon playing world during his amazing 2019 run. Hopefully his presence will also be enough to help SS OU newcomer Fear, who only has some WCoP games under his belt after a long stint in old generations prior to this. Fear is seen as one of the best GSC players, but this is uncharted territory, and he is going to have to prove himself as a reliable option once more to prove his low ranking incorrect. Soft-spoken Italian WCoP starter Kebab mlml, who now has a WCoP win under his belt, also found his way into the lineup. Kebab mlml is not going to be a superstar on any team, but he is a strong enough player to hold his own in this field, and if the Rattlers can get positive results out of him, then they are going to be well off. Finally, Samqian finishes out the SS OU lineup as he hopes to rage forward after a positive WCoP showing, which should leave him especially confident, as he no longer has to worry about inaccurate Cinderaces giving him a heart attack. talah, who joins Fear as displaced Greek players, Vulpix03, and Hockey1 look to provide this group support and potentially substitute in. talah is a strong builder historically, but he has yet to find consistency as a player. Vulpix03 has had some strong results in smaller tournaments but has not done much officially to note. Hockey1 played for US West in WCoP, but much like Vulpix, he is not yet someone we know a ton about in official capacities. How much these players contribute as supporters and potentially players could make a big difference down the stretch, so it is important for the Rattlers that they all stay on task.

We were deep into a mid-August evening. The German sunset gleamed overhead while xray, with a beer in hand, swallowed his courage. As a bead of condensation dripped down his glass and a bead of sweat crawled down his face, the SS OU star decided to message Aurella. "Pick me, Gefährlicher Random, relous, and Charmflash! We will win you guys Snake while finally restoring pride back to Germany," he said. After some hiccups almost led to xray falling into the evil, spreadsheet-wielding clutches of rozes, the plan went into action, and the rest shall be history.

With Germany reaching impressive heights this WCoP despite looking almost entirely different than prior years, it should be no surprise that xray wanted to capitalize on this with some teammates. While the rankings may not be the most kind to this group, there are lots of reasons to be optimistic. For starters, you can argue xray was snubbed with his 7th overall ranking, as he has accomplished more than people like Finchinator and Lopunny Kicks this generation. xray had a dominant SPL and a similarly impressive WCoP run. He also has received high praise as a teammate, so the spotlight will be on him to keep up the great work. relous had an abysmal SPL, but he did get it together in the playoffs and seemed to take that momentum into WCoP, where he also won multiple playoff games. Gefähr—ok, nobody knows how to spell this name, but it translates to Dangerous Random—yea, him, also is in the lineup. With very little history, he was able to have a respectable WCoP showing, and now many believe he will follow it up in Snake with more experience under his belt and some familiar teammates. Finally, Latin American player ZDen rounds out the lineup. He has yet to stand out, and his ranking reflects this, but he also has not had many long-term starting opportunities, so this is a make-or-break chance for him. If the ZDen experiment fails, then historically mediocre, but very versatile, substitute KingKDot can come in relief. He offers competency in a number of tiers, perhaps being more suited for others than OU nowadays, but can easily play some weeks. LittleBigPlanet2 can substitute as well, but not much is known about him beyond the fact that he is Italian. In 2020, that alone may be enough for him to dominate SS OU, though, so be sure to not dismiss him prematurely. Overall, Team Germany +1 has some promise, but they will need more than just xray to overachieve in order to dominate this tournament like they did the early stages of WCoP.

Back when the average participant in this tournament was enjoying recess at their elementary school, Eo was just discovering competitive Pokemon. By the time they hit middle school, Eo was already discovering the wonders of strategic loop switching. High school? Forget about it, Eo was crafting metagame-defining stall techs like Mega Aggron and Trick Clefable. From one format to another, Eo is able to remain a constant force in innovative team structuring and metagame-altering techs. While he may not be the single most flashy player and may not bring teams that have the most exciting look from afar, Eo is actually one of the most fascinating players strategically. He has yet to achieve his SM levels of success this generation, but his 8th ranking reflects a widespread belief that he will get there during this Snake. Accompanying him is a relatively underwhelming cast, unfortunately. You should not outright dismiss these players, however. Garay oak has had great deals of success in other formats and should never be counted out of a game due to his ability to make aggressive plays and formulate gameplans on the spot. Ewin is still a relatively unknown entity, and while the later stage of his WCoP run revealed some inconsistent preparation and lackluster play, there still were some flashes of brilliance in the preliminary round that could translate to success here. Finally, beatiful has been consistent in OLT qualification and is eager to see this translate into team tours. When he is not drafting two Mega Evolutions in side tournaments, bea is showing his competency in OU on a consistent basis, and this could be his breakout tournament as one of the next best OU options if he can keep up recent strong play. While all of this sounds great, it is still true that Eo is the only person on this roster with any actual results in OU on a consistent basis; nevertheless, these tournaments are here to give people opportunities, and this is a golden opportunity for these players right here. If any of them struggle, expect quiet Canadian player Jytcampbell to come in relief. He has had some respectable performances in the past and was able to defeat TDK in a sun mirror in WCoP, if that counts for anything in your book. Finally, even though I spend hours watching games and going over tournaments, I have very little knowledge of Shogarth, so I will go with the infamous WhiteQueen "sorry don't know you" and call it a day for this bunch.

Legend has it that John W was not satisfied with his domination of the Draft League community, so he sold his soul to Team US Midwest for a chance at Smogon glory in 2019. Unfortunately, he did not have much to show last year during WCoP, but soon thereafter he became a star on his own merits. A stunning Smogon Tour showing that ended only at the hands of a fortunate McMeghan followed up by an improbable solid run in BW, a generation that predates him, in a stacked SPL field caught everyone's attention. However, what really turned people's heads was his absolutely dominant WCoP run. John W led a depleted US Midwest roster into the playoffs convincingly. He won all of his games and supposedly provided a great deal of assistance to his teammates in the building department as well. Evidently this caught the eye of Tricking, who quickly picked him up early in the first round. Perhaps this was an overreaction, but perhaps Tricking, one of the current superstars of OU, caught on to the next superstar of the tier. A lot of pressure will be on John W's shoulders to replicate his WCoP results, however, now that there are lots of expectations for him to succeed, as he also finds himself ranked within the top 10 players. Joining John W will be BK, formerly known as Bro Kappa. The feisty Italian has had his fair share of run-ins with the law, but recently he has been more down to business and put up a mixed bag of results. He should be able to go even in this pool, but anything better than that should be seen as a plus for the Leviathans. One time PU hype child Rexus also will be in SS OU for the Leviathans. He was part of the winning Italian WCoP squad, which indicates that he likely is going to be up to date with the metagame and should be able to hold his own, too. Both BK and Rexus show promise as starters, and you will be able to count on them to handle weaker competition, but neither has shown to be dominant quite yet. It will be interesting to see if either can level up this WCoP or if it will be more of the same. Rounding out the SS OU core is ramboss, who has not stood out much yet. He has a few strong wins under his belt such as one against Tamahome within the last year, but aside from that there is not much to go off of. It is hard to see a world in which he turns it around big time this Snake, but with the support of manager Tricking and the threat of WCoP standout the pharoah substituting in, perhaps he will turn it up a notch. If not, expect to see pharoah in relief, as he had a fantastic run in his debut WCoP with some unconventional team choices, which likely is what caught Tricking's eye. All in all, if John W can live up to the hype, this core should be just fine, but they will need another player to overachieve to really have a chance of breaking into the positive rankings as a collective.

In an OU field that is known for being top heavy, it is no surprise that the only team that waited until the third round to pick their first OU player is ranked last by a decent margin. Relatively new non-WCoP managers Jordy and Analytic both know OU well and should be able to provide plenty of support, but support can only go so far if the talent is not there. Thankfully for the Taipans, the talent is absoutely there when it comes to dice. He has been able to find success with some creative strategies and impressive team aesthetics in virtually every generation he has played thus far, even managing to hold his own last Snake. Even Eeveeto, who somehow fell to the 24th overall rank, had a fantastic recent showing in WCoP to make up for a lost SPL on the Tigers—it is almost as if everyone mentioned from that team had an off tournament and then a strong WCoP, be it Eeveeto or the aforementioned robjr and Tace. If we focus more on the recent showings from Eeveeto, he projects more into the top half of this field, so if he can keep up the momentum, then there is some promise there, too. The Taipans really run into trouble with the last two slots in their lineup. le LLiolae has minimal success this generation, and High Impulse is only recently known for his UU Open heroics. Many did not think either would start in this field, and you have to wonder if either player will be able to prove that they belong. On the bright side, le LLiolae had some respectable showings earlier in last generation, and High Impulse used to be a strong option back in generation 5 and 6. However, it will take some convincing to believe that they will replicate their peak performances in this tournament, which still would not be enough alone to push this core to the top. WCoP standout AdvanceShip can function as a substitute, but there are worries about his activity. Indigo Plateau can also function as an OU substitute, but one worries what this will accomplish beyond make -Tsunami- roll over in his grave given Indigo's track record. If any of these four players are able to give the Taipans a solid SS3 or SS4, then there is a lot of promise in this core. If not, it is going to be a long season with two slots struggling the entire way through. It will be interesting to see if Jordy and Analytic can prove their strategy to not pick OU early worthwhile with their support or if they will end up suffering as a result of their priorities being elsewhere.

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After a great season last year, Osh looks to once again be the strongest player going into this snake. With a superb 7-3 record last Snake, the second best of the tournament after jake, who Osh need not worry about this time, and getting an incredibly important win against Luthier in the semis, it's looking very likely that Osh is going to end up with another strong record this time around. Osh isn't perfect though; he had a mediocre SPL record of 4-5. A trend of him beating people with worse records but losing to the better-performing players was noticed that SPL. Thankfully he is the top dog here, so that is less worrisome, but if someone starts dominating the early weeks, it could spell trouble for Osh in the later weeks. In addition, he isn't particularly known for his building ability and lacks his normal supporter SANJAY on the roster, so team choices could be hard to come by; however, if this is manageable, then it should be smooth sailing for the fan of Oshawott.

Serene is one of the older LC players on the list, having played the tier since ORAS. However, he has only come into the limelight recently in SPL, where he managed to secure a starting spot. With an excellent 7-4 record, winning both his playoff games, he's looking to repeat that performance this Snake. While there were some initial doubts about Serene this Snake due to the lack of an initial signup and his recent interest in OU, it seems like he is back and ready to hopefully repeat his SPL run in an even less proven field. Overall, Serene is known for using some interesting strategies that can catch his opponents off guard and is often regarded as an instinctive player, which can make him a dangerous force against more conservative players. This does run the risk of people coming prepared for whatever he comes up with or even calling out his more aggressive plays, but not many players are capable of handling Serene in this field given what we have seen thus far.

Lily has been known as one of the best and most consistent builders since last Snake, starting off with a positive record in her debut tournament and following it up with another 6-3 showing in SPL. The second LC player drafted overall, she ended up being drafted in Round 2, showcasing not just the importance of the tier to managers but also the understanding that a top player like Lily is very valuable to have on a team. Unfortunately for Lily and the Astrotias, there are two other very strong players in this field ranked above her, but there is a pretty clear drop-off after these three in terms of track record and expected results. If Lily shows she is still able to handle the normal competition LC fields have to throw at her, then she should comfortably go positive, but she may struggle with the dominant one-two punch of Osh and Serene Grace if she does not go above and beyond in this Snake.

One of the older names on this list, Shrug has been around the LC scene since ORAS, coming into his own in the first edition of Snake Draft with an impressive 6-5, where he won the game that secured the tournament for his team. However, since then he's been in and out of the scene, not being drafted for Snake 2 and having a lackluster 2-4 performance in Snake 3. This SPL, he was drafted as help for jake; in pretty much any other scenario, he might have had a starting spot. He did get play time for one week, beating a strong name in Luthier, but this alone is not enough to believe he will return to near-top player status. With a mostly positive track record, he cracks the top half of the field, but it will be interesting to see if he can hold his own against the best the tier has to offer.

A 2-7 player gets a 2-7 write-up: Kingler has flirted with success a few times, but then it looked him in the eyes and scoffed. The truth about Kingler is that he is not as bad a player as his infamous SSD3 record may indicate, but he does struggle to put games away and has never strung together prolonged success before. This is still the case to this day despite having had about as many opportunities to do so than the entire bottom half of the field, excluding veteran dcae, has had in LC combined. He is ranked fifth because people are excited about his recent run in LC Open and Grand Slam as a whole, which he may qualify for the playoffs of once again. This field is also less proven than some prior years, which may give us some reason to believe this will finally be the tournament Kingler dominates. However, it will be hard for Kingler to hold his own against the big three and put up much more than a neutral record given what we have seen from him thus far.

Ninjadog is someone who's been seen as a tier 2 player for a while now, oftentimes failing to stand out on his own. With names such as Luthier and ggggd not signing up , he seemed pretty likely to be drafted as a starter and given another chance to prove his worth in the LC spotlight. Although Ninjadog doesn't have much experience starting yet, he was on the SPL BIGs team this year in the reserves, and while their LC seemed like a bit of a mess, the same can be said about that entire team, and the experience could go a long way towards polishing Ninjadog as a player. With expectations ranging from bottom dweller to threat to upset the top players, it will be interesting to see what actually happens with Ninjadog's run this Snake.

The only name on this list that has been around since SPL 5, dcae's a veteran of the old BW LC days. Although he wasn't around for much of ORAS, dcae made a return in SM for the second edition of Snake Draft and was recognized pretty universally as above-average with a fairly good LCPL record. Although his 1-3 record might seem unimpressive, it's probably misguiding because of the Mambas' early exit due to the uniqueness of that Snake format. Following that tournament, he ended up tourbanned and quit for over a year due to some LCPL shenanigans that we need not discuss here. With the history lesson aside, this tournament marks dcae's return to the scene. Although he's a bit of a question mark in the new meta and modern day, dcae has a lot of experience with LC and in tournaments as a whole. Underestimating him would certainly not be wise, but it also would not be fair to put him above those who have put up consistent results in more recent times. dcae is a high-ceiling pick that could backfire if his best days are behind him.

After taking a break from Pokemon for a while, xizaaa came back for LCPL9—yes, there have been 9 of them now somehow! Upon returning, xizaaa was stronger than ever before. A dominant LC Open showing tops the resume of this admittedly little-known LC prodigy, but many players familiar with the tier believe there is a lot of potential here. Unfortunately, xizaaa does lack many other results and only has the support of the man of many hams, who is not seen as as masterful with the level five pocket monsters as he is with the hams. This duo does not inspire confidence in spectators, creating worries ranging from a lack of experience to lack of in-game capabilities relative to more proven opposition. For xizaaa to have a successful debut, we are going to need to see more than ever before. If not, there could be a short leash on him with a direct correlation to improvements in the Smogon ham markets.

Wail Wailord is your classic case of "new mainer does well in PL and then gets thrown into official tournament". He had an impressive LCPL and beat many players that are Snake caliber, which is a huge plus that some people above him cannot even say, but aside from that, it is hard to say he stands out in this field much at all. Wail Wailord does exhibit a great deal of competency and will likely be motivated to prove himself in this debut season, but this is still going to be a learning experience for him. KingKdot, who is slowly becoming a veteran utility player, will be around to support Wail Wailord and potentially make a relief appearance if things go south. KingKdot has never stood out as a starter quite yet and odds are that will not change here, but having someone to discuss ideas with and making the intimidating first official tournament go a bit smoother for Wail Wailord could be a godsend. If all of the stars align, this could be a quick start to a new era of LC dominance, but there are likely going to be some hiccups along the way, and it would not be surprising to see Wail Wailord have better results in future years when he has more experience under his belt.

By far the most interesting name to see on this list, Mazinger—also known as Ginku—isn't someone known for playing in LC at all (in fact, all most of us have seen from him is a Mienfoo kicking its way through an opponent's team in a six-turn slaughter—check it out). He earned his legacy from playing BW RU, and subsequently ORAS RU. Known as one of the names that come back during SPL time most years, Ginku's seen as a very fundamentally solid player that isn't constantly involved year to year with the metagame he's playing. In that aspect, having the help of starmaster as well as tko should be a boon. This core gives Ginku the optimal conditions to succeed. If time should permit it and he has enough time to learn the ins and outs of the tier, Mazinger should be able to overperform his tenth place ranking. If not, then this could be a short-lived stint in LC without much success against a field of knowledgeable players.

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Ask anyone who the best DOU player of the past year is, and they will either say Ezrael or be wrong. The captain of Team Jon has posted an 8-1 record in his last two trophy tournaments, SPL XI and SSD III, as well as a perfect 5-0 during this year's DPL 6. Add to that a DOU Winter Seasonal win and a deep run in DOU Classic I, and you get a player who was unanimously ranked #1 by his peers. While he has no official support, Ezrael has had a hand in building some of the foremost DOU teams this year as well, so expect nothing less than great teams and a great record out of Ezrael this time around.

Returning to the 21st century from the depths of RBY, Nails is making his second appearance as a DOU player in a trophy tournament after posting a solid 6-4 record in SSD III, second only to Ezrael. The comparison between our #1 and #2 ranked players doesn't end there, however, as Nails also posted a fantastic record (4-1) in DPL 6 and tends to be the other half of the collective brain cell responsible for such masterpieces as “Cringe Sun” and “Cringe Sun 2.0.” Nails is backed up by Shadowmonstr7, a newer name to the scene that made a strong impression with a giant-killing run to third place in Winter Seasonals. Shadowmonstr7 is known to be a pretty creative builder, so whatever he and Nails cook up is bound to lead to success.

A fixture of DOU team tournaments, qsns is back in action and finds himself a favorite in SSD IV. Over the years, qsns has been the epitome of reliability, always notching a good record, but he has yet to have an outstanding performance. qsns has typically been a more transient figure in DOU, with periods of inactivity sprinkled in between his moments of glory. Additionally, no official support means that qsns will have to be responsible for most of the dirty work when it comes to building, a task of which he is certainly capable but that might prove difficult. However, with this tournament's thinner DOU field in comparison to previous years, a motivated qsns finally free from Croven's shackles could quite easily make a splash.

After becoming a community fixture for her stellar oldgens play over the past couple years, umbreon098 finally gets a chance to show her stuff in SSD IV. After an impressive fourth-place finish in the recent Spring Seasonal, umbreon098 has proven that she can hold her own in any generation, rightfully earning her starting spot. Backed up by talkingtree, long regarded as one of the best builders in the tier, umbreon098 is certainly set up for success in her first official team tournament. Her final test will be the gauntlet that is a team tournament with the best of the best of DOU; with some built-up confidence and momentum, this gauntlet is one that the umbreon098 + talkingtree duo is more than capable of running.

This has been a breakout year for Paraplegic, both as a player and a teambuilder. He started the year off with a fourth-place finish in Winter Seasonals and backed it up with a 4-1 record in DPL 6, but perhaps more importantly he has singlehandedly been responsible for multiple metagame trends throughout SS DOU. His eye for identifying anti-meta threats is nigh unmatched, so expect some of the most creative teams in SSD IV out of this slot, especially with support from another player known for eccentric teambuilding in Human. The main question mark here is Paraplegic's ability to perform in a stressful environment like Smogon Snake Draft, but if the nerves can be quelled, it would be no surprise to see Paraplegic near the top of the leaderboard.

Memoric is a household name in DOU, having been an integral part of the community as long as anyone could be. While his early forays into SS DOU, most notably a disappointing performance in SPL XI, weren't up to par, he has recently been finding his groove with a fifth-lace finish in Spring Seasonals. Combine this with his recent strong oldgens performances (5-2 in DPL 6 and currently in Top 4 of Doubles Classic I) and support from tenzai, who recently claimed a breakout second-place finish in Spring Seasonals, and a Memoric with momentum is more than capable of making waves in SSD IV.

Back in action after a bit of a break, Frania has found himself in a DOU starting position in a team tournament for the first time. While a DOU veteran by any account, he seems to be slowly finding his footing in SS DOU, making a Frania pick without support a risky choice. Not especially known for building, he will likely be looking to people outside his team for assistance, a somewhat unreliable plan in a tournament like Snake. However, if Frania can return to the form he reached when he terrorized the 2017 DOU Circuit, he will most definitely be picking up some key wins for the Mambas.

The man, the myth, the legend, DLT JRL BELL is finally getting a crack at glory in SSD IV. Having been a name on the radar for the past couple years, JRL let everyone know he meant business this year after posting a 4-2 record in a tier he hadn't previously played during DPL 6 and blazing through Spring Seasonals to claim victory. However, his longevity has not yet been tested, and neither he nor his teammate Mishimono are particularly known for their building. If JRL can capitalize on his current momentum and produce some solid teams with the princess, he is poised for a successful SSD IV campaign.

While this is not Kiichikos's first time playing on the big stage, she sadly has yet to live up to expectations after a poor showing in SPL XI. Don't let the numbers fool you though, Kiichikos is absolutely capable of righting the ship and making SSD IV her breakout performance, especially with support from an unpredictable teambuilder in the form of Nido-Rus. With more experience under her belt and some built-up confidence from her ongoing Top 4 run in Doubles Classic I, Kiichikos will be looking to perform well above her placement and be an integral part of the Taipans' crusade.

The perennial wildcard pick, both Qwello Lee and Z Strats find themselves in their first official team tournament in SSD IV. Only recently has Qwello Lee had a breakthrough tournament performance, coming in 3rd in the recent Spring Seasonal. Not without his own accomplishments, Z Strats has claimed a top 4 finish in this year's Doubles Ladder Tournament and is currently in top 4 of Doubles Classic I. Teams typically opt to pair a newer player with a veteran in tournaments like Snake, so drafting the combination of Qwello Lee and Z Strats is a bit of a risk. However, longshot DOU picks have a history of performing well in team tournaments, so don't count either Qwello Lee or Z Strats out just yet.

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Grand Slam VIII's champion finds himself as a full-time starter for a second consecutive iteration of the Smogon Snake Draft. It has been quite the year for Adaam since the last iteration of the Smogon Snake Draft, in which he put up a decent 5-4 record. He also won the aforementioned Grand Slam, reached the semifinals of the latest UU Championship, and achieved a fantastic 7-2 record in one of the most competitive UUPL Bo3 pools the tour has ever seen. Clearly, Adaam has not missed a step while maintaining his rate of success from SM through the current state of SS UU, and he continues to prove that his teambuilding and playing ability are of the utmost caliber. The Taipans' first round pick will undoubtedly be counted upon to lead his team to a successful tournament, and support from fellow UU prodigies in Indigo Plateau and High Impulse will surely complement Adaam in becoming a force to be reckoned with week in and week out.

It is safe to say that SoulWind has been riding a hot streak as of late, with his momentum from winning the Smogon Classic VI extending over into a fantastic UU Open finals run. After being shuffled into UU a few weeks into last year's Rattlers' campaign, SoulWind comfortably secured a pool-leading 5-2 record and aptly displayed his ability to keep up with the tier's more seasoned players. While he's surely capable of replicating this sort of performance, SoulWind's teambuilding support options do seem inferior compared to his usual supporting cast. Robjr, Sacri, and Kink have all made their respectable impacts in previous generations of UU, but their involvement in SS UU is seemingly insufficient. Look for the Nagas' UU teambuilding to be the X factor that will dictate SoulWind's potential in this tournament.

UU mainstay CBU has been granted his first shot as a full-time starter for this year's Rattlers and finds himself ranked quite high for a newcomer to official team tournaments involving lower tiers. CBU has proven to be an unstoppable force, winning two circuit tournaments of last year's UU circuit while also achieving a superb 9-1 record in a stacked Bo3 pool during the most recent UUPL. His highly proficient execution and decision making as a player is clearly evident, though his relatively inconsistent teambuilding would seem to be an Achilles heel of sorts for him. Fortunately, CBU has ample UU support in his corner through TDK and TonyFlygon, as both have complemented a number of now-established UU players in the past. If their teambuilding vision clicks into place alongside CBU's ideals, then there is no doubt that the Rattlers' UU capabilities can shape up to be one of the best in the pool.

Veteran UU player Accelgor is getting his second full-time opportunity to start in this edition of the Smogon Snake Draft. Last year, he was able to take out some more proven competition and managed a 5-4 record in a respectable UU field. While there were some disappointing low points to his campaign, Accelgor proved to everyone that he belonged as a starter with a respectable variety found from his team selections and consistent play against the stronger half of a top-heavy field. Much like the Pokemon Accelgor oftentimes quits on the game with an early Final Gambit, Accelgor the user is coming off of a recent "quit" attempt that was short-lived. If the Astrotia's fourth round pick is able to stay focused and active, then this could be his break out showing, but if he has one foot out the door, then some up-and-coming UU players may get the better end of him. With a great grasp on teambuilding and respectable showings across official and unofficial tournaments, Accelgor finds himself at as the fourth best in this versatile UU field.

With the advent of the new generation came the transition of inveterate players trying their hand at UU. Sabella is one such individual, and so far he has found a modicum of success in the UU circuit, with a finals placement in this year's UU Ladder Tournament serving as his prime accomplishment at the moment. His showings have been discrepant since then, usually due to lapses in judgment at crucial points in said games. Sabella's strength is undeniably his unique building approach and the variety of strategies he's comfortable with piloting, all of which are highly valuable skills to have in a single game setting. Nevertheless, there is a lot of pressure on him to perform as the starting UU player for the Mambas, with no clear teambuilding support or UU relief in the event he slips up. If Sabella can properly utilize his creativity in the builder to the best of his ability and give himself a head start in his games, he can surely go positive in a UU field that has him ranked in the middle of the pack.

After a hiatus from Smogon Singles formats, Poek is back for this Snake. While UU is not exactly his main tier, Poek did dabble in the tier quite a bit last generation, and he will have Moutemoute to help him get back in form for this generation. Moutemoute is a strong supporter and substitute here, who is coming off a great run in NU Open and seems eager to contribute. This will work out nicely for Poek, who is seen as a strong player but not always the most knowledgeable presence or teambuilder in tiers like this. Unfortunately, the lack of results this generation left Poek with a fairly average ranking in this respectable field, but with some practice, he can easily shoot up to the upper portion of these ranks and put up yet another positive performance to add on to his strong 28-19 all-time team tournaments record. It will be interesting to see if Poek still has it all together and can transition to yet another metagame or if he will experience some costly growing pains when trying to adapt for this Snake.

Longtime UU ladder legend pokemonisfun (pif) makes his second appearance in Snake, with his first dating back to the very first iteration of the tournament where he ended with a 1-1 record. Although he was a few months late to the SS UU party, pif immediately made up for his lack of momentum by winning this year's UU Ladder Tournament. pif is undoubtedly notorious for his use of metagame-representative stall teams, and he has shown that he can pilot a variety of team structures with similar aptitude. His current pace and understanding of the tier's ins and outs suggest that he should not struggle much despite not having played in an official team tournament for a few years now. It is also important to note that there is a strong possibility that rising UU star Ramolost may be the UU starter for the Bushmasters, with pif's versatility allowing him to be slotted elsewhere. If this is the case, then relatively unproven Ramolost will have valuable support from pif in his mission to make a name for himself and maybe even overcome the pool's acclaimed players along the way.

The winner of Smogon Tour 27 has been known to be proficient enough in various iterations of OU, but this is the first time he has been granted a starter's load in a lower tier. Luigi had an impressive UU Open run, throughout which he seemed to be in tune with the tier's pace and flow, all while taking down some of the tier's more recognizable players. While he may not build independently, the Leviathans seemed to have accounted for this deficiency by drafting one of his supposed building supporters in hs. Luigi is undoubtedly capable of playing at the necessary level to do well in this Snake, but a lot of pressure will fall upon himself and hs to crank out teams that will stay on top of the tier's trends. This slot is definitely a volatile one, and a lot of the Leviathans' UU success may be dependent on whether Luigi can work himself into a groove or not. Should he falter early on, the Leviathans may be in for a long season where their UU results are a concern.

The Serpents seem to be confident with their choice to draft vivalospride, a longtime UU main who will finally get his shot as a full-time starter in this Snake. Though he has been heavily involved in the UU community for years now, there is an undeniably distinct lack of clear results that are the cause for his low ranking. There are moments where he shows flashes of brilliance in his play, but they are few and far between. vivalospride's strength lies in his building ability, which happens to be responsible for supporting countless participants in UU tournaments. If vivalospride is able to tap into his building potential and quickly grow accustomed to the high-level play that is expected at this stage, then he may end up exceeding expectations with a respectable record to end the tournament. Should he come up short of this base expectation, then the process of getting the ball rolling will be a grueling one that may have vivalospride playing catch up the entire time.

The last player on this list is Lilburr, a UU player who has been acclaimed as one of the best up and coming ones of the year. Lilburr's breakout performance was in the latest UUPL, which saw her achieve a 5-2 record while taking down players that were more established and inherently favored versus her. Apart from this, there isn't any substantial evidence to confidently predict a successful campaign for her. Like vivalospride, Lilburr's building influence is widespread and chock full of variance, showing that she isn't afraid to make use of the tier's more niche options. This latter point holds a lot of value in swaying the results of singular games, and if she can channel this particular flair properly, then she's bound to have a successful enough tournament as a first-time starter. The lack of previous official team tournament experience has the potential to be detrimental, so Lilburr isn't expected to have a phenomenal debut.

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Ajna is a player who needs no introduction. Being a mainstay in the RU tournament scene for the past generation, he has been a constant force in the community, and his results speak for themselves, amassing impressive runs time and time again. Ajna is not afraid to pull the right triggers and has a good mind for positioning as well. While his results for this generation are arguably less notable than last up to this point, he's still made his mark through his teams, which saw a lot of play in the ongoing RU Open, and his experience in preparation is among the best. He also has the support of TDK on his side, which will help to bolster his success. With all this in mind, it's hard not to see Ajna succeeding. Ajna undoubtedly earned his top overall spot in these power rankings.

Nat is the other half of the RU official team tour staples alongside Ajna. Although she hasn't reached her usual highs in the past tours (3-3 in SSD III and 0-3 in SPL XI), nobody can argue that she feels comfortable playing RU in official tournaments more than just about anyone else in the pool. Nat has a tendency of being unpredictable with her builds and can usually pilot anything within reason pretty comfortably. This makes her a danger to prep for, which will be an advantage against an inexperienced field. Although her current-gen RU results are lacking, she had a nice Grand Slam run, and she seems motivated to play for her good friend Eternally. Finally, on top of Eternally, she also has tko to provide support. This can go a long way, seeing as one of Nat's few issues is being tilt-prone, so they have people to help her get out of trouble and focus on what is important. Overall, the Serpents are very likely to have a strong showing in RU!

One of the most hyped newer players in the lower tier arena of this tour is odr, who first made a name for himself by winning RU Open last year. He's continued to ride on that momentum since then with him winning the RU Alpha tour and a great CPL run in the early metagame. With an impressive grasp on both teambuilding and playing, many believe that he will be up to the task here, too. After CPL, odr took a break from SS RU; however, it is clear that he still has a good grasp of the RU metagame because he still made it to this year's RU Open semifinals. It is safe to say that this recent showing proves he is in form. Despite this being his first official team tour, combined with the amount of sizable pressure on his shoulders from the aforementioned hype, odr's runs over the past year are a clear indicator that he has the ability to transition nicely into the big scene. Seeing as odr was a mid-round 2 pick, there will be lofty expectations, but if his individual performances are a sign of what to come, this should not be a problem for the stinkiest RU player of them all, odor.

Despite his subpar results in the past, Feliburn (Feli) has had a meteoric rise to prominence this generation. Formerly known for his (infamously) patented "Feli plays", which is more or less just another term for stunting, he's made a name for himself over the past months. Feli has shown off great improvement with a finals showing in the RU Kickoff tour, a solid run in the RU Spring Seasonal, and an impressive 5-1 record in SS in RU Snake Draft, casting aside the shaky results he's had in the past. Beyond this, he has the support of multiple people who are already knowledgeable in RU in EviGaro, Bouff, Finchinator, and GW, which will help out his already sufficient teambuilding. Feli has also shown his proficiency in official tours recently in WCoP where he attained a respectable 3-1 record in OU, being a big carry for his team in the first round. While the field here is one that's tougher than those that he's dominated in thus far, there's a lot that indicates that Feliburn will show that he can hang with the best players if he avoids clicking impulsively. Of course, we are a small handful of "Feli plays" away from seeing Bouff return home as an RU replacement, so it will be interesting to see if Feliburn can live up to the hype or if his fall into the later rounds of the draft was justified.

roman is an interesting pick, as he was the winning RU player last Snake Draft but has been quiet since then. He had a solid performance last year in his debut, netting a solid 4-3 record. roman hasn't had much SS experience afterwards, choosing to stick to SM for both RUPL and RU Snake Draft. However, he has picked up the recent metagame for this tour in the past few weeks. While it is a new generation, he does have the intuitive skills to match his opponents. He also has the support of Sensei Axew, a newer player who is heavily motivated and has a knack for making solid, but sometimes risky, teams. This combination can prove to be dangerous if they stay on-task and prepare well. It will be interesting to see if roman can replicate success of the past or if his best days are behind him in SM.

snaga, while not being this directly engaged in RU in an official capacity, has been loosely involved with the scene for some time; he has been playing lower tiers in both official and subforum tours for a few years now, albeit moreso in NU, and has managed a handful of team tours that made clear an aptitude for those lower tiers in a broader scope. However, until this point a less-than-enticing 2-6 record overall in an official capacity has more-or-less relegated him into a helper position, yet these last few months have shown snaga in a far more positive light. To speak nothing of a solid 8-2 performance across the latest rounds of unofficial team tours, snaga has secured playoffs for the latest iteration of Grand Slam due in no small part to a tremendous performance in the RU Open, reinforcing for many his legitimacy as a player to look out for. Be that as it may, it is important in assessing players to look to the whole, rather than base assumptions on recent events. For those who know snaga, nerves have colored his play in this game for quite some time, and there's not much worse for that than getting thrust into a starting position after such an extended period of time self-benched. While snaga certainly has the capacity to do well here, his middling rank reflects a voting pool looking to hedge their bets.

Pepeduce is a player that has been boiling just under the surface for quite some time, a well-kept secret of the RU ladder and scourge of the circuit. Chances are if you've had played a set of RU with a french player in the past three generations or so, you're already at least somewhat familiar with the building of Pepeduce; he's simply that ubiquitous. It would appear that with a strong performance in the latest RU Snake Draft Pepeduce has finally been afforded the slight boost in visibility he needed to be given a chance to start in an official, and while this is certainly a win for the community and a testament to the power of hard work, folks are approaching this all with an ounce of healthy skepticism. The transition into officials can be quite difficult for many, and while this has historically been less of a barrier than in the case of SPL, it is a barrier nonetheless. This is reinforced by the drafting decision of the Lindworms, who have drafted only one other player (Shogarth) that claims any understanding of the tier, which itself can be called into question given a complete lack of visible results. This environment puts quite the focus on Pepeduce to succeed in his first outing, which even for a player of his experience and ability is quite the burden to bear. While not the ideal setting for one's first official, one might hope Pepeduce's methodical play and slightly left of center building will be sufficient in proving he deserves to be here.

It is unlikely science will progress to a point where assessing Kink becomes an easy task. Truly one of the most idiosyncratic players and builders on this site, the artist formerly known as King UU has gradually managed to translate his quirks into success in the form of a UU Open win in 2016 and a very respectable 7-2 record in this last iteration of SSD, as I'm sure he's already told you at least once. As such, an eighth place spot might strike one as unfair, and to an extent that is true; polls are a popularity contest, not a formula for win rates, and Kink manages to rub plenty of folks the wrong way. However, it too is worth noting that the recurring trend in all Kink's most successful outings have been in tiers he is very, very familiar with, and SS RU is (to the best knowledge of those polled) not such a case. Kink's success pulls so heavily from that X factor in both the building and play that one struggles to see an eventuality where he replicates his success of SSD III in quite the same way. This isn't to say it is impossible, as there are sheets to prove otherwise, but it has at this point been deemed improbable. But at the end of the day, what role is more befitting of Kink than that of the underdog?

Charmflash has certainly managed to make a contentious name of himself in his time in the limelight, hasn't he? From SPL X's biggest pleasant surprise to a cornerstone of the Leviathans and back to the bottom after a disheartening SPL XI, Charmflash has managed to condense a full career arc into a little under a year. A recurring trend in the lower ranks, public perception plays a significant role in Charmflash's placement here, as in spite of being placed ninth, he is a quantifiably 'good' player: he played a critical role in the prep work of the Leviathan's RU slot, made finals of that year's RU Open, and has performed well in both SPL X and that same SSD III. However, he's also been not without his bad tours, and 2020 in particular has seen him go 0-3 into traded into 0-2 into bench during SPL XI, which hardly inspires faith. If his heavy-handed campaigning has any weight to it, then he is perhaps once more teeming with enthusiasm for the game, which, if properly distilled into the best possible teams by resident RU main eifo, could very well translate into the strong competitor we witnessed in 2019. Unfortunately though, there are simply too many concerns that one can in good faith assume that Charmflash will bounce back in quite that great of a capacity, thus finding his place near the bottom of these rankings.

Void really needs to fire his PR team; to spend the last three years building up a reputation as 'crust', only to be drafted for a tier he don't play six rounds earlier than his last time in Snake when he was at his perceived peak as a player? Clearly something has gone awry here. As has been said these past few times, Void isn't a bad player really, one might even note that he is currently 3-0 in Snake Draft lifetime and RU! However, of the will-they-won't-they players on the second half of this list, Void is deemed the least likely to excel. There is no substantial evidence of Void engaging in this tier prior to this point, and as such he will be relying quite heavily on the support of Expulso, a well-meaning and eager face in the crop of newer RU talent, to pull together teams and get a basic idea of the metagame at large. On paper, this pool is a minefield for a jack-of-all trades player to step into, as it is difficult to both bridge the deficit against the tenured top half of the list and get a bead on the wild cards that amass in the second half, a problem exacerbated by Void's key support being more equipped to build general, well-rounded teams than approaching the best-of-one game of counter-styling. It's highly unlikely Void goes winless in this pool, but in that same breath, one struggles to really pin down any given week where he won't have to really fight for the win, which is ultimately what lands him on the bottom of this list.

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Sjneider is coming off a number of good tournaments in a row, which is why it is not surprising to see him ranked first overall. Despite the fact that he was the last pick of the draft last year, he disproved all his naysayers by putting up a 7-2 record and securing the best NU record of the tour. He followed that up with good showings in SPL and WCoP, though those were in ORAS OU and SS OU, respectively. He's also been a larger part of the NU community within the last year as well, joining the NU council and managing a team to the semifinals of NUPL. He is not afraid to innovate and use weird and creative sets, but he stays within reason, making him hard to prepare for. He also has NU support on his team with snaga, who had a great NUPL as well recently and can help with testing and teambuilding so Sjneider does not have to go at it alone. Overall, while jumping from the 140th draft pick to the 14th draft pick within a year is shocking, it's no surprise that Sjneider ended up here, and he can put up another top-tier NU run this Snake.

Kushalos returns to NU again this generation, and this time he is the only player on this list to play NU in all the major team tournaments last generation. In total, through three Snake Drafts and two SPLs, he put up a 26-19 in NU, which is impressive considering how he started the generation with not a lot of people believing he would be one of the top players of the tier. While he has not played as much SS recently as some of the other players on this list, Kushalos still has the experience and battling ability on a majority of players here, which is why he ended up with a second overall ranking. The biggest potential roadblock to Kushalos having a good tournament will be the lack of support on his team, so a lot of his record will be based on how fast he can adapt to the new NU metagame, since he will not be able to rely on his teambuilding experience as much as he could in past tournaments. Overall, Kushalos has cemented himself as one of the top NU players, so expect another top record this tour from him.

Waters is probably one of the biggest enigmas in the tours community, as he has been around NU the longest out of anyone on this list but has only played in three official tournaments since SPL 7. However, in those three official tours he has put up a record of 18-10, with his most recent tour being SPLX where he went 7-3. In this time, its doubtful that even his teammates know much about him, as he's never been one to make his presence known if he does not have to. Even within the NU community, it's common for him to disappear for a few months at a time, and whenever he makes his inevitable return, he will be back at the top of the ladder and community when it comes to playing and building. His creativity within the tier over the past couple generations is near unmatched as well, never being afraid to bring more out-there meta picks, even if they are not the most tested or solid. Overall, while his linecount might not be that high, Waters is sure to have another great tour with the handful of ZU and NFE Pokemon he's sure to bring.

Aim returns to lower tiers after playing OU in the last couple team tournaments he participated in, this time choosing NU as the field that he wants to participate in, at least to start. Joey is known to play just about any tier and any generation that he wants to, and this Snake should be no exception. The largest issue facing Joey will be the lack of NU builders on his team, though Osh can help out if needed, making it harder for him to keep up with the metagame without outside help. However, this will not be a problem for Joey, as he has plenty of friends who play the tier, and he can even tap into some of his subscribers or just grab an import off of his wall. As long as he does not get too busy with his YouTube channel, which has never been an issue in the past, Joey should have a successful Snake, even if he ultimately does decide to shuffle around and play another tier.

Last Snake, Jrdn shocked the world with a dominant showing. In what may may have been the deepest NU field in recent history, Jrdn went positive in his debut tournament. He has been relatively quiet since then, but Jrdn has been active in recent weeks playing various tournaments. With the support of managers rozes and Eternally, who are also the NU tier leaders, he should have more support than anyone else in the tournament. This, coupled with his own great ideas and strong play, should be a fantastic match for the Serpents. Jrdn doesn't have the same level of metagame insight as the dedicated mainers, and he may not have the same level of prolonged success as the top players in the field, so his ranking reflects being caught in the middle of both of these categories a bit. However, if last Snake was any reflection of what is to come, then this should be no problem for Jrdn. He has the ability to overcome any barriers he encounters, especially with the support he has.

The Spanish enigma himself, Bobby Dagen aka Rodriblutar makes his return to NU this Snake Draft, after having slowed down a bit at the end of the last generation and the start of this one. Known originally for his stall antics, as well as some less-than-perfect English, he's become one of the most proficient lower tier players, mainly focusing on NU as of last generation. The main reason for his low ranking despite having such a dominant presence during SM NU can be split into two main parts:. Firstly, he might not be the most inclined to care for this tournament if his team does not live up to expectations, and if he has shaky activity early he might have issues finishing the season. Secondly, while he's had a long tenure as an NU player, his teambuilding has never been his strength, and he's relied on multiple other people in whatever team tours he plays for his games. This second part might be alleviated due to the fact he has an NU mainer in Ho3nConfirm3d on his team, but if they two are not able to click in the builder, there may be some issues down the road.

While he might not know the Name of the Wind, elodin has once again returned to Snake to start in NU. Ever since the first Snake when he was thrown into the tier mid tour, and put up a solid 5-2 record, he has stuck around the community and become one of the mainstays in the tournaments scene. Playing NU in a couple other official tours after that, elodin at the end knew his way around the tier and even ended up managing and winning NUPL last year with his team. However, he is coming off a recent tourban and has not really touched Pokemon as a whole since after last World Cup, when he was banned. He does have the support of fellow Brazilian NU and lower tier player Ren-chon to help him catch up with the SS metagame, which will be changing drastically after week 1 of the tournament anyway, and to relieve him if he has issues picking up the tier again, or just loses interest. If he is able to keep up his interest, and actually learn what all the new Pokemon do, then there is a chance that this low placement is not deserved, as elodin can easily be one of the best players in this pool if motivated, but as of now it is hard to look past the potential flaws that would otherwise put him inside the top half of this pool.

It was discovered that there was an error calculating his ranking and upon a last second recalculation, he should actually be ranked above Bobby Dagen by a small fraction instead of behind.

Lower Tier Swiss Army Knife bugzinator finds himself in NU for the first official tournament of this generation, after mainly sticking to UU and RU in previous generations. Known mainly at this point for being a troll, it's hard to overlook his last official team tournament in SPL X when he was tourbanned for trolling his opponent in OST by claiming that he won the matchup, despite him actually losing. However, since his tourban expired, he's kept up throughout SS with most lower tiers, having played in a majority of the team tours. While NU has never been his main focus, aside from BW NU where he has dominated in a number of NUPLs, he is slotted to start here from week 1. This can mainly be chalked up to the fact that he is teaming with CBU and Ajna, who have been much bigger presences in UU and RU, the two tiers he mainly plays. He does have the support of lax as well, who is one of the top NU players over the past couple generations and should be able to help with building and learning the tier. As long as bugzinator is able to stay away from his past antics, and can ride out this tournament, he has the playing ability to keep up with the top players of the tier, but he might also just end up juggled around due to the makeup of his team as a whole.

GW finds himself as the only person in this NU pool to have no official team tour experience up till this point, and the only one who has really made a name for himself in this generation for the most part. GreninjaWarrior therefore has a fairly tough tournament ahead of him, and he will have to jump into the deep end fairly quickly, as it's going to be a tall task to catch up to all the experience all the other players have. Speaking on him more in general, though, he started off mainly as a ladder hero towards the end of SM, and at the start of SS he started to see a lot more success in his endeavors into lower tiers. His recent results speak to that, recently losing in the quarterfinals of the NU Open, as well as winning the most recent RU Seasonal. That is about all he has to his name, however, with a 3-2 in the most recent NUPL being his only NU team tour experience as well. He does have team support from Finchinator as well, a member of the NU council, as well as playing NU in last years Snake Draft and leading the tier up until recent times. We will find out soon whether or not GW is able to keep up with this pool, but if not he might have to wait another tournament or two before he gets his bearings and is able to have his breakout.

Rounding out the pool is a pick that just about nobody could have seen coming, CyberOdin. Known for being one of the top ADV players in its current state, he is coming off a successful SPL, but there is a fairly big difference between ADV OU and SS NU. Though there is little to no evidence that CyberOdin is aware of all the new mechanics, and the new Pokemon, one has to imagine that FlamingVictini and Christo knew what they were doing when they picked him up. While no doubt a very strong player, he will have a lot to learn, and learn quickly, before the start of this tournament, as well as keeping up with the metagame as it starts to shift and evolve. His team support also lies solely with Sensei Axew, a player known mostly for RU, but will have to more than likely start picking up NU to support Odin. This was one of the more puzzling picks of the tournament, and it will be interesting to see how well Odin is able to shift into SS NU. In the end, he was a late-round pick, so even if he ends up being a bust in this tier, it was not one of the riskiest moves of this tournament.

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If you put anyone in this PU field up against Osh twice, bugzinator, Star, watashi, and lax, you would not expect them to come out of it with many wins. In PUPL, Ktütverde beat all of these players as part of an impressive 8-1 showing. In a field where PU main experience in official tournaments is limited, Ktütverde has a full season worth of experience under his belt, too, with a respectable neutral record to show for it. Overall, Ktütverde may be one of the more polarizing presences in the PU field and community, but he can play as well as anyone else in the field. With a sky-high ceiling and a lot of recent momentum, this first-place ranking should not be surprising. Lower tier legend soulgazer and PU legend Xiri will be sure to give him a run for his money, but neither is close to as proven as Ktütverde is this generation.

Before Discord dominated the Smogon social structure, PU was made an official tier, and this community let a boomer BW main write articles about a tournament comprised only of SS metagames, a new player surfaced in the NU community, likely finding his way to an IRC chat where then-NU regulars discussed how Charizard was a viable option without entry hazard removal in their beloved BW NU. Seven years later and this mystery user is still around, believe it or not. Has he amounted to anything? Not much, just enough to be the statistically best lower tier team tournament player of all time with an almost +20 differential over 90+ total games. soulgazer is not going to be your typical PU main who is eager to get his first chance at an official tournament. There will be no beginner's nerves or rookie mistakes here. soulgazer is a very proven player and given his track record, it should be no surprise that he is ranked second. He is likely to continue his historic success and go positive if he displays enough motivation. soulgazer's in-game abilities are second-to-none in this field and with enough effort, he will be able to hold his own in the teambuilder and catch up to the metagame, which he admittedly is lacking experience in currently. This will especially be possible with the support of teammate pokemonisfun, who is also knowledgeable about PU.

Quiet, but deadly. Xiri will not be getting into shouting matches with opponents or reinventing the wheel with flashy new metagame heat this Snake, but he does not need to accomplish this in order to succeed. Last Snake, Xiri was dominant. He put up the best record in the tournament as his team won the entire tournament. It is true that the field last Snake was nothing superb, but Xiri has the results that virtually nobody else has in this tier, which goes a long way in these rankings. Of course, there are always some drawbacks such as his timezone being absolutely ungodly or his average PUPL run with a lack of impressive wins like first ranked Ktutverde has, but he is ranked third, not first, for a reason. With eager supporter Specs on board, Xiri will have no issue with preparation and adjusting to the tier if he needs any help, as SM is likely his better generation. Given this, Xiri is poised to have a repeat of last year, but with a slightly deeper field and a new generation, he will have to prove his worth once more to live up to the hype.

TJ is one of the faces of PU and he represents the tier perfectly here: TJ is new to official tournaments, TJ is eager to get involved, and TJ is about as pesky as PU mainstay Stunfisk. While TJ may have gotten snubbed last year, he finally is given a full-time starting opportunity here. Coming off of a dominant PUPL showing as a player and manager, it should be no surprise that this rookie is ranked within the top half of this relatively unproven field. While TJ may not be worthy of being labeled the "BKC of PU" like PU player of the past Taskr, he demonstrates a lot of the qualities of a conventional top player. He knows the metagame inside-and-out, he actively builds, and he can play with the best. The main thing holding TJ back from being ranked higher is the lack of experience, so there is some potential for things to go south. If TJ can avoid this, expect big things here.

keppy is another fresh PU player who is looking to put together a strong PU run this Snake. Unlike TJ, he is not necessarily the single most outspoken presence or even someone who has stood out a ton yet, but that does not mean keppy is misplaced here. Quite on the contrary, keppy has proven that he is a reliable pick with a strong PUPL, demonstrating resilience after he won six consecutive decisions after a rough 0-2 start. With the support and approval of two managers in EviGaro and HJAD who know PU well, it should also be expected that the preparation here will be second-to-none. With his play in official capacities being unproven up to this point, it will be good for them to get any edge possible in order to help keppy gain confidence. If this formula can translate to success, then expect greatness in keppy's debut. If not, we could see Bouff in relief, who is not too shabby as a PU option either and also adds into the support pool for keppy if necessary.

Who is tlenit1? Not many tournament mainstays know of him as a big player yet, but he has been quietly doing some big things in the PU arena. Last Snake, he was on the championship winning Leviathans, supporting Xiri. After this showing, he also was a manager for PUPL. He was able to keep his own record around neutral and support another SS slot pretty well, but ultimately there was nothing remarkable here, especially with their third SS slot finishing with only a single win despite tlenit1's support. With this, you have the extent of what we can officially analyze on tlenit1 as a player or supporter from prior tournaments of relevance, but that alone does not capture the true essence of this pick. With great metagame insight and a track record for being a competent teambuilder, tlenit1 will be able to use his mind for the game and perhaps the support of super substitute Expulso to leverage some matchups in his favor. His level of play is a far cry from the top players and some exceptional performances will be needed to sway public perception to believe otherwise, but if tlenit1 continues to play his cards right, he can still manufacture a solid record. It will be interesting to see how this slot executes each week as we get further into the depths of the PU pool.

In the land of OU, false is regarded as a mediocre player who struggles through a handful of WCoP games each year and unfortunately, that is all there is to it. However, in PU false's narrative is the exact opposite of this. He won PU Open previously and had a superb PU run last Snake, which pretty much carried his otherwise historically bad overall record. Given that this field is a bit weaker than any OU field in terms of proven talent, it will be interesting to see who can make a name for themselves and who will struggle under the spotlight. If last year was any indication of what is to come for PU, then odds are that false will once again prove he belongs in the former camp. If not, it could be a long season for false, who does have atomicllamas as potential support if anything goes downhill like many prior tournaments have, including the most recent PUPL.

If this were round two of the PU Circuit playoffs, then Skipkan would be one of the players to watch for. His riveting runs through the PU Circuit have captured the eyes of many PU players, and this likely was what saved Skipkan from being ranked at the absolute bottom of the field in his debut tournament. Truth be told though, there is not much evidence proving that he will be able to hang with the best PU has to offer in this tournament. The roster does have Kushalos and the man of many hams, so not all hope is lost if Skipkan does not pan out, but if they are needed elsewhere, it might be a long season. Skipkan is likely capable of winning a few games, as he had some flashes of brilliance in the recent PUPL, but he lacks a truly dominant performance of relevance on his resume and one would imagine this would not be the place for a first one of those to come around, especially given how deep this field is for PU standards.

Roseybear does not have much PU experience besides an impressive PU Open run this year, so many wonder how he will build off of this and if he will be able to do much preparation wise. With bugzinator as a potential alternative or even to give some tips, there is at least a Team UK core here that may go a long way for the Rattlers in PU. However, this alone is not much in terms of resources or experience when compared to other teams. For Roseybear to succeed, he will need to replicate PU Open results against even stronger and more consistent competition. Otherwise, he may find himself rattled after facing some stronger competition, especially considering he is not the most experienced in official tournaments to begin with, as he is only 0-1 on the sheet as it stands.

What could possibly be a more PU conclusion to this field than a subpar OU player rounding out the rankings? I cannot think of anything that is more fitting, personally. Regardless, obii is playing PU for the Serpents. As to if teammate Star, who has some recent success in PU, can support him much, we are unsure, but obii will have tier shifts shaking up the metagame and a gap week prior to the tournament to at least gain some idea of what to expect. Unfortunately, without much prior experience and with such a subpar track record, it is hard to believe this slot will do too well. Perhaps obii will reach his ceiling against a less proven field this Snake, but what is the ceiling of a player with a 3-15 record thus far? If it is going even or better, then odds are the Serpents will take it given how little they invested into PU. If not, then it could be a very long season for everyone involved with this slot.

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When TonyFlygon and TDK got the nod as managers, a few things became clear. Unfortunately, we would be subject to yet another season's worth of wordplay and mind-numbing puns from the former. Fortunately, we are also subject to some of the finest manager candidates that Smogon has to offer. Tony may go down as the best pure manager in Smogon history if he is able to add a bit more to his managerial resume, if he is not there already. The YouTuber turned Tournament Director turned Super Moderator has led many teams to the playoffs, including Europe to the finals twice in four years, and even managed his way to the prestigious SPL red. TDK, on the other hand, has played a bit more than he has managed, but he is a leader of multiple tiers and will undoubtedly be a valuable resource to most of the starting slots in teambuilding. Both TDK and Tony played on the Rattlers last year, so it will be interesting to see if they can help lead their team to victory in their second year together.

Eternal Spirit, fresh off some good old OLT tilt, is back for another run with his bakers alongside M Dragon, just like last year. M Dragon is the most experienced manager in the field and has been an active part of the tournaments community for over a decade. Frankly, nobody comes close on that front. And while M Dragon's recent SPL campaigns have been quite rough given the high standards he has set, the Lanakila Nagas did comfortably make playoffs under his and Eternal Spirit's leadership last year. Eternal Spirit is a very vocal leader and singlehandedly gave the franchise a memorable overhaul as The Bakers were born. The two managers complement each other very well, and their top 2 ranking shouldn't come as a shock.

After qualifying for last year's playoffs, EviGaro and HJAD make for another returning pair to manage in SSD once again. EviGaro has gradually become one of the most experienced managers on Smogon, adding to her resume via unofficial team tournaments like UUPL, RU Snake Draft, and NUPL as well. This pairing not only brings managerial experience, though, as both managers also cover multiple lower tiers as teambuilding support between themselves, which is valuable. All in all there's no real reason to assume they won't put together another highly competitive team, and as such they're ranked high at #3.

Tricking is undeniably one of the hottest players of recent times, from going 8-2 in last year's SSD, to winning OLT VI, to being Team Italy's leader in what might have been the most dominant WCoP run in Smogon's history. Tricking's leadership role is particularly interesting, as it's one of the main qualities he'll have to call on in order to successfully take over from last year's winning managers of the Lake of Rage Leviathans. Outside of his leadership there is also his notorious influence in the teambuilder. Team Italy was as dominant as they were due to their edge at Team Preview in most of their games. It'll be interesting to see how Tricking puts his spin on the Leviathans' teams this year. With Tricking we see another WCoP leader in Mysterious M as his co-manager. Mysterious M is a known hard worker and should complement Tricking nicely. Whether all of this translates to being good managers in this year's SSD remains to be seen, but for now we can't predict against Tricking.

Ladies and gentlemen, rozes is back, but is this a good thing? rozes last managed in SPL 8 and has since been unable to due to his tournament ban from 2017. With all of that in the past, rozes looks to finally put his stamp on a team tournament as a manager. In order to do so, the NU tier leader has picked a co-manager that's controversial, yet so brave; his fellow NU tier leader and longtime ally, Eternally... In fairness, Eternally has been a very consistent NU player throughout the years in SSD, who will now try his hand at managing for a change. Both of these guys are very experienced in team tournaments and know what it takes to win them. It is worth noting that neither of them has had managerial success in team tournaments before, so whether post-tournament ban rozes is a top-tier managerial threat remains to be seen.

This year's Berry Forest Bushmasters managers will be US South's partners in crime Christo and FlamingVictini. This is Christo's second time managing in SSD, after being Hogg's co-manager in the first iteration back in 2017. FlamingVictini, who won this year's OST, has been racking up managerial experience himself, too, by managing the Indie Scooters in the last two seasons of SPL. Both managers are known for, in addition to their excellent playing results in recent times, their teambuilding ability and should be able to support their OU players nicely in particular. There are some concerns, however. In troubling trademark fashion, FlamingVictini was forced to skip a pick by deciding too late during the draft, while submitting a lineup too late isn't at all out of the question either for these two. Can the pair remain disciplined and active throughout the tournament? They're going to have to if they are to contend for this year's SSD trophy.

2020 is the year of the Italians on Smogon, and it shouldn't be surprising that Team Italy's captain is making another run as a manager in this year's SSD. Averardo and Prinz are coming off of a very successful WCoP campaign, in which Italy dismantled anyone that dared stepping in their path. Managing in SSD, however, is obviously very different from captaining WCoP. While they are admittedly lacking in experience on that front, they know how to win team tournaments, and Prinz especially has proven to be a great leader in SPL. Through leading by example as a player, but also by posting adorable dog pictures, of course. Keep them coming, Prinz.

This combination offers a fresh face in Jordy paired with a veteran manager in Analytic. Jordy, affectionately referred to as "Baby Finch", has gone from Ash Ketchum-style badge collecting to gradually moving his way into the official tournaments circuit this year. After getting picked up by the Cryonicles in this year's SPL mid-season, Jordy secured a place on Team Europe and ended up helping his team make a run all the way to the final. Jordy is new to drafting and leading a team, however, which is where Analytic will prove to be valuable. The longtime SPL Stark Sharks co-manager brings some much needed managerial experience to the table as this year's Terminus Taipans managers clock in at #8.

The Matrix Scouter™ and her Italian co-manager find themselves ranked 9th overall. This is Aurella's first time managing in an official tournament, but Will of Fire adds an experienced component, as he's managing the Black City Mambas for a third SSD in a row. The reason this pair isn't ranked higher is mostly due to Aurella's complete inexperience on the big stage, as a player or a manager. Will of Fire, while very familiar with the format, has also never qualified for the playoffs. Aurella does bring unrivaled motivation and effort to this year's tournament, so don't rule these two out just yet. Hopefully the relentless flow of effort from Aurella will be enough to inspire this whole team and that alone will be enough to justify her placement as manager. This coupled with some crafty team construction from Italy's finest could be enough for this duo to shock the world after all.

xImRaptor and Gondra close out our list of managers. As players, both have had a stellar year. Between the two of them they won an incredible 16 (!) games for the Alpha Ruiners in this year's SPL, making them a significant part of the Ruiners' trophy-winning season. Having said that, as managers their resumes aren't as glowing. This tournament marks xImRaptor's first time managing in an official team tournament, though it should be said that he fulfills a leadership position on Team Latin America in WCoP. Gondra, however, has managed in an official team tournament before, and it tragically ended in a disaster. The SPL X Team Raiders ended dead last in chaotic fashion, featuring lots of drama and a handful of public meltdowns. Can the Latin American pair overcome their past managerial struggles through the power of anime? Only time will tell.

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