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dekzeh and i ended up playing for "fun" with the teams we had prepared. whether you count it or not doesn't really matter but we felt like it would be cool to play regardless of the score. replay here
the kingpin is playing the griffin on sunday around tour time.
SM OU: Welli0u vs p2 - p2 is an SM darling while welli0u hasn't had a strong performance yet
SM OU: Tricking vs Eternal Spirit - ES will go above and beyond for his team after last week's poor showing
SM OU: TheThorn vs Steve Angello - thorn impressed last week while steve has remained the epitome of consistent
SM Ubers: Gunner Rohan vs Mazar - gunner has been bringing solid teams but mazar has been bringing the most insane innovations
SM LC: Star vs OP - my most confident predict out of the twelve. op is top tier LC
SM DOU: Biosci vs MajorBowman - both played amazing last week and brought cool uncommon sets (special landot, disable mega gar) but I feel like majorbowman worked a little harder for his win and it'll show again this week
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi - axel10 is a monster although nintendi hasnt been sleeping
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom - giving ttom the edge after last week's match
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome - can't not predict phil although it's tama
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin - ojama knows what to bring to a finals match while jabba was hella weak to a simple hp grass zapdos last week
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem - mr378 can redeem his second half of the season right here but mcm has years of gsc experience over him
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken - wanna give the edge to zeb but I'm expecting crystal to win. peas predicted the same so im feeling validated
SM OU: Welli0u vs p2
SM OU: Tricking vs Eternal Spirit
SM OU: TheThorn vs Steve Angello
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome
ADV OU: Ojama vs Century Express
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken
putting the memes away this week for the integrity of the tournament.
SM DOU: Biosci vs MajorBowman - seems like a great match, going with my gut based on 0 knowledge of doubles
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi - I've never played Axel before but every time I watch one of his replays he impresses me with his prediction
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom - leafs > sens, matthews > karlsson, marner > turris, life > phaneuf
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome - I think I've predicted Tama to lose 2/3 times now and every single time he seems to pull out the W. WITH THAT SAID though I believe in the power of Aron. I think phil got a bit swamped in the later weeks and it showed in his teams. My boy is gonna pull out all the stops for the finals and bring something insane, let's just hope it's not a FEAR Rattata you fuckin madman
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin - I have great respect for both players, should be a good one
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem - never heard of roro until today so he'll probably win right ??
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken - Zeb's crash course of RBY seems to be working and his general pkmn skills are translating well. However, crystal is as solid as they come and I think his vetrin presents will see him through this one barring any typical RBY shenanigans
I also wanna briefly congratulate the Raiders on a great season, this pic alone speaks volumes.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but in all my years following this tournament I've never seen a team have 6 different players with 7 or more wins, that's pretty insane.
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom ROFL is Tom going to get a trophy?
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome <-- This game should be good
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem Your name changes are shit man
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken Zeb plays RBY? :1
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom - the better player and the better lover
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome - Two of the best DPPers of all time, won’t make a predict because both these dudes are capable of winning but this is hype
[#3] Indie Scooters (4) vs [#4] Circus Maximus Tigers (8)
SM OU: Welli0u vs p2
SM OU: Tricking vs Eternal Spirit - porca madonna
SM OU: TheThorn vs Steve Angello - im trying and failing to find that german song u linked me once, something about dicks and salad?
SM Ubers: Gunner Rohan vs Mazar - was rlly tempted to put mazar cause the dude's p much unstoppable and that blaziken was too much heat, but i know gunner and he wants it more, regardless really looking forward to it
SM LC: Star vs OP
SM DOU: Biosci vs MajorBowman
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem - mr. numbers goddam
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken
[#3] Indie Scooters (6) vs [#4] Circus Maximus Tigers (6) - Gotta favor Tigers to be more likely to get to 7 tho given all their momentum and the fact that they seem to be more motivated than anyone else, especially with their core of newer players, and they also have McMeghan, who himself gives quite the advantage if he 'tryhards' I feel
SM OU: Welli0u vs p2 - Welli0u has brought some really good teams throughout the tournament, especially last week, but he has not been consistently able to execute when it comes to gameplay. Last week was especially disappointing from him, so I have to wonder if he's seeing things clearly and thinking much in the long term when he plays. If he is able to turn it around, then I see a lot of potential given his prep/building, so we will have to wait and see. On the other hand, p2 has brought some questionable stuff and played some games like the SPL rookie he is, but he has also played quite well at times and has managed to win five games this season, so that's certainly something. On the merit of that, I'd expect him to win if he doesn't use something garbage like Physically Defensive Mimikyu or Timid Kartan simply due to him probably being the better player so far. It's hard to say with certainty just because of the small sample size on Welli0u and the fact that neither player is too experienced or well-seasoned, so this can easily be a game decided by someone matching up well or someone bringing a mediocre team, too.
SM OU: Tricking vs Eternal Spirit - Tricking played pretty well against me last week, even making a really risky play early on that could've been costly, but he had the balls to pull it off and it gave him an early advantage. I feel like a lot of inexperienced tournament players struggle to take risks and being able to take them consistently is a sign of good things to come, so I have to give him the playing edge. The teams the Scooters have used in SM as of late have been pretty solid, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if he took it. With that said, ES started out 3-0 in SM and he's capable of winning against anybody, as he showed in OLT, so this could really go either way.
SM OU: TheThorn vs Steve Angello - Thorn has been pretty ok throughout the tournament, but I do not think he's really outstanding as a player and I do not think he will be able to beat Steve. Steve sorta just finds ways to win a lot of games despite there not always being too much justification behind it or anything. Steve's a good player who isn't afraid to make some interesting plays and bring some very unique teams, which could give him an advantage as is, but add this into the fact that he's put up a solid record so far and he has more overall experience than Thorn and I think the favorite here is kinda clear-cut. If Thorn elects to weild a Toxapex while Steve does not, then all bets are off the table!
SM Ubers: Gunner Rohan vs Mazar - Mazar has been pretty dominant in the tier, even if a lot of people do not take him seriously because of his past, things he has said, or the fact that he's far from an actual, conventional Ubers player. I find it kind of foolish for everyone to bash on him or completely disregard the prospect of him being good when he clearly is doing something right after winning like four straight games in the tier, especially against solid players like Level 56 and Hack. Gotta give credit where it is due and it is due here. Gunner is far from a pushover and I think he will give Mazar a run for his money, but he will have to bring a solid team like he did for Level 56 last week if he wishes to emulate that result this week, so we will have to wait and see.
SM LC: Star vs OP - OP has been doing very well as of late, but Star's just the better overall player. I think that both have a solid grasp on the LC tier and have used some interesting teams, but Starmaster's a bit more consistent and probably the more skilled of the two. I will say this feels like the type of match where a speed tie, damage roll, or crit will decide things, so perhaps that'll decide it haha.
SM DOU: Biosci vs MajorBowman - Bowman has probably been the best overall Doubles player over the past two SPLs and I feel like Biosci is a bit overrated. He's still solid, but he tends to use some similar stuff and I think Bowman + support can take advantage of that in prep and proceed to play as well as he normally does to win, but I'm no doubles expert, so perhaps there's more to it. Either way, Bowman's always impressed, so gotta favor him.
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi - Axel10 hasn't actually impressed me nearly as much as he has all of his hyped up fanboys who have been riding him since week two or whatever, but he surely is a good player and I feel he's a bit more proven than Nintendi. Nintendi is a capable player and I actually like his style in ORAS a lot, but I think his niche is more being the dude that fucks TDK up as opposed to a consistent threat in SPL and I think that Axel10 probably has the prep/building advantage when comparing the two. I expect Axel to win unless he uses something a bit too risky and it backfires, but if Nintendi pulls out some Brazilian strategies, then anything can happen :monkey:
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom - The log below explains exactly why this match is already 100% over and my prediction is correct.
[10:22 PM] Tokyo Tom: the only good hippo is [10:22 PM] Tokyo Tom: crunch / curse / rest / sleep talk [10:22 PM] Finchinator: this is why [10:23 PM] Finchinator: nobody predicts u to win man [10:23 PM] Tokyo Tom: LOL [10:23 PM] Finchinator: this is precisely why [10:23 PM] Finchinator: there are no other reasons [10:23 PM] Finchinator: just this.
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome - Both are in my top 2-3 overall DPPers this SPL and I expect really interesting teams and solid plays, but I think Tama is simply a bit better and more clutch comparatively. Phil has played consistently well over the past year or two in DPP and he's clearly one of the GOATs in the tier, but Tama is an overall insanely good player and if he doesn't use something too predictable, I think he will simply be just a slight bit better. This can really go either way and it's probably the best match of the entire series, so I'm honestly not too sure either way, but gut and slight personal preference leans Tama, so yea.
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin - Ojama's just the better of the two players -- he's more in-touch with the tier, more active, and probably will prepare/build better. Jabba can get lucky, I guess, but I don't think it's too likely.
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem - 378 has proven he can win at this level and that's certainly something, but he's a bit on the one-dimmensional side overall and I do not think he is proven too much with other stuff, so that leads me to be a bit uncertain. McMeghan has been playing insanely well all SPL, transitioning from BW to ADV to GSC, and I expect him to continue his streak of solid play in this GSC game. I also think that he can spin the match-up in his advantage if he prepares well, but that might not even be necessary if he plays at a high enough level. 378 will need to change it up or play very well if he wants to take this one from McM, imo.
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken - I love Zeb, but he's still got work to do if he wants to become a consistent, reliable SPL RBYer like Crystal currently is. Could come down to some RNG, however, and that always tends to favor the Zebra.
[#3] Indie Scooters (6) vs [#4] Circus Maximus Tigers (6) - Gotta favor Tigers to be more likely to get to 7 tho given all their momentum and the fact that they seem to be more motivated than anyone else, especially with their core of newer players, and they also have McMeghan, who himself gives quite the advantage if he 'tryhards' I feel
SM OU: Welli0u vs p2 - Welli0u has brought some really good teams throughout the tournament, especially last week, but he has not been consistently able to execute when it comes to gameplay. Last week was especially disappointing from him, so I have to wonder if he's seeing things clearly and thinking much in the long term when he plays. If he is able to turn it around, then I see a lot of potential given his prep/building, so we will have to wait and see. On the other hand, p2 has brought some questionable stuff and played some games like the SPL rookie he is, but he has also played quite well at times and has managed to win five games this season, so that's certainly something. On the merit of that, I'd expect him to win if he doesn't use something garbage like Physically Defensive Mimikyu or Timid Kartan simply due to him probably being the better player so far. It's hard to say with certainty just because of the small sample size on Welli0u and the fact that neither player is too experienced or well-seasoned, so this can easily be a game decided by someone matching up well or someone bringing a mediocre team, too.
SM OU: Tricking vs Eternal Spirit - Tricking played pretty well against me last week, even making a really risky play early on that could've been costly, but he had the balls to pull it off and it gave him an early advantage. I feel like a lot of inexperienced tournament players struggle to take risks and being able to take them consistently is a sign of good things to come, so I have to give him the playing edge. The teams the Scooters have used in SM as of late have been pretty solid, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if he took it. With that said, ES started out 3-0 in SM and he's capable of winning against anybody, as he showed in OLT, so this could really go either way.
SM OU: TheThorn vs Steve Angello - Thorn has been pretty ok throughout the tournament, but I do not think he's really outstanding as a player and I do not think he will be able to beat Steve. Steve sorta just finds ways to win a lot of games despite there not always being too much justification behind it or anything. Steve's a good player who isn't afraid to make some interesting plays and bring some very unique teams, which could give him an advantage as is, but add this into the fact that he's put up a solid record so far and he has more overall experience than Thorn and I think the favorite here is kinda clear-cut. If Thorn elects to weild a Toxapex while Steve does not, then all bets are off the table!
SM Ubers: Gunner Rohan vs Mazar - Mazar has been pretty dominant in the tier, even if a lot of people do not take him seriously because of his past, things he has said, or the fact that he's far from an actual, conventional Ubers player. I find it kind of foolish for everyone to bash on him or completely disregard the prospect of him being good when he clearly is doing something right after winning like four straight games in the tier, especially against solid players like Level 56 and Hack. Gotta give credit where it is due and it is due here. Gunner is far from a pushover and I think he will give Mazar a run for his money, but he will have to bring a solid team like he did for Level 56 last week if he wishes to emulate that result this week, so we will have to wait and see.
SM LC: Star vs OP - OP has been doing very well as of late, but Star's just the better overall player. I think that both have a solid grasp on the LC tier and have used some interesting teams, but Starmaster's a bit more consistent and probably the more skilled of the two. I will say this feels like the type of match where a speed tie, damage roll, or crit will decide things, so perhaps that'll decide it haha.
SM DOU: Biosci vs MajorBowman - Bowman has probably been the best overall Doubles player over the past two SPLs and I feel like Biosci is a bit overrated. He's still solid, but he tends to use some similar stuff and I think Bowman + support can take advantage of that in prep and proceed to play as well as he normally does to win, but I'm no doubles expert, so perhaps there's more to it. Either way, Bowman's always impressed, so gotta favor him.
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi - Axel10 hasn't actually impressed me nearly as much as he has all of his hyped up fanboys who have been riding him since week two or whatever, but he surely is a good player and I feel he's a bit more proven than Nintendi. Nintendi is a capable player and I actually like his style in ORAS a lot, but I think his niche is more being the dude that fucks TDK up as opposed to a consistent threat in SPL and I think that Axel10 probably has the prep/building advantage when comparing the two. I expect Axel to win unless he uses something a bit too risky and it backfires, but if Nintendi pulls out some Brazilian strategies, then anything can happen :monkey:
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom - The log below explains exactly why this match is already 100% over and my prediction is correct.
[10:22 PM] Tokyo Tom: the only good hippo is [10:22 PM] Tokyo Tom: crunch / curse / rest / sleep talk [10:22 PM] Finchinator: this is why [10:23 PM] Finchinator: nobody predicts u to win man [10:23 PM] Tokyo Tom: LOL [10:23 PM] Finchinator: this is precisely why [10:23 PM] Finchinator: there are no other reasons [10:23 PM] Finchinator: just this.
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome - Both are in my top 2-3 overall DPPers this SPL and I expect really interesting teams and solid plays, but I think Tama is simply a bit better and more clutch comparatively. Phil has played consistently well over the past year or two in DPP and he's clearly one of the GOATs in the tier, but Tama is an overall insanely good player and if he doesn't use something too predictable, I think he will simply be just a slight bit better. This can really go either way and it's probably the best match of the entire series, so I'm honestly not too sure either way, but gut and slight personal preference leans Tama, so yea.
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin - Ojama's just the better of the two players -- he's more in-touch with the tier, more active, and probably will prepare/build better. Jabba can get lucky, I guess, but I don't think it's too likely.
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem - 378 has proven he can win at this level and that's certainly something, but he's a bit on the one-dimmensional side overall and I do not think he is proven too much with other stuff, so that leads me to be a bit uncertain. McMeghan has been playing insanely well all SPL, transitioning from BW to ADV to GSC, and I expect him to continue his streak of solid play in this GSC game. I also think that he can spin the match-up in his advantage if he prepares well, but that might not even be necessary if he plays at a high enough level. 378 will need to change it up or play very well if he wants to take this one from McM, imo.
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken - I love Zeb, but he's still got work to do if he wants to become a consistent, reliable SPL RBYer like Crystal currently is. Could come down to some RNG, however, and that always tends to favor the Zebra.
SM OU: Welli0u vs p2
SM OU: Tricking vs Eternal Spirit
SM OU: TheThorn vs Steve Angello
SM Ubers: Gunner Rohan vs Mazar
SM LC: Star vs OP
SM DOU: Biosci vs MajorBowman
ORAS OU: Axel10 vs Nintendi Mi puto niño
BW OU: Jirachee vs Tokyo Tom
DPP OU: Philip7086 vs Tamahome
ADV OU: Ojama vs JabbaTheGriffin
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs roroyurem
RBY OU: Crystal_ vs Zebraiken
