Alright, so we did it! I'd be remiss to not start out by extending respect to the Strikers for this series. I think everyone, myself included, has these aspirations of totally clean finals that I think it's safe to say we came short of, and y'all were a class act throughout. To have such a dominant regular season in spite of an otherwise sure thing in PDT having a slower start is no fluke, and muscling your way through playoffs and tiebreaks did everything to confirm that. I would've had no regrets to have lost this finals, and while the chips fell as they did this time, I am of the mind that all things balance out along a greater timeline, and those that came just shy now will get their due.
As something of a transition, it does feel like a great bookend for us to have this particular finals, as both our primary DPP picks in Fatty and Highland were adamantly pursued in draft, pushing us explore alternatives (which, clearly snowballed in a way we could've never fully appreciated in that moment). However, at the end of draft I can say we were more than satisfied with our results. My experience as a manager was never especially geared towards franchise in the way Viv's was, so making an effort towards maintaining a clear identity was something of a new experience, though our goals ultimately end up much the same: a competitive team that is above all else looking to have fun. In no hubristic way, my biggest concern once our draft was finished ended up being that we simply wouldn't be able to get everyone the play time they deserved. In my mind, several of the players that ended up on our bench were players that had very much put in the work, established themselves as players worthy of starting slots, and were merely put in our plans as this pie in the sky dream, yet we got them for 4k? Something felt off, but if the other managers had such concrete ideas of what their draft was meant to be then who were we to deny them that. So to that end I want to extend the my greatest thanks to our subs, for y'all to not only accept the situation as it came when you very much could be starting for any of these teams, but to so fully commit to supporting everyone was spectacular. We never win this tour without everyone giving their all, and I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't make that crystal clear for anyone outside.
I won't be going down the line with a massive block of shout-outs, it never felt like something that would feel 'right' for me and the dopamine hit of winning out has in fact not taught me something about myself in that regard. As we wait with bated breath on Viv's grand post I will simply say that if you feel unappreciated to let me know, as that too would feel like a failing on my part. However, it feels only right that special accommodations are made to our resident 10-0,
LpZ . As previously stated, he was not our primary choice for DPP, though of course his name was always in mind. Draft is something of a serendipitous and fickle thing, and choices were actively made on our end to quickly assess how the other managers would commit to various high profile players, as with the aforementioned fatty, as to avoid feeling locked into committing to an overly 'obvious' buy. By that time in the draft we had managed to go under budget for effectively every player we went in on and had gracefully bowed out of a bidding war w/a PDT who had expressed in action that he was fully committed to both fatty and Highlord. LpZ was the player we elected to 'splurge' on with our surplus funds, and the rest is history. As I mentioned earlier in this, I am of the opinion that all things balance out in the greater scheme of things. LpZ was mentioning last evening that with this tour, he is now neutral on the UU sheet, which I think anyone could agree is a little absurd. I bring this up because I would be concerned that folks might see fit to look at a record like this and wave it away as luck (which absolutely was a factor), rather than appreciating the work that went in to make each game winnable. This was your moment of balance, I'm happy you could iron out your sheet and happier still it could result in a ring for all the work put in. For
my moment of balance, my mean and evil anti-shoutout goes to
dawnbuster, who would tirelessly churn out team after team, test with such a clear passion for the tier, and somehow never once use Pinsir after hyping it up the entire tour. How dare your hard work this tour not translate directly to a flawless record like LPZ, I'm mad now.
Sorry you could only break even after having such a stellar streak going into this, I'm sure you can't feel fully satisfied by it but know that we at no point regretted picking you here. Your play and prep was all good, hitting some walls over a greater timeline like this is inevitable and having no doubt you will continue to excel. A Pinsir or two would've been nice though.
At the end of the day though, this trophy is Viv's to me. If I were to make a hierarchy of deservedness in this whole shebang, he would land unconditionally on top and myself at the bottom, which admittedly is a new experience for me. This was the first time managing in this later stage of my 'career', having previously been one who would build multiple teams, have their hands in all the prep, and now with a full time job that leaves Showdown as a bit more than one tab away I find myself relegated to much more of an advisory position. Prior to even committing to the Friends I was ready to take up the mantle for Monsters, or really just fill out whatever spot was there, I had no great attachment to any franchise. By contrast, Viv not only put in the work in and out of game, but the Friends are his team in every respect, and getting to weasel my way into a team with history as someone who's every outing effectively feels from scratch has been revelatory in ways. I don't know what, if any, role I had in nudging the Friends in the right direction to finally make this win happen for them, but it's been a treat to tag along for it all the same. Thank you Friends.
Much love to Theia and Vertigo for running this smoothly, and to the community for consistently making it a good time to pop in every few months for another tour. Appreciate y'all giving me a chance to sneak one of these in as a manager.
. The GSC UU Jerk will never back down. This is a great tier.
