RU Premier League X Power Rankings

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Welcome to the tenth installment of the RarelyUsed Premier League! This is the first time we are trying to do the Power Rankings in a more structured way than the forum posts we are used to doing, following UU's decision to do it. This time around, we'll be able to see who the big names that will leave a mark as the rising stars of the new generation are, as well as which old veterans will try to continue their reign of dominance in their respective formats. As you know from other team tours, an attempt was made to create an unbiased list of expected players for each tier played in RUPL by asking knowledgeable players to rank the new and old generation players in each respective formats. The rankings were then averaged, resulting in what we hope looks like a mostly impartial list. This is all to bring hype and some sort of entertainment around the tournament, so don't feel discouraged if you find yourself ranked at the lower end of your pool. Hopefully, this power ranking edition can work as a base for future RU tournaments to come!

A big thank you to the people who helped with the rankings and creation of this article: Ajna, Ampha, Astrø, bb skarm, Beraldo, Clementine, crying, daniYSB, DugZa, eifo, EviGaro, Feliburn, Finchinator, Floss, GoldCat, Gondra, Guille14, gum, GW, HANTSUKI, ishtar, jisoo, lighthouses, LpZ, Lunala, Lyssa, Mac3, Master Chief, MrAldo, ninjadog, odr, Oyster, pdt , Punny, QWILY, robjr, sensei axew, shiloh, Star, TheFranklin, Thiago Nunes, Vulpix , Xiri, xXcrossbowXx.

An even bigger thanks to the people who helped with the writing, HTML, GP and QC checks, and much more: Ampha, Beraldo, C0nfiden1 0yster, cyanize, eifo, EviGaro, Feliburn, Floss, GoldCat, ishtar, Lily, Lumari, Mac3, MrAldo, TheFranklin, Togkey, and Yourwelcomethanku.

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1. lax
2. Floss
3. umbry
4. Beraldo
5. EviGaro
6. jonfilch
7. Raptor
8. kythr
9. Scottie
10. Lily
11. DugZa
12. Togkey
13. Thiago Nunes
14. ishtar
15. devin
16. Yourwelcomethanku
17. Vulpix03
18. gum
19. snaga
20. Kev
21. Lilo
22. cyanize
23. airfare
24. sasha

sensei and Punny managed to get their hands on not one but two of the top 3 ranked SV players. umbry and lax are both solid players who played in this year's SPL, while gum played last year's SCL, making this SV core the strongest one out of all in the tournament. lax is coming off a strong 6-3 SPL performance where he played SV OU, which means he is already familiarized with the Tera generation and will look to translate his success in OU to RU. umbry also had a beautiful 4-1 record in SPL playing SM OU, but she is known to be a pretty flexible player even outside of UU and DOU and will probably catch the flow of the metagame quickly. gum, despite being a weaker player compared to their teammates, is known to be a strong PU builder, so they will probably be the one providing teams to both umbry and lax, with sensei and Punny's support. All this being said, the Guardians have three pretty talented players, and it would not be a surprise to see them dominating the SV pool.

Floss's high ranking is surely in large part a result of his SS performance. He won the RU Open and qualified for the circuit playoffs, which are rather big feats. As for SV, Floss qualified for this year's RULT, showing engagement in the tier. Floss is now managing the Heavy Metal Highlights for this RUPL, so he is probably going to care a good bit more and have the motivation to perform well. Raptor is a tournament player who went 6-4 in this year's SPL and had a good performance in last year's SCL playing SS RU, and despite having no experience with SV RU, he is a strong player who can pilot any team properly. The last member of the core is Kev, a Monotype tier leader who has made playoffs in RULT, and with Floss's support, the Highlights hope Kev will be able to pull up some wins. With the core centralized on council member Floss, Raptor has everything he needs to outperform in this pool, and Kev might be an underdog who will surprise everyone with a good record. The whole core also has Feliburn to help them, which makes the Highlights's SV core stronger than it already is.

The Gluttons have assembled a SV core of similarly skilled players in Scottie, Lily, and DugZa, all of whom have put up solid performances across numerous lower tiers in the past year and will be looking to build on their success in the new generation of RU. This core is led by Scottie, who has put the most effort out of the trio to acclimate to the metagame so far, which is evidenced by him making the top cut for RULT playoffs. A veteran lower tier player who has achieved multiple Grand Slam playoff appearances, Scottie will be seeking to improve on his great 16-10 record in RU team tours during this RUPL. Following up is Lily, the UU tier leader who has racked up plenty of high-level experience in the new generation over the course of SPL and UUPL, picking up a stellar 5-0 record in the former. She will be keen to start working on improving her overall 13-18 record in RU, which is an inaccurate reflection of her usual ability. Last, but certainly not least, the core is rounded out by DugZa, who made the RU circuit finals in 2022 and has put up results in a variety of lower tiers during the last year, including a 5-1 record in the last RUPL. He will be looking to transfer his ability to a new generation, but he will have to overcome his relative lack of experience in SV compared to his teammates. All in all, the Gluttons will be hoping this core can help them achieve their aspirations of winning the tour with their blend of experience and skill.

The Hustlers have an interesting core of SV players who might at first be underestimated by the competition but whose overall performances as well as solid support put them at the upper half of this list. Thiago Nunes, while not as overly recognizable as some of the other first slots, has had an overall record of 16-12 in RU team tours, making him a consistent player. One might ask themselves if he will be able to compete with the biggest names in the tournament, but Beraldo seems to trust him enough in this department, and his record could indicate more hits than misses for the Hustlers. Beraldo himself is the star of the lineup, being considered a top 4 SV player, constantly strong in the building department as well as a reliable player whose great attributes and recent experience in SPL are only balanced by the fact that he still doesn't know how to tie his shoes. Maybe he'll be nerfed by his recent Discord profile picture change? Vulpix03 is the third slot of the Hustlers, another reliable player with overall good tournament experience who will be solidly supported by his manager as well as other SV builders on the Hustlers such as TheFranklin and Confiden1 0yster. While definitely not a player to underestimate, he'll have to prove himself in the tier, but if the hustle is as real as the team's name indicates, he should be more than fine to perform.

The SV core of Payloaders finds itself in the middle of the pack, composed by two tour players in kythr and devin backed up with an RU main in Yourwelcomethanku. kythr is the fulcrum this particular core is built on, a rising star who has been going from strength to strength with a combined record of 14-9 in the last three official team tours. While he has no recent experience with RU, having last played in an RU team tour in 2021, his investment in the new generation coupled with support from Yourwelcomethanku, GoldCat, and LBN will serve him well. Next up is devin, a journeyman tour player who went 3-4 in the recent SPL and will be trying to cement himself in the Payloaders' starting lineup. Similarly to kythr, devin will need support from his teammates, which should not be an issue for this team between two members of the RU council. One of those members in Yourwelcomethanku rounds out the core, an active builder and player of SV RU who will be looking to reverse his fortunes in RU team tours, having gone 2-8 to date. However, it should be noted that the bulk of those losses came in tiers outside the current gen RU at the time, so a focus on SV from the start could help Yourwelcomethanku's chances to succeed. The Payloaders will be hoping their SV core can gel together quickly and live up to their high potential to pick up regular wins in this pool.

The Sleek Slush Rushers' SV core is lead by jonfilch, a very solid player overall, and a great builder in Togkey. jonfilch went 5-1 the last RUPL and performed very well in both last year's SCL and this year's SPL. He has very good team tournament showcases, and his high ranking is just the result of his performances. Togkey is one of the most influential players in the tier, having qualified for RULT and currently finding herself in the top 8. Her teambuilding is probably one of the most notable things. Ever since the start of the generation, Togkey has been actively involved in both the forums and the Discord, discussing different teambuilding ideas that have earned her the title of one of the more influential builders in the generation. These skills paired with her decent results have put her at a comfortable higher spot in the rankings. Finally we have airfare, who has participated in RU tournaments before, managing to get a neutral 2-2 record overall. airfare is a notable presence in other communities like OU, being known for building a plethora of teams, but he has yet to prove himself in the eyes of the RU community, which can be seen by his low spot in the rankings.

The Perpetrators land near the bottom of the rankings with regards to their SV core, but they have the potential to rise above their ranks. Headlining this group is tier leader and Perpetrators manager EviGaro, someone who has showcased her investment in the current generation with a finals finish in RU Kickoff as well as making the top cut of RULT playoffs. The core will be counting on her to lead by example and pick up wins to bolster her overall 33-25 record in RU team tours, a tally that sees her in the top 10 of RU of all time. Next up, ishtar (the r is silent) has been pretty active on Discord and the forums, showing people their good knowledge in regards to the tier. ishtar also qualified for RULT and did well in the non-circuit kickoff tournament, which shows that they are capable. ishtar has proven to be competent through their activity and capable with their results. The final member of this core is sasha, a player with experience in numerous lower tiers, but someone who has not put up spectacular results yet. Having gone 0-3 in the last RUWC, they will be looking to reverse their fortunes in the current generation with the help of their fellow SV players, who will be able to supply them with teams on a weekly basis. This core might have been ranked low, but if they can get creative in the builder and back it up with solid play, they have a chance to defy their rankings.

The Optical Illusionists have the lowest ranked SV overall. Aside from Lilo, who qualified for RULT, they just don't really have notable recent results. However, they should absolutely be respected. snaga kicks off this core, a tour player with a wealth of experience in officials and lower tier tours who will be looking to build upon his solid 9-7 RU team tours record in this tour. snaga will be held back by his relative lack of experience with the tier in a while, having last played it in 2020, but he will receive timely support from his managers in Mac3 and eifo, both active builders of the tier. Lilo might be able to do well if he doesn't run into Gogoat. Jokes aside, Lilo qualified for RULT and made it to the top 16 elimination phase. That being said, he doesn't have a long history in RU and is ranked low. Meanwhile, cyanize has been extremely active in the Discord and made a colossal forum post earlier in March. These two forums have shown that cyanize is competent and has a lot of knowledge about SV. These players might not have notable recent results, but they do have good qualities, and RUPL could be their chance to get those good results.

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Leading this pool is zS, a lower tiers mainstay who will be looking to reprise his success from last RUPL to take this recent old generation by storm. Coming in hot off a 8-5 SS RU record in 2022, zS utilizes his ingenuity in the builder to catch opponents off guard and backs it up with solid playing skills that should serve him well again in this tour. However, there are some question marks about his support in this tier, with circuit finalist DugZa looking like the likeliest candidate to offer him a hand. Under the familiar stewardship of gorex and ninjadog, the Gluttons will be hoping this maverick can work his magic again to secure his standing as the top dog in the SS pool.

In second place, we have Lyssa, a formidable UUer who has performed well in the last SCL and comes from a 4-4 record playing SS RU in the last year. In addition to her solid play, Lyssa also has robust support from her fellow Italian Punny as well as her other manager, sensei axew. That being said, Lyssa has already proved herself to be able to win against anyone, which makes up for her high ranking. The Guardians have a strong lineup and Lyssa is one of the reasons, so the expectations are that she can pull up a good number of wins and take her team to the playoffs.

Coming in 3rd place is tlenit, a stalwart with a penchant for unique builds in the lower tiers he plays. He will be looking to regain his familiarity in SS RU, where he went 4-2 in RUPL VIII before being shifted to SM in the next RUPL. However, this veteran should have minimal issues acclimating to the metagame changes, being armed with a robust supporting cast that boasts the likes of TheFranklin, Beraldo, and robjr. The Hustlers have given tlenit a strong platform to work from, so it would not be a surprise to see him make a successful return to this old stomping ground.

Floss dipped into the Monotype playerbase for one of their best in Attribute. The Highlights will hope Attribute's Monotype skill carries over into SS RU, and the voters seem to believe that that is possible, ranking him in 4th. Attribute also has exceptional support behind him, in Floss and Feliburn, which should go long ways in both introducing Attribute to the metagame and providing solid, easy-to-pilot teams. However, both Floss and Feli have known building styles that could lead to more familiar SS players being able to pick out niche sets that could catch Attribute off guard, leading the voters to place him in the middle of the pack.

In 5th place, we have no other than the Greninja Warrior himself, after a 1-1 record in RUPL IX and a 2-3 in RUWC IV. After a couple of years of his successful 2020, GW is going to try to make a name for himself on the land of SS RU. GW is known for his average to decent results in tours overall, and alongside the support of fellow 2022 champions MrAldo and Danny and tournament mainstay Xiri, he has the potential to put in some good results this RUPL.

Coming in 6th is BluBird, an experienced tour player who will be making his RUPL debut this time around. While the tier may seem like unfamiliar territory at first glance, his experience in supporting RU players during his spells as an SCL manager should serve him well, especially with the rapport he built with a former teammate and current manager in Mac3. Lunala and eifo can also chip in with advice to refine his teams, and he will gain a better understanding of the metagame as the tour goes on. The Illusionists will be hoping he can surpass the expectations of the rankers and finish with a solid record.

UU mainer Dunoks arrives at 7th place in his first-ever RUPL. With decent to good results in UU individual and team tournaments, Dunoks will look to translate his ability to SS RU. While not able to build for himself, Dunoks has one of the strongest SS support casts in the tournament in GoldCat, pdt, Yourwelcomethanku, and LBN, which means he will be fine teams-wise. Despite being ranked close to the bottom, Dunoks has the potential to pull up wins with his robust support, which means it is all up to his play to be able to perform well in this pool.

Astrø, who finds himself in last place, is playing in the RUPL for the first time after an 0-2 record in RUWC IV. Although he has more experience in the tier than some names in the pool, Astrø has yet to prove himself on this level, so the expectations for him are not as high. Astrø has EviGaro and Metallica126 as solid support, but many other teams have just as strong if not better helpers. There is still hope, though, as Astrø has some experience building in the tier, being one of the names that helped last year's SCL winners Dynamos in the RU slot, so he will need to use his French building skills to gain an advantage over the other names in the pool. Astrø will be hoping his relative anonymity combined with a deeper meta knowledge than many in the SS pool can carry him to wins.

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While Ajna has not had a positive RU team tour run since his 2019 dominance, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that there's nobody scarier to face in SM RU than Ajna himself. This is only the first time the SM RU king is slotting to play SM RU since 2019, when it was the current generation, and we all know how that went, with him ending with a 15-2 record in RU team tours across the year. He also ended up with positive results in last year's RU invitational in the SM RU tier while making it to grand finals, proving once again that he can take on anybody when he feels like it. The only question left to answer is if he'll be able to find the motivation to play his games with a winning mentality, but if he does, then all signs point to Ajna showcasing exactly why he gained the title the greatest RU player back in the 7th generation.

Speaking of retired veterans, odr joins Ajna in the top 2 ranked players in SM RU. Since his SCL win back in 2021, odr has not been as active as some people would like him to be, but he always comes back to play in RU team tours and always manages to put up positive records. It's worth mentioning that these records were attainted in the bo3 slot, showing that odr has not lost his touch that made him a big name in the community back when he first won RU Open in 2019. Focusing solely on SM RU, his best tier, and showing a recent motivation to build new teams for the tier, we are sure to see a dominant run from Odd Della Robbia this time around.

Ranked in the #3 spot is robjr. While his RU team tour results are usually neutral, ending with a 3-3 in last year's RUPL but a really dominant 4-1 in RUWC, robjr is one of the most experienced high-level players in this pool, and he is coming in hot off a win in the most recent RU Classic. Having RU mainstays TheFranklin and Beraldo to help him with team decisions, robjr has proven that he has the tier knowledge, skill, and adaptability to do well in older RU tiers, and he is hoping to ride the momentum off his latest tournament win. This all points towards a good season for rob, though he'll have to prepare for a strong competition, as the SM RU pool is looking as strong as ever.

Ranked next is a player who needs no introduction. Xiri had an insane 7-1 showcase in SM RU in last year's RUPL, managing to win both his finals and finals tiebreak games. Him being ranked at 4th is mainly due to his lack of dominant displays in previous years rather than anything else, but there's no doubt that Xiri is not someone to be underestimated in this pool. This time around he has the support of lighthouses, another experienced SM RU player, and last year's winner MrAldo. Xiri is looking to repeat last year's run and prove to everyone else that the #4 rank might just be too low for him in the future.

Master Chief is a new player in the high-level scenario... oh, wait, he was formerly Alpha Rabbit. If the Power Rankings were about the worst name change ever, Chief would be ranked way higher, but unfortunately, that's a conversation for the end of the year. Anyway, Master Chief is a very experienced RU player but has taken a more managerial role in recent year, with RUWC IV being his last experience as a player, where he ended up with a 3-2 record in SS RU. One also can't forget Chief's 5-4 record in Smogon Snake Draft 3, showing that he is no slouch at the game by any means. Having eifo, cyanize, and Lunala's support, Master Chief has enough to bring solid teams to pair with his experience and pull up some wins. Hopefully Chief can translate his strong capacity at having one of the worst name changes ever to his SM playing, since he would obliterate this pool if he does so.

Despite his 6th placement, Crossbow is still a force to be reckoned with, as with an outstanding 9-2 last year, a decent enough knowledge of the metagame, and the support of Floss and Feliburn, he has the potential to be the underdog of the pool once again. On the other hand, this year's SM RU pool is considerably stronger than last year's, and Crossbow is still new to the SM scene compared to the players ranked above, who have years of experience playing the tier and other formats at higher levels, compared to Crossbow's one year and a half. In the end, we are going to have to see if Crossbow is going to fall short against the more experienced pool or exceed the expectations yet again.

Ranked 7 we have Clementine. Not somebody who is new to SM RU, but the showcases prior have been lackluster. Having a 0-2 record in the Talonflame Suspect SM RU slot and going 2-5 in last year's RUPL playing BW, Clementine is looking to turn things around this time in one of the more stacked pools of the tournament. Clem has the support of people with experience in the tier but not of any real active builders, so it'll all depend on what teams Clem can bring and pilot and if they'll be able to keep up with newer meta trends in the ever-changing tier that is SM RU.

Last but not least, we have Fc. After a solid 7-2 run playing Ubers in SCL and a more recent 5-4 playing SV OU in SPL, Fc is here to try and continue the dominant streak. This time around, the SM RU pool is the target to beat. Fc has the support of sensei axew, who was very active in SM RU during its runtime, and Punny, who has lots of experience in the format as well. This #8 ranking is mostly due to the SM RU pool being just as experienced at the higher level and way more experienced in SM RU as a whole. Will Fc be able to translate his competitive knowledge to this format and handle the tough competition? Only time will tell.

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One of the best ORAS RU players is back once again this year and is looking to dominate the pool for the second time in a row. With an outstanding 2022, bolstering an impressive record of 15-1, a 30-8 overall sheet record, and 3 RU team tour trophies, it's no surprise that Chaitanya is ranked at the very top. Chaitanya not only has incredible playing skills but can also pull some more unorthodox teams featuring Pokémon like Cinccino and Eelektross and still emerge victorious. To finish off, his team support is nothing to sneeze at as well, having the RUTL himself, Feliburn helping him out, so Chaitanya is likely going to have another insane record in his hands.

After a 4-5 record playing SM and BW OU in SPL, Gondra comes to another RUPL. Having a solid 25-17 record in RU team tours overall, Gondra will try to repeat his 7-1 run in RUPL V, but this time in ORAS RU, since he played SM back then. Managers Mac3 and eifo should be able to provide proper support for Gondra, while Lunala and avarice could both help him as well. On top of this all, Gondra has already proven that he's a solid player and always performs decently, so we should be expecting a great performance from the Illusionist.

Next we have rozes. A veteran who has more than enough experience in ORAS RU to do well in this tour, dating back to when it was still the current generation. Most may think shiloh is just someone who manages officials and leads current tiering discussions, but let's not forget that the last time he joined an RUPL back in 2021, he had an impressive 5-2 record in the BO3 slot. This alone proves that shiloh has what it takes to take on anyone, and this idea is only strengthened by the support of old RU head gorex and the winner of the latest ORAS RU cup Leru, who are sure to provide more up-to-date teams, on top of the ones already at shiloh's arsenal. Everything points towards a positive season for shiloh in what is an already top-heavy pool.

lighthouses is a well-known Brazilian RU player who has one of the biggest numbers of wins in the all-time RU tournament sheet. He went 3-3 in last year's RUPL and 5-1 in RUWC IV, where he was playing SM and SS, respectively. It's worth mentioning that lighthouses still maintained some activity in recent years, showing a strong ORAS display in RU Invitational and a decent record in ORASPL, where he ended up with 3-2. The last time lighthouses played ORAS in an RUPL things didn't go as well, but this time he has MrAldo and Miyami's support, which paired with his creative team choices, can lead to multiple good matchups in a relatively stale and reuse-heavy metagame.

Ranked in the lower middle of the pack is Shaneghoul. After making it to the finals of the latest ORAS RU Cup and doing well in the RU Classic playoffs, Shane has managed to climb the ranks to a fifth position. Doubts are loud, as Shane mostly used sample teams in his run, but that also proves that he had an easy time adapting to the meta. He has the support of one of the most prolific ORAS RU standard balance abusers in Ajna, and from GoldCat, who is known for innovating in old generations like BW and ORAS with crazier builds. With this in mind, and Shaneghoul's proven adaptability, it'll be really hard to prepare for what's in store from the Payloaders.

In sixth place is HANTSUKI, a veteran tours player who will be aiming to exceed expectations and tally wins in this ORAS pool. Already having experience playing the tier before, having gone 3-3 in Brazil's fairytale run to a RUWC trophy, they will be looking to build upon their success in a familiar team environment with Beraldo at the helm. In terms of support, Beraldo, TheFranklin and robjr, the latter of whom has been expressing some interest in the tier after his RU Classic win, will be able to chip in with some advice, but none of them actively build the tier, a disadvantage that is less prominent in a settled metagame like ORAS RU. The Hustlers will be hoping HANTSUKI makes use of their ability and experience to finish with a solid record in this pool.

In the 7th place, we have QWILY, someone who can play solidly in any tier he is slotted into. As a Guardian, QWILY has Punny and sensei's support, and even though there is no real ORAS RU mainer in the team, QWILY should be given good teams by his managers. Having played last year's RUPL and finishing with a 4-3 record, QWILY has proven that he can do well in SS RU, but there are doubts that he can translate it to ORAS RU. Qwily ended up with a solid 4-1 record in ORASPL playing ORAS RU, but can he repeat it? If QWILY plays as good as his music taste (come to Brazil bro), he can be the underdog of the ORAS pool.

Ranked last, we have Staxi, a known player who dabbles in multiple lower tiers in side PLs like this one. Recently he has shown some signs of success in RU, making it to the latest round of the current RULT, but his experience playing ORAS RU is less than what you'd hope for. He is backed by EviGaro, who can pass competent teams that will surely help his run, but he'll still need to prove that he can adapt to the tier and the multiple common interactions that occur in it. Expectations are low for Staxi in an already highly experienced pool, but if others get too comfortable, he'll surely take them all by surprise in the usual French fashion.

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Ranked at the very top, and to nobody's surprise, we have Finch. Someone who has more experience in BW tiers than the entire pool combined. Despite 2022 being a low point for Finch in RU team tours, he is someone who always pulls positive runs, finding himself at the very top of the RU sheet with the most amount of wins out of anyone ever. He has the support of last year's winner and fellow BW aficionado MrAldo to throw new ideas around and add a different flavor to the usual teams Finchinator uses. Everything is pointing towards yet another positive season for Finch, and we are sure that he'll capitalize on this in a sleek manner.

In an offense-oriented meta, the voters believe that GoldCat will be able to use his creativity and willingness to build in his favor. Out of the players in his pool, barring ninjadog and Finchinator, GoldCat might be the most acquainted with the tier, as well as the only one who has been actively building new stuff in the last couple of years. He has been putting up respectable numbers in recent RU subforum teamtours, going 4-4 in RUPL IX and 4-2 in RUWC IV in pools that were less top heavy overall. GoldCat will be expected to beat the less familiar names in the BW pool due to his superior meta knowledge; however, he'll need his fresh take on the tier to beat the other heavyweights in the pool in order to justify his second placement in the rankings.

In the third place, we have ninjadog, an experienced BW player who has been around for years. Last year we saw his dominance in BW RU with an incredible 6-1 record in a stronger pool than this year. Ninjadog has already proven himself as a solid and trustworthy player, and Gluttons will need him to perform well for their playoff aspirations. Even though ninjadog has little to no support from his team, he has already shown that he can win against anyone in the BW pool and does not need anything to do so. However, even being a strong player, ninjadog still finds himself below Finch and GoldCat, solid players who have showed great results in the tier before. Will ninjadog be capable to repeat his last year performance? Only time has the answer, but the Gluttons would greatly appreciate it.

Jisoo takes a spot in the middle of the pack, as he looks to exert his BW know-how to strike as a dark horse in this pool. Despite lacking any prior experience in RU team tours, Jisoo will be an opponent to fear after their recent SPL, where he dominated the BW OU pool and currently sports an exceptional 9-2 record. In terms of teams, Jisoo will receive support from his managers sensei axew and Punny but might have to lean on themselves to actively build the tier. The Guardians will be hoping Jisoo can storm through a BW pool and take down more favorably viewed players once again.

avarice is an allrounder who basically plays anything he sees in his front. Usually, he plays ORAS in these RU team tournaments, but this time he is on Gondra's team, so he was moved to the BW field, which is particularly weak this year. Being someone who usually loves offensive teams, avarice should be in a good place to put his love to work in an offense-oriented metagame and acquire some wins. Avarice has eifo's support, who is well known to be one of the strongest BW RU players on the site, so he will be provided up with some great teams that could favor him in his games. avarice has the experience and the support he needs to perform well in this pool, so we can expect at least a decent record from him.

LpZ finds himself at the lower end of the rankings at 6th. He is someone with prior experience in BW RU, and with success in older generations (mainly UU, winning UU Classic back in 2021), he'll be looking to make a name for himself as a BW RU powerhouse for future tournaments. Being in the Hustlers, LpZ finds himself paired up with a lot of RU mainers that can give tips, but none that are known for their prowess in BW RU itself. He'll have to come up with innovative ideas if he wants to keep up with a pool full of players that will surely bring new stuff to the table in the oldest RU generation.

Coming in 7th is Feaniix, an experienced BW lower tiers player who will be making his first foray into RUPL. Feaniix is known for his BW PU exploits, picking up a solid 10-10 record over the last 2 years of PU team tours, and the Perpetrators will be hoping that he can translate some of his experience to hold up his slot here. Feaniix has one of the weaker support cores to help him out here, considering he will be banking on EviGaro to pass him teams, someone who isn't an active builder of the tier. If Feaniix wants to surpass expectations, he will need to learn the tier to build for himself and adapt to the metagame with haste, which shouldn't be put past someone with a lot of prior experience in the generation

Ranked last is Guille14, who has never played an RU team tournament before. Talking about his BW RU experience, he got semifinals in the BW RU cup and has also made playoffs in the Classics. Guille is known for his wild builds and was also building for himself in the BW RU cup, which means we can expect new things coming from him. However, he still has to prove himself as a player at a bigger level, but hopefully, his guile and unique builds can carry him to wins in this pool.

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Punny stabilizes himself as the scariest player in the bo3 field. After cheating his way to being only 17.5k, Punny has made a pretty solid team alongside sensei axew, in which the Italian is the star. He always has good results wherever he's slotted in, and RU could not be any different, with him ending up with a 3-3 record in the last RUPL and 3-0 in SS RU in SCL II. Punny is also a massive metagame innovator, which will give him a leg up against his competition in a recent generation like SV. All in all, we cannot expect anything but Punny's dominance in this tournament, and with sensei axew's support and team environment with a lot of his friends, he has everything he needs to end up with a crazy good record.

When talking about the top players of RU, it's easy to instantly think of TheFranklin. The #2 of this list has solidified himself not only as a powerhouse in RU but in the early stages of SV OU in general with a solid 6-3 record in SPL. Don't forget his overall SCL record of 13-5 or his double win of RU Fall Seasonal, or his RULT III win…. So, what has TheFranklin done for RU this gen anyway? Right, he's won the RU Kickoff Tour. One of the best builders and players out there, TheFranklin shouldn't have any trouble competing with the other greats in the bo3 category, showing knowledge in all iterations of RU and not showing any sign of slowing down. His solid support from the likes of Beraldo and the rest of his team should be more than enough to keep him in his best spirits and allow him to perform at his usual best. So why isn't TheFranklin #1 with these achievements? The truth is, he's been outed as a “setup cheeser”, so he might be in trouble in the face of moves such as Encore and Taunt. Otherwise, expect great things from TheFranklin

Star is one of the greatest players on the whole site and always receives a well-deserved high rank. Star ended up with a 5-2 record in RUPL IX and is also coming from a 5-3 performance in SPL playing SV OU, so he is on a good track lately and is experienced in the current generation. However, one thing that puts Star below Punny and TheFranklin is that he will need to be fed teams, while the other two can build for themselves. Despite that, Star has ishtar's support for SV, Astrø's support for SS, and odr's support for SM, while his manager EviGaro can cover all three tiers with ease, which makes things easier for Star. Regardless, he is a pretty strong player overall and is capable of beating anyone in the pool, something that the Perpetrators will need to get playoffs.

Despite finding himself in fourth place, Feliburn is one of the strongest RU players of all time and can play any RU gen at a high level. After a dominant performance in last year's RUPL, Feliburn comes to the bo3 field this time, looking for new challenges and the opportunity to outperform in a solid pool. Feliburn has a lot of experience in SM, playing it in RUWC IV and going 3-1, while of course being experienced in SS, in which he ended up with a 4-6 record in last year's SCL. This year, Feliburn has made playoffs in RULT and seems to be constantly building in the tier to revolutionize the metagame as he did in the previous gen. Teaming up with Floss and Crossbow, Feliburn also has good team support in all bo3 tiers, so we can expect nothing more than formidable teams in his games. However, even with Feliburn being a competent player, Punny and Star have more solid results as players overall, while TheFranklin is coming hot from an RU kickoff win and a good SCL, and all three have played this year's SPL, while Feliburn has not, which leaves him below all three. Will Feliburn be capable of repeating his dominance from last year? Hopefully so, and we are waiting to see what surprises Feli has in store for us in this challenging pool.

Fifth place is claimed by pdt, a high-level lower tier player and builder who will be looking to make his mark on this tour in his RUPL debut. pdt's fingerprints on the metagame were evident through his building contribution for the RU Open finalist aim, paired with a stellar 16-4 record over the course of the last gen that reflects his elite skill and knowledge of the SS RU metagame. While his metagame knowledge will be lacking for SM RU, he will receive reliable support from Ajna on a weekly basis along with assistance from Yourwelcomethanku and GoldCat to get up to speed quickly in SV RU, a metagame he will be looking to innovate soon enough. The Payloaders will be hoping that pdt proves to be a dark horse that can take this pool by storm.

Lunala comes in at sixth, where they will be looking to surpass expectations in the vaunted bo3 pool. They are one of the few people in the pool who can build for themselves in all 3 of the tiers, their multi-generational prowess underlined by a semi-finals placement in the recent RU Classic as well as a 26-12 record in RU team tours. They will also have ample support in all three generations in the form of their managers Mac3 and eifo as well as RU veteran Master Chief. Given that the sixth place ranking belies their skill and instead showcases the high level of this pool, it would not be a surprise to see Lunala rack up wins here for an Illusionists team that could use it.

crying is a strong tournament player who has successfully affirmed themselves as one of the most enigmatic builders on the whole site. They can build some cracked things in any tier, as we saw in last year's Grand Slam and SCL. After a 7-2 dominance in SPL playing SV OU, crying has been on a tear lately and is more than capable of winning against anyone. However, they have no experience in SV and SM RU and didn't do well in SS RU during their Slam run, which justifies the bottom rank. Having their manager gorex as SM support and zS and DugZa for SS/SV support paired with crying's ability to catch up on any tier quickly, Gluttons have an enigmatic piece that can leave their opponents crying at the end of the day.

Danny comes in at the last spot in this pool, which is more of a testament to the exceptional level of this pool rather than a reflection on his skill. A talented player who has invested a lot of effort into the new generation, Danny is also bolstered by his great performances in the previous generation, going 9-4 in SS RU over the course of the last year. He will also be able to count on the support of lighthouses for SM RU, with assistance from fellow NUers in GW and Togkey for the newer gens. Another point in his favor is the familiarity of playing under the same manager, winning a ring with MrAldo last time around. While Danny has proven he is skilled, the embarrassment of riches competing against him in this pool will prove a daunting mountain to climb, one the Slush Rushers will be hoping he can overcome.

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