World Cup of Pokémon 2024 Team Biographies
| « Previous Article | Next Article » |
Logo by Iyarito.
Introduction
If you ask 50 top tournament players what their favorite tour on Smogon is, at least 40 of them are likely to tell you that it's the World Cup of Pokémon. A tournament characterized by national pride and playing with your countrymen (for the most part), WCoP is a tournament where friendships are forged in the heat of battle and players from all over the world get their first chances on the big stage. It's hard not to be excited for this tournament, player or spectator, as players are always more spirited and excited for this than any other team tournament.
This year's tournament shifted away from the all-current gen OU format of the past few editions to include a wider variety of tiers: SV Ubers, SV UU, SS OU, SM OU, and ORAS OU join SV OU to give some tier diversity. This also allows us to see some familiar faces returning with the reintroduction of their home tiers, giving us an exciting mix of old legends and new talent.
As I write this introduction, teal and I just having wrapped up a grueling run of covering eighteen teams in the space of four days, I am listening to the pool reveal stream and finding out after said grind that a bunch of captains changed their rosters between what they posted in the thread or told me in DMs, so I apologize in advance if any lineups are wrong. Blame your captains for that one.
Africa
|
|
|
The last team to join the main event, a down-to-the-wire Ubers game gave Africa the fifth win they needed to knock Latin America out and claim their place in pools. This is Africa's fifth year in the tournament (not counting Afrabs), finishing just shy of round two of qualifiers last year. Their roster is nearly identical to last year's, though zS defected to Team Italy, and you can bet this group of players is hungry for their time in the spotlight after the efforts they've been through to get here. Their SV OU core consists of yovan33321, possibly the most individually accomplished player on this roster, with a current quarterfinals placement in Smogon Tour 36 and a top sixteen OST XX placement under his belt this year; Yves Stone, who has a smattering of minor tournament results and a won SS OU stour to their name; tireless ladder climber KeshBa45; L lawliet, who has joined a lot of tournaments but has few results to their name; and LC main Lokifan, looking to "mons is mons" his prowess in that tier into a good SV OU run. Africa's low-tiers are made up of Suzuya, a suboptimal namechange from Inder but an Ubers player to be respected, and a more unknown quantity in D2quan in UU. The oldgens have a handful of less-established players: Zoyotte, who made a decent Masters run but is likely more known for tournament hosting than tournament playing; BlessyZ, who is generally more comfortable in classic gens; and HSK7, who has very few tournaments to their name, mostly short runs through ORAS circuit tournaments. The bench has captain Hats, who has mostly played oldgen lower tiers; galal, who is likely most comfortable in SM or ORAS; and another user whose post history is littered with oldgen low tiers in cherif18. These players are up for their time to shine, as it's most of their first times on the big stage. That said, nerves are a very real threat, especially for new teams, so Africa will have to be calm under pressure and confident in their plays if they want to hang with the Spains and US Northeasts of the world. They have a lot of potential, though, and a good amount of raw talent. It's up to Africa to forge that into a winning run worthy of their first appearance outside of qualifiers.
Star Player - yovan33321
A ZU main who left Kansas a long time ago, it seems that Yovan has properly arrived in the Emerald City of big-ticket Smogon Tournaments. While Yovan is without appearance in any of Smogon's most major team tournaments, a very deep OU run and a current top-8 position in Smogon Tour show that this man is not messing around anymore. There are often question marks when a player attempts to rise up from lower tiers into the big leagues of OU, even more question marks when they come from a non-official tier like ZU, but Yovan's performance to date seems intent on proving any doubters wrong.
Africa is going to be in search of banner players this summer—they've a roster of names that you might remember here or there, but the squad does indeed lack a definitive amount of star power. Yovan sits at an interesting junction, then—having shown consistency in team choice and play in his individual runs so far, the "mons is mons" mentality seems to have taken good root in his brain as he translates his dominance over his old ZU buddies into victories against players like Ahsan, who was the top seed in this most recent edition of Smogon Tour.
This writeup, however, may seem over-ambitious in a few months' time. While there are many players that have made the transition into the harder tournaments and kept that momentum going, there are also countless players who had a good year or so and then faded into obscurity thereafter. Yovan is currently well-in-control of his own narrative, but it will be put to the test as he faces off against those that have hundreds of tournament games in situations he's just now exploring for the first time.
One to Watch - Yves Stone
If you've played a lot on the ladder, you probably know Yves Stone from there. If you've played a lot of Smogon Tour, you probably know Yves Stone from there. If you look only at the sheet, where the biggest players get to have their most defining matches, you are not quite sure who Yves Stone is. This is a classic WCOP story, a player with a rich history and a lot of disparate appearances finally getting their big break (after a nice win in qualifiers against a very strong opponent in Bea, too).
Jamie Vardy is an English striker who won the Premier League in incredible fashion in 2016. Jamie Vardy is also a footballer who played in semi-professional leagues until he was 27 years old, when a huge majority of his teammates started making appearances a decade younger. Do we see a parallel in this to Yves Stone? It's hard to get an exact bead on him; reviewing his games shows a competent player with enough confidence to make plays when he has to, but I've little data on the man when it comes to the highest-pressure moments.
Yves exemplifies a lot of what Africa has to offer this summer: a player with a "oh yeah, I know that name" reputation and a blank spot on the sheet waiting for his name to be filled in. When canvassing opinions, I was told that he improves year-after-year, but I was also told that he wasn't a fit for a highlight. I don't know which is true, and I'll need Yves to sort that out for me in his coming performances, something he's sure to be keen to do.
Dark Horse - Suzuya
Suzuya enters into this World Cup with a stunning 67% win rate... over three games. Similar to a lot of his teammates this year, Suzuya does not have the most comprehensive team tournament history for us to trawl through, his only appearance coming in last year's SCL with two OU games and an RU game, having been brought into the roster in week 7. Sporting a name change since then, the man formerly known as Inder does play a lot of Pokémon and seems to be high in confidence; participation in Slam and wins in the qualifiers (including winning the decisive game to give Africa their berth) show that he means business.
Suzuya, thus far, has little data on him to make accurate predictions. This is always going to be the case, though, for nascent teams in this tournament. SV Ubers is a tier with fairly varied competitors, some big names and some small, and he'll need to try and be up to the challenge to beat both, hoping to take advantage of his hitherto-anonymity to surprise his opponents, perhaps with neat techs and creative build choices. Eventually, though, that advantage will fade and Suzuya will be on his own—fortunately for him, he can count on an active and passionate team to support his efforts throughout the tournament, as Africa seems determined to make their mark as soon as possible.
Asia
|
|
|
One of the few WCoP teams to have participated in every edition, the Asiancy returns for another season of WCoP just as spirited as ever. Despite their long history, Asia's performance has been rarely been anything to write home about since they dominated the pre-modern format back in 2006, with their best showings since being two runner-up spots to 2009's Oceania and 2013's US East and steadily declining, from three consecutive years not being able to make it out of quarterfinals to six consecutive years unable to make it out of pools ending in being relegated in 2022 and failing to qualify in 2023. The roster sees a bit of a shakeup from last year, so maybe some new blood and successfully climbing out of qualifiers will give Asia the boost they need to reach higher heights. The SV OU lineup consists of captain devin; innovative ladder player Mimikyu Stardust; OU mainstay JJ09LIE, coming off of a 7-4 SPL XV campaign with the Tigers; sugarhigh, though past OLT-related events would have us guessing if that is their real name; and low tier heavy-hitter Xiri. Manaphy, who has made some decent showings in Ubers individuals but whose last time on the big stage was SCL I, and UU powerhouse udongirl, who once played an individual tournament I hosted and posted her Poképastes for every team alongside her replays in a powerful flex, will be leading the charge for Asia in the lower tiers. Asia's oldgen core is composed of ezra, the National Dex Circuit Champion title defender for whom I can find no major SS OU results apart from their 2-0 in qualifiers; weirdo faye, a user from 2016 with what appears to be two tournaments under their belt; and Typical_bastard, who has made a few decent showings in ORAS circuit tournaments, including qualifying for the ribbon playoffs. Making up the bench are former captain Analytic, who has been with the team for nearly a decade; OMs main cat; Ghoulish Champ, who has played in a handful of SV OU tournaments to limited success; IPF, last seen going 2-5 for the SPL XIV BIGs; and Monotype main plunder, who hasn't seen high-level OU play since a deep run in an OU Seasonal last year. To be frank, Asia's roster is missing a lot in the way of star power and consistent results, with even the more-known names like devin, Mimikyu Stardust, and Xiri even or negative in lifetime appearances. Hopes aren't high for this team, and many will be betting against them coming into the main event. But Asia shouldn't let that deter them. We are, after all, playing Pokémon, and the big stage is where glory is earned, legends are made, and stories are written. And who doesn't love a good underdog story?
Star Player - JJ09LIE
There is little more that SmogTours loves than a rising star. Watching a player go from "who" to "him" is one of the most alluring parts of being involved in this community, and in a game like Pokémon, someone's big break is always just around the corner. Now, that said, there's a second chapter to a lot of these stories that often don't go as swimmingly as the debut—and figuring out if that's the case is where JJ09LIE finds themselves today.
Now, if I were a betting man (and I am, PM me on Discord @teal6 to gamble on WCoP), I'd put money on a repetition in this tournament. JJ09LIE's SPL wasn't exactly easy; they recorded wins over heavyweights like Finchinator, Sylveon used calm mind, Kushalos and eventual champion myjava throughout the season. Talk about being thrown into the fire! But adversity is where a player learns what they're good at and what they aren't, and having once been a new player with a great first run, I know that those four losses are going to teach them a lot about where they can improve from here.
Asia is a team crying out for a superstar. As detailed elsewhere in these reviews, the team has a lot of heart, but the results (both in WCoP and elsewhere) have thus far not been at the level required to take them seriously as contenders to ultimately win. Players like JJ09LIE can change that, provided they accept the pressure that comes with being a comet of a player and grab hold of the circumstance.
Wild Card - Mimikyu Stardust
Rising star, or just someone to fill the space? Mimikyu Stardust arrives at this WCoP as a player in crossroads, exiting the early part of his tournament career. Known as a ladder fiend, Mimikyu has a 4-5 record across SPL and WCoP, and it hasn't exactly been easy for him to get there, with a 3-3 performance in last SPL serving as his attempt to inch closer to a winning record. But, unfortunately for Mimikyu Stardust, when it rains, it pours, and some sloppy mistakes showing potential pressure problems might hinder his attempt to lead Asia beyond their usual middling finishes.
A mix of old and new might be what Asia is aiming for this time around, with players like Mimikyu Stardust next to old heads like sugarhigh. But if Asia has any contemplations about winning this thing, they're going to need to change their story, and fast—a nearly even record through just about 10 appearances is good enough, but Mimikyu is said to be a player that harbors much bigger ambitions than this. If he wants to realize those ambitions and get out from the shadow of the Storm Zones of the game, he's going to need to perform here and now, and few excuses can be heard.
Steadfast Contender - Xiri
One could call Xiri "Mr. Consistency" and they wouldn't be wrong. A perfectly even 23-23 career thus far in the major team tournaments, it's pretty evident that Xiri can hang with the big boys, but it's simultaneously evident that he's struggled to break away from the pack so far. Perhaps a little too on-theme, Xiri put up a 4-4 run in his most recent tournament, last year's SCL. He'll be returning to the WCoP main stage for the first time since 2020, where a 1-2 was what he could muster.
So, what are we expecting from Xiri this time around? A Snake Draft III trophy to his name accompanied by a sterling 7-3 run shows that he does have the fire to perform within him, but it must be acknowledged that this took place in PU, a tier not in this tournament and one with a reputation for less-than-grueling competitors.
Xiri is very active in the general tournament scene, signing up for completely disparate events and competing happily in all of them. The writer of this article wonders, though, if this summer should be spent focusing on one thing and one thing only: SV OU, such that he can finally put to bed this habit of breaking even and become who he really wants to be in the scene—a star.
Bangladesh
|
|
|
2023's favorite underdog story, Bangladesh is a region characterized by their pervasive positivity and love for the game above all else. After four previous failed attempts, Bangladesh cleared qualifiers, flooding every space possible with "joy bangla" messages along the way. They looked strong starting pools, with their players taking down the likes of Vert, crying, and INSULT along the way, but this Cinderella story was not to last. Eventually, Bangladesh fell down the rankings and had to enter a relegation tiebreaker with US Northeast, ultimately ending their run and facing down qualifiers again in 2024. Not ones to let a failure get them down, Bangladesh is back again and just as excited as ever after beating Austria in qualifiers for their place in the main event. Normally, this is where I'd list off all of the players and note some recent records, but Bangladesh, for the most part, is a big question mark, so I'll just do my best. The SV OU lineup consists of 1v1 main Kaif, who has made some notable showings in that tier; Let's Rumble Shall We, a player who has near-exclusively participated in PS's Tournaments room's forum tournaments; SKC44, who, since last WCoP, has had some minor showings in UU and Draft World Cups; Mushfiq, who hasn't had any tournament showings besides a round one BW Cup exit since last WCoP; and Dhrabb, who had a decent run in an OU Seasonal and beat BKC in round one of Smogon Masters but mostly posts in OU metagame discussion threads apart from that. RU Tier Leader feen, the most established player on the team, is in UU but sits on a lifetime 4-12 WCoP record, and Calambrito, who put up a decent showing in Draft World Cup but doesn't have many other tournament results, is in Ubers for Bangladesh's lower tiers. The oldgen core holds Raiyan, now apparently having acquired a 3DS, in his second-ever tournament appearance; Soumav, confidently described by Amaranth as the best player on the website if he cared enough to play more and who almost exclusively plays in WCoP; and Squirtle Nornor, who has some scattered results in ORAS and SM circuit tournaments and has claimed a handful of the ORAS ladder achievements. The bench has RandBats player I love Bagon; Rowlet69420, who has played in a few tournaments to lackluster results; Username2344., who has three posts, all of which are tournament signups; stroikerrr, who has eight posts, most of which are tournament signups; and Sadi Tonmoy, who has ten posts, two of which are winposts. Though Bangladesh's roster doesn't carry the star power of a region like Germany or Italy, they are still instant crowd favorites thanks to their massive amounts of pride and team spirit. My coauthor will tell you that positivity and an excited group of newcomers isn't enough in a tournament like that, and many would be inclined to agree, but a positive outlook and a winning mentality is half the battle, something that even the best players struggle with. While Bangladesh isn't viewed as a top contender to go far in a tournament as fierce and stacked as this edition of WCoP, many people would be more than happy to be proven wrong on that front. Best of luck, Bangladesh, everyone is rooting for you.
Star Player - Soumav
Let's be up front here: Soumav is probably the most unlikely Star Player we've cobbled together for these previews. Sitting at a... mysterious... 1-1 record on the sheet, the man has done one simple thing since 2016 when he registered for Smogon: sign up for and try to play in WCOP. If you don't believe me, check his post history—the vast majority are either scheduling attempts for WCOP or "in" posts.
Soumav takes this position for one simple reason: Bangladesh is entering this tournament as, functionally, unknown quantities. Barring Feen, virtually no player on the roster has a record on the sheet, and those that do are negative (though, admittedly, usually barely so). Soumav, then, takes this position by virtue of being one of the only players in the squad who has more than 1 game played in his career and a non-negative record. When compared to the SoulWinds or the bro fists, we must be candid: this isn't much. But, as I have opined in many messages on SmogTours and in highlights, is this not precisely the reason we line up to play anyway?
Everyone had 2 games played on the sheet at one point. Everyone was a "who?" when getting paired with some notable player at one point. Everyone that ever went anywhere in this game did so by methodically winning games, proving themselves over and over until a handful of very hard-fought pixels sat underneath their name. I do not know Soumav, and most reading this won't either, but who is to say that in my next iteration of this article, I don't have a completely different tone? The decision is up to one man and one man only: Soumav himself.
Redemption Seeker - feen
Easily the biggest name on the Bangladesh roster, feen has a LOT to prove in this edition of WCOP. Bangladesh is a team defined by passion—talk to any of their players about Pokémon or tournaments, and you're in for a treat. It is completely infectious, if not tempered by reality. feen, contrary to most of those he will call teammate this summer, has fairly extensive experience on Smogon and, in particular, in the big Smogon Tournaments.
All experience is not good experience, though, and feen will likely be the first to tell you that he's not satisfied with how he has performed thus far. A 7-19 record is somewhat dismal for the man who many might expect to lead Bangladesh this tournament, having been winless for three tournaments straight since 2019. Coming off the back of three tournaments in a row without recording a single win, it is time for feen to throw away any possible excuses, put his nose to the grindstone, and win some games for his team—they deserve more than most.
Bangladesh is absolutely one of the teams to keep your eye on this season. It's extremely difficult to tell where they are going to end up, given a huge dearth of overall data and knowledge on many of the players. feen is one of the few with an extensive history, and it's one he's out to change; let us all watch and see if he really can alter his destiny, surrounded by a group of friends.
Up-and-Coming - Kaif
Kaif arrives at WCOP 2024 with a 1-2 record on the sheet, earned in last year's tournament with a win against France's mimillmi and losses against FatFighter2 and Trogba Trogba. This is, admittedly, not a lot to go on when predicting their run in SV OU this go around. Kaif is, instead, more well-known for his exploits in smaller metagames like 1v1, where he has established a reasonable reputation throughout a handful of deep tournament runs, proving that he does indeed have a winning bone within him.
1v1 is no 6v6, though, as most players would likely tell you. The skills tested are fundamentally different, and while Kaif does seem to play more traditional formats somewhat regularly, one notices that his results dry up much more quickly when in standard tiers. Thus, his challenge: can Kaif successfully take the skills he has learned in his travels around Smogon and morph them into something usable for Team Bangladesh?
As discussed elsewhere in their highlights, Bangladesh is a team with a big question mark over their roster. Nobody can say definitively what we're going to see from them, but a storming run in qualifying made it such that they are in the main tournament proper for the first time, and they're likely to have ambitions that match this. Truthfully, this slot could have been reserved for a number of players on the roster, and Kaif's teammates will count themselves unfortunate for not being highlighted, but I think that this is emblematic of what we expect from Bangladesh as a whole: it's anyone's chance, they just have to reach out and grab it, and there is sparsely a better tournament for doing so than the World Cup of Pokémon.
These men want to yell: "Joy Bangla!" Kaif and company will need to instantly write their names in bold in order to do so, and I reckon most of SmogTours wants to see it happen, too.
Belgium
|
|
|
From the depths of LinkedIn and Pinterest rises one of the new teams from WCoP 2023's main event, a testament to hard work as they secured their spot in the main stage after trying since 2020 and even finished just one game short of the tiebreaker to qualify for playoffs. Despite what some may have believed about the format change hurting them, Belgium is back in fighting form for WCoP 2024 and just as excited as ever to compete for their place among the historical great teams. Belgium's SV OU lineup includes a pair of newly crowned SPL champions in Mada and Rubyblood; Uxilon, who spends most of their non-WCoP time playing Draft; WCoP newcomer Fant'sy Beast, who spends most of their non-WCoP time playing RandBats; and captain Eoward, who spends most of their non-WCoP time fighting for Belgium's right to claim McMeghan as part of their roster. destroyingpotato, a user without much Smogon history, and Wanony, coming off of a disappointing 0-3 finish last WCoP, will be playing Ubers and UU, respectively, hoping to make a name for themselves this WCoP. Belgium's oldgens core is comprised of OranBerryBlissey10, a strong lower tier player who put up a respectable Smogon Masters I showing; le LLiolae, who has honed their skills across years of Smogon Tour participation; and Adri, who has been playing in ORAS tournaments since before I joined Smogon. Even though their roster may not be as star studded as some others and two players on their bench have less than five posts, Belgium has proven that they have the fighting spirit necessary to do well in WCoP and look to go even further this year, into playoffs and to the trophy beyond.
Star Player - Rubyblood
Self-proclaimed Tyrants GSC legend Rubyblood is back for his fourth WCoP, his third with Team Belgium. Unlike several of his countrymen, Rubyblood gave up his spot on Europe's roster to rejoin Belgium in 2023, bringing with him a wealth of impressive performances. OST XX quarterfinals, OST XIX top sixteen, OLT X top sixteen, and a 6-3 finish in SCL III with a shiny new SPL trophy to boot; it's clear that Rubyblood is capable of competing among the best in SV OU. While he's even overall on the sheet, Rubyblood hasn't stopped playing and improving (except for the like two weeks between SCL playoffs and SPL signups where he decided he was quitting) since his 2-1 finish in WCoP 2023. We can likely expect both a good performance from Rubyblood and his support and presence pushing Belgium towards even greater successes.
Up-and-Coming - Mada
Prior to 2024, Mada was perhaps better known as a combination Monotype and hosting main, with his only notable official tournament showing being a 2-1 finish in WCoP 2023 and his most impressive showing being a deep run in an OU Seasonal. Coming into WCoP 2024, Mada is the holder of one of the most prestigious trophies on the site, a red SPL trophy, as well as a 4-1 SPL record and the praise of his Tyrants teammates and managers. While a good showing, Mada's big break came due to the early demise of one of the original members of the Tyrants' roster, and one good showing does not a legend make. Mada has shown that he is dedicated to improving his play and that he can perform on the big stage, and his fellow Belgium members will likely be looking to him for an example. It's up to Mada to show everyone watching that his SPL trophy wasn't a fluke and he has what it takes to compete among Smogon's top players after all.
Redemption Seeker - Adri
A win against Persephone. A loss against Sjneider. A loss against Garay. A loss against CBB. A loss against Gondra. A four-year break from high-level competitive team tournaments.
These are the statistics and the circumstances that Adri brings into WCoP 2024. Looking for redemption on tournament dark horses Belgium, Adri has his work cut out for him when it comes to wrestling back the narrative. I cannot mince words: what we've seen so far won't cut it if Belgium hope to turn their Cinderella story into one with a happy ending. But, then again, aren't these moments what we're all playing for? A player returning from the wilderness, a new fire in their heart and double in their switch, ready to write the wrong and take pen to their own tale—isn't that what we are here for?
Best wishes Adri. You make your own luck.
Brazil
|
|
|
It has been exactly ten years since Brazil won the blue in WCoP 2014, a fitting time for their reemergence into WCoP's main event. While gone are the days of bruno and dekzeh, Brazil's 2024 roster is packed with talent and ready to take their place in the spotlight once more. Brazil's SV OU is comprised of Ash KetchumGamer, hot off of back-to-back SPL wins but looking to rectify his 3-4 campaign with the Tyrants; elodin, a passionate and consistent player who has been part of Brazil's roster since that 2014 trophy, albeit now with a much better username; Luigi, the architect of this year's format change who went to all that trouble to end up not in his home tier; lower tier staple mncmt coming off of a combined 8-8 SV OU record across SCL III and SPL XV; and Thiago Nunes, who broke slightly over even in the same tours. Up-and-comer Skyiew, who has been making a name for himself across Ubers spaces, and ever-present Brazil veteran Eternal Spirit, who has been part of the team since 2016, will be covering Brazil's lower tiers. Brazil's oldgen core packs the biggest punch, with TDNT in SS OU after a huge 8-1 showing in the tier for the Wolfpack; historically strong player Tamahome, who boasts the second-most wins of anyone who has ever played Smogon team tournaments; and Smogon Tour 31 champion Lusa, coming off of his own impressive 6-2 ORAS record this past SPL. The bench holds two more names from the 2014 championship run in HANTSUKI and Sand Castle, relatively new low tier all-rounder A plague doc, a much more established jack of all trades in LpZ, and newcomer TMTito, the sole survivor of Brazil's tryouts gauntlet. While their recent history has had its ups and downs, from a second-place finish in 2019 to failing qualifiers in 2023, Brazil has the talent, old and new, and the drive needed to succeed in this tournament. It wouldn't be a big surprise to see Brazil in the playoffs this year, since you can already bet on them fighting tooth and nail to reclaim their former glory.
Star Player - Tamahome
One of only two players on Smogon with over 200 appearances, the Brilliant Brazilian shows up once more for his 12th(!!) WCoP appearance. Tama is undoubtedly known as a great player, and while he's been on hiatus from appearing on the big stage for a little while (absent since 2022), you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in tune with the scene that thinks anything less about him than "great player"—but, if there was any smudge on his lengthy and consistent tournament career, it is in this very competition.
Tama boasts a 58% win record in SPL and a mighty 64% win rate in SCL, but when translating his playing to WCoP, this percentage drops to 50%. Of course, this is no great sin, but coming into summer 2024, team Brazil will be looking to rectify what they surely consider to be an embarrassing lack of appearance in the main fixtures. The names on the roster, Tama included, are certainly capable of bringing them back to what they'll see as their rightful spot in playoffs, but the road is not likely to be well paved.
Brazil last won this tournament in 2014, so we are approaching a decade without a trophy. Tama, of course, was on the team when last they won, and that joins his SPL IV trophy in showing consistency and an ability to get across the finish line. There may be questions about his dedication this time around, though, as a lack of performance in tournaments surrounding this one points toward a potential loss of love for the game of mons. Still, if anyone has the muscle memory to drag a few wins out of difficult situations, Tama is the one, and Brazil will be keen and hopeful to see him perform at his best in order to shake off last year's demons.
Wild Card - elodin
The man of of a million trolls and Smogon's second funniest user (sorry, watashi still takes the cake) returns to team Brazil for his ninth appearance in WCoP. If 100 different Smogon Tournament players read this writeup, 100 of them will surely know who elodin is, but we'd also receive 100 different opinions on the man himself, both in terms of playing and in terms of personality.
Having won the Blue with Brazil back in 2014, elodin is actually one of Brazil's most decorated players, boasting two SPL trophies and a Snake Draft in his cabinet as well. The audacious Brazilian has gotten there through a hard-fought career, with a 50% win rate on the sheet across 121 appearances testament to a hard-fighting nature. elodin has remained active in the tournament scene even outside of his appearances in the big team tournaments; a deep run in OSDT of all things dominated his attention earlier in the year showing that his fire for playing is still burning bright.
Will it be enough, though? We can expect good jokes, funny trolls, and if history is anything to go by, around 50% won games—but if Brazil is aiming to reach the late stages of the playoffs, or even win, then they might be expecting elodin to step it up and deliver a few more crucial victories in the key moments.
Dark Horse - Luigi
Luigi is one of only two Brazilian players on this year's roster with a individual tournament win, having famously taken Smogon Tour XXVII over SoulWind to grab what many consider to be Smogon's most prestigious trophy.
Luigi is also one of the only Brazilian players on this year's roster to enter the tournament with a 39% win rate on the sheet, with five out of his last six campaigns in the major team tournaments ending at 50% or worse.
This dichotomy can be explained by a lot of things. A lack of motivation, difficulty in team environments, or perhaps a willingness to play in tiers that he has not yet mastered. And, if you considered the last one the most likely, you're probably on the right track—he's doing it again this year, starting in the Paldean arena without having been a big SV player to this date.
Luigi's return to Brazil on the big stage comes after four years without appearing in WCoP proper. Last time around, in 2020, he ended with a tepid 1-2 score. However, knowing the player, it's difficult to say that past performance is really any indicator of future results—an unfailingly calm view toward competition and ability to play with the best of them, Luigi is just as capable of giving us a 6-0 season, wrangling Brazil into the later stages of the competition. A man probably more comfortable in ORAS, it's commendable that he's willing to fight other great players in a tier non-native to him, and a growing fanbase among tournament participants will be keen to see him change his fortunes with some key wins.
Canada
|
|
|
Canada is, above all else, a team in flux. Runners-up one year, relegated the next, and a spotty history in and out of playoffs, out more often than in, Canada will be looking to prove that it was their 2022 run, not their 2023 one, that defines who they are as a team. Under the boisterous leadership of 3d and Baloor, Canada sets out on what should be a path to redemption, with the change in format giving them access to some of the best players in the game, in the places they feel the most comfortable. The team's SV OU lineup is led off by the two captains themselves, both looking to rectify less-than-stellar sheet records, alongside 1v1 main Potatochan, who has shown some success in tiers like SV ZU and various oldgen lower tiers, but not much in SV OU outside of his 2-0 qualifiers finish; OST XIX quarterfinalist sunsets; and HYpertonix, whose SV OU results comprise mainly of a decent OST XIX run, a 3-5 showing in OUPL, and a 0-2 qualifiers finish. Ubers tier leader Fc is looking for another chance on the big stage after ending his last two official team tournaments worse than is expected from a player of his skill, and oldgens UU mainstay Amukamara looks to add SV UU to his repertoire and some more wins next to his 2-2 sheet record, already coming in strong with a 2-0 qualifiers showing. Rounding out Canada's roster is their oldgens core: Hayburner, who is coming off of a 4-4 SPL finish and can be expected to put up some wins, granted he doesn't miss his games; Skypenguin, who was SPL XV's most expensive SM OU player, and for good reason (shoutout to the 2022 SM OU circuit where Skypenguin, as the first seed, had 12080 points while robjr, as the second seed, had 5235); and Jytcampbell, who is likely more at home in SM OU but has played ORAS at a decently high level in tournaments like Smogon Masters and Smogon Tour playoffs. Filling Canada's bench are teal's favorite user watashi; Career Ended, the defending OM circuit champion who has begun applying that skill to main tiers; a solid UU substitute in spell; Monotype main Scarfire, who put up a strong Smogon Masters showing; and georgiethefirst, a user of few posts who plays more SV LC than anything else. Canada's roster, while nearly identical to the one that brought them to relegation, shows great promise going into the main event this year thanks to the addition of new tiers. This is a year for them to assert themselves, establish what kind of team they want to be after fifteen years of uneven performances, and rise or fall on the backs of their star players. Good luck, Canada. Everyone will be watching.
Star Player - Skypenguin
It is the tale of two tournaments with Canada's ace Skypenguin—an outrageous 22-8 record in SPL looks odd when compared to a disappointing 5-7 in WCoP. However it seems clear that this is all in the past for the SM OU star, having won the SPL before last with a bombastic 9-3 run; the smart money is saying that we are at the beginning of Skypenguin's explosion into superstar status.
Such an ascension could not come too soon for Canada, a team that has always seemed to be in the shadow of their neighbors to the south in one way or another. Nearly constant playing and nearly constant winning in tournaments as varied as Smogon Tour and a handful of unofficials show that Skypenguin is as tuned in as he's ever going to be, which is something his captains will look to build on as Canada aim to break the duck.
Having put in another sterling season in the most recent SPL (7-2) Skypenguin managed to record wins over heavyweights like Poek and Welli0u, showing that it isn't just against the lesser-known players that he can grab a victory. This will be important, too, as it won't be the qualifying phase where Canada looks for a change of pace, but rather the playoffs where the pressure is on. All of SmogTours awaits to see what Skypenguin is able to do there, and for the sake of his team, let's hope he brings that SPL form into Smogon's oldest team tournament.
Pressure to Perform - Fc
Fc stands at a crossroads coming into WCoP 2024. This is a career that started with a bang as he managed to record a 5-1 and 7-2 season back to back in SPL and SCL. Unfortunately, though, Fc's performances dropped off a bit since that point, with slightly less than even campaigns in his last two major tournaments, going 4-6 and 5-6 most recently.
So, which is it, Fc? Did you revert to the mean after some overperformances early on? Did you get unlucky, and you should have been able to repeat the hugely winning seasons? Captains Baloor and 3d will not abide by excuses this time around, with an eye toward breaking past all of Canada's prior performances. And if the qualifiers are anything to go by, Fc should indeed back himself—a beautiful win vs Edgar clinched the main stage berth for Canada, and that momentum will hopefully follow him into the real deal.
The SV Ubers starter has been nothing if not active over recent months; one quick scan of his post history shows countless tournament schedulings and "won ggs", even stretching into tournaments like OMPL. It would be a shock if he were unprepared for this stage in any way, boasting an above average amount of experience and a clearly above average amount of skill, so we'll have to see if nerves play a part as Fc looks to get back to his dominating best. And hey, worst case scenario, he seems incapable of putting in a truly bad performance, but I think "doing okay" would be considered a failure for this ambitious player and ambitious team.
Redemption Seeker - 3d
Canada's manager and mood-maker 3d is on a quest of redemption. The man with impeccable music taste arrives at this edition of WCoP with a disappointing 7-13 career performance, a performance he's been nothing but vocal about changing. It is not a pipe dream, either, as 3d fought valiantly in SPL XV to etch out his first winning season in a major team tournament, ending the season on a tear with big wins including some against fellow competitors like TPP and Garay oak.
A dearth of notable individual results can be contrasted against a strong performance in qualifiers, and it's the latter that 3d will be looking to build on as he attempts to rectify his record further in this tournament. He'll be playing in SV OU this iteration, notably not the tier he found himself in when winning in SPL, but he'll need to quiet any hopes of making excuses if he wants to lead team Canada to the playoffs and beyond.
It's a big weight to manage a team and play for them. Every defeat stings that much more, but symmetrically, every victory feels that much sweeter. 3d is the type that will look to enjoy his summer, and he won't want a specter of defeat hanging over him during it, so he better bring his A-game to a tournament that thus far has only served him losses.
Chile
|
|
|
The newest team we're seeing in the main event this year, Chile absolutely dominated qualifiers, with six of their ten players going 2-0 and the rest 1-1 for a combined 16-4, including starting their qualifying run with a titanic 14-0 record. Their SV OU lineup has Raptor, fresh off of a 6-4 SV OU campaign with the Ruiners and a Smogon Tour 36 run that ended just short of playoffs; Stark Sharks star ADV player Mako; another oldgens player in DPP main Lazuli; Mister McLovin, who has played just about every tier, from SV OU to BW UU to National Dex Ubers Draft; and darkman64, who has less than ten posts on Smogon at the time I'm writing this. Another ADV (and ORAS) player in Jhonx~ and the man who is literally low tier, IamLowTier, make up Chile's lower tier core after a combined 4-0 qualifying record in Ubers and UU, respectively. Another classic gens mainer in Mendeez; Smogon Snake Draft I winner azogue returning to the roster after a one-year hiatus, now in comfortable territory since the bulk of their tournament participation comes from when SM was current gen; and ORAS OU veteran Vileman, who would much rather be playing GSC OU, make up Chile's old gens. The bench is made of SV OU substitute 1LDK, SM OU substitute Abele01, yet another ADV main in Sadlysius, yagamauri in their first tournament since 2022, and zMisaka, who has two posts on Smogon, one being signing up for this tournament. While their roster's names don't carry the same "oomph" as a team like Spain or US Northeast and many of their players are unknown quantities, Chile has team spirit and determination in spades (as shown by their presence in STours' WCoP channel) and the talent to back it up. Dark horses they may be, you'd be a fool to dismiss Chile out of hand, as their close-knit comradery and team of motivated players make them a real threat in the quest for the blue trophy.
Star Player - Raptor
Chile's most capped player, Raptor comes into this WCoP with a 55% win rate across 73 games in a tournaments career stretching back to 2018. While he may be playing for Chile, Raptor's performances definitely run more hot than cold, with a large number of of his sheet losses occurring in two isolated poor campaigns, and the man himself is now on the end of three consecutive winning seasons in SPL and SCL for a combined 17-10 run.
Looking over the data, it is quite clear that Raptor has grown as a player since his last WCoP appearance in 2018. By far this is the tournament in which Raptor has suffered the most, a 1-5 lifetime performance in the internationals acting as a startlingly out-of-place record when comparing it to the quality of his other tournaments. This shows in the brass tacks too, with an SPL XI win with a 7-4 run showing that he has the ability not only to be part of a winning team but also to be a major contributor to its success. Still, the Alpha Ruiners from four years ago are a vastly different team than Chile of 2024—they'll have had much more experience and much calmer nerves than the nascent challengers will be bringing in this year. Does Raptor have it within him not only to win games, but to lead his team? I don't think the answer is clear, and he'll want to write this story himself over the coming weeks.
Newcomer - IamLowTier
Anyone who has been on Smogon for a while knows that, once in a blue moon, a player with a silly username comes out of nowhere and leaves us all in awe. Fans of the game will want to keep an eye on IALT, as he's kicked off this tournament threatening exactly that—an enigmatic figure to many of us, IALT seems to have come out of the relative wilderness to bolster Chile's low tier slots, true to his name, currently with a 0-0 lifetime record on the sheet.
It is difficult to put a finger on the pulse of this player as things stand. A slim post history shows wins in tournaments as disparate as Grand Slam and RBY WCoP, but little is shown with respect to what he's been up to lately. From here, this can go one of two ways: 1) IALT underperforms, Chile sinks to the depths, and the writer of this article wonders who he is next year, or 2) IALT grabs much-needed wins for a surprise Chile run and he's in the name change thread in three months time asking for an edgy anime username.
Chile will be hoping it's the latter, as their fresh-faced team looks to make a splash for the first time. Let's see where this goes.
Redemption Seeker - Vileman
Mr. Chile himself has a lot of fans in the Smogon Tournaments community, with a warm personality and friendly demeanor always at the forefront when interacting with one of Smogon's kindest weirdos. Unfortunately for Vileman, however, friendliness and good vibes don't win tournaments, KOing your opponent's Pokémon does.
Having ended an SPL season with the Cryonicles earlier this year, Vileman will be looking to build on his 4-3 run coming into WCoP. This will represent something of a change of pace for him, with this SPL having been only his second of two winning performances in major team tournaments in a career stretching back to 2015. To avoid mincing words, let's cut to the chase—this is going to be a challenge for the player who is much more at home in Johto than Kalos, but unfortunately we left that WCoP format in the past ages ago, forcing him into a more modern generation for this iteration.
Chile are looking to make a name for themselves as the newest team in the tournament. Vileman is one of the most recognizable names on the team. He will need to fight tooth and nail to up his 39% winrate across 32 appearances, and what better time than now? A handful of wins in the qualifiers will serve as good footing for him, but the main stage is likely to be harsher and less forgiving—we will see if he is up to the challenge.
China
|
|
|
China is a region synonymous with funky builds, crazy techs, and insane EV spreads, as well as being home to some of the nicest users you'll ever meet. What they are not synonymous with, however, is WCoP success, unless you count destroying the World Cup of Random Battles. With only two exits from qualifiers over six appearances, and their last pools showing ending in relegation, China is an underdog heading into this tournament, with many of their roster slots question marks when compared to the SoulWinds and Conflicts of the tournament. The SV OU core is made up of hi.naming is hard, better known as Gew, a National Dex main who can be found putting up respectable showings more often than not; cen344uu, a relative newcomer to the tournaments scene whose last stint with Team China was a 2-1 ZU World Cup finish; LC main Chaos2333, who has seen success across a variety of other tiers, including SV UU, SS Ubers, and a 3-1 SV OU record in the past two WCoP qualifiers; Raceding, a talented BW player and Team China staple who is looking to add a trophy to his cabinet before tying the knot later this year; and cscl, a player who got their start in OMs and Monotype and looks to translate their building creativity and playing ability to the big stage. China's lower tiers are in good hands with two powerhouse players, reigning UPL champion LouisIX, who was voted Ubers' Worst Player to Run Into on Ladder, and UU player 691, who is coming off of back-to-back successes in a deep UU majors run and a 5-3 UUSD season. The oldgens lineup consists of Allen-xia, a player of sparse but strong showings, including as a quarterfinalist in the last of the SS OU OSTs; lza, a fairy gens generalist looking to correct a disappointing 1-4 sheet record; and Captain China himself, Metallica126, who can be found putting up solid results as often as he can be found leading and supporting Team China in various tours. The bench holds yonmd, a fearsome competitor on the RandBats field; up-and-coming NatDex player Soul king0; another Team China staple and potential Ubers sub in KanzakiHAria; and a couple of players lacking in notable individual results and looking to make a name for themselves in akaza akari and Sakura&Seele. Teams coming up from qualifiers are often bet against, especially ones that have struggled as much as China, but those who have been around the scene know that these are players to watch out for. Their close-knit roster and penchant for cooking up some of the most surprisingly effective teams brought to the big stage means that China has the capability to surprise their doubters. While the blue may yet seem like a long shot for this roster that combines players from well-established to completely unknown, it's hard not to root for China and wish them the best success as they attempt to up their game and push into the playoffs.
Star Player - Allen-xia
Allen-xia is the player that China considers perhaps their best, which might be surprising given a 0-0 record in Smogon team tournaments to date. Equipped with a deep run in OST, Allen-xia exemplifies what we understand about Team China this year—a passionate player with intermittently strong showings hoping to carve a name for themselves in the greater Pokémon ecosystem.
Chinese players have, for some time, participated more in their own communities than Smogon as a whole. There are a number of reasons for this, but it is most likely not a question of skill. Thus we arrive at this summer's WCOP—a chance for Allen to repay the faith shown in him by his compatriots by taking his momentum from OST and bringing it into this tournament.
Starting in SS OU, Allen-Xia has seen his best finishes in the land of Galar. A slightly less packed field will give him room to perform, and China will need it, as they're certainly a dark horse to go much further than pools.
Up-and-Coming - LouisIX
LouisIX arrives at WCOP 2024 with a player profile emblematic of China as a whole. He is a player with copious amounts of experience in unofficial tournaments, typically doing quite well, even when armed with less than orthodox sets and ideas. He is also a player with literally no history on the sheet and seemingly no taste of the big pressure games.
Holding down the SV Ubers slot, this seems to be a tier he will be very familiar with, if his post history is anything to go by. LouisIX's competitors will likely not have a great idea about how to approach him as a player, as he is difficult to lock down in team choices and doesn't have the most data underpinning him. This is a blessing in one sense, but his symmetrical lack of familiarity with them may undercut this advantage, and who knows if nerves will kick in.
China will be hoping for a positive result from this slot, as lower tiers are where they'll find their hopes of playoffs and beyond throughout this tournament. Over the next weeks, we'll learn what type of player LouisIX is on the big stage, and so will he.
Redemption Seeker - lza
1 win, 4 losses—this is a sheet record that you'd expect in a bench player, or someone who may not have gotten picked for the roster. Unfortunately for China, this is the best record they have from a player who has also played in SPL, perhaps Smogon's most elite tournament.
There's no skirting the facts and no superlatives I can give in these highlights that will change reality. China has an uphill battle. They are unlikely to win this tournament. However, all of this said, it is also not impossible for them to do so. They clearly have an active, close-knit group working together and, truth be told, you don't get picked for SPL unless you've got something in the tank. lza will need to dig deep, right here and right now, in order to justify his berth into Alola as he picks up SM for this summer's tournament.
lza and many of his teammates will have the advantage of relative anonymity in these pools. lza's record on Smogon itself is relatively sparse, only 7 pages of posts across 4 years of time on the site. Will that anonymity serve as a cloak that lets him get key wins? Or will it be justified as other players claim a victory? It's hard to say now, but China will be of course hoping for the former, and in the best case scenario for lza, this will be an advantage he has lost come next summer.
Europe
|
|
|
The team of a thousand Tournament Policy threads, Europe is back to finish what they started after falling to Spain in a nail-biting finals tiebreaker last year. Europe has come close to the trophy several times, not only losing 2023's finals to Spain but also 2020's to Italy and 2017's to the now-defunct US East, and they will surely be looking for redemption after watching Garay oak close the door on their most recent loss. This year's SV OU core is made up of Alhen, off the bench after a 5-2 OUPL showing but limited results in officials; enigmatic Spanish player Eeveeto; powerhouse player Lily, whose home tier is UU but who is capable of competing with the best in OU; TheFranklin, taking a break from his busy schedule of crushing skulls down in RU; and Twixtry, who recently appeared as an OST XX quarterfinalist but whose last official team tour showing was in SCL II. The SCL III Platoon superstar Scottie looks to turn the momentum from his 11-0 campaign into a winning streak in a tier that couldn't be further from his home turf, while Kushalos is the complete opposite, coming off of a 1-8 SV OU campaign with the Indie Scooters and looking for redemption in UU. Ruft will be playing his first game of SS OU in an official tournament (not counting STour weeks) since 2022, while former captain Larry will be starting SM OU after taking a break from managing every tournament on the site to tear up oldgen ribbon circuits. The oldgen core is rounded out by McMeghan, often in contention for top three best players on the site. His most recent foray into ORAS was winning the SPL XIV tiebreaker for Team Raiders, as he prefers ADV these days, but a player of his caliber is unlikely to falter in those circumstances. The bench holds former OU starter HighV0ltag3, surprising after their breakout 6-2 record in WCoP 2023; Ubers sub and number-one Genesect fan ox04; PU circuit champion fish anemometer, whose success across a variety of tiers is one of the strongest points towards the "mons is mons" mentality; Mana, who is taking some time away from dominating the Draft circuit with a Smeargle and his crippling Pokérogue addiction; and lolebruh, an apparent 1v1 main with few individual results to speak of. A melting pot of talent from across Smogon and across the continent, Europe is looking to make a strong comeback this year after repeated failures and mixed results, and they'd better do it fast, because Tournament Policy looks to dismantle this fierce competitor, possibly leaving nothing but a second-best legacy behind.
Star Player - McMeghan
McMeghan is not normal. He was not normal when he brought Tera Ghost Curse Dondozo to a must-win game. He was not normal when he brought Water You Doing to a Smogon Tour finals. He was not normal when he took down elodin, Lavos, and SoulWind in succession to win Smogon Classic V. This is not a normal player.
Europe suffered one of the more heartbreaking finals losses in Smogon Tournament history last summer. With a stunning run to the finals where most every player put in 110%, they were galvanized often by McMeghan's astoundingly precise, aggressive, and forward-thinking plays. Truthfully, nobody expects any less from the man—with a 57% win rate across an incredible 161 appearances, McMeghan is the fourth most winning player in team tournament history.
So what is the story here today? I remember the myth of Atlas when thinking of McMeghan in Europe. The weight of the team is surely great, the pressure is immense and incredible, but his role is also defined—he must keep holding it up. A dominating run isn't hoped for, it's expected, and McMeghan must do what he's done so many times once more if Europe looks to take home the blue, potentially in their last WCOP appearance ever.
Wild Card - Eeveeto
The most famous experiment in quantum physics is surely the double-slit experiment. In short, the researcher will emit photons through a barrier that contains two slits. If the researcher measures which slit the particle goes through, then it only goes through that one. If the researcher does no measurement, the particle behaves as a wave, going through both slits. Summarizing, you don't know until you look at it.
Eeveeto is much the same. The man brings a reasonably strong 24-22 record into the tournament this summer, but truth be told, you never know which version of him you're going to get. Absurd sets, strange Pokémon, crazy plays—to an observer, it looks like Eeveeto himself doesn't necessarily know what he's doing. Having been on hiatus since last year's heartbreaking finals loss, Eeveeto returns this time around for his fifth venture into WCOP. If Europe aims to succeed where they've failed three times before, then players like Eeveeto will need to move from "unpredictable, but even in performance" to "wins when it really matters".
Redemption Seeker - Lily
27 turns. To Lily, 27 turns is the difference between life and death, hero and villain, heaven and hell. 27 turns against Malekith changed where she stood as a player, a competitor, and, for now, her status as a legend in the game.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Lily is an extremely strong player. Seemingly able to shift between tiers at will and still put up incredible performances, Lily returns to SV OU this summer to pick up where she left off last time around, where a 6-3 record helped push team Europe into a third finals appearance. While Lily boasts a solid 24-19 lifetime record, her stats on the sheet have taken a hit in the interim, with a disappointing 3-6 SCL campaign being posted since the loss to Malekith. Lily will hope, however, that this is the anomaly—she has only 3 losing seasons out of 11 total stretching back to 2019—but hope might not be enough as the player pool in Smogon's oldest team tournament grows ever stronger.
Lily is a player beloved by many. Her friends in the scene are numerous, and canvassing for opinions left me convinced that support will be abundant should she need it. However, I do not think that it is others that are going to set the standard for her this time. I do not think she will care about the opinion of SmogTours, the opinion on the forums, or anything like that. I think that she will have one thing in mind—"let's be closer to the trophy after the next 27 turns".
France
|
|
|
France, a region of big talent, big confidence, and big personalities, storms into WCoP 2024, now under the combined command of BIHI and Deckline. The 2022 champions are a playoffs team, appearing in the top eight nine times in their fifteen-year history. The nation has produced some of the most talented (and infamous) players in the site's history, and they look to continue doing so with a crop of new players, with only two of last year's starters on their starting lineup again and just under half their 2023 roster not making a repeat appearance. Their SV OU lineup is led off by AK, who got their first taste of the spotlight in a 2-3 OLT X exit, then stepped up their game to go 5-3 in SPL; ladder fiend and OST XX runner-up Antonazz; Hiko, a (relatively) new name in the scene who has been putting up respectable performances in circuit tours and side PLs; one of two returning starters in Carkoala, who pulled off an impressive 3-0 groups finish last year against ABR, kythr, and z0mOG but hasn't been able to find repeat success with a combined 3-8 record across the most recent SCL and SPL; and the showman himself, Welli0u, rejoining the roster after a one-year break. France's low tiers look strong, with RichardMillePlain putting up a number of strong showings in Ubers individual and team tournaments alike, though his sheet record is marred by a 4-6 SCL, and mimilucha, coming off their own set of impressive set individual runs in circuit tournaments. Akola, who was playing for France all the way back in 2012 but lacks notable SS OU results; ChaFouuu, who has had many strong SM OU circuit showings on top of clearing all of the SM OU ladder achievements; and Unamed, the second of the returning starters, whose recent ORAS showings largely comprise a 3-4 showing across RoAPL and RCoP, make up France's oldgens core. On the bench are long-time Team France member Leftiez; mimilimi, who can be found participating in SV OU tournaments and the RMT forum in equal measure; French YouTube star RedEmption, with tons of ladder experience and scattered Smogon tournament showings since last WCoP; Shafofficiel, who has had little presence apart from a combined 1-7 record across the past two SPLs; and DPP player Skyrio, similarly nursing a 3-6 SPL XV finish. France is always considered a contender on this stage, and this year certainly won't be any different. A good showing is expected, and, knowing France's captains as we do, nothing less than the best will be accepted from this roster, regardless of if this is their first experience on the big stage or their fiftieth. It's up to those players to rise to the occasion and bring France another respectable run to the blue trophy.
Star Player - Welli0u
France mainstay Welli0u has a winning record in SPL. He has a winning record in SCL, and he has a winning record in WCoP too. He has three trophies, including this one, in his cabinet and a 59% win rate over an impressive 128 appearances stretching back to 2016. Barring an individual trophy (the likes of which he is, regularly, fairly close to achieving) the man has won quite a lot. This is not a player to trifle with, this is not a player to discount, this is a bonafide superstar level player entering into this tournament.
And he'll need to continue that level of performance for a much-changed France side. Entering into this edition of WCoP with a roster that lacks some of the celebrity of years past, France (a nation with a historically deep player pool) seems ready to go in a new direction, boldly challenging the rest of the world to repeat their performance from WCoP XVII. The Well's role has now decidedly shifted; he is no longer anything approaching just an asset, he now stands as the beacon for the rest of his team. I will make a prediction right here in this highlight: if Welli0u does poorly, France will do poorly, and if he performs strongly, France will get far.
Several dominating tournament performances, remarkably few losing seasons, a sterling mentality and extremely competent level of plays, the Well must perform right here, right now. In a few months time he can be a Smogon Tour winner, having qualified for playoffs, and a WCoP two-time champion, or he could be neither of these. Which one do you think we will see?
On the Rise - RichardMillePlain
- "Richard is legit, no cap"
- blunder, 2024
It is rare to hear blunder sing the praises of another player, no matter how good they may be. Richard arrives in this tournament as France's Ubers player, armed with a 4-6 sheet record courtesy of his only official tournament thus far, SCL III. An almost-even record might not seem like much to write home about, but in reviewing the games, I can see where my YouTuber friend is coming from—this was a hard-fought campaign and featured some huge wins on Richard's part (watch out Spain—Richard took down SoulWind and M Dragon, two legends, in succession).
It does appear that Richard has decided now is his time to make his mark. A reasonably impressive ongoing Grand Slam performance surrounds a habit of signing up for odd tours here and there, and when reviewing his performances there are a lot more "won ggs" than not. Having seen him take down some of the most respected players on the site in SCL, it appears that his challenge is actually going to be one of consistency. France is a squad undergoing an identity change—they look dissimilar to last year, and Richard's inclusion is but one of the many swaps they've made. It is, then, incumbent on him to prove blunder and his countrymen right by upping the ante—a 50% performance isn't what anyone involved is looking for, not his teammates nor those of us watching as fans.
This tournament is giving a lot of newer players their chance to really write their name. Richard isn't alone in having a pretty light sheet record, but he'll want to stand alone at the end in terms of players who have grabbed this competition by it's reigns. SV Ubers is a volatile field, there's no way to spin that, and it'll require a degree of skill notably above the standard to really stand out within it.
Up-and-Coming - Antonazz
You pick up a new hobby, a video game from your childhood, which you've now found out has a competitive scene. You find a website where registering and making a team, picking your favorite Pokémon, is quite easy, addictive and fun. You win, you win and you win and your name goes higher and higher on the ladder. You start to look around, find tournaments and try competing in those. They go... okay, you do alright in some and worse in others. Nothing groundbreaking, nothing too notable—that is, until the generation shifts. Suddenly all players, new and old, are on similar footing. What is a Great Tusk? Who is Ursaluna?
Something clicks. You find yourself competing in the Official Smogon Tournament, the purest and oldest form of Pokémon competition in the world. You win round one, nice, you win round two, great, you win and you win just like you did on the ladder and you find yourself just shy of the promised land, your name right next to another's in a finals thread, three games away from immortality. Are you going to join the ranks of the ABRs, the Augusts, the Empos and the Bushtushs(???)? You play and you find out the hard way—no, you're not ready yet. You couldn't get over the finish line, the Cinderella story ends in tragedy, a bitter loss to swallow, just when you started to think it was your time to be written in the stars.
But time moves on. You find that your compatriots get to spend each summer playing an incredible centerpiece tournament, the World Cup. Images of Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane flash across your mind as you type a post indicating your eligibility. Your name pops up on the roster in a starting spot. Qualifiers are played, and day by day your chance to right the wrongs of OST comes closer.
Antonazz—I know the feeling. I know how it feels to, early on in your career, make a deep and challenging run and lose right when you started picturing the trophy. I know the pain that you probably felt, even though it's goofy to admit that out loud. But I also know that you are looking at your pool of opponents this tournament and thinking "there's nothing I can't handle here." Chapter one ended on a sour note, that's for sure, but you're the only one with a pen in his hand ready to write chapter two. Get to it.
Germany
|
|
|
After several finishes just shy of the trophy, including narrowly losing to Europe in the semifinals tiebreak last year, Germany hopes to leverage this year's format change to blend old and new talent and finally make their way to their first WCoP victory. Their SV OU lineup consists of three proven SV OU players in Sylveon used calm mind, mind gaming (now free from a bizarrely successful DPP SPL run), and Fogbound Lake, as well as two players with very little high-level SV OU tournament experience but the fundamental Pokémon ability to do well in Conflict and Fakes. Serpi, who has almost exclusively played RBY in tournaments since gen 9's release, and MichaelderBeste2, who has great results in almost any tier he touches, make up Germany's low tier slots. Germany's oldgens core is composed of some old names, with MAX UND MAX making an appearance in his first official tournament since 2022 after being silent on the forum for over a year; Relous, whose last official tournament appearance was a decent 5-4 showing in SPL XIV and who, in the words of get backer, "stopped playing WCoP when it went full cg and is now back to run Gliscor + Clefable + Tornadus + 3 in SM like God intended;" and Team Germany and ORAS staple xray, who similarly stepped away from WCoP when it was fully SV OU but has returned with the reintroduction of his home tier. The bench holds Achimoo and xdRudi.exe, two WCoP 2023 starters who can sub into SV OU; RaiZen1407, who can slot into SS OU or ORAS OU if needed; and two less proven players in qways and Trickster7. Germany has assembled another powerhouse roster and are likely favorites to make it out of pools, as they've done nine of the last ten WCoPs, but the real challenge will be claiming the trophy itself after falling short so many times before.
Star Player - MichaelderBeste2
It's absolutely no surprise to see MichaelderBeste2 on this roster, as one of the biggest names in fairygens, and he's coming off of a hugely successful 2023 tournaments campaign. Notably winning two individual trophies in one year from Smogon Tour 35 and Smogon Masters I alongside being a VGC World Championship finalist, the real question is if there are any tiers that Michael can't pick up at a high level. Impressively 45-29 on the sheet and 12-4 lifetime in WCoP, including a 5-1 finish in WCoP 2023, the only thing potentially holding Michael back is a lack of experience with post-DLC 2 UU, as he skipped out on UUPL XII and didn't play it in SCL, but even that isn't likely to stop him considering his ability to quickly pick up metagames and SV OU knowledge. Expectations will be high for Michael, but it's likely he'll more than meet them, with the potential to bring Germany to his first-ever team tournament trophy on his postbit.
Wild Card - Conflict
On May 21st 2024 the world of sports had to begrudgingly accept the announced retirement of legendary German player Toni Kroos. A maestro of the midfield, Kroos leaves behind him a glittering trophy case and hundreds upon hundreds of consistent performances, having brought consistency and solidity to his team whenever asked. Kroos will have one regret in his career—he wasn't able to outlast Conflict, another superstar German who replicates that consistency into the world of competitive Pokémon and who will look to do so again in summer 2024's World Cup of Pokémon.
There is not a lot to say about Conflict that has not already been said, aside from mentioning that the mechanics of Scarlet and Violet might still be a bit of a mystery to him (yes, Conflict, Red Card only activates if the mon holding it lives). As of this writing our man is the 6th most capped player in Smogon history, boasting a remarkably consistent 57% win rate overall.
This isn't to say that Conflict's career has been smooth sailing—his WCoP performances to date sit at 18-18, a record he'll be looking to improve upon this outing. That said, sitting next to Conflict's three SPL trophies is a ludicrously impressive Smogon Classic win, having taken home what many consider to be Smogon's most difficult trophy after a battle with Malekith in the finals.
Is it likely that Conflict will enter WCoP with an intuitive metagame sense matched by those that play SV religiously? Probably not. Is this likely to be a problem? Conflict himself would tell you no, there's nothing to worry about here, his prodigious talent and significant experience (through 117 games) will be more than enough to produce a winning record. Most on SmogTours would agree: this is a player to look out for, and he has the ability and the motivation to bring Germany it's first WCoP trophy.
Veteran Player - xray
On August 6th 2023 the German Pokémon Team bowed out of the World Cup, defeated at the hands of Europe in a blistering semifinals tiebreaker. In spite of a national stereotype painting them all as stoics, the German team, filled with some of Smogon's most... "emotional" users... will have taken the loss hard, but it will not have been an unfamiliar pain. Germany is undoubtedly Smogon's "biggest" team that has yet to take home the trophy, a fact that is sure to fester in the competitive hearts of this group of players, who will enter this iteration of the tournament hoping to correct this longstanding mistake. But, what will be different? If the talented and creative lineup of last year wasn't enough to get across the finish line, what will change this year?
Re-enter xray, Mr. ORAS OU, hot on the heels of a format change bringing back his stomping grounds of Kalos. While xray's WCoP record to date is roughly even, he is Smogon's 12th most capped player, bringing nerves of steel and consistent maneuvering to the table. A few additional, reliable wins are what team Germany is looking for—even better if they come around in playoffs. xray's veteran status will put pressure on him to perform, and he has little excuse for a poor campaign in these circumstances, but if you ask the man he's sure to back himself, and I think most of us in the audience will too.
India
|
|
|
India is a team bursting with national pride, comradery, and, for better or worse, personality, often found filling the WCoP channel and the Smogtours lobby alike with "jai hind" messages, during a game or otherwise. Their lack of tangible results aside, it's hard not to cheer for Team India, as their team spirit is infectious, and they're coming into WCoP 2024 stronger than ever after just missing out on playoffs last year in a tiebreaker against United Kingdom. Their SV OU lineup consists of Piyush25, who is coming off a 2-2 SPL season but can be found putting up respectable numbers in side PLs across the site; myjava, who broke out as an SV OU starter for the Tyrants; MAVERICK SHOOTERS, looking to translate ladder success into tournament success after a disappointing SPL run; vk, a player who has really begun to find their footing in the past year; and YouTube sensation freezai, hoping to bounce back after a 2-3 SPL finish. Lana, formerly pichus, a player I swore had a lot of Ubers results but who actually mostly plays random OM individuals (and does well, generally), and Floss, a player with a ton of results in various lower-tier tournaments but an uncharacteristically low 11-21 sheet record, are likely to put up strong performances for India's lower tiers. Dj Breloominati looks to rectify a 5-6 WCoP record starting in SS OU, a generation of Pokémon he's deeply comfortable with, while old school UU player J0RIS returns to the roster after a one-year hiatus from the tournament to play SM OU, a tier they don't seem to have much experience in. The oldgens core is rounded out by pj, a player synonymous with both ORAS OU and Team India. Mario34 and skimmythegod return to the bench, joined by 2023 starter Raj.Shoot, triple threat Random Battles-CAP-Draft player blui, and UU substitute Cynde. Despite falling short of playoffs over and over and even being relegated after 2020, India's roster is packed with players to be respected, and they've had plenty of practice working and playing together after drafting each other as a team in as many side PLs as they can get away with. A dark horse of WCoP, India won't let past losses get in the way of claiming their first WCoP trophy.
Star Player - freezai
Freezai's tournament career has been interesting. He comes into this this summer's WCOP with an incredibly impressive 60% win rate over 56 appearances, so you might be a bit shocked to realize he's on a downward trend relative to his own high standards. Having started his career in 2019, Freezai quickly put together impressively winning seasons in quick succession, 7-4 and 9-2 in SPL and Snake respectively. Combine these results with an effervescent personality (seriously, does anyone dislike the guy?), and you had Smogon's hottest rising star.
That said, Freezai's last two outings haven't met the same standard, going slightly below-even in the most recent editions of SPL and SCL. That isn't to say his performances have been bad—far from it, the author of this section would be glad to have those results on his sheet—but India is certainly a team that needs a superstar firing on all cylinders to accomplish their big dream. India is perhaps one of the most passionate teams in the tournament and for good reason; every year they seem to get stronger and more tightly knit, and Freezai has repaid that environment through his performances for the team to date (7-3 overall in WCOP).
Winning this trophy takes something special and a lot of hard work. I'm confident that Freezai has the something special, and I'm confident that the team environment won't let him slack off by any means—so, what are we going to call the video? "How A Youtuber Won Pokémon's Oldest Team Tournament"?
Dark Horse - myjava
myjava's first stint on the big stage came in 2022, when he qualified for OLT IX and began his playoffs run 2-0 against 3d and Tace, only to fall in a crushing 0-3 losing streak. Though clearly expressing his disappointment about his defeat, myjava didn't let this deter him. The next week, he was signing up for more tournaments, immaterial whether it was Teamballo or OST. He once again suffered a series of losses on the big stage, going 0-3 in his WCoP 2023 pool; then it was back to the grind again in RCoP, UUWC, OUPL, and a number of other tournaments, putting up win after win. myjava's chance for the spotlight came around again when the Dragonspiral Tyrants drafted him for a mere 3k points, and this time, he seized this opportunity, going 7-2 after finally being given the chance to play in week four, claiming wins against such players as oldspicemike and xavgb. It seems that the results of last WCoP spurred myjava to find his rhythm in the high-level competitive scene, but we'll find out in due time if he has truly hit his stride or if his SPL trophy was a one-off event.
Redemption Seeker - pj
When you think of Team India, it is hard not to think of pj. A man with personality bursting out of him, pj has been a consistent presence and face for the team for the better part of half of a decade.
Coming into this WCOP, pj brings with him a deceptive 5-5 SPL record. While he may have gone even, he was able to record two massive wins against ABR and CBB to close out the campaign, a testament to a strong mentality and ability to perform under pressure. This level of performance will be necessary and may even need to be stepped up a notch if he wants to realize India's ambitions in Smogon's oldest team tournament. Unfortunately, this would need to represent a change of pace in the tournament, as pj looks to build on a 3-8 lifetime record in WCOP, a record that seems unfitting compared to the level of play he often brings.
Still, that said, it seems fairly clear that pj is a player on the up. If he can ride his momentum from SPL into WCOP alongside his famously passionate teammates, then the sky is the limit. Here's hoping that India accepts nothing less than the best this time around, as pj rounds out a cast of interesting characters and decidedly strong players.
Italy
|
|
|
Italy is a nation that commands respect, as they are one of Smogon's greatest producers of talent. From Prinz to Tricking to Empo, this is a region historically stacked with some of the best players the game has to offer. This will be Italy's fourteenth edition of WCoP. They have one win behind them already, and this is a starting lineup crafted purely with the intention of getting another. The SV OU lineup is led off by Kebab mlml, who was noticeably missing from this past SPL after falling in OLT X quarterfinals to INSULT; fiery player Niko, straying away from his home tier of ORAS after an even 5-5 SPL run; and Pais, whose official tournament results have been sparse after last year's 2-1 finish. New to the roster are RBY main Laroxyl, looking to improve from a 1-3 SV OU SPL showing, and low-tier main zS, who put up a strong quarterfinals run in OST XX. Italy's lower tiers are commandeered by entrocefalo, looking to retake the spotlight in his home tier after a strong 7-2 SCL III but a disappointing SPL XV, and Punny, whose UU record last SCL matched that of fellow Machine entrocefalo and who is looking to ride the momentum of a 16-9 lifetime WCoP record. This team's oldgen core is one to be feared: Raiza, who, while more comfortable among the classic gens, played a fair amount of high-level SS OU when it was current gen; Empo, who is on most people's lists for Smogon's top five best players and boasts over half of the sum of Italy's individual trophies; and Santu, who just had a dominant 8-1 ORAS SPL in a tier that makes up more than a third of his 59 sheet wins. On Italy's bench are captain s7a; OU substitute Will of Fire, perhaps better-known for their aggressive presence than their playing ability; Kibo, who has yet to see play on the big stage; H.M.N.I.P., whose last notable showing was a 5-1 SS OU run in SCL II; and JUST ONE GALATINA, a fairly new and yet-unproven player. While Italy has yet to be able to replicate their 2020 run, their closest since being a 5-3 loss to Canada in 2022's semifinals, this is a roster that demands to be treated as the threat it is. We have a number of less-proven teams joining the main event this year, and Italy is one of the teams their players should fear being put into a pool with. These are players who are battle-tested and beyond proven, and they are one of the likely favorites to go all the way and claim another blue trophy.
Star Player - Santu
For three years in a row, this man has absolutely terrorized SPL. Going 6-4, 7-2, and then 8-1, Santu has shown dominance over his opponents and emerged as an incredibly consistent player. This is married to a similarly impressive WCOP performance of his lifetime, a 13-7 record with a blue trophy to his name proving my point. Oh, and did I mention that he won Grand Slam?
The Italians have one of the deepest rosters in all of Smogon. Santu is no exception to this rule. This is a player with a knack for winning, and he's making his seventh WCOP appearance (although last time out was a disappointing 0-1); it is unlikely we see anything too poor from the Italian maestro. Santu will be picking up playing in Kalos this summer, but realistically, he could be put in any of these tiers and you'd still expect a positive record. Even surrounding the officials, he's been in strong form, winning tournament matches in competitions as disparate as RUPL and an entire Smogon Tour week.
Look—you know who this player is. If you're reading this, you know that Santu is good. The question then remains: how good? I have mentioned in other sections the difficulty in winning WCOP twice—it simply hasn't been done since the American reorganization representing this new era—but if there were a squad that can do it, Italy would be very high on that list. They would be high on that list due to players like this.
Italy's Heart - Punny
One WCOP, one SCL, one SPL, and an individual tournament. This has been a dream of mine for many years on Smogon, representing an ability to conquer regardless of the format, to defeat opponents in any circumstances. And while he cannot reach this promised land this summer (as he's already won WCOP), Punny sits in a unique position of being very close to this ideal. With an SPL, a WCOP, and a Grand Slam in his cabinet, Punny carries with him an incredibly impressive 59% win rate across 115 games, making him one of Smogon's most capped players and one of its most winning.
Punny finds himself competing in UU this iteration, but really, it's unlikely he'd have struggled in any slot; such are his abilities. He's got a strong history in the tier as well, recently winning UUPL with a crucial victory in the semifinals. Punny will potentially find himself mismatched against a lot of his competitors this go around; with the players that have a bigger and better history largely congregating in the OUs, he sticks out as a premier player in UU this time. That being the case, this might limit his familiarity with some of his opponents, all of whom play at a fairly respectable level, so complacency will need to be avoided if he's to keep his sheet record as pristine as it is (or improve it).
Italy is a team with a wealth of phenomenal players. It's difficult to predict who will come out as the best of the best. Punny has a legitimate shot of being their most winning player this summer, and with raucous support from his compatriots, it seems unlikely that he'll struggle in any notable sense through the majority of the competition.
Veteran Player - Empo
A while ago, after taking a hiatus from playing and interacting with the community for the a bit, I talked with a friend about creating one of those "top 10 of all time" lists, or maybe something on YouTube. I wrote down the names as I thought of them—Ojama, McMeghan, BKC, etc. Upon finishing, the friend scolded me, telling me that it was insane that I had missed Empo.
Empo is one of the best players ever to touch a Poké Ball. Coming into this tournament, Empo has a preposterous 51-28 record, one earned through only two instances of a negative record stretching back to 2018. He's earned three individual trophies and three team trophies along the way, WCOP being one of them. If Italy is to reclaim their spot atop the internationals, it is going to be players like Empo that truly pave the way.
A final thought: when writing this highlight, it was difficult to choose which category to place players into. This is because Italy, as a squad, has so many players with such bombastic abilities and legacies. Empo is no exception; he is truly one of the best, and it is extremely unlikely he gives us anything but a great tournament this time around.
Oceania
|
|
|
When the modern version WCoP first began in 2009, Oceania was the team to fear. Hat trick champions of the first three editions with a roster that boasted the likes of panamaxis, Heist, and, of course, Earthworm at the peak of his career, Oceania is second only to the former US East in terms of World Cups won. It has, however, been a bumpy road for Oceania since those long-gone glory days, unable to pass the quarterfinals for over ten years until their best run since 2011 last year, making it all the way up to semifinals before becoming another stepping stone in Spain's road to victory. 2024's roster is largely the same as 2023's, but with the format shift, some of Oceania's strongest players will be in their home tiers, marking a significant change for the Land Down Under. Playing SV OU this year will be former PU tier leader Chloe, OST semifinalist DugZa, OLT X quarterfinalist Leavers, oldgens Ubers main March Fires, and ninjadog, a low-tier player who has seen limited official tournament play since WCoP 2023, including a 1-4 run in SCL III. Oceania's low tiers this year show promise, headed up by Ubers tier leader Aberforth, who will be looking to bolster his decent 18-12 sheet record, which includes being 8-2 lifetime in WCoP, and NU tier leader etern, who looks to use their lower-tier prowess to improve upon a barely positive 36-35 current standing. damien the genius looks to ride the momentum from a positive championship season with the Tyrants, hoping to do well in a tour that has historically not been kind to him with the reintroduction of SS OU. The oldgens core is rounded out by ChrisPBacon and false, the former of whom is the reigning SM circuit champion and coming off of narrowly missing Smogon Tour 36 playoffs, and the latter of whom qualified for the ORAS circuit playoffs but missed the ribbon and currently sits at a 39.4% overall winrate on the sheet across just over 70 games. Benching for Oceania are omnipresent smogtours larper Drifting, OU sub Exotic64, two possible Ubers options in Trade and TrueNora, and Wadley to round out the low-tier subs. Oceania's roster has the pieces to make a strong WCoP run, and with those pieces now in their rightful places, their chances of success have increased significantly. Oceania will be making a heavy bid for their first trophy in over a decade, supported by a diverse cast of talent and the... encouragement of their manager false. We should expect good records from several of these slots, but time will tell if it's enough to return to the team's earliest heights.
Star Player - March Fires
March Fires arrives in the position of a star, maybe without having earned it. He holds a fairly impressive 19-14 record across his tournament career thus far, but he is primarily known for exploits in Ubers rather than OU (where he finds himself playing this summer, though it's not, historically, completely foreign), and he has ceded the Ubers spot to teammate Aberforth. Why, then, does he have to be the star?
In many cases in Smogon tournaments, the star spot is taken by force. A player who wins constantly, talks a lot, imposes their will on the team—this is what we're used to seeing in these slots. But March Fires arrives here having been bequeathed the role of leading by example. What do I mean? Virtually every single starter on the OCN roster (Aberforth and etern excluded, though the latter just by one game) has a negative tournament record coming in here.
This fact shocked me in review. These are names that I know and consider in relatively high esteem, but the fact of the matter is simply this: OCN hasn't been performing, at least not to date. Enter March Fires—a player with a winning history over a decent sample size, thrust into a tier that isn't quite as fitting as it ought to be. He's the star by necessity, and if he wants to add a blue trophy to his profile, he'll need to show his teammates what it means to win, whether that be in the builder or in the game, the latter of which March Fires will hope to lead by example.
Dark Horse - ChrisPBacon
The man with the silly username, ChrisPBacon is a completely new quantity in Smogon Team Tournaments, his only inclusion thus far being an appearanceless campaign in last year's WCOP. What that means is that this summer, the Bacon will be leaving the frying pan of disparate and lower-pressure subforum team tours and entering the fire of a proper one—his opponents are going to be smarter, better, and far more motivated than he may be used to.
Is this likely to be an issue? That's for Chris to decide. A look through his results thus far show that he has no problem getting across the finish line; his results in individual tournaments show as much, having won Smogon Tour weeks. Translating that into team-tournament success is a different beast, though; take a look at players like Giannis. Chris will be starting in SM OU, and as Alola is a land that entices a lot of Smogon's strongest players, he'll need to be on his toes throughout his run if he wants to get off on the right foot. Oceania will need it.
Redemption Seeker - false
At the end of the day, Pokémon is a numbers game. Good players are those who win more often than they lose; great players are those who win when the stakes are at their highest. There's no real way around this, and the luck evens out in the end: to really declare yourself a top-tier player, you need to go positive when playing tournaments.
false must face facts—a 28-43 record is not what he'll have wanted to bring into WCOP, but it's where he is at. Oceania is a team with a long history and a lot of early trophies, but it's also a team that has struggled a lot in more modern WCOPs, with only flashes of brilliance showing anything else. false, making his ninth appearance in the tournament, will have one singular goal on his mind this summer: take his 8-19 run thus far and turn it around as best he can.
This won't be easy, but nobody ever said it would be. false finds himself in ORAS OU, a tier he'll consider familiar, which is hopefully a leg up for him to take into this campaign. As one of the faces of OCN, false must leave any excuses at the door as he grinds out key wins for his team. Margins are getting smaller and smaller in this tournament, and a few important victories can quickly change his narrative. It's up to you, false.
Spain
|
|
|
Reigning champions Spain are back for another year, looking to crush the competition and take home back-to-back trophies, and they've pulled absolutely no punches when it comes to their roster. The SV OU lineup comprises of several superstar all-time greats in SoulWind, Garay oak, Trosko, and Malekith, and is rounded out by Dasmer, hoping to elevate his name among those of his peers after a lackluster SPL showing. Their low-tier core consists of M Dragon, who has been playing Pokémon since before a number of the people reading this were born, coming off a strong 5-3 SCL III performance in Ubers; and London Beats, whose last SV UU tournament appears to be UUWC 2023, but who is more than capable of picking the tier up and playing it at a high level. Spain's oldgen core is fielded by recently crowned SPL champion Luispeikou in SS after a 2-2 SV OU run with the Tyrants; Reze, off the bench and starting in SM OU after narrowly missing qualifying for Smogon Tour 36 by two points; and Axel, an old-school Smogon Snake Draft I winner back on the big stage after a three-year hiatus from high-level tournament play. The bench holds [K-12] The Madchine, a 2009 player who logged into Smogon for the first time in two years to sign up for this tournament; Ado, who can potentially sub into SS or SM OU; Guille and Javi, two solid SV lower-tier options; and Joya, ready to take the reigns in ORAS if Axel struggles. As the title defenders, eyes will be on Spain and their plethora of veteran players, as expectations will be high and the team has a target on their backs, but don't let that worry you. This roster is practiced, polished, and able to perform under pressure, and we can expect more great things from Spain in WCoP 2024.
Star Player - SoulWind
I could use this space to talk about SoulWind's absurd three individual trophies. I could use these characters to discuss the fact that he's the most capped player in Smogon history. I could opine here about his placement in the game's greater rankings, and how it's clearly in the top three.
I could do all of that, but I don't think I'd be able to impart my feelings the right way. There are, instead, two moments which define SoulWind as a player to me. The first occurred 8 years ago in SPL—after a brutal campaign, the Cryonicles decided to let Sweepage play in a tiebreaker in DPP against SoulWind. The latter bulldozed the game, dominating right at the moment of greatest pressure. The second occurred last year, in which SoulWind played a brutal, several hundred turn stall game on Smogtours for some side tournament, complained about his opponent and the game for 15 minutes after it ended, and then loaded up another stall team for another side tournament moments thereafter.
The Spanish National team are known as "La Furia Roja", which means "The Red Fury", fitting for SoulWind, a socialist Spaniard with a penchant for a bit of in-the-moment anger. The anecdotes above are just a piece of the story for this absolute legend of Pokémon who sports a name that nobody familiar with the game would not recognize. Having won the trophy last year, we can be assured that of all the players looking to repeat, SoulWind will be looking to the most—he is insatiable, never happy with what he has achieved, and he will not stop playing until his post-bit overflows and then some.
Veteran Player - M Dragon
M Dragon, David, Ardorin... whatever you call him, you know his name. M Dragon returns to the Spanish roster for a stunning 15th time, having become essentially synonymous with the team. He'll be taking the field in SV Ubers, and having traversed various Ubers tiers in the past (in addition to this one), it's unlikely that the big man will find himself in any uncharted waters.
There's a ton that could be said about M Dragon and his long career. He's known as one of the best players in Pokémon history, he's known as one of the best managers on Smogon, and he is certainly known for his confidence, personality and drive to win. A sterling mentality accompanies the Spanish veteran, and as most would agree, you will never find him sinking into despair over a loss, no matter how significant. This isn't to say that he doesn’t approach the big games with the sincerity they deserve—a Smogon Tour, a SPL and a WCoP trophy in his cabinet proving otherwise, the achievement of the latter having been a huge relief for the man after ages of trying.
Cutting to the chase—M Dragon is Smogon's 7th most capped player with a 55% win rate. The only tournament in which he has a losing rate is indeed this one, and this will be a fact that David aims to correct immediately. Put simply, I bet he does correct it.
The Bellwether - Trosko
Trosko wins, and he wins a lot. The man brings into this WCoP a staggering 60% win rate over 96 appearances, so it is clear that this is no fluke, having an SPL and last year's WCoP in his cabinet to hammer home this fact. He has a berth into SV OU, a tier that he knows well at this point, and surely is favored against the vast majority of the opponents he'll end up facing—a dominating and brutal 10-2 run in SPL acting as an omen of misfortune for those who happen to be on the other side of Trosko's 'vs'.
So, what is this feeling of trepidation that I have? At the end of SPL there was a notable moment from Trosko, one which surprised me. The man took to SmogTours loudly and consistently complaining about an administrative decision... one which occurred the round before, not involving his team at all. The writer of this highlight was flabbergasted—how could a player of such renown, of such ability, find such an irrelevant detail to explain his team's inability to take home the trophy? Are Pokémon tournaments not a game of "beat what is in front of you?"
I do not want to believe that conspiracy and complaints have crept irreversibly into Trosko's competitive spirit. I want to believe that he will take to the field and dismantle his opponents, remaining a goal for new Smogon players to emulate. But defending WCoP is a difficult challenge, one which hasn't been done since the American team reorganization. It clearly requires a skillset different than "just being pretty good at the game", it clearly requires a mentality to grind wins out no matter what happens surrounding the game itself. Does Trosko have that mentality? History suggests yes, but the present makes me doubt.
United Kingdom
|
|
|
The United Kingdom is a team of questionable results. Often the victim of weird and loose eligibility rules around who can play for Europe, this is a team that has time after time struggled to put up a good showing, with ten years between their most recent escape from pools last year and their previous top eight showing in 2013. UK has a long history, having been participating since 2008, but across sixteen appearances, they've failed qualifiers almost as many times as they've made playoffs. Led once again by Glue and Gingy, the UK hopes to seize the momentum from their quarterfinals appearance last year and write themselves a new history. xavgb is the centerpiece of the SV OU lineup, the OM main who came out of nowhere to take the official scene by storm now a mainstay in the conversation of top modern players. Ahsan-219, who has been putting up respectable SM OU runs and made it to stage five of OLT X's Swiss; Stareal, back in full force and making deep runs in circuit individuals as well as qualifying for STour 36 playoffs and defeating MichaelderBeste2; Trogba Trogba, looking to redeem themselves from a 1-3 WCoP finish last year; and new to the roster this year, all-around strong performer Baddy make up the rest of UK's SV OU talent. Their lower tiers are fielded by... twash? Icemaster is on the roster, but we have twash playing SV Ubers, a tier I can't confidently say he has touched since DPP was current gen in a generation I don't think he has any notable results to speak of in. We also have breakout SV UU player Rasche getting their first time on the big stage. UK's oldgens are a mixed bag: Icemaster is reportedly playing SS OU, which is a step below SS Ubers, a tier he saw huge success in when it was current gen. Chiharu, a wholly unproven player with no tournament results to their name, will be playing SM OU, and Sergio Aguero will be looking to rectify their 2-10 lifetime WCoP record after another negative addition to their sheet following being picked up in SPL XV's midseason. ADV main Triangles, SM or SS OU substitute Clementine, CAP main and former SV OU starter Joeshh, and two lower-tier subs in jawabarat and sufys round out the team on the bench. United Kingdom faces an uphill battle this year in many ways. Their roster has some strong players and promising new faces, but this competition gets tighter year after year. Gone are the days of US East taking home the trophy every year. Teams need to stand out, and UK has some real question marks in their starting lineup. With that said, they proved last year that they were able to rise above the competition, running from qualifiers into the quarterfinals after a three-year dry streak. UK is one of the many dark horses entering this tournament; it's just up to them to be the best of them all.
Star Player - xavgb
xavgb needs to put the British on his back this summer like some sort of PokéWinston Churchill. Our star brings with him a stunning 36-19 lifetime record in this iteration of WCOP, having no losing records among Smogon's big three tournaments, though a rare negative run in his last appearance in SPL does cast some doubts as to whether his longstanding dominance in team tournaments is going to come to an end. And, despite the wins themselves, one must notice that Xavgb's profile is not adorned by any silverware (sans an OM ribbon)—can that possibly be changed with the chips stacked against Team UK such as they are this time around?
xavgb will be claiming a starting spot in SV OU this time around, naturally. It is a tier where he is incredibly comfortable, and he's spent a good portion of the generation thus far in contention for its best representative. His overall experience is deep and varied; one look at his profile will see numerous "won ggs" posted in competitions like Slam and LCPL, showing that he's no stranger to playing for its own sake.
Going positive, winning games, those won't be the challenge for Team UK's centerpiece this season. Instead, he will find his calling in supporting his other slots—simply put, you cannot win a trophy alone, something xavgb should be intimately familiar with thus far. Can he elevate his teammates to somewhere approaching his level? If so, Team UK becomes a whole different beast. But should he fail to do this, we might expect the same story from the Brits—mediocre finishes, exiting the tournament without ever making anyone worry that they'd steal the trophy.
Wild Card - twash
Entering the tournament with a 27-29 record (9-9 in WCOP), twash took some by surprise by claiming the starting berth for Team UK's Ubers spot. This is not a surprise in terms of player quality; twash is reasonably well-considered among the general tournaments playerbase, but he pushes Icemaster into SS OU, where he may be a more natural pick for the Ubers role.
Pre-tournament canvassing has led to divisive opinions. It has been suggested to this author that twash is going to dominate in the SV Ubers pool, whereas another suggestion implied twash was on drugs (largely for their team choices in the last SPL). Whatever the case is, Team UK can hardly afford any passengers in their run this year if they are to finally break free from their consistently mediocre placements.
twash's player profile is difficult to pin down—he doesn't seem to play all that much outside the big tournaments that he signs up for, in contrast to a lot of players with similar positions and stats, who record entry after entry in Smogon's numerous side tournaments. In any case, twash will absolutely need to up the ante from his prior performances as one of the players with the most potential on UK's roster should he aim to take home the blue—whether he can, in a tier not as familiar as DPP OU, remains to be seen.
Redemption Seeker - Stareal
No trophies and a 5-11 record: this is the reality that stareal must face heading into summer 2024's World Cup. Having failed to get a positive record in any of their three prior attempts (across SCL, SPL, and WCOP), stareal has an uphill battle if they're to turn around their perception and placement on the sheet.
This is not to say it is impossible, of course. Stareal has moments in their history of notable wins over notable players—for example, defeating MDB2 in Smogon Tour. Unfortunately, though, bright spots aren't enough when it comes to winning a major team tournament—it is consistency and calmness under pressure that seems to correlate most with taking home the big prize. Team UK is, if history is anything to go by, likely going to struggle for a deep run. They can choose to pat themselves on the back for a great try, or they can ask the big questions as to why their finishes have been so consistently underwhelming: stareal is the type of player that will need to answer the latter question in a big way, and not through words, but through switches and techs.
Stareal's strong performance in Smogon Tour this season will have to serve as the launching pad for changed results when surrounded by the best of the best. The grueling weeks of qualification are no joke, as anyone who has aimed to participate in playoffs before knows, and a win in the first round can only spell good things for a player known as one of Smogon's nicest. Let's hope that they are able to take this momentum and ride it through the summer so that they can give the ultimate gift to their British teammates: the ability to say "it's coming home".
US Midwest
|
|
|
The underdog of the US teams, US Midwest has had multiple respectable but not outstanding performances. They have made it out of pools every year since 2020 but never beyond that, including a crushing 7-1 loss to eventual champions Spain last year in quarterfinals. With that said, US Midwest has its fair share of strong players. Their SV OU lineup is led off by oldspicemike, who went from a big question mark on the 2023 roster to a star player on the SPL XV's Ruiners. zioziotrip and S1nn0hC0nfirm3d join them after two solid SPL performances of their own, as well as kythr, an LC player who has strong fundamentals and experience across a number of low tiers but whose most notable SV OU achievement seems to be beating ABR in pools last year. heileone fulfills Midwest's 2024 quota of "player pulled out of a hat," rounding out the starting SV OU lineup with less than a page of tournament results to their name. Midwest's low tiers are fielded by Highlord, who has a 4-5 campaign with the SCL III Foxes as his only high-level (and perhaps only ever) SV Ubers outing but certainly has the skill to do well, as shown by his many oldgens Ubers accomplishments; and passion, who is a combined 10-8 in SV UU team tournaments but can be found posting telling the SPL XI host to eat shit before you see a "won gg" post from them in an individual tournament. Their oldgens core shows more promise, with Luthier, who is coming off of a number of strong showings across numerous tiers, including SS OU; Tace, who has years of experience across a number of official tournaments; and dice, a player with over 150 games on the sheet and a positive record to go with them. Midwest's bench consists of former managers MANNAT and blank; 1v1 circuit champion DripLegend, who has had some moderate success in SV lower tiers; OreoSpeedruns, a decent SV Ubers substitute; and avarice, who can easily sub into SV UU or OU. Though their names may not be as flashy as some other regions and some of their players less established, US Midwest has been quietly and consistently determined throughout their (relatively) short history as a region, and this year may be their year, with a combination of old talent and newer names coming together to form a solid roster. And who knows? They may yet defy my expectations. That's why we play the game, after all.
Star Player - Luthier
- "I'm quitting Smogon to focus on med school"
- Luthier after every major tournament ends
- "in"
- Luthier as every major tournament starts
US Midwest's starting SS player may have questionable motivation from time to time, but it has not shown in his results at all. Luthier commands a respectable 60% win rate across 72 appearances, having been on team tournament playing hiatus since last edition of WCoP. Remarkably, he's only put up a single losing season in his 10 campaigns stretching back to 2019, a testament for sure to his ability to grind out wins on the big stage.
Luthier's individual performances are very clearly at a good level, having made it deep in Masters and Smogon Tour. Galar should be a comfortable ground for him to play in, and if he gets off to a good start, it's reasonable to expect him to carry that momentum forward—Midwest will be banking on it, looking to improve from their purgatory of quarterfinals for once. Is Luthier the player to make such a breakthrough? Two SCL trophies prove that he has the ability to get across the finish line, but it remains to be seen whether he can do it with a team on his back.
Dark Horse - oldspicemike
Prior to 2023, oldspicemike had just about 50 posts on Smogon, most of them in the RMT forum, voting on OU suspects, or joining Smogon Tour weeks, so everyone was surprised to not only see his name on the US Midwest roster but also see him as a starter. Thrust into a pool with GXE, Eoward, and M Dragon, oldspicemike exited pools with a 2-1 record, with his only loss to the Belgian captain. oldspicemike went mostly quiet after Midwest's exit in quarterfinals, besides an unsuccessful OLT attempt, only to reemerge for SCL and put up a 6-3 performance for the Terrors. Not stopping there, he became a star of the Alpha Ruiners, netting a 15k price tag and bringing in an 8-2 SV OU record in exchange. 16-7 on the sheet already in his short career, it's clear that oldspicemike feels at home on the big stage. While he lacks individual results, his records speak for themselves: this is a player to keep an eye on this WCoP.
Veteran Player - dice
Smogon's 13th most capped player, dice rolls up to another edition of WCoP as US Midwest's ORAS OU representative. dice has maintained a notable 54% win rate across his staggering 151 tournament appearances, with a slightly higher average in his WCoP appearances to date.
dice is easily Midwest's most experienced player, and looking at the rest of the roster, one might hope that he brings a stability and consistency to their performance this year. However, consistency alone will not be enough—four consecutive quarterfinal appearances have assuredly cemented Midwest as a regular team, but surely the players are entering the tournament with an eye toward doing better. In order to achieve that they'll need dice to reverse his last two WCoP campaigns, both of which were disappointing for a player of his caliber. dice is surely able to do so, but it remains to be seen if he manages to lead this squad a bit further than they are accustomed to going. A lack of notable ORAS results may be an albatross around dice's neck going into the tournament, and there are question marks as to his suitability in the tier without having had the experience. Still, though, it is the responsibility of a flagship player to step up to the plate when necessary, and this responsibility is one dice is sure to feel deeply.
US Northeast
|
|
|
After a disappointing year, perennial powerhouse US Northeast looks to lock in and make a return to dominance with a roster loaded with familiar faces and a format change that only helps their star players. Unsurprisingly, most of Northeast's 2023 roster is returning for 2024, including all five of their SV OU starters, with OLT X champion lax; blunder, who's fresh off of an SPL XV win as one of the Dragonspiral Tyrants' managers and a top sixteen OST XX run; and all-around strong player Star, who is capable of picking up just about any tier at a high level. Their oldgen core consists of ABR, now in SS OU after no success in SV OU since the start of the generation, and fade, off the bench and into the ORAS OU starting slot, as well as a surprise for long-time tournaments fans: bro fist is back to start for Northeast in SM OU, a tier where he has historically had success during WCoP and SPL alike. Slam XII winner Giannis Antetokommo-o joins Gilbert arenas, who became a serious low tier contender after a surprisingly successful season in NU on a lackluster SCL II Shoguns. The bench packs almost as much star power as the starting lineup, with CTC, the SV OU teambuilding chef credited in large part for the Dragonspiral Tyrants' recent SPL XV win; two strong OU or UU substitute options in aim and Chaitanya; robjr, a solid sub option for basically any tier; and the only new addition to the roster this year, Srn, who has been putting up decent results in a number of SV OU tournaments. While there's something to be said for cultivating and holding onto your region's talent, many of these players have been on the roster since near the region's formation, and Northeast barely dodged relegation in 2023, tiebreaking with Bangladesh near the bottom of the regular season standings. Northeast looks to find new success with the format shift, but we can only wait to see how well the old guard of Smogon tournaments stands the test of time and an onslaught of new talent.
Star Player - ABR
When was it, exactly, that ABR became the greatest Pokémon player to ever touch SmogTours? Was it as early as his first trophy in OST XIII? Or was it when he beat Lavos at the peak of his powers, winning this tournament for Northeast? Perhaps you think Classic is the most important, and so you say it's when he won his record-equalling fourth individual trophy. If you're still not convinced, perhaps you've never seen one of the greatest wins in team tournament history?
In basketball there is Jordan. In football there is Messi. In boxing there is Ali. And in hockey there is Gretzky. In Pokémon there is ABR—the most American player on the website is back with one goal on his mind: bringing the trophy to its rightful home.
I was asked to do this writeup with as few words as necessary—I've a tendency to ramble. Had I acquiesced, this would be 8 words long: ABR is the best and he will win. That's all I know and all you need to know.
Comeback Player - bro fist
Newer players will only know this name through legend, and an unfortunate few might not know it at all, but let's be clear here: bro fist is unquestionably one of the greatest Pokémon players of all time, he is your favorite player's favorite player. Of course, viewpoints like this are in no way unjustified: the man has a 34-14 record in WCoP and once managed to tell Smogon's biggest cheater (at the height of his powers) to "take a hike", defeating someone who could know your entire team before the game even started. The writer of this section is, perhaps, quite a bit biased—after all it was under John's leadership that he won his WCoP trophy, too—but it is through that experience that he has come to understand that "big day" bro fist is as powerful as the rumors always suggested. A return to the land of Alola brings good tidings; this is a metagame and a tier that he knows inside and out, standing at its pinnacle. Is there a possibility for rust, returning to the game after some time away? For most anyone else I'd say sure, but class is forever, and John has it in spades.
bro fist has four WCoP trophies under his belt again. He would not be entering this tournament if he didn't think that would soon be five.
Agency's Finest - blunder
Complete and collected, blunder brings a time-tested, suffocating, and calculated playing style to WCoP this summer. Or, well, that'd be true if he was the Magnus Carlsen of Pokémon.
Deliberate and patient with an eye toward tempered risks, blunder arrives at this WCoP with consistency on the mind. Or, well, that'd be true if he was the Garry Kasparov of Pokémon.
Vicious and violent, blunder is aiming to catch his opponents in a whirlwind of plays, finding weaknesses both in the teambuilder and in the opponent's psyche as he piles on wins for Northeast. This is true because, above all else, he is the Bobby Fischer of Pokémon, a man with a born talent for winning and a third eye to see beyond what the mortals can.
Recently off an SPL victory as a manager, blunder looks to reprise his winning performance in last WCOP by reentering the SV arena. b4 making any predictions you should c1 of his games from last year, a1-and-done masterclass in calm under pressure, we can expect to see the King's Kingambit doing what it does best as capable teambuilders look to give the grandmaster an opening repertoire sure to keep his opponents guessing.
US South
|
|
|
When you are among the higher echelons of teams, it's easy to become complacent. It's easy to assume that wins will come again after your first trophy, and it's easy to fall back on the names that got you there, believing that they will lead you to victory again. This is how US South's 2023 roster found themselves one game away from relegation last year, with a roster built on the backs of talent like Ox the Fox and Samqian, who combined to go 0-5 in pools. But if you know US South's flagship captains Dave and kumiko, you know that they won't accept this kind of result. They hold a staggering nine WCoP trophies between them, and complacency is not something that aligns with their vision of the Warrior Spirit. US South's SV OU lineup blends old and new talent, with OMs main aesf and 10-1 SPL XV superstar hellom, the first of whom was on the bench last year and the latter of whom wasn't even on the roster; all-rounder Xrn, who put up his own solid 6-4 SPL showing; NU powerhouse GXE, hot off of a 7-2 SCL III finish; and OU veteran TPP, who, in contrast to his teammates, has gone 4-11 across the most recent SCL and SPL. Fielding South's lower tiers are two strong players: Kate, an Ubers player whose exclusion from SCL III is largely agreed to be a major snub, especially considering a positive championship run in SCL II, and pdt, who went 9-3 for Dave's Orange Islanders in SCL III, both of whom will be expected to go positive in pools. The oldgens core is comprised of all-time great veteran Eo Ut Mortus, returning to the roster with the reintroduction of SS OU; Draft main GeniusX, newly stolen from Team Asia and coming out of a strong 5-4 showing in his first SPL; and must-see player crying, whose builds often ride the line between pure genius and overcooked. Benching for US South are ORAS sub Buhrito, ready to step in if crying struggles; a strong SS OU option in clean; two SV OU subs in ladder fiends leng loi and SupaGMoney; and Danny, a low-tier player with the fundamentals to make a passable sub in most tiers. Sometimes seen as the lesser half of the former US East, as Northeast inherited the ABRs and bro fists of the team, US South has a lot to prove this summer. Unlike their brothers to the north, this team is not afraid to open their doors to new talent if they show potential, and US South will be banking on this new blood to blaze the way to a repeat of their 2021 victory. No matter what happens though, you can bet on one thing: this team will not be caught slacking again.
Star Player - hellom
In the summer of 2022, Manchester City of the English Premier League pulled off a coup by signing the most highly rated prospect in the entire world, Erling Haaland. With pressure from all directions, Haaland went on to score a flabbergasting 52 goals in 53 appearances, claiming a famous treble of trophies along the way. This was, most likely, the most successful debut season in football history. You all know where I am going with this: hellom is the same.
Bought for a mere 6K, hellom brings the best pound-for-pound record on all of Smogon into this tournament. He started his career in the big leagues just this last SCL, where a 1-0 run served as the launchpad for a simply crushing 10-1 campaign in the subsequent SPL. There was no easy path to these records, either, with players like lax, Trosko, crying, Storm Zone and more representing a verifiable gauntlet he had to run. But run it he did! Bringing a combination of (typically) defensively sound teams with unique breaking options, hellom seems to know exactly who and what kind of player he is going into WCOP.
There is one other major facet to his story here. A 10-1 run in SPL is nice, it's great even, but it doesn't come with a trophy on its own. hellom, despite all of his efforts, was unable to add his first piece of silverware to his profile. In no uncertain terms, no matter how much he loved his teammates, that is sure to sting—sting really, really badly. He must be thankful, then, that he's a part of a team as powerful as US South entering into this summer's competition—they're going to be favorites to be there or thereabouts despite an uncharacteristically weak year last time around. A player like hellom is almost certain to be a difference maker, and he'll be looking to be the main man as South looks to be the first team to win two WCOPs since the American reorganization.
Comeback Player - Eo Ut Mortus
Eo has been playing in the big Smogon Team Tournaments for longer than a reasonable portion of the userbase has been alive. Making his debut appearance in 2009's WCoP, Eo will be appearing in the oldest team tournament for the 11th time this summer, amassing a career record of 90-65 to become the 5th most capped player in the site's history. Along the way Eo has picked up two trophies, the final Snake Draft IV being one and his shared victory with US South in this very tournament being the other.
Look: you all know who Eo is. But where does he find himself entering this tournament? That is a more fun story to tell. Looking at his record, Eo has taken some time off, not appearing in one of the majors since 2022's WCoP, where he put up an extremely uncharacteristic 0-5 record. One might have been forgiven for thinking that this was Eo's end, that he wanted to crystallize his impressive lifetime performance and call it a day—but that isn't what we're seeing.
Back in the saddle once more after a year off, Eo will enter this tournament as one of the players that Dave and his Dixies will pin their hopes on. It's hard not to—watch Eo's games and you'll see what we mean, he's very consistently a runaway winner, and in the odd times he gets into trouble, he seems to play his way out through patience and consistency. His gap since his last appearance is relatively unique among similar WCoP players, too, with virtually no unofficial playing to pass the time in between. Are we likely to see a refreshed competitor, someone who shows his well earned skill and technique with a lot of wins? Or are we going to see a death knell, where we turn around and say "yeah, you should've called it quits back then?"
Knowing Eo, the former is a much more significant possibility. Doubts of the latter will be in everyone's heads, aside from maybe the minds of his direct opponents, but if we were to bet on it, Eo will win quite a lot as South proceeds deep into playoffs.
Redemption Seeker - TPP
Which way, Poké man? In 2023 TPP recorded his highest winning season with a 6-3 run in SPL. He also recorded two of his worst-ever seasons (in the modern era) with a 1-2 in WCoP and then a 1-8 in SCL. Clawing his way back, an even SPL at the beginning of 2024 has calmed the waters a bit for South's friendliest player, but it begs the question: where are you going from here?
TPP is a strong player, there's really not a lot to deny that, but it doesn't seem unfair to say that he hasn't lived up to his full potential on the sheet just yet. A 45% win rate over 71 games comes below what I think most people would expect from watching TPP's games, and so it'll be opportunities like this WCoP for him to set his record straight. TPP will be competing in SV OU, a tier he is fundamentally familiar with, having led CG OU for quite some time now and having a big hand in how the generation and tier is shaped.
Now, an underperformance on the sheet is definitely not the entire story—the writer of this highlight has teamed up with TPP before and knows just how incredibly, absurdly helpful the man is when it comes to preparation before a match. Whether it be scouting, building or testing, he's always available and willing to lend a hand—TPP is worth a few wins alone in terms of this level of dedication and sincerity. If he's able to marry this with a change of course from his last few tournaments you might expect to see his name repeated over and over in the South win posts, much like how it rang out in his SPL and WCOP wins in the past.
Winning WCOP twice seems to be beyond even the strongest of teams for a while now, but South seems keen to break that duck. TPP will be a lynchpin in what ends up happening for his team here, for better or worse.
US West
|
|
|
When talking about US WCoP teams, the dynastical fragments of the former US East are usually what come to mind first, but US West has quietly been one of the United States' strongest teams throughout the history of WCoP. With two first-place finishes, two second-place finishes, and a history of routinely making it past the pools stage, US West is back under new management once again, this time led by former player velvet and DOU mainstay Smudge. US West has been made even stronger by the recent format change, which allows them to field some of their best players in their main tiers, like vivalospride in UU, Attribute in SS OU, and z0mOG in SM OU. PZZ, Skarpherim, and shiloh make up the rest of West's returning roster, along with both of 2023's captains, ima and Meru. New this year are VGC Worlds top cut player emforbes, starting in SV OU despite only having a handful of SV OU tournament games under his belt, and ORAS starter RufflesPro, a frequent flyer of the ORAS OU ladder and discussion threads who also lacks notable tournament results but has been playing since ORAS OU was the current generation. On the bench, US West has ez, fresh off a tourban and ready to sub into SS OU; two potential UU substitutes in tko and Meru; and Roller K and Vaboh for two solid SV OU options.
Star Player - Vert
Known for both his strong playing and his strong metagame opinions, Vert returns to US West's roster after a disappointing round four exit in OST XX. He finished 2-2 in WCoP 2023, 2-1 in pools and a loss in quarterfinals. Despite all of this, Vert's ceiling is extremely high, with a number of impressive performances including winning the SS OU 2023 circuit ribbon and making finals of the SV Ubers 2023 circuit, quarterfinals of the SV OU circuit, and finals of OLT X, on top of his OST XIX championship. Vert has emerged as one of SV's strongest players and expectations will be high for him this WCoP.
Comeback Player - Skarpherim
After making the excellent decision to change from GarbodorIsHot to Skarph and the even better decision to stop maining Anything Goes to try his hand at official tiers, Skarpherim found himself on the US West 2023 roster following back-to-back circuit ribbon wins in SS Anything Goes and Ubers. Unfortunately, we never got to see Skarpherim play, since he seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth right after WCoP 2023's main event started and didn't come back until US West had been eliminated. Even more unfortunately, when he did come back, he changed his name to MAHOH. Since his return, Skarpherim has dabbled in SV Ubers, going 2-4 for US West in Ubers World Cup, SV UU, where he went 5-2 in UUPL, and the namechange thread, now Skarpherim. The bottom line is: we know Skarpherim can perform when he's playing; the question is if he'll stick around long enough to play.
Veteran Presence - z0mOG
A US West mainstay since 2016 and a tournaments player since 2014, it's safe to say that z0mOG knows his way around the tournaments scene, and with the addition of SM OU back to WCoP, the only SV z0mOG has to play now is VGC. Positive on the sheet but 10-19 lifetime in WCoP, z0mOG will be looking to bounce back from his 0-2 WCoP 2023 in his home tier. While perhaps not the first name that comes to mind when you hear "SM OU player," z0mOG has put up a number of respectable performances in SPL and Smogon Tour. Just off of an SPL runner-up finish as the Circus Maximus Tigers' manager, US West's new managers will also be relying on z0mOG to help guide them and the team to victory with years of experience on the roster and in the driver's seat.
Final Thoughts
With the stage set and the teams raring to go, we have just three weeks to find out who will climb into the playoffs and who will have to face qualifiers next year. With clear favorites in strong teams and dark horses abounding, some players are looking to prove continued dominance, and others are looking to redeem past performances. At the end of the day, Pokémon is Pokémon, and it's anyone's trophy to win. Good luck and have fun to all participants; may the strongest region prevail!
| « Previous Article | Next Article » |