To Pimp a Butterfree (0) vs (0) Dwayne Gang
SS ZU: clean vs Pokeslice - Pokeslice won again last week and has a three-game win streak. clean also won last week because his opp missed the scheduled time, which sucks because I wanted to see that game. Pokeslice brought a cool team last week with hazard stack + Lunatone and always seemed in control that game. The only thing I wonder is if that Luna was RP because that might've just swept (could set up vs Gunfisk and pressure things if not hit by Yawn). This sort of style matches up well into clean imo because two breakers in Meteor Beam Lunatone and CB Sawk with hazards support can really pressure bulkier teams and teams without a Scarfer. That being said, clean was able to save his prep since his opp didn't show up last week. Maybe those ideas still apply vs Pokeslice, maybe they don't, or maybe clean was going to recycle vs Fog. Who knows. While both players are on three game win streaks (though clean only played in 2/3), I have to bold clean for the experience and in-game difference.
SM ZU: sasha vs Greybaum - Both players lost close games last week. If I had to guess, I'd say sasha goes back to HO because that team last week needed more breaking power to beat plznostep's stall. Similarly, I feel that Greybaum's team from last week needed some more power, but that tends to happen when one builds with Gourg-XL. Honestly I think that their play is somewhat even after watching each of their replays. The gap comes in meta knowledge because I assume sasha hasn't built any of the teams that were brought while Greybaum does his own building and has plenty of years doing so. Moreover, Dwayne Gang are out and Greybaum can bring whatever he wants, which is exciting for the fans and potentially worrisome for the Butterfrees.
ORAS ZU: TWiTT vs BaitWiz - twitt subbed out last week so I'm unsure how much time he has these days to prep and play. I've run out of things to say about twitt so I'll just say there is a huge gap in experience here and that prepping for twitt can lead to paralysis by analysis. I think that Bait has a decent grasp on the meta based on the builds Dwayne Gang has brought so far. Although Bait fumbled a key turn by sacking Jumpluff to Ice Punch (Toto catching Pluff with an Ice Punch is a full circle moment), what really screwed Bait was how he nicknamed his Politoed Serene Grace which ensured Simipour would hit all four Hydro Pumps. Seriously though, I feel that Bait misplayed a few turns here and there and had to bank on Toto not missing. Since the Butterfrees are most likely in playoffs, I think twitt will roll with a safe team in terms of not relying on hitting moves. Dwayne Gang are out so Bait can go off the deep end and try to catch twitt that way. I think that if Bait takes a lot more time to think and analyze lines in-game, he has a good shot assuming the matchup is at least even. However, I expect twitt to craft a good matchup and win.
Morpeek-A-Boos (0) vs (0) Shiiny Shiinotics
SS ZU: dex vs OranBerryBlissey10 - I'm not too familiar with dex as a player so I don't have anything to say there. The Pekos' SS hasn't been producing good results since they put Franklin in SV. Their teams leave something to be desired to me because while they are mostly solid and creative, they just haven't hit the mark the last two weeks. Meanwhile, OBB is on fire with four straight wins and is on top of his game. OBB beat Zause last week and put himself atop the SS pool alongside clean. I'm also a fan of OBB's teams because they're solid and use a lot the same mons I like, so I've got some bias there. Also, OBB hasn't really allowed people to take advantage of certain building tendencies. He just has too good an eye for the meta and feel for SS for me to think that an upset will happen.
SM: Finchinator vs MZ - MZ is another player who's on fire because he hasn't lost since week one. I've been liking his builds as of late and last week's team looks like something LPY would make (maybe it's his team idk for sure). Last week's win came easier than other weeks for MZ imo mainly because LustfulLice didn't play too well. This isn't something to hold against MZ though because a win is a win and he's got five straight. Compared to MZ's win, Finch's win was a lot closer and required correct predictions with Simisage against Greybaum's team. After Finch's loss in week five vs sasha, the Pekos' SM support rolled with something more generic and less catered to a specific opp (imo). This ended up working out because the matchup was more or less even and Finch was able to outplay. In an even matchup, it's really tough to say who'll win considering how in-form MZ looks and how Finch outplayed Greybaum last week. I think both teams will bring great teams and I give MZ the slight edge mainly because he seems more in tune with the meta.
ORAS ZU: Toto vs tier - Pekos are guaranteed playoffs so maybe Toto will build...Or maybe he has an old pastebin account with ancient ORAS teams he can dust off and bring. I used to think 5dots was the most fearsome ORAS ZU player to prep for, but Toto's game last week put him above 5dots for most fearsome to prep for. It's like his Simipour had plot armor. Jokes aside, this is lowkey a highlight match for me because tier's ORAS support has supplied tier with some unique and solid teams, especially that Zweilous hazard stack team. I'm confident Toto has a team that fares well against hazards and slow builds so I favor him here.
Sacred Sakura (0) vs (0) Cramlington Cramorants
SS ZU: Sylveon used calm mind Tuthur vs Diego - Diego can turn his whole season around with a win here, IF the game gets played. The Diego and Zpice combo almost nabbed a win last week except for the fact that Cofagrigus is a top 5 SS ZU mon. I did like their team and the structure + Zpice's plays caused me to misread Miltank's ability and almost throw the game. It's a shame that Fog doesn't want to play anymore and that the Sakuras don't have anyone else who's willing to play here because they were looking promising. I think Diego has freedom to get creative here and is at his best when he pilots creative teams so this should be one-sided (if it gets played). I don't really know his opp outside of general tour stuff so I can't really comment.
Edit: I missed the Tuthur sub initially b/c I forgot about it and didn't read Tuthur's post again. I feel that Tuthur is the more skilled player and has enough meta knowledge to not be caught off-guard. Tuthur's also got enough SS ZU teams to where trying to ct is a pain. If Diego can get a good matchup or find a tech that works into Tuthur, I can see him winning. Although both have poor records so far, I think Tuthur will end the season with a win.
SM ZU: a fruitshop owner vs Tenebricite - I have to admit that when prepping for Tene, I was pretty impressed with his in-game skills and reads on top of the consistency of his teams. Tene caught us last week as we didn't really expect the Crams to bring HO to SM. I believe it's between MZ and Tenebrecite for who's been the best SM player this ZUPL, so I'm high on Tene. That being said, AFO is an SM staple and produced great results in SM since it was current gen. For me, SM is Fruits' best gen when it comes to creativity because he's really good at crafting techs and structures here. This is a highlight game and I wouldn't be surprised if Fruits swoops in, beats a top SM player, and ends his season on a high note.
ORAS ZU: Lasen vs 5Dots - Gap in meta knowledge is pretty big here for 5dots. From the games I've watched so far, Lasen is a capable pilot and to me, ORAS is one of the easier ZU gens for a new player to pilot well. The meta is relatively straightforward and everything is pretty established, not to mention Lasen has AFO support. We were able to beat 5dots last week largely because Fish put in the work testing and workshopping ideas and our prep worked out. If the Sakuras feel like putting in the effort to prep, they have a decent shot. However, 5dots and the Crams really want to win this week for playoff chances so I assume 5dots will self scout to avoid having the same weaknesses as last week. I doubt he brings weather again too so that's a plus.
Morpeek-A-Boos (5) vs (3) Shiiny Shiinotics 
Sacred Sakura (2) vs (6) Cramlington Cramorants 
