Tier 1, 2 and 3 players should be starting doubles players
Tier 1
Top players that should be drafted at a premium price. I expect a 60% or better win percentage
1.) Laga: is the only player managers should spend more than 10k on. A major concern that I had about him was that he was inactive throughout the entire year up until S&M. But after S&M he has probably been the most active player. He has excellent knowledge of the game, constantly builds solid teams, and plays well.
Tier 2
Good players that should be drafted at an average price. You should expect them to get a 50% or better win percentage
2.) SamVGC: Behind Stax, Sam had arguably the best tour results in 2016. In ORAS he built a variety of great teams and executed. I am unsure of his knowledge of S&M but have no doubt that he will be well prepared for SPL.
3.) DaAwesomeDude1: Probably the least well known of everyone in Tier 2. DAD1 tour results are on par with SamVGC and has proved to be one of them best. Managers that do their research will realize this and pick up one of the best players for a lower cost than the more well-known guys on this list.
4.) Majorbowman: had one of the best SPL records last year and had solid tour results throughout the year.
5.) Kylecole: He was extremely inactive throughout the year but he has shown that he has knowledge of S&M; although he has not proven to be consistently good at team building like Laga. The major concern I have seen in the S&M kick off tour and last year SPL is that he heavily relies on set up sweepers. If he doesn’t switch this up he will take losses to prepared players.
Tier 3
Players that should be drafted at 3k or slightly more. They should win at least 40% of their fights
6.) Stax: Everyone listed above has participated in the S&M kick off tour and is known to have some knowledge of S&M. I am unsure if his S&M teambuilding and knowledge is on par with other in the top 10 and thus I drop him down to 6th. Although I expect that he will be drafted and be prepared for SPL. Stax’s tour performance though the year was the most successful that anyone has ever had in one year of Doubles OU. He was really just phenomenal and was awarded DOU Player of the Year.
7.) Mishimono: Just capped off a seasonals victory over Braverius in the finals and DAD1 in semi finals. He did quite well in other tours throughout the year. He is a very good team builder and has been active in S&M.
8.) Kamikaze: Had the worst SPL performance last year but made up for it with solid results in Open and Seasonals. He has shown to have a great knowledge of S&M but along with Stax he is the only guy not participating the S&M tour; this is concerning since we cannot judge his teambuilding or battling in the new gen.
9.) Nido-Rus: He has a long record of doing consistently good in doubles tours against the best players. He has been active in S&M, proving to build very good teams.
10.)Memoric: Although he went undefeated in SPL I have some reasons to list him at number 10. Either the people above him had better(or much better) tour records or have proven they have good knowledge and teambuilding in S&M. Still he has proven over time to be one of the best.
Tier 4
Potentially good back up players
11.)Flame Road: has had very good tour runs in the past but the biggest reason I push him up to #11 is that he has proven to build top notch teams and win during S&M
12.)Croven: He played very good in a few tours this year including a winning the Flashback tour and has some activity in S&M
13.)Braverius: He finished second place in the most recent seasonal and was pretty good in other tours during the year. He falls down to #13 because he has been unseen during S&M.
14.)Yellow Paint: Yellow Paint, Demantoid, and Matame all have had decent runs in the past but make it this high on my list because they all have built excellent teams and proven to be good players in S&M.
15.)Demantoid: see above
16.)Matame: see above
17.)Checkmater: He earned his spot in SPL last year with excellent tour results. This year he dropped off a bit and I believe the players above him are better team builders and players in this new gen.
18.)Qsns: Pretty much the same as checkmater
19.)Mizuhime: The reason you buy this person is to have someone test in multiple tiers and as a backup if something happens to your doubles main. He has not been active throughout the year. He has built teams for S&M and done a few fights but what I have seen is not of the same quality of the guys above.
20.)Biosci: He did well in SPL last year and did decent in the first seasonal of the year. After that he hasn’t been active in doubles which drops him down to 20 since everyone above him has some activity in S&M. This new gen brings a lot of changes; I would have him try out against the guys above before having him on your draft list.
Do not draft
30.) TheForthChaser: over the past two years of SPL he has a 40% win rate and no tour results to show for in between. Everyone listed above him has better credentials through their consistent tour results in doubles tours. Also he has been unseen during S&M and will probably rely on someone to build teams for him and catch him up to speed on Doubles OU in the new gen if you draft him. Like Biosci, you should have him tryout before considering him.
40.) BLINGAS: why do people even draft him for doubles? I feel like the managers are trolling the doubles community by drafting him
Also in the mock drafts I saw Vinc picked for doubles. Draft Vinc but don’t have him as a doubles player. Also I saw someone in mock draft Lohgok for doubles. Neither of these guys should be considered as a doubles main.