Monotype Premier League V - Power Rankings
Written by
Kev with some help from
Chaitanya
Rankings done by
Chaitanya Eien Moosical terrors Izaya Paleo 1 True Lycan Ridley and myself
USM
1.
Goldenrod Gengars
Chaitanya (2),Waszap (6),dahli (8), Evigaro (16)
The Gengars lead the USM player pool by far as they are led by two top USM players: Chaitanya & Waszap. Both of them consistently put up positive records and are able to build fresh and competent teams weekly. Moreover, they known how to efficiently prep to gain favourable matchups. The other two USM players for this team are also very solid. dahli (peachy clouds) has been very impressive in team tours thus far, boasting a nice 8-2 record (13-2 if you count BLT). Evigaro's record is more even but she has proved her ability to adapt to the metagame quite well. With team building support, these two are bound to finish positive. As mentioned before, support is no issue for this team thanks to their managers, as well as Feitan who is a strong builder. On a final note, this core has great synergy.Chaitanya, Waszap and peachyclouds proved to be a powerful trio in MWP, and Evigaro did well with Waszap's support in Monotype WCoP.
2.
Hearthome Honchkrows
Clearly (7), Teddeh (11), Bitana (10), Oberyn (27)
The Honchkrows USM core, lead by the returning Clearly, is quite interesting. The biggest question mark about them is if Clearly is back in top shape. If he's in good form, he will be able to churn out very interesting teams for his teammates and deliver a very positive record as usual. However, if he is still trying to shake off his rust, things might be rougher for the core. The next two members of the core are Teddeh and Bitana. Teddeh had a really strong showing in Monotype WCoP with Lycan's support, so we can imagine that it will be repeated here. As for Bit, he consistently brings positive records and is capable of providing building support. The lowest point of this lineup would be Oberyn who still needs to prove himself as an USUM player. While being a good player, he simply has not had the chance to showcase his best in this tier on the main stage. He should be able to put up a decent performance with the help of his great teammates. As for the Gengars, this core has some nice synergy. They have at least 3 people capable of building good USM teams in Clearly, 1 True Lycan and Bitana. Also, many of the players have teamed previously. Both Teddeh and Bitana have recently teamed with Lycan, while Clearly and him have been friends for years.
3.
Sunyshore Surskits
Eien (1), Feliburn (17), Havens (20), Decem (24)
As one of our tier leaders, Eien is amongst the best USM builders and players. He is able to deliver great records consistently like his recent 8-0 in MWP2. This tour will test the limits of his innovation and motivation as he will be required to cover building for every metagame. While he is a renowned workhorse, his ability to carry such a large burden is questionable. In Monotype WCoP, his team's entire USM lineup finished negative besides him. That happened with support from other good USM builders. Of course, the managers of this team can provide some assistance but they aren't the most renowned builders. As players, Havens' performances are inconsistent and Decem has yet to prove himself on the main stage. In monotype tours, Havens usually delivers subpar records, however he had a great Smogon Exhibition. He had also teamed with Eien in that tour, so it is possible they recreate that magic. Finishing off this USM core, is Feliburn. He is a good player who has proven that he can play well if provided strong builds. Overall, this core is heavily reliant on Eien's prep and even that might not be enough to push them to a positive record. This core being 3rd in the power rankings is an indication of how weak the pool is this year.
4.
Cinnabar Charizards
Harpp (3), Vodoom (9), Alpha Rabbit (22), Nailec (21)
The Charizards are lead by Harpp, a top USM player who delivered an incredible 7-0 record in Monotype WCoP. Moreover, he only dropped a single game in MPL4. However, it should be noted that he did go negative in MWP2 which shows some inconsistency. Nonetheless, he's a top player and solid builder. As support, he has another member of Monotype WCop's team Asia, Vodoom. Despite some unorthodox team building and choice, Vodoom still put up one of the top records in the aforementioned tour. If he is motivated and invests himself into the tour, he is bound to have a decent performance. As for the remaining members of the core, Alpha Rabbit has not played in a while but he may be able to deliver with good support, and Nailec has yet to prove himself outside of Monotype LC.
5.
Littleroot Lotads
Charmflash (12), Shiba (13), doubleswitches (19), Insult (26)
Charmflash heads a pretty average looking group. Shiba's played a lot of games in mono tours with an average record, Switches plays a lot of mono and has a below average record, and Insult hasn't played a game. This group would be hard pressed to do well with a real sm builder, who at the moment seems to be switches who is probably a decent builder at best. Of course he'll get support from Ticken and Ridley and Charmflash but they're lacking a true SM mainer to help this team. Zukushiku might also be able to provide some assistance, but his ability to build USM is unclear after his long hiatus. If this team fails, it will probably be due to the lack of experience and building in monotype. As players, they are all respectable in their own right, but they seemingly lack experience as a whole to deliver. This slot might suffer greatly from the lack of Lotads mainstay TheThorn, unless he finds the time to help them in prepping.
6.
Two Island Tapus
Pak (4) trash (15), Metariolu7 (23), Days for Dabs (32)
It's quite surprising that a team with Pak in an SM slot was unable to finish above Lotads but here we are. He doesn't build much but he's one of the better players in the tournament. Trash has put up good records with lax in the past so they'll need that to continue.Days for Dabs may have been ranked lower than he could've been because he's been problematic in the past but he's still low on the list and this is Metariolu's first game in regular monotype. He'll however be important in their building along with their managers if this team is to do well in SM. Pak will put up a solid record at worst with decent support and trash could do similarily. The other 2 slots will be big question marks through the tour, definitely their weakest area.
7.
Cherrygrove Cherubis
Wincon (5), zugubu royale (14), Brisked (29), Ninjadog13 (31)
This teams looks like Wincon will be carrying the major workload . Zugubu royale had a good mpl last year and an awful wcop. Both occured on pretty bad teams so whichever zugu shows up will be really important. Wincon will be solid at worst in this bad pool although it's likely SM gets better if some of the oras slots end up in SM. Wincon will also be tasked with building for the other slots. Whether zugubu accepts his input is another question all together. Brisked hasn't played in many tours but has had some mediocre ssnls and the general consensus is he's good about 30% of the time, and questionable the rest. Ninjadog is a decent enough player with very little experience but if he tryhards he'll have a better tour than his rank indicates. This group wil hope their inexperienced slots can get a few wins here and there with an over-reliance on wincon.
8.
Meteor Falls Miniors
Xiri (18), MJ (28), Alkione (25), Twilight Solace (30)
Well we have reached the worst of the bunch, which takes some doing in this pool. Xiri is playing well in seasonals right now but it's seasonals. MJ was ok in mono ubers, but questionable in his other games. Alkione is an ok enough player without any mono team tour experience but he's expected to struggle like the rest of this group. Twilight solace(awful change btw) will probably be lacking as well. Miniors outlook in SM looks bleak, unless some of their better players decide to step into SM. Their building probably falls to Attribute who's enthusastic but probably average and some inexperienced players like Twilight solace as it's hard to see Paleo and ima building for a tier they aren't in with their activity issues.
ORAS
1.
Meteor Falls Miniors
Paleo (1), Attribute (5)
Making up for their downfall in USM, the Miniors lead ORAS with a powerful core of Paleo and Attribute. Towards the end of ORAS Monotype, Paleo was regarded as the best player in the tier. During that same period, Attribute's playing ability gained a lot of respect. He is also an avid fan of ORAS and still builds for it outside of team tours. This core will not only be able to win games, but they will have solid, unique teams. The chance to bounce building ideas of each other is also great. Also, their synergy is great as it marks the 3rd year they team up as members of the Miniors. A possible issue is Attribute falling to the pressure of improving his overall record.
2.
Cherrygrove Cherubis
Arifeen (4), Vid (7)
Arifeen and Vid were both very active in Monotype during ORAS and were top players. They can be trusted with both building and playing at a high level. Moreover, Arifeen had an amazing MPL4 in which he played ORAS and Bo3. We can expect that success to continue.
3.
Littleroot Lotads
Ridley (2), Ashaury (9)
Ridley has been successful in ORAS for years now and has not given us a reason to believe that is stopping. Ashaury was a strong player when he was active, but that was a long time ago. However, he has been working with Eien to polish off the rust. That, in addition to support from Ridley, should help him perform in this player pool. He is not as at his peak at the moment, but has potential to return to it by the end of the tournament.
4.
Two Island Tapus
Sae (6), Cell (11)
Sae and Cell are both players that were much more active back in ORAS. Many would say that Sae is extremely underrated. He might not be as present as he used to be, but he has been playing and building at a top level for years. The bigger question mark is Cell's performance as he has been MIA for years. He was drafted last MPL, but hardly got the chance to play. It is also hard to judge him based off them as he played top players like wyn and Croven, and had bad matchups.
5.
Hearthome Honchkrows
Star (3), Jase Duken (16)
Star is simply an excellent pokemon player and is expected to deliver regardless the tier he's put in. He's always had positive records, including a powerful 9-1 in MWP2, though he did play some games in Mono OMS like LC and Ubers. Seeing that he has excellent team building support from Sabella-Lycan-Clearly, he's bound to excel. As for Jase Duken, he just hasn't had a remarkable performance in any of the many tours he has played.
6.
Goldenrod Gengars
Finchinator (8), Arkenciel (10)
Arkenciel is an interesting case. During ORAS, he put up some good individual performances. However, when it came to team tours, he has consistently done horribly. He is also known for being a rather awful teammate because he does not communicate. Despite that, his managers are both good friends of his so this might not be an issue. On the other hand, Finchinator is an overall good player. His performance in Monotype tours has been average in the past, but he is still a respected player who should do well.
7.
Cinnabar Charizards
Izaya (12), maroon (13)
After returning from a long hiatus, Izaya had a pretty difficult Monotype WCoP. He does not have excellent team support, but he is a decent builder himself. With some refining, he could do well. On the other hand, maroon has yet to showcase a good performance. There is also a question of confidence as he argued quite a bit about the manager price attributed to him.
8.
Sunyshore Surskits
Corporal Levi (14), Eternally (15)
Eternally and Corporal Levi are both good players in their own right, but neither of them have much monotype experience. Levi was decent in MPL4 and Monotype World Cup but it is not enough to distinguish him from the heavy hitters. As for Eternally, this is his first time playing Monotype so there is no guarantee on how he will adapt to the metagame. While both players do not build, it is not as much of an issue because they have the excellent support of Eien.
BW
1.
Meteor Falls Miniors
Freeroamer
Freeroamer has always been amongst the best of BW and continues to prove that with every tour. Furthermore, his main competition, Zukushiku, is just returning from a lengthy hiatus.
2.
Littleroot Lotads
Zukushiku
Zukushiku consistently provides excellent records in BW, such as his dominant 8-1 in MPL3. However, he has been long for a long time. As he does have a tendency of going on breaks, he can be given the benefit of the doubt that he can return to peak form ASAP.
3.
Hearthome Honchkrows
1 True Lycan
While not a traditional BW player, 1 True Lycan is probably the best overall monotype player if the sheet is any indication. Also, he does have some experience with BW as shown from his Bo3 performance last year.
4.
Cinnabar Charizards
North
North is practically synonymous with BW Monotype, and has been a top BW player for years. However, his last performance was a bit shaky so we will need to see if he can return to his peak.
5.
Cherrygrove Cherubis
Jyph
Jyph has shown that he is a top BW player and builder in Monotype WCop. Furthermore, he has Vid to bounce ideas of and test which is a great plus.
6.
Two Island Tapus
dcae
dcae is a great overall player and has shown strong BW performances in the past. While he doesn't have the BW experience of those above, he can still be trusted to play well if provided with teams. With lax as his manager, that shouldn't be too big of an issue.
7.
Goldenrod Gengars
KuraiTenshi26
KuraiTenshi26 had a great debut in Monotype WCoP, surprising many by finishing 6-3 in his first time playing the tier. While he certainly can pull an upset on the high ranked players, he still lacks their proven consistency and experience. His questionable builds are also either great successes or complete flops. However, he has support from Dak Prescott who is familiar with the metagame.
8.
Sunyshore Surskits
trace
This rank is not a comment on trace as a player, but more of how strong the BW pool is. He tends to do well with provided teams, including a recent performance in BW during Monotype WCoP. However, it should be noted that his builder, Eien, is not as well-versed in BW as he is with the other generations.
Bo3
1.
Hearthome Honchkrows
Sabella
Sabella leads a rather lacklustre bo3 pool. As the only unanimous 1, he should feast if the bo3 stays the same through the tour. Always been a top bw and oras player, he's been playing more sm and with solid support should finish with a strong record unless the Clearly curse sabotages him.
2.
Goldenrod Gengars
Feitan the Steam
Feitan is unproven even though he did alright on an awful Europe team in wcop in sm. He has no experience in previous gens but has the talent to be fine with good support. He's viewed as a very underrated player by many. The 2-6 slots are really close and Feitan finds himself at second.
3.
Two Island Tapus
FLCL
FLCL who is another inexperienced mono player is at third. His team support should be solid if lax and wanka are active, but BW might be problematic. He's one of the best lower tier players on the site, but his support might not be the strongest.
4.
Littleroot Lotads
rozes
Rozes finds himself at 4 with trusted support in bw and oras. SM remains to be seen but he's a solid player who should hold is own in this very average group.
5.
Meteor Falls Miniors
ima
Ima, who has never had great results in monotype, finds himself at 5. His building is normally weird and all over the place. It remains to be seen if attribute will supply him with teams or he'll bring his own stuff. He also hasn't been that active recently so there will be questions about his motivation.
6.
Cinnabar Charizards
Trichotomy
Trich finds himself at 6. Oras teams seem to be a problem for this team in general, and he'll probably be asked to bring his own sm stuff, which is a concern due to his activity. If he's active, he will probably be fine in this pool.
7.
Cherrygrove Cherubis
Cam
Cam is an average player at best with some decent support options in wincon, arifeen, vid, and jyph. Good support but might struggle to keep up with the rest of the pool.
8.
Sunyshore Surskits
Raichy
Raichy's never played monotype before but has made waves recently as an old gen player. If that play transfers to preview gens, and he adapts to mono quickly, he'll be fine with teams from Eien.
OVERALL
(weighted calculation)
1.
Hearthome Honchkrows
USM (2), ORAS (5), BW (3), Bo3 (1)
This team has many heavy hitters like 1 True Lycan, Sabella, Clearly and Star. They also have Teddeh and Bitana that should be able to deliver a good performance. The question marks are if Oberyn and Jase Duken can prove themselves. Overall, a very strong team from the former champions. They also need to be weary of the notorious Clearly curse that is bound to mess up their run!
2.
Goldenrod Gengars
USM (1), ORAS (6), BW (7), Bo3 (2)
This team has a very strong SM with 3 top 10 players. Also, both the managers have always made it to playoffs when managing. However, they need to prove that KuraiTenshi26 is consistent and that ArkenCiel can perform in a team tour and be an active teammate. Feitan also needs to live up to all the hype built up around him.
3.
Littleroot Lotads
USM (5), ORAS (3), BW (2), Bo3 (4)
The returning champions do not have an as menacing lineup as usual. Their SM is on the weaker side, however they still have a very powerful ORAS and BW. Zukushiku will need to polish off the rust immediately and deliver not only in his slot but in prep for SM as well. It will be interesting to see how the team performs without their biggest asset, TheThorn. However, their MWP variant did manage to win without him.
4.
Two Island Tapus
USM (6), ORAS (4), BW (6), Bo3 (3)
With a rather average ranking across the board, the Tapus are looking at decent playoff chances. The managers lax and wanka provide solid team support, and they have some strong players who can make use of this. However, the players greatly lack in either monotype experience or tournament experience.
5.
Meteor Falls Miniors
USM (8), ORAS (1), BW (1), Bo3 (5)
The miniors have both the best ORAS and BW, but their USM is tragically weak. They will need to work very hard in prepping good teams for that slot.
5.
Cinnabar Charizards
USM (4), ORAS (7), BW (4), Bo3 (6)
The biggest downfall of this team is a potential lack of motivation, Many of the players are not that enthusiastic about playing for maroon and that might reflect their preparation and performance. Also, Harpp is apparently quite passive as a manager and maroon lacks self-confidence. However, their players are still rather decent and could definitely have a playoff run if they gather together.
7.
Cherrygrove Cherubis
USM (7), ORAS (2), BW (5), Bo3 (7)
A rather lacking draft, this team will need to try to get favourable matchups in USM in order to have great success. However, they have a decent old gens core that should succeed.
8.
Sunyshore Surskits
USM (3), ORAS (8), BW (8), Bo3 (8)
This team is pretty much what everyone expected it would be: Eien + a bunch of tournament players. This team is simply way too reliant on the performance and motivation of a single player to succeed. While it almost worked out for MPL4 surskits, they did have some rising stars like Chaitanya and Bitana. Nonetheless, the other tier players on this team are all individually great so if they manage to adapt to monotype, this team can make playoffs.
OVERALL
(non-weighted calculation)
1.
Hearthome Honchkrows
2.
Littleroot Lotads
3.
Meteor Falls Miniors
4.
Goldenrod Gengars
5.
Two Island Tapus
6.
Cinnabar Charizards
6.
Cherrygrove Cherubis
8.
Sunyshore Surskits