I'll start off first with the assistant manager and fellow Palace Ruler whom he accepted my offer that catapulted me into my first-ever stint as a manager in my very first 1v1 Premier League,
Quantum Tesseract. I definitely know this guy due to his resurging efforts in the Other Metagames department, and his past experiences in 1v1PL (despite his instances of leaving midseason due to whatever reason he has) made him my very first person to contact with. It was kind of rough that with the lack of sufficient BW support, you had to work almost on your own, and I had to do heavy-duty stuff to make it work. Again, thank you for accepting my invitation to co-lead this team, and thank you for operating behind the scenes and at the same time nailing in Monopoke. I wish to see firsthand your redemption arc in a 1v1 team tour setting; while I don't know when that will eventually happen, I believe it will happen, as long as you go out of your comfort zone and you believe in yourself.
Now I'm going to proceed with one of the biggest overpays that at first, would've been a little more regrettable as to why I did this, then through his initial record, I believe with confidence I didn't regret my decision one bit, and then in the long run, I'm quite on the fence.
dogknees, if I were to leave you out on the 18k-18.5k mark, our team would definitely lack the SS star power the team has, and no one else (especially
Nalei airing her grievances) would be more than willing enough to share his/her expertise in the team. Without you, Murman would've been baptized by fire way too early since he still is a new blood trying to gauge his capabilities as a current generation 1v1 player. Ultimately, I didn't regret my decision nearly putting my heart and soul in to you one bit (because I'm a sucker for musicians), but it's kind of sad that you didn't manage to get a positive record this time, and it's really sad to see you resign from 1v1 administrative work after your responsibilities as a musician is piling up very quickly. You helped me a ton, you know that, and I thank you for being part of this ride. I hope to watch some of your performances in wherever platform!
Another person that I'm confident on overpaying thanks to his strong overall record is no other than one of the SM goats
Akumajou. I actually thought of another person in mind (*cough* LBDC *cough*) to be part of the team thanks to the close-knit history between 1v1 and Other Metagames, but because you're one of the most chill persons to hang around with, especially keyboard smashing your way when we pull off our virtual laughter together, and this is why I leaned more towards you - though at the price of requesting me to draft your girlfriend
lei in the process. At first, naysayers in the community would say "some people were unhappy because they were drafted in this team", I was a little surprised, and then I found out it was you being scared because you actually needed some support in order to function better, but good thing that was managed well enough thanks to Elo Bandit being part of the team. It's kind of sad though that you didn't deliver your once-undefeated prowess unlike before, especially with weekend work taking a toll on your well-being, but I'm very sure you're happy regardless of the outcome especially with lei always being with you. Speaking of lei, you definitely kept not just Akumajou sane throughout PL, but the rest of the team as well, whether overt or discreet. I would've given you the opportunity to play, but circumstances didn't allow to happen. With that, I thank the both of you for being part of this ride. Take good care of each other, alright!
Next up is definitely one of those people whom I know a lot more as one of the contributors in the Other Metagames department, and it is not an irony to see
OM comprising the 1v1-OM core that I somehow envisioned (again, how I wish LBDC would be here too for an almost all-OM lineup, lol!). Looking back at your record, your journey in this year's 1v1 Premier League reminded me of my journey in my very first Other Metagames Premier League: a rollercoaster ride - wins on one week, followed by losses on succeeding weeks, followed by wins, etc., and reflecting based on your journey in my point of view, I made a good decision not to bench you after those devastating losses because you managed to keep your composure. I'm so thankful to have realized I was in your shoes before and ride along with it, and I'm so thankful to have you for being part of this team.
Next comes
Itchyfoot; actually, the reason why I wanted her in the team is because I've seen lots of people giving credit to her for their respective victories - most especially in the early stages of Seasonal, so I gave it a whirl. While the 0-4 record is definitely not the most desirable for a debuting 1v1PL participant, those things will be open to opportunity that, along with Quantum Tesseract, you will have your own redemption arc as well. We may never know when those arcs will happen, but with belief in yourself, I believe it will always happen. I am thankful that despite that record you actually operated very well behind the scenes, and I am grateful to have you on our team. Stay slaying, queen!
Ah,
Krytocon, one of the most silent operators of the team and the most passionate one at it. While Krytocon apparently got himself to the finals of BW 1v1 Cup (quite a long time ago), he told me that his building left a lot to be desired and he advanced to the finals out of sheer luck. I apologize for baptizing you with fire in the stage which is something you had almost no knowledge of, but no matter how dire our situation in BW is, I ultimately thank you for stepping up to the plate, and that what mattered to me the most.
As I first saw this person as one of the participants in the inaugural Euphonos Premier League,
Mattorr Is Cute isn't exactly someone you'd expect, but he happens to be famous for slaying some people from a notorious group, so I actually wanted to give him a whirl in this one. While your debut isn't exactly something I hoped you'd have: not to mention your timezone issues and school not always in tune to our schedule, that wasn't exactly the most ideal. However, by that one time you stepped up, you actually tried to work hard like everyone else's, and that's something that matters to me the most. Thank you for being part of this journey, and stay cute as always, lol.
The last three shoutouts for the team would really be the best ones here. One of those three is
Boat, who got pumped up when I said I was going for him before the actual draft. Your experience as a tournament director and as a former 1v1PL manager really helped the team a ton - and myself at that one as you helped me balance out my over-enthusiasm at things which I got carried away, lol! You also helped me in the inner workings of a Discord Channel, you inspired the team so much, you worked so hard in the SM department and I almost always see you and Bandit do stuff through voice calls, and everything else in between: something a manager like me would greatly appreciate. While you had a rollercoaster ride this PL, I guess yours ended up very well - a positive one at that! Thank you for being part of this journey, and thank you for helping me into the manager that I am today. When I manage full time in the Other Metagames Premier League, I'll definitely use the takeaways I learned from you.
The next person I'm mentioning here definitely has the biggest - and I mean BIGGEST - carry job for the team, and he is no other than
Elo Bandit. I was a little scared when your value is quite high for someone who just wishes to be on the bench and mainly operate behind the scenes, but after I see you made huge support for the likes of Akumajou, Boat, and OM, you're greatly one of the best teammates I would've asked for. You definitely have the most overtly positive presence for the team, and along with Boat, you have augmented my infectious optimism for the team. It's been an honor and pleasure working with you, and thank you for being part of this ride.
Finally, here comes one of the hugest gems I've ever mined in this Premier League whom, regardless of circumstance, I can see his growth as a player flourishing to greater heights, and this is no other than
Murman0064. The first time I see him was teaming up with superstrike66 in the 1v1 Tag Team Tournament where we advanced to the third round, and man did I see this guy who can give his all, using teams containing "cursed" and "janky" stuff while winning games featuring those at the same time. That work ethic of yours reminded me of my old self making underappreciated Pokemon do their magic in wherever tier they're in, and I would definitely vouch you for your unparalleled creativity. Also, thank you for stepping up to the plate on tight situations; as such, I greatly appreciate your gesture!
Don't say that you weren't warned 
