preds that surely wont come back to bite me in the ass right?
[2]
Toxic Ariados 45-55
MemphisDepayy [15]
Toxic Ariados (TA) is well documented ladder main who made a pretty smooth transition into the tournament scene this year, amassing a looooot of points between summer ssnl & last chance in what is, as far as I know, his first foray into the tournament scene? Maybe im wrong but i dont recall seeing him before that, but anyways his team repertoire definitely reflects ladder is what id say. You can find a fair amount of stuff like av mola & tr, not being someone who plays a ton of teams but instead favoring a comfortable rotation. Of course, you cant mention TA without bringing out the Chaos King, the kingambit with a passive 30% damage buff of friendship only when utilized by mr ariados; his winrate with that team is quite incredible and its a big headache for anyone prepping into him. As far as actual gaming goes, i think TA has a very deep understanding of what things will do as well as solid gameplay with his comfort squads, although it is generally harder to get away with that in a circuit. MemphisDepayy (MDP) on the other hand is more of a generalist, as a pretty good pilot that dabbles into natdex among other tiers and generally sees good results. With a roughly even mu, MDP has game skills that are comfortably in the upper half of this pool. The part that i think makes him a bit of a "matchup nightmare" is because 1yr has humbly volunteered to becoming his lapdog and presumably do his prep for him; 1yr has a solid eye for prep, definitely a respectable builder that turns MDP from a rather average contestant, limited by lack of teambuilding but accentuated by good gameplay, into a serious darkhorse candidate.
As far as the matchup goes itself, i slightly lean towards MDP here provided his prep hits; should be able to bully TA in game
[3]
Lameflame 60/40
Amaske [14]
Following a rather mediocre start to the year, Lameflame (LF) has really found his stride in the past couple months and seems to have a good network of support along with a solid meta read that seems to incorporate slopcat inspired builds as well as the LF classics such as a rogue trick room and love for tornadus-t. With an undefeated NDPL in the later half as well as an undefeated seasonal run, unc is easily one of the hottest players leading into this tournament and is playing some of his best mons i can recall. Amaske has collected points throughout the year mainly scattered around winter ssnl and majors, but id say he is stumbling into these playoffs more than sprinting. He doesnt really have a prep network to my knowledge, but he actually is fairly solid fundamentally and is right around Lameflame's level in that regard imo. Although, it is also makes amaske really annoying to scout in the first set of the tournament when no one knows if he'll just reuse from the circuit tours or actually put more effort in now that its on the big stage.
However -- tier familiarity, ability to push the boundaries of building, and prep support should firmly swing this in Lameflame's favor; I don't see such an excellent run ending abruptly in round 1.
[4]
Darkness 789 51/49
Tempo di anguria [13]
Darkness is a long time veteran of the game at this point, but especially hitting a nice groove in 2025 en route to a high seed here playing a similar comfort style to TA, with his trusty screens, overqwil rain, mamo sand, and torn balance on rotation. However, he does get quite the rough draw here in tempo, someone who will be quite familiar w/ his game from their shared latam history. Tempo is a goodstuffs player who just brings decent teams and plays well, but usually not gonna reinvent the wheel esp when its crunch time.
Not a ton more else to say, two solid players who are quite familiar with the other, though i would rate tempo's in game higher between the two. Still, Darkness just comes to play when the stakes are high, and something in my gut tells me that he'll find a way to take it home in a hard fought 3 even if my brain says i should bold tempo. Fun set
[5]
Kayzn 55/45
Spy1198 [12]
After a fire start to the year between a majors win and undefeated WC, Kayzn is quite frankly limping into these playoffs after a disappointing last chance and a disastrous 2-7 PL. In spite of being one of the most consistent players around, i dont ever recall him being in such a rut to this degree since ive knew him, but something just tells me...A beast may be awakening at just the right time. Spy on the other hand is also a ladder main to my knowledge and broke into tours this year with solid results, although he pretty much loaded the same stuff on repeat every set between FL & indivs, but still consistently winning w it.
This matchup feels like someone heading firmly down in Kayzn vs someone going up in Spy, and all signs point to spy being the favorite here against longtime natdex star Kayzn. However, my faith tells me to think that Kayzn will halt his descent at just the right time and we see a revitalized form for this circuit. Godspeed.
[6]
entrocefalo 45/55
Xurkiyee [11]
quite an interesting duel! entro is a common face in ndou tours at this point and had a deep winter ssnl finalist run; a generally solid player and will likely have prep from isza? Hes a really solid slot and someone who can generally be counted on to play a good series, but he also does not give a single fk about this tour if i had to take a guess. Xurk is another very consistent player that everyone should know by this point; avid shitmon + 5 standard ass mons enjoyer. I feel like these two have played before but i cant recall tbh, should produce a high quality set.
Xurkiyee is a tough player to pin down in terms of tendencies, and i think he might be getting burnt out at the wrong time after a grueling NDPL 10-game campaign, however, entro just feels like one of the opponents that i feel like Xurk's "style" will find a way to clutch up against in my gut if he locks it back in. Those intangibles are off the charts.
[7]
benladil 45/55
Ineros [11]
first time i heard of benladil was when he beat taka in summer ssnl who i was helping prep and taka said his name was bin laden the 13yo french prodigy, and hes been having some solid little runs since in FL & a ssnl runner-up in that same tour since. I dont think his style is really groundbreaking, seems fairly basic and gameplay seems decent enough to warrant being here. Of course, to address the elephant, he also outdueled Ineros in their losers finals duel to play spoil to the great master vs student finals which was p surprising to me tbh. Ineros, on the other hand, seems to be having the first real "breakout" of his career, really finding his style and seeming to get over that hump to become a truly good player. Anyone who has been following Ineros since his start around nd knows that he has a certain drive and love for the game emblematic of someone who would develop into a respected player, so its been really cool to see him come into his own this tour. After a disasterclass 1-6 CL, Ineros didnt play any games in WC and PL, helping South / managing Slowpokes respectively, but put together a really solid run in summer seasonal to get a spot at the table.
I just think Ineros has a slight upper hand in experience + a real chip on his shoulder to put it all together here that will let him take this one home and advance
[8]
Isza 51/49
Mollymiltoast [9]
this is an insane blockbuster matchup, probably whoever wins this would be my solid favorite to take it home. Isza started the year off slow with a subpar NDBD and an earlier than desired exit in majors to Molly himself iirc, but really turned it up (and generally stayed tapped into the meta throughout WC/ssnl) in NDLT, which he won in a quality run with a lot of solid teams. Following PL where he opted to not selfbuy and just support along with the subsequent semis loss, i feel like Isza should have a real fire to take this tournament home and show his innovative meta takes. However, he rolled probably the hardest player in the whole bracket in Molly, whos had a steady stream of domination between a majors semifinals run, beating both myself & Isza on the way and two consecutive X-2 team tournament runs.
Both players have really solid builds, but i think Molly has a slightly more rigid style that Isza can exploit along with a lot more recent data, but on the other hand, I think i favor Molly in terms of clicking very slightly; his instincts are pretty crazy although i may favor isza in a more extended game. Im not gonna be lame and bold the vs, but this is a true coinflip at the end of the day and i rate both of these players highly. My brain wants to give molly the slight nod, but something in me just says Isza wants it a tiny bit more and thats what really counts in a mu this tight
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GL everyone!
