2025 SV DOU Invitationals Preview 
Thought it would be fun to give a little overview of every players' 2025 season in SV DOU as well as additional context for any match-ups, combined with my personal thoughts/predictions. I'll hopefully be doing predictions throughout the tournament as well, and if I'm not posting feel free to bug me lol.
(1) bagel vs Actuarily (16)
How they got here:
- bagel: Top 16 Ladder Tour, OSDT Winner, Top 8 Summer Seasonal, Top 16 Fall Seasonal
- Actuarily: Top 16 Ladder Tour, Top 32 OSDT, Top 16 Fall Seasonal
I had my best performing year Circuit-wise, with multiple deep runs capped off by an OSDT win. Quite a contrast from the previous two years where I ended up sneaking in as a low seed. On the other hand Actuarily had a quieter year in SV DOU compared to his norm, even playing SS in DWCOP rather than SV, but still put up solid numbers. This comes as a surprise to me given we are both among the most active players of the generation but Actuarily and I have never played each other in an official SV DOU tournament setting as far as I can tell, so I personally am looking forward to this matchup. We have faced off in plenty of other tiers however, most memorable to me being DUU in 2023, where he beat me during DPL 9 but I got revenge later in the year in the DUU Invitational. Not much else to say here aside from good luck given I'm playing.
(8) Schister vs Xrn (9)
How they got here:
- Schister: Ladder Tour Finalist, Top 8 Summer Seasonal, Top 32 Fall Seasonal
- Xrn: Top 4 OSDT, Last Chance Finalist
In this matchup we have two newcomers to Invitationals in SV, but in different manners. Schister is one of a handful of breakout players that are debuting in Invitationals this year. He had a presense previously but I think he has leveled up his gameplay to a new level this year. On the other hand Xrn is a DOU veteren and has consistently been a top player all generation, but has focused more on team tours over the years.
This is one of my highlight matches as I feel these players approach the game in pretty contrasting manners. Schister has made a name for himself as an interesting builder with out-of-the-box team choices and unique Pokemon choices, and will surely be looking to get as much of an edge in the builder as he can. Xrn meanwhile — while no means a slouch or uncreative in the builder — tends to stick to more proven and consistent structures and letting his gameplay speak for itself. This is another parings where I couldn't find any previous SV matchups in official tournaments, so it will be interesting to see each players' approach. I have to bold
Xrn here, I think his gameplay is top top tier, and you can always count on his teams to be strong and well-rounded. I do think Schister's building does bring some variance into play, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he approaches this matchup.
(30) Schister - Xrn (70)
(4) zee vs qrChar (13)
How they got here:
- zee: Top 8 OSDT, Summer Seasonal Winner, Top 16 Fall Seasonal, Top 16 Last Chance
- qrChar: Top 32 OSDT, Summer Seasonal Finalist, Top 16 Last Chance
This is my personal number 1 highlight match of the round. zee is maybe the most in-form player in the tier right now coming off an undefeated SCL season and captaining US South to a DWCOP victory (not to mention Derby AND DPL wins as well). For Char, zee is an even more personal obsticle as this will be the thrid time they have played eachother in SV DOU this year alone. zee has gotten the better of Char in both Derby Finals and Summer Seasonal Finals, and I know Char is motivated to pay them back.
zee is probably the closest thing to a DOU chameleon right now, they have the ability to pilot any style to victory and aren't really known for anything in particular. Char is definitely known for her tendency to lean towards bulkier builds but is absolutely a flexible player in her own right and has been one of my favorite builders in the tier over the past year. I'm really looking forward to what both players bring to this matchup, but I'm personally expecting both to lean more towards comfort and rely on their playing abilities to pull them ahead. I'm a big fan of both players but it feels impossible to bold against
zee with the form they're in right now, but I think this matchup is closer than most people would give it credit for.
(60) zee - qrChar (40)
(5) SeaLife vs DaAwesomeDude1 (12)
How they got here:
- SeaLife: OSDT Finalist, Top 8 Summer Seasonal, Top 8 Last Chance
- Dad1: Top 8 Ladder Tour, Top 16 OSDT, Top 32 Fall Seasonal
Two epic gamers facing off here. SeaLife is one of the scariest players to face against in my opinion; they are competent with a wide variety of unique builds and can play really aggressively at times, making sets with them super volitile if you aren't careful. Dad1 is less of a builder and tends to lean towards more trusted builds. I'll be interested to see if either player will try anything different to target their opponents tendencies. This is another paring that haven't played each other before, it'll be a fresh matchup for both players which is always fun. I do think SeaLife has cooled off a bit this year after a really strong start to the year during OSDT, which makes me lean towards
Dad1 as my choice here. I think SeaLife tends to be more inconsistent and in a high level situation like this I lean towards Dad1's consistency. At SeaLife's peak I rate him as one of the toughest opponents in the tier, but I'm not sure if he is there right now (looking forward to being proven wrong!) Good luck to two of my favorite players in the tier and I'm looking forward to what I expect to be one of the closest matches in the top 16.
(45) SeaLife vs DaAwesomeDude1 (55)
(2) SMB vs Code (15)
How they got here:
- SMB: Top 8 Ladder Tour, Top 4 OSDT, Top 32 Summer Seasonal, Top 4 Fall Seasonal
- Code: Fall Seasonal Winner
Here we have one of the stalwarts of DOU with SMB facing down one of DOU's brightest up-and-comers in Code. What makes this even more exciting is that this matchup recently occured in the Fall Seasonal, with Code knocking out SMB on their way to winning the entire tournament. SMB will be looking to pay Code back while Code will want to carry their momentum forward through Invitationals. SMB has always been one of the most enigmatic players in the tier to me, often bringing unique and interesting teams that I wouldn't dare reccomend anyone else use while at the same time they are very capable of piloting any standard structure at a very high level. Code hasn't left as strong an impression on me with their team choices and playstyle, but I view them as a very flexible player that prioritizes working hard to prepare for their specific opponents as opposed to caring about their own comfort or familiarity with a team. Despite Code's good form and recent victory over SMB, I have to bold
SMB here, especially with the recent loss still fresh I'd expect them to be motivated to pay Code back.
(70) SMB vs Code (30)
(7) Yellow Paint vs Terekusai (10)
How they got here:
- Yellow Paint: Top 8 OSDT, Top 4 Fall Seasonal
- Terekusai: Fall Seasonal Finalist, Top 8 Last Chance
This is a remarkably similar matchup to the previous one: Longtime DOU staple Paint vs new breakout performer Terekusai, even down to the fact that Terekusai recently bested Paint in the Fall Seasonal. I think Paint has maybe gone under the radar a bit as a very consistent performer in SV DOU the past couple of years and I think their gameplay in the tier has been improving the past two years. Paint is another player that I don't think is afraid to try more outside the box structures but isn't married to them. Terekusai is a name I had seen around the past year or so mostly in other tiers such as Natdex or DUU and this year they finally broke out into the DOU scene in a big way. I've been impressed with their gameplay this back half of the year especially, with their Fall Seasonal and Last Chance runs as well as a surprise 6-2 showing in the SM pool during DPL. I admit I don't have as much of a profile on Terekusai's team choises and playstyle yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing him keep making a name for himself. This might have to be my pick for closest matchup of the top 16, and I'll go with
Terekusai's particularly good form and momentum in this latter portion of the year as the tiebreaker, but I am absolutely looking forward to seeing Yellow Paint try to avenge his previous loss and I could easily see it going both ways.
(49) Yellow Paint vs Terekusai (51)
(3) MADARAAAA vs Hugo (14)
How they got here:
- MADARAAAA: Ladder Tour Winner, Top 8 OSDT, Top 32 Summer Seasonal, Top 16 Fall Seasonal, Top 8 Last Chance
- Hugo: Top 8 Ladder Tour, Top 16 Summer Seasonal, Top 16 Last Chance
Another gamer matchup that I'm very excited for. MADARAAAA is one of the most prolific DOU players over the past 2 years—the reigning Circuit Champion and Ladder Tour winner has been consistently competitive and makes deep runs in tournaments. His momentum has slowed down a bit with an unfortunately rocky SCL season but there's no doubt he's looking to regain his footing and defend his title as Circuit Champion. Hugo had a quiter year than his 6-seeded performance last year but is still no doubt a formidable opponent. The creator of some of the most iconic teams of the format, there's always a chance Hugo has a secret weapon hidden in his builder that can win a game all on its own. Both of these players tend to lean towards offensive teams and I'm hoping to see a set full of firepower with lots of high-leverage, high pressure turns. I have to bold
MADARAAAA here given his top end talent and consistency, and if I had to pick anyone to handle whatever secret sauce Hugo cooks up in his lab he would be near the top of my list.
(65) MADARAAAA vs Hugo (35)
(6) breakfast enjoyer vs Yoda2798 (11)
How they got here:
- breakfast enjoyer: Top 16 OSDT, Top 16 Summer Seasonal, Top 32 Fall Seasonal, Last Chance Winner
- Yoda2798: Top 32 OSDT, Top 4 Summer Seasonal, Top 16 Fall Seasonal
This last matchup is pretty interesting to me as both of these players slipped by my personal radar in SV DOU this year. Yoda has always been a solid performer so its no surprise to see them qualify but I had mostly seen them doing well in oldgens this year as opposed to SV. breakfast enjoyer is the last of our newcomers this year and perhaps the most impressive, with consistently solid performances all year capped off by a Last Chance victory. I've generally liked what I've seen from breakfast enjoyer's team choices and gameplay—strong, consistent teams and reliable decisions—and wouldn't be surpised if they kept improving even more next year. These players also clashed ealier this year, with Yoda getting the better of breakfast enjoyer 2-1 during the Fall Seasonal. Yoda reused the same Cresselia+Ursaluna team to get both wins that set which I'm sure breakfast enjoyer will keep in mind. Despite the experience difference and prior results showing otherwise, I'm going to bold
breakfast enjoyer here. I've liked a lot of what I've seen from them lately and wouldn't be suprised if they were really motivated to do well here. On the other hand I've never viewed SV as Yoda's best tier (they are of course quite good otherwise they wouldn't be here) and wouldn't be suprised if breakfast enjoyer gains an edge with team selection that they can leverage to their advantage.
(55) breakfast enjoyer vs Yoda2798 (45)
go hugo
