Smogon Premier League X - Week 7

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Welcome to the tenth iteration of SPL, SPL X. In this tournament, 10 teams containing the best players on Smogon (except for Mr.E) play against each other and duke it out every week, attempting to gather as many wins as they can to reach playoffs. Some of them will fail, while others will bloom. Whatever the case, the matches will be exciting, so without further ado, here are tournament rules and the matchups!

Reminders:

On Sportsmanship
Note the sportsmanship infraction may be used liberally this SPL, and any unsportsmanlike conduct on the forums, in discord, or in opposing SPL team servers (I won't infract for you being a dick in your own SPL team server unless the situation is so extreme I feel I absolutely have to make an exception (consider basically any masterclass interaction ever)), will be grounds for an infraction. We encourage you to play semi-aggressively, but don't be a Masterclass.

~ Aldaron

On Scheduling Matches
I'm sure plenty of you have come across activity drama while scheduling matches. I'm here to reduce the arbitrary element associated with some of these decisions. It is entirely your decision to adhere to these STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS, but note that if you choose not to, I'll most likely ignore any pleading from your end.

YOU MUST ACTIVATE YOUR VM WALL IF YOU WISH TO PLAY IN THIS TOURNAMENT. THIS IS HOW ALL OFFICIAL SCHEDULING WILL BE HANDLED.

Once that week's thread is posted, you have up to 48 hours to contact your opponent ON HIS VM WALL
and mention your timezone and exactly what dates, what time ranges you are available, and where you will battle. Note that the default accepted sim and server is the official server on Showdown/Smogon Tournament Server. You must provide at least 3 different time ranges at least 48 hours from the timestamp of your message, with at least 2 that are 24-hours apart from each other. The minimum and maximum length for 1 time range is 30 minutes, and the minimum difference between the 3 required time ranges is 3 hours. If you give 3 time ranges that stick with this policy, you can give any additional time ranges at any time you please.

NOTE THAT THIS SCENARIO INVOLVES RESPONSE DYNAMICS; THERE IS SOMEONE WHO WILL CONTACT FIRST AND SOMEONE WHO RESPOND...THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT FOR BOTH OF YOU TO ASSUME TO YOU CAN BE FIRST CONTACTS...WHOEVER CONTACTS FIRST IS THE FIRST, AND THE OTHER DEFAULTS TO THE RESPONDER. THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS BUT SOME OF YOU ARE DUMB.

Once your opponent has contacted you, you now have up until 72 hours after the week's thread has been posted (NOT after your opponent's message) to respond with times that are good for you. What this means is that if both of you spend the maximum time contacting and responding, you should have back and forth collaboration at a maximum of 72 hours after the round has been posted, with both parties given an additional 24 hours to prepare for the battle should it be scheduled as soon as required. If none of the opponent's proposed time ranges are good for you, you must respond with alternative time ranges.

The first opponent now has X hours to prepare for the battle (if the second opponent agreed to some time) or 24 hours to contact a TD if, for whatever reason, this second set of time ranges does not suit the first opponent. Note this should be an absolute last measure.

Once a time is agreed upon, please make a message on your opponent's VM wall between 10 minutes and 1 second before the agreed upon time and say you are ready to battle and then get to agreed upon location (regardless of whether or not your opponent sends you a response VM). Please protect yourself by making this message, as it makes decisions much easier. You will be required to wait for your opponent for the duration of the time range.

If neither of you contact each other before 48 hours after the thread has been posted, you're both opening yourself up to a potential no contest or substitution. If I look at the situation, I might just determine I'm going to no contest, or whatever based on however I'm feeling at that moment. Don't leave yourself and your team vulnerable to this.

Just because at anytime one of the responders does not respond within the given range does not give you automatic activity win credentials. If they don't contact at all on your VM wall up until 48 hours before the end of the round (note, I'm not going to take discord or sim messages as evidence due to how easily they can be doctored...so if you want to protect yourself, stick to the VM messages), then you obviously have activity win justification. You WILL contact your opponent in a timely manner. However, if they do contact you at all after the suggested response time and before 48 hours before the end of the round, you are required to respond before 24 hours before the end of the round with 2 1-hour time ranges at least 1 hour apart before the end of the round. The opponent, since he did not stick to the proposed response schedule, WILL BE REQUIRED TO PLAY AT ONE OF YOUR NEWLY SUGGESTED TIMES, so you have the advantage here. This obviously puts a bit of an emphasis on the last 48 hours of each round (as is standard operating procedure for most of our official team tournaments anyway), so I will try my best to keep the last 48 hours of the round as close to the majority of the weekend for as much of the world as I can.

If you follow all of these guidelines, you will a.) most likely get your match done with minimal issue or b.) protect yourself and your team from an undue no contest or activity decision. Yes, I hate activity decisions in official tournaments. Yes, I will do my best to prevent activity decisions in the playoffs (the qualifying round is fair game however and I will have no problem issuing an activity call here), but don't push your luck.

Here is an example of how following this would work:

Week 1 thread is posted June 7, 2013 at 12:00 AM. Its deadline is June 14, 2013 at 11:59PM. User A and User B are matched up. User A contacts User B on his VM wall on June 7, at 9:00 PM (47 hours after the thread was posted, so ok), and gives 4 time ranges: June 10, from 7:00-7:30 PM (22 hours after the timestamp of his message, which is only ok so long as at minimum 3 of the other proposed time ranges adhere to the requirements), June 11, from 9:00-9:30 PM (48 hours after the timestamp of his message, which is ok), June 12, from 6:00-6:30 PM (69 hours after timestamp of his message, so ok, but only 21 hours after the earliest time range that is 48 hours after the timestamp), and June 12, from 9:00-9:30 PM (72 hours after the timestamp, so ok, and 24 hours after a legal time range and 3 hours after another legal time range). The June 11 and both June 12 time ranges satisfy the requirements, so User A can propose his first June 10 time range as well. User B responds on June 10, at 8:00 PM (23 hours after User A contacted him, so ok), and picks June 11, at 9:00 PM to battle, which is ok because it is 24 hours after his own response.

You'll note I made most of my response ranges multiples of 24 hours, but also included 24 hours. This means I expect you to be able to check Smogon at least once a day. If that is not feasible, you put yourself at risk.

~ Aldaron

On Disconnecting and timing out drama
See here.


Standard Tournament Rules

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Stark Sharks (4) vs Dragonspiral Tyrants (8)

SM OU: Spectear vs Mana
SM OU: High Impulse vs Blunder
SM UU: Lycans vs Christo
SM RU: EviGaro vs aim
SM NU: Teddeh vs ict
SM DOU: fespy vs emforbes
ORAS OU: Tricking vs Poek
BW OU: Kevin Garrett vs We Three Kings
DPP OU: Tamahome vs GaryTheGengar
ADV OU: Triangles vs Gilbert arenas
GSC OU: Conflict vs sulcata
RBY OU: Sceptross vs Heroic Troller


Wi-fi Wolfpack (4) vs Ever Grande BIGS (8)

SM OU: Kickasser vs Sabella
SM OU: Charmflash vs Valentine
SM UU: Sjneider vs soulgazer
SM RU: Welli0u vs UltraBallz
SM NU: Eternally vs Kushalos
SM DOU: Human vs Ezrael
ORAS OU: Santu vs xray
BW OU: TDK vs FLCL
DPP OU: DeepBlueC vs sig
ADV OU: UD vs Golden Sun
GSC OU: Fear vs Googly
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs Nails


Team Raiders (5) vs Alpha Ruiners (7)

SM OU: bro fist vs Empo
SM OU: Talah vs Hiye
SM UU: Pak vs Pearl
SM RU: Kingler12345 vs passion
SM NU: SPACE FORCE meeps vs lax
SM DOU: Biosci vs Croven
ORAS OU: Trosko vs imsosorrylol
BW OU: SoulWind vs Rewer
DPP OU: roscoe vs Jimmy Turtwig
ADV OU: Jirachee vs eden's embrace
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs Lavos
RBY OU: Cynara vs FriendOfMrGolem120


Congregation of the Classiest (9) vs Circus Maximus Tigers (3)

SM OU: ZoroDark vs Eternal Spirit
SM OU: Insult vs Sacri'
SM UU: Shiba vs Adaam
SM RU: Nat vs Pohjis
SM NU: Garay oak vs Osh
SM DOU: EmbCPT vs MajorBowman
ORAS OU: Genesis7 vs Bro Kappa
BW OU: Finchinator vs zf
DPP OU: Void vs k3nan
ADV OU: thelinearcurve vs dice
GSC OU: Earthworm vs d0nut
RBY OU: Bedschibaer vs Kaz


Indie Scooters (6) vs Cryonicles (6)

SM OU: Cdumas vs obii
SM OU: Lopunny Kicks vs BHARATH_THEBEST
SM UU: robjr vs HT
SM RU: lighthouses vs Ajna
SM NU: Realistic Waters vs elodin
SM DOU: miltankmilk vs SMB
ORAS OU: craing ;_; vs Leru
BW OU: Ojama vs Energy
DPP OU: giara vs Malekith
ADV OU: dekzeh vs Alexander.
GSC OU: Century Express vs ABR
RBY OU: MetalGro$$ vs Exiline

Deadline will be February 24th, 9:00 PM EST.
 
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Spectear 40 : 60 Mana

Mana is the better player I believe. But both players are quite unpredictable so I'd love to see what each one brings to the table.

High Impulse 35 : 65 BLUNDER SANTANA

I don't know much about High Impulse but BLUNDER SANTANA is the greatest of all time so you can't not give him the edge.

—————

Kickasser 60
: 40 Sabella
Kickasser has enjoyed better results and is overall the better player slightly.

Charmflash 65
: 35 Valentine
Charmflash is currently 6-0. Do I need to say anything else?

—————

bro fist 55
: 45 Empo
This one is really hard to predict. Could go either way I'd guess. But giving bro fist the slight edge as he is the better player in the bigger picture.

Talah 55
: 45 Hiye
While I'm far from a position to criticize any SPL player, but Hiye's match against Charmflash didn't quite leave the best impression for Hiye. Both players (Talah and Hiye) have a high ceiling so this will be nice to watch, though. Giving a slight edge to Talah.

—————

ZoroDark 40 : 60 Eternal Spirit

While Gama's results this SPL haven't been too kind he's still the goat and I think he has all the tools and skill necessary to win this.

Insult 45 : 55 Sacri'

Sacri' has been playing consistently well so I'll give the tigers the edge here again.

—————

Will of Fire 55
: 45 obii
I think Will of Fire is the better player by a small margin. Also an outstanding builder to boot so that can be troublesome for obii.

Lopunny Kicks 60
: 40 BHARATH_THEBEST
I think Lopunny Kicks has been performing better throughout this tour. Both are excellent players though, so I'd love to catch this one live.​
 
Gotta be hype for Tigers vs the Classiest
Pivotal week for both
gardevoir
vs
raikou

SM OU: ZoroDark vs Eternal Spirit
SM OU: Insult vs Sacri'
SM UU: Shiba vs Adaam
SM RU: Nat vs Pohjis
SM NU: Garay oak vs Osh
SM DOU: EmbCPT vs MajorBowman
ORAS OU: Genesis7 vs Bro Kappa
BW OU: Finchinator vs zf
DPP OU: Void vs k3nan
ADV OU: thelinearcurve vs dice
GSC OU: Earthworm vs d0nut
RBY OU: Bedschibaer vs Kaz

Tigers take it 7-5
 
rby predicts
RBY OU: Beds vs Kaz - while Kaz lost and Beds won last week, I feel Beds had a pretty rough time against Leru. I think Kaz bounces back here as he's been very solid all tour.

RBY OU: Cynara vs FriendofMrGolem120 - feeling an upset here. 9 weeks of spl rby are draining, fomg certainly wouldnt be the first rby player who cant keep up a great start in his first season. ruiners could also really use this win while raiders dont really have anything to lose at this point

RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs Nails - not predicting against the 5-1 player who still has to face the raiders and cryos* not sharks sorry who are a combined 2-10 in rby this season.

RBY OU: Sceptross vs Heroic Troller - hopefully Sceptross came back refreshed from his week off but Troller's just picking up the steam and in-form Troller is probably the scariest player in this pool
 
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What's up virgins it's YA BOY NAVY! back with some heat ass predictions oml lets go vros
moment of silence for the officially 100% eliminated spl teams...the GOAT FRANCHISE and ofc the gondra + sam era raiders. dickass clowns
before they become completely irrelevant, lets run thru the things that got them to this pt. i suppose ill do this whenever a team is officially eliminated...some r like clinging on by a super thin thread rn


lets start w the GOAT FRANCHISE!!!


sharks: teddeh goin 0-5 was def v unfortunate. no1 could hav foreseen this much of a collapse coming after his usual dominant performances. cant blame the sharks for this retain
the VERY GLARING thing tho was pickin up tamahome for 29k...FOR SM OU??? LOL bro every1 knew at that time this was a whack decision and it seems to have been proved. tamas obv heat but thats an absurd price for his sm ou skills. and every1 knows that spendin over 5k in dpp is nonsense, and spending 29K FOR IT is even more stupid so, overall, tama, despite his heat skill level, seemed like a big stay away from the moment his price eclipsed 20k...let alone fucking 29k
sharks also hav their trademark crust core, which didnt do too awful. conflict for 8.5k i thought was a steal and it may still end up that way.
also, moment of silence for lycans who has managed to end up on the worst team in back 2 back 2 back spls LMFAO imagine.
overall, this roster just seemed very crippled from the absurd amount its OU core cost, and teddeh's unfortunate demise meant that there would be no heat retain to save the day.

now on to the dickass raiders


now this team..i really have no idea how they fucked it all up LMFAO
let's run thru the things the raiders got bro.
11k roscoe / 10k pak / 17k soulwind / 6.5k trosko / BKC FOR FREE LMAO HELLO THATS 40K IN VALUE ON UR TEAM FOR NOTHING BRO HOW CAN B ELIMINATED BY WEEK 6??? man. then u go thru the rest of the roster and u realize the issues. bkc apparently contaminated yet another draft and caused the pickup of dickmonlee, who ran self-destruct golem and refused to use the big 4 for half the weeks. very impressive
but of course, the thing everyone points to when discussing the downfall of the raiders is...


i was high on case pre-draft, but i think any1 could hav told u 17k for him in gsc was a bit absurd, especially when ppl like conflict were goin for 8k. his results left a lot to be desired, and the raiders traded him at midseason for Sage...an underperforming 14k 0-4 player from the bigs who failed to save the season after getting smashed by joey. things got so dire that john let them pick up the ice beamer, who almost singlehandedly lost him spl 8. needless to say, the raiders have still not picked up a GSC win despite spending 20k on it and having BKC support...yikes
overall, this team had an absurd amount of value picks, but in classic raiders fashion, ended up absurdly top-heavy, and the shittier clowns couldnt come thru when it mattered.

next on the chopping block r the bigs and the cryonicles, who will hope to stave off elimination and keep their spl dreams alive.
now, on to the predictions!

Stark Sharks (3) vs Dragonspiral Tyrants (9)

SM OU: Spectear vs Mana | better player bop
SM OU: High Impulse vs Blunder | LOL YO OML IDM REUNION HYPE AF MY BOY AMIR LOOOOL hav 2 favor blunder here but amir and his phone mite pull the upset lol. wish this game was in oras or some shit tho does amir even fuckin know sm
SM UU: Lycans vs Christo | christo been on a tear and i think hes a better player
SM RU: EviGaro vs aim | joey been struggling a bet but hes still a better player. he was also ranked higher on the shakeitup ru power rankings.
SM NU: Teddeh vs ict | idk how teddeh suddenly became dogshit but LOL my lord. leon been flames besides last week's debacle. hard to pick teddeh at this pt vs. anyone
SM DOU: fespy vs emforbes | emi been dicks LOL but hes better
ORAS OU: Tricking vs Poek | poek been on the upswing since his 0-18 start. i think hes a better player so.
BW OU: Kevin garret vs We Three Kings | kg pulled off the upset last week and he showed like 8 yrs ago he could fuck ppl up in bw. still tho, moxie's been p lit this yr
DPP OU: Tamahome vs GaryTheGengar | OML THE DPP SPL KING IS FINALLY BACK IN HIS HOME...granted its for 29k LMAO my god that price is absurd af. tama will b favored vs. pretty much everyone here so
ADV OU: Triangles vs Gilbert arenas | happened
GSC OU: Conflict vs sulcata | ya i still dont think sulcatas very good like...hes been p ass. conflict choked on balls last week but i still like him as a player
RBY OU: Sceptross vs Heroic Troller | better player from wut ive seen

Wi-fi Wolfpack (6) vs Ever Grande BIGS (5)

SM OU: Kickasser vs Sabella | sabella been pickin up the wins in ou but i think kickasser is slightly more solid
SM OU: Charmflash vs Valentine | LMAO fucking charmflash is 6-0??? dude what is happening LOOOL vals heat but hard to pick any1 against charm rn my god
SM UU: bugzinator vs soulgazer | battle of the deranged clowns who somehow put up good spl records. this shits like a fuckin mirror match like that stupid spider man meme. sgs a better player imo so.
SM RU: Welli0u vs UltraBallz | welliou displayin his lack of knowledge of ru mechanics once again this week...not a good sign. regardless, i think he's a better player ad has good team support
SM NU: Eternally vs Kushalos | eternally def hasnt impressed this spl. the rozes effect seems to hav crippled him lol idk chef been fire enuff so small edge.
SM DOU: Human vs Ezrael | tossup tbh.
ORAS OU: Santu vs xray | the scanner's been heat enuff this spl and i rly dont kno if this guy is good or not. tony seems decently high on him but theres obv a reason why he hasnt started yet lol
BW OU: TDK vs FLCL | tdk close to fulfillin the zom 3-6 bet oml. tdks usually good vs. other good players so gonna favor him here
DPP OU: DeepBlueC vs sig | bro sig lost his mind last week LMAO NO1 ON THE BIGS EVEN KNEW HE WAS PLAYIN JUST PULLED UP ON SHOWDOWN AND CHALLD WITHOUT WARNING LIKE??? LOL insane. regardless, itll take more than a win against a washed-up goon from 1950 to make me a believer. dbc has proven himself to b a p solid thinker this tour so givin him the edge over the more unknown quantity
ADV OU: UD vs Golden Sun | both these players hav had their ups and downs but golden sun's more proven historically. close one but ud's form has been p shaky.
GSC OU: Fear vs Googly | one of these days, this goon will finally get haxed. my god how can he be so consistently lucky. dude has not gotten lucky in 2 yrs LOL my lord. regardless, wasn't that impressed by googly's showing last week and fear's easily the 2nd best gscer rn.
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs Nails | been relatively impressed by nails this tour. small edge

Team Raiders (5) vs Alpha Ruiners (7)

SM OU: bro fist vs Empo | bro fist will obv be favored vs. pretty much everyone. empo been solid enuff but.
SM OU: Talah vs Hiye | good lord LOL hiye was rly bad last week my god. regardless, he's proven that he's good when he's on his game. talah hasnt rly impressed me either so.
SM UU: Pak vs Pearl | pak been solid this tour but pearls still the best uuer so.
SM RU: Kingler12345 vs passion | this is a p close game. kingler mite b a better player but the raiders ru has always been cursed. i hav faith in passion to pull thru with some heat teambuilding
SM NU: SPACE FORCE meeps vs lax | should b a close game but i think lax is slightly better
SM DOU: Biosci vs Croven | no lie croven been p fire this tour. bioscis good obv but ill go w the hot hand.
ORAS OU: Trosko vs imsosorrylol | trosko suffered his first loss last week w a hard matchup. hes still been p heat and i think sorrys overperforming
BW OU: SoulWind vs Rewer | ruiners didnt take the great shakeitups advice and switch their bw and dpp unreal. well...still dont rly trust rewer and soulwinds a god so.
DPP OU: roscoe vs Jimmy Turtwig | jimmy been slumping a bit and roscoes mega heat so
ADV OU: Jirachee vs eden's embrace | yeah i still dont rly hav faith in edens embrace and not rly sure if hes a viable adv starter or not. phils prob solid enuff to win this w some crisp bkc support
GSC OU: Mr.378 vs Lavos | the ice beamer ironically got waxed by ice beam jynx last week LOL lavos still the best gscer imo so big edge here. raiders gsc rly bout to b 0-7 LOOOL
RBY OU: Cynara vs FriendOfMrGolem120 | bros tossin in cynara in rby every week cant be a good idea LOL she almost got solod by wrap last time my lord. fomg been p solid big edge

just put hipmonlee back in at this pt plz LOL at least he'd entertain us w some bullshit like


Congregation of the Classiest (7) vs Circus Maximus Tigers (5)

SM OU: ZoroDark vs Eternal Spirit | battle of the clickers LOL my god. gamas better tho so.
SM OU: Insult vs Sacri' | insult won last week but ive heard conflicting things about exilines supposed skill level so. sacris decent enuff to win
SM UU: Shiba vs Adaam | idk honestly LOL goin w shiba just off the fact that adaam wasnt bought originally. and tigers uu is cursed.
SM RU: Nat vs Pohjis | ribbon syndrome vros LOL nat beat ajna last week and has been on a roll. like her odds here
SM NU: Garay oak vs Osh | i dont rly think either of these ppl but garays prob a bit better
SM DOU: EmbCPT vs MajorBowman | p close one but im always p high on majorbowman and hes been doin better this tour
ORAS OU: Genesis7 vs Bro Kappa | yeah...genesis vs obi was REALLY BAD LOOOL not rly convinced genesis is competent in this tier after that. bro kappa used to b heat so.
BW OU: Finchinator vs zf | finch is prob slightly better
DPP OU: Void vs k3nan | LOOOOOOOOL am into k3nan my god what a fuckin dpp core. this is a lesson of how not to draft vros jesus. voids way better no contest
ADV OU: thelinearcurve vs dice | dice is def v solid but hav to give the linear the edge in his home tier
GSC OU: Earthworm vs d0nut | earthworm been v unimpressive this tour. been gettin a bit exposed no lie. donuts been p solid so i like his chances
RBY OU: Bedschibaer vs Kaz | this is pmuch a tossup tbh but i think beds mite b better.

Indie Scooters (6) vs Cryonicles (6)

SM OU: Will of Fire vs obii | will of fire won the blunder tour bro come on. hes better.
SM OU: Lopunny Kicks vs BHARATH_THEBEST | btbs slightly better i think
SM UU: robjr vs HT | ht def been one of the worst players in spl LMAO even in his wins he makes ppl want to rip their hair out. this man dragged his game vs shiba on for like 4 hrs for no reason when curse aggron 6-0d at preview LOL my lord. robjr is better
SM RU: lighthouses vs Ajna | good bounce back spot for ajna here
SM NU: Realistic Waters vs elodin | elodins solid but waters has been rly boiling this spl.
SM DOU: miltankmilk vs SMB | smb been fire at doubles no lie. one of the few bright spots on this team
ORAS OU: craing ;_; vs Leru | leru also been one of the worst players in spl LOL even tho last week he played fine ig. ben gays better and he'll innovate
BW OU: Ojama vs Energy | laurel unfortunately lost after a good start vs finch. the kingpin been p average this tour but hes still fire.
DPP OU: giara vs Malekith | BRO HOWS GIARA KEEP WINNING LMAO this mans terrible. malekith def better
ADV OU: dekzeh vs Alexander. | dekzehs solid enuff but prinz is mega fire.
GSC OU: Century Express vs ABR | abr predictably took down earthworm last week. hes def good at gsc and i dont think ce is that good so.
RBY OU: MetalGro$$ vs Exiline | exiline apparently won an rby ribbon but LOOOL ribbon syndrome bro. metals more proven.

Ps: the return of the almighty finger, fck around and poke one of your holes if u say sum dum shit.
160949
 
DPP OU: giara vs Malekith (50/50) Could be anyone's game
DPP OU: Void vs k3nan (70/30) - Imperial College represent
DPP OU: roscoe vs Jimmy Turtwig (51.5/48.5) - Should be super close
DPP OU: Tamahome vs GaryTheGengar (49.99/50.01) - GTG will stock up on Rachi countermeasures.
DPP OU: DeepBlueC vs sig - Not sure who DBC opponent is but he's doing pretty well in the tournament so will give it to him. Played very well vs ToF
 

Finchinator

-OUTL
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Playing zf at noon on Sunday, lgi classy and gl tigers

SM OU: Spectear (40) vs (60) Mana - Really high on Mana's team selection and I think that his ability to dissect situations in the long-term, form priorities, etc. is just a bit higher than Spectear. Pair that with his team trending up, giving him a likely boost in momentum and morale, and I think that Mana is the clear-cut favorite here. Spectear has shown some flashes of brilliance in the builder and in his battles and I don't think anyone should classify him as incompetent or bad, but I do still feel like he's a bit raw and will struggle to defeat more experienced, diverse opponents like Mana, which is another big part of my thought process here.
SM OU: High Impulse (25) vs (75) Blunder - Blunder showing everyone that he is still very much in top form after his pre-SPL hiatus. I think that, unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Amir, who has been out of tournaments for a couple of years. While I hope my dude can find a win or two this tournament, I think this has potential to be a mismatch. Blunder's mastery of timely aggression coupled with his near perfect track-record this SPL with team choice makes me believe that he is well above the level of his opponent, making him a heavy favorite.

SM OU: Kickasser (60) vs (40) Sabella - Kickasser has been one of the top 5 SM players in this tournament whereas I regard Sabella as being more middle of the pack. While Sabella has some strong wins vs opponents like Tamahome, unfortunately the pack's own Kickasser probably is a bit much for him to tackle this week. Strong, aggressive maneuvers coupled with some wise risks in the teambuilder have really brought Kickasser a long way from where he was a year or two back I feel. Kickasser doesn't always use things I personally would use with much comfort, but I think a big thing is that what he does use seems to work vs his opponents and if this continues to be the case, then I expect many more wins throughout 2019. Sabella is no pushover, but I think he may be in over his head given how well Kick is playing; perhaps he will bring something less predictable and shine like he does oftentimes...or just win with SG Magearna, which seems to be his thing nowadays.
SM OU: Charmflash (60) vs (40) Valentine - I cannot explain why either of these guys are undefeated, but both are. Charmflash at least has made some nasty good reads and has more prolonged success in this tour, so I'll give him the nod. Can't say I really know for sure either way though.

SM OU: bro fist (55) vs (45) Empo - Well, it's John so you can't really predict against him, but Empo has had some strong showings thus far, so if he shows up at his best and does not fuck around during the late-game, then it's sure as hell possible for him to emerge victorious here. Needless to say though, I don't think that's an entirely likely scenario, so I favor John, even if it's a slimmer margin than what one might expect.
SM OU: Talah (40) vs (60) Hiye - Hiye is just the better player by a decently large margin. Talah's a better builder than player and it's hard for someone who focuses on that to defeat Hiye unless they can pinpoint who builds for him and what their trends are. So unless Talah runs up with the advanced analytics, then I don't see him breaking the man who closely resembles a Ciele-like robot in public at this point.

SM OU: Will of Fire (45) vs (55) obii - I mean we can see anything from Bright Powder Shedinja 1v1'ing a Heatran spamming Earth Power predicting a switch to Agility Articuno cleaning things up if WoF wins this game. Some guys are unpredictable, some guys are gimmicky, and some guys have weird tendencies. This guy, however, takes it over the top and then some. On any given day, WoF can wake up and say "ok, let's use Max Speed Hippowdon with Stomping Tantrum" without much rhyme or reason and suddenly it is winning important games. This guy has some magical ball or drug combination that I need to get my fucking hands on. I do think he's a strong player, too, but I think he is yet to establish that in this setting and sometimes it is a challenging learning curve, so it's hard for me to consistently favor him. On the other hand, obii is due for some wins, unironically. He has played better than his current record and I think that his last SM game was mainly lost due to a questionable team. If he uses something not too predictable and solid, I favor him here slightly in what may be the least predictable match-up of the bunch.
SM OU: Lopunny Kicks (55) vs (45) BHARATH_THEBEST - I swear on my life BTB is better than his record and it WILL show eventually, but this is a hard match-up to turn things around on. Lopunny Kicks has been pretty fire for the last number of months in the results department and I expect him to keep up the fire moving forward. The flashy, quick-moving Italian has gained a reputation as a trigger-puller, taking risks that many others do not often feel comfortable with. This gives him advantages ranging from small to game-deciding, but they add up over time and games, contributing to his success when they do not backfire. I think BTB has just been struggling to feel games out properly in the long-term, falling back on sloppy plays or potentially more passive sequences. If he can return to his peak form, which I know he has potential to given his showing last season, then he sure as hell can win as I like his building a bit better, but that's a big "if" given what we have seen thus far.

SM UU: Lycans (49) vs (51) Christo - This one is really close. Christo is showing that his form really is nothing to question despite the time off whereas Lycans seems to have picked up where he left off during Snake. Both of these guys are top tier lower tier players, but I think that Christo has a couple advantages that will separate the two, which is why I slightly favor him. First and foremost, he has all the support you can ask for whereas Lycans does not have a UU player on the roster, relying upon IP to give him assistance as he's an in-chat helper. Second off, the Sharks are out, so the level of effort they put into prep may be less than that of the Tyrants, who are poised to keep winning moving forward. And finally, Christo seems to be a bit less mistake-prone. Lycans probably has higher-highs, being able to make pretty impressive plays and take risks that a lot of other lower tier players cannot do with as much comfort, but I think Christo has more solid fundamentals rn.

SM UU: bugzinator (51) vs (49) soulgazer - See, on the one hand I always predict SG to win lower tier games. On the other hand, bugzinator is the fucking goat, so that makes this complicated. I think that bugzy probably has a bit more of an idea how to play the tier consistently and he has more team support with TDK+Tony in the back whereas SG is in a fairly new tier without a ton of support, so I guess that makes me want to favor bugzy, even if I view SG as a bit better of a raw Pokemon player. This could really go either way though.
SM NU: Eternally (55) vs (45) Kushalos - I mean if I predict Eternally to win every week, it's bound to happen again eventually, right? I do think that he will come back to his Snake ways sooner or later though, but a lot of that depends on when he stops talking with rozes. I don't even mean like discussing teams or ideas, but like outright ignores him -- no interaction whatsoever. As soon as that is out of his system, he will be good to go. Kush has been strong thus far, as usual, but I think that he's more likely to flop with a weird team or play whereas Eternally will at least play a mostly solid game, which he even has done most weeks this season despite the 2-4. Also, if either side uses Blastoise, they will probably lose.

SM UU: Pak (45) vs (55) Pearl - Not a ton to say analysis wise, but I am really excited for this game. These two both are fantastic players and I think that in a stacked UU field, no others stand out more than these two. Pak has taken a few more losses than he should have due to a variety of factors, but do not late that distract you from how solid a player he is. I am really hoping for a neutral MU and some strong, aggressive gameplay from both. Big highlight.
SM RU: Kingler12345 (45) vs (55) passion - Kingler vs Passion is an SPL game ROFL what has happened to Smogon
SM NU: SPACE FORCE meeps (45) vs (55) lax - Whichever uses stall will win. If neither does, then whichever uses the smaller amount of crippling techs will win. If neither does either of these things, then idk what to think, but you've probably clicked the wrong replay, knowing these two.

SM UU: robjr (70) vs (30) HT - robjr is killing it whereas HT seems to be struggling to play longer games. If the MU isn't favorable for HT or he doesn't get an offense-vs-offense type of game, I think robjr will run away with it. And even if one of those two is in place, then I still think robjr is more than capable of pulling it out. This dude is straight-up fire so long as his timer is above 60!
SM NU: Realistic Waters (50) vs (50) elodin - Two great players who use fun teams. I am really looking forward to this, but I am unsure which will win. Good luck both, friends! Definitely wanna try and catch this one, especially to see what Waters comes up with this time around.

BW OU: Kevin Garrett (40) vs (60) We Three Kings - Actually has potential to be a pretty decent game. KG is probably either being fed teams or using standard shit he comes up with, so that gives us a lot of potential for close ones. W3K is obviously solid, even if 5-1 probably isn't representative to a full extent. Going to favor We Three Kings seeing as he has been in the tier longer, has more sustained success recently, and I feel is just a bit better overall, but KG did beat Ojama and can probably hold his own with most players, so I can see it going either way ultimately. Hope the Sharks are ready for CM + BoltBeamers.

ORAS OU: Santu (51) vs (49) xray - Probably the biggest upset prediction for me this week. Santu is a strong, underrated player who oftentimes goes under the radar and is surprisingly quiet. He played a strong ORAS during WCOP, however, and should not be overlooked. I feel like xray is not quite at the top of his game after the past few weeks; he also may be tilted due to his teams lack of overall success. All things considered, I think this game can likely go to Santu and the Wolfpack, but I would not be surprised if the conventional favorite and ORAS mainstay xray takes it.
BW OU: TDK (51) vs (49) FLCL - Great game here and I think both are evenly matched. TDK has more to play for and is likely motivated by being in a new tier, so I will slightly favor him, but I am excited for this one more than I am picking either side really. Both know the tier decently well, both are strong players, and both have won important games before. Interested especially in seeing what TDK uses.
DPP OU: DeepBlueC (70) vs (30) sig - To answer your question sig: no, it was not enough to predict you to win this week.

BW OU: SoulWind (65) vs (35) Rewer - Rewer, deservedly, got his first win last week. However, he now faces a top competitor in SoulWind, so getting a second consecutive win will be a tall order. SoulWind looked like he returned to form last week after some sloppier games leading up to it, of which did not even matter much as his record is still quite respectable. Regardless, Rewer has a nice grasp on the tier, but needs to avoid using the wrong type of bullshit and given his support, that could be hard. If put into a standard-vs-standard game, he will likely be in over his head unless he plays the game of his life, simply given how strong of an opponent SoulWind is. A lot will come down to teams here, but you have to give SoulWind a significant edge.
DPP OU: roscoe (55) vs (45) Jimmy Turtwig - Not a ton to say here, but I never will really predict against roscoe. However, if anyone will take him out, it may very well be this guy. Jimmy is a fantastic, versatile player and I think he has a decent shot of taking out anyone in any format on any given day. While he may not be favorable here due to a strong opponent, I know that Lavos is motivated to "expose" the "fraud" known as roscoe, so perhaps they will be gunning for him with some team choice elements. On the other side, I'm sure roscoe wants to win this one for his record and to get lavos to shut up, so this should be cool. Bit of indirect beef, I guess. Anyway, two strong players with good track records. Some stuff on the line for the Ruiners, too. Excited to watch.

BW OU: Ojama (49) vs (51) Energy - If the game is meaningful in some capacity and Ojama uses a team that he would classify as "bad standard garbage", then he will probably win. Otherwise, I don't have confidence in either, but I think Energy cares a fuckton about this seeing as Ojama told him to play him in SPL and now he has the opportunity, so we might as well get the full-on comeback kid story going here. I really don't have anything too serious to say specifically about either. Ojama uses weird stuff, Energy has too small a sample size, and neither has been too impressive or poor. I predict it to not be meaningful and Ojama to either sub out or use something a bit too ratchet I guess, but who the fuck knows really.

EmbCPT vs the population of Australia - the goat himself oml...
 
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