16. Santu (BW) VS. 9. xray (SM, ORAS) - Wow, not a matchup I was expecting. Santu smacked ABR in BW with a really well executed dragmag, and then somehow won SM from a huge deficit, with the Tectonic Mew tech catching enemy Magearna by surprise. xray edged out KratosMana despite losing his best tier, and I wonder what would have happened if his opponent didn't bring one of the worst teams I've ever seen in SM. He also wasn't impressive in BW, winning more as a result of matchup than any particularly good play. However, xray still has the edge in terms of experience and consistency, and those factors should carry him through here. I'll give BW to Santu because he looked comparatively superior in it last week, but xray should have a significant edge in the other two. Fun fact: in 3 previous playoff appearances, xray has yet to make it past the round of 8, will he surpass his record here?
2. Finchinator (SM, BW) VS. 10. Luigi (ORAS) - Neither of these players faced much of a challenge last round. Finch walked all over Twixtry in a quick series, and Contrary to past seasons, Ruiners superstar Luigi kept a Calm Mind while his opponent made some highly questionable plays, forfeited, and vanished without a Trace. As such, it's difficult to predict the result here. Finch and Luigi are both on hot streaks and even have similar styles, but I think Finch has displayed a higher ceiling overall in his recent history, so I'll give it to him. Should be a close series if we get the best versions of both players though.
4. SoulWind (SM, ORAS, BW) VS. 12. Gondra - Yeah, where to start... SoulWind had a fantastic series against McMeghan where by no means did he play perfectly, but he definitely showcased his high points and proved he's a serious contender for the trophy while taking down the former champion. On the other hand, Gondra barely eked out a win in BW against BKC, despite having the absolute best possible matchup he could ask for including a Sub Mamo that just happened to 6-0, and then proceeded to get extraordinarily lucky in ORAS with well-timed crits and misses sealing the coffin for two-time winner BKC. There's no way to say Gondra played well, and yet he's the reason we don't get to see BKC vs SW, which I'm very sad about. SoulWind should be licking his lips at the prospect of Gondra, Santu, and Bro Kappa standing between him and his long-awaited trophy. One can only wonder how fate will conspire against him this time.
14. BK (BW) VS. 11. ima (SM, ORAS) - An underrated pairing, and my highlight match for this round. Bro Kappa had a nice display in BW where he showcased a creative Zapdos set that carried him to victory, although HSA kinda imploded halfway through the game. Then he brought CB Victini in SM and HSA had absolutely no answer for it. ima brought some very safe teams and slowly sucked the hope out of Eeveeto, but I'm not sure he'll be able to replicate that strategy here. The clash between BK's wild inventions and ima's steady hand will be an interesting one. I give BW to BK because it's where he'll have the most room to switch things up, and I could see ima having a hard time recovering from an early disadvantage, which is easy to create in a tier packed to the brim with threats. However, the Italian will need to unpack some truly stinky cheese to unseat ima from his comfort zones in SM and ORAS. Expect to see some unique matchups here.