Playoffs Smogon Classic VI Playoffs - FINALS [Won by SoulWind]

[ABR]

Won vs Tricking in one of the more fun sets I've played in a while, ggs

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-509300
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen1ou-509306
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5ou-509308
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4ou-509310
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2ou-509314

 

[SoulWind]

Won, ggs.

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen1ou-509348
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5ou-509353
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-509360
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4ou-509374
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2ou-509441

 

[Mana]

lost, ggwp.

Thanks to everyone who supported me either through tests, teams or just cheering me on in general. Not satisfied with the way I played in this series, and there clearly are ways to go with regards to improving myself, particularly in GSC and DPP, but had fun playing this tour all things considered.

shoutouts

We Three Kings couldn't have gotten as far in BW as I did without your help, with teams, games, etc. Also thx for all the help in the other tiers, as well as calling me unviable whenever I need to hear it. GGMU tho
Thorn thanks for the numerous amounts of games, tests, advice, etc throughout the tour, as well as accompanying me whenever I'm panicking to hand in an assignment in time
Pohjis thanks for doing loads of scouting, as well as providing teams wherever possible, and thanks for your help in keeping me from tilting, as well as listening to me ramble about my life
TonyFlygon thx for advice whenever I need it bossman, in pokemon and in life in general :wesmart:
frisoeva thanks for all the tests, especially in playoffs, at least you won't have to see me asking 'heb je tijd voor wat games vanavond' anymore lmao :perdemos:

Shoutout everyone else in team Europe chat as well, all of you are important in my enjoyment of playing mons, as well as watching football and the kitto pics

Also shoutout to Taipans for the encouragement, especially Alpha Rabbit :risitas6:

Rooting for ABR to win, though either winner would be deserving.

pce

 

[Diophantine]

ABR vs Tricking for those that missed it. Good series :) Hyped for finals

 

[Tony]

After months of hard work finally only two players remain to duke it out for the white trophy. You may have seen these guys around before..

The Final

Both of your resumes speak for themselves and it goes without saying that you're both very worthy winners of this tournament. The scheduled time for the final is Saturday July 18th at 11 AM-12 PM GMT -4. Good luck to you both!

 

[Teclis]

Either ABR becomes the first player to win four individuals, either SoulWind gets a much deserved first one. wow. Whatever this series' result is, it will go down in Smogon's hall of fame as an actual Champion's coronation.

Whether you like or dislike their styles, both are almost as good as one can be on Pokémon so pretty hard to predict who will win; the only thing certain is that from a spectator's perspective it is one of the best finals one could have wished for. May the best win!

 

[Pais]

I'm rooting for SW but ABR is really on fire, gl both

 

[Kristyl]

This is going to be a great Finals Good Luck to you both.

ABR (RBY,GSC) vs Soulwind (DPP,BW)

I think this will come down to ADV and I don't know enough about either of their skill in that tier to predict. Cheering for ABR but Soulwind certainly has the skill to take it!

 

[Hiro']

RBY

ABR vs. SoulWind : One might say it's RBY and anything can happen, and that's probably true. Even though ABR apparently has trained in the tier and improved since last year, I still feel SW has more experience in the tier, he's won RBY Cup last year and has received the lessons of master Peasounay so I'll favor SW here.

GSC

ABR vs. SoulWind : Favourite gen of ABR among the 5 and probably the weakest for SW, I'd say ABR is pretty favoured here. Probably a long game to come. Predicting a Misdreavus for ABR and Forretress on both sides.

ADV

ABR vs. SoulWind : ABR made 3rd place of last year's Callous Cup, as SW didn't get many opportunities to show his talent in the gen, so I'll give a slight edge to ABR here. Not bringing double sand veil this time though, no freacking way.

DPP

ABR vs. SoulWind : Close one, could go either way I guess. SW won the Cup this year so maybe one could favour him but I feel ABR is as solid as him in the tier so I'm not sure. Last game, will decide the series.

BW

ABR vs. SoulWind : I think this is the closest one for this series. ABR is really good in this gen and SW is a true master of BW. It's definitely the most hype game imo. First game to be played, to rise the hype up.

Very high level finals, as it will turn a page in Smogon history. Either ABR gets his 4th individual and becomes a true legend, either SW finally gets his tremendously deserved first ring. This is so hype, I really hope we get to see BW between these two.
It's hard to pick a winner, but I think I'm gonna root for SoulWind because this is fucking time. Let's go boys, make it a great one!!!!!!

 

[Nalorium]

@luigi’s cat, your time has come

 

[jacob]

ABR (GSC/ADV/DPP) vs Soulwind (RBY/BW)

 

[Bughouse]

can we avoid the formality

 

[CyberOdin✝]

Congrats SoulWind.

 

[Earthworm]

ABR will probably win RBY. SoulWind knows all the "correct" moves but ABR has the stronger mindgaming ability.
ABR will very likely win GSC as he's more experienced and therefore more likely to find an opportunity to gain an advantage and less likely to make a crucial mistake. Not that I'd necessarily expect mistakes from SoulWind, but I think he is less likely to pull the trigger on the right turns to get Spikes advantage for example, and that is the kind of thing that can swing GSC games.
It's pretty much impossible to go against SoulWind in BW, he never seems to lose in the tier. I am not really sure how he is so consistent there, but the stats don't lie. Not progressing far in this year's BW Cup isn't enough to dissuade me of this.
For RSE and DPP, both players seem to favour safer team choices, which I think will theoretically favour ABR. However, ABR has seemed less consistent in RSE for some reason and SoulWind won the DPP Cup, so perhaps SoulWind is favoured.

One further factor is the players' ability to bring their best game to one of the highest stakes series in competitive Pokemon. ABR has a proven track record of not losing his focus and a collection of trophies to back it up, whereas SoulWind's comments in game and his record in finals seem to show signs of nervousness and sensitivity to things going against him that arguably weigh against his chances at taking the trophy home. For him to win, he will need to find a way to stay calm and collected in the face of ABR's smug confidence.

 

[Hipmonlee]

I thought I might drop in a prediction for RBY, because it is kinda an interesting matchup. Don't really have much to say about the other gens, except that I'm not really a big fan of these player's safety first approach generally, but in DPP in particular.

So Soulwind is a "proper" RBYer---as good as any RBY main. I think last year during classic there was miles between him and the rest of the finalists. This year the opposition has gotten a little better and I think SW may have been a little complacent, although its hard to tell whether some of the things that looked fishy were genuine mistakes or just a case of those little predictions not going his way.

ABR, on the other hand, is a much less complete player. There's always a few small inaccuracies in his games, and he seems to rely on a small handful of tricks, which are enough to get wins against top players, but probably not consistently. On the other hand it wouldn't surprise me if he has something special saved up for the finals though. Fortunately he has already gotten Troller's mono-lose-to-Jynx team out of the way against tricking, so hopefully that wont be making another appearance.

So I think, in the case of who will do better out of Soulwind or ABR against arbitrary opponent, Soulwind is an easy favourite. For the one off matchup I think ABR has a few things in his favour, not the least of which is the freedom that comes from being an underdog. Like its hard to see Soulwind coming in with a Jolteon here, I kinda hope he does though, having a shit matchup might just give him the freedom to just massively outplay ABR for the win regardless.

Anyway, tldr, I'm on team Soulwind.

 

[phosphor]

Abr (gsc, adv) vs soulwind (rby, dpp, bw)

 

[gorgie]

if SoulWind wants to win he's gonna have to bring some proactive teams in both GSC and DPP; especially GSC.

if it comes down solely to the turn-by-turn plays in those two it will be a hot snack wrap for him and that trophy.

 

[SOMALIA]

Soulwind's better in 4 gens (RBY/ADV/DPP/BW)

 

[WhiteQueen]

From what I’ve seen, ABR’s biggest strength is probably his ability to play long ass, drawn out games and not lose focus and patience in the process. That’s a mental gift.

SoulWind likes to use fat teams too.

Fats vs. fats, ABR will win most of the time.

 

[Fakes]

If sw wins any from RBY/GSC/ADV hell take it. in dpp and bw hes clearly stronger.

 

[Diophantine]

Really hyped for this series. Both players deserve to win, and I think most people expect it to go to 5 games.
Opinion based probability stats:
RBY ABR (35%) vs SoulWind (65%)
GSC ABR (70%) vs SoulWind (30%)
ADV ABR (55%) vs SoulWind (45%)
DPP ABR (50%) vs SoulWind (50%)
BW ABR (40%) vs SoulWind (60%)

Hence, after some careful calculations considering all outcomes, my opinion based probability stat for the series is ABR (50.8931875%) vs SoulWind (49.1068125%).

 

[xray]

RBY: small edge for ABR
GSC: clear edge for ABR
ADV: small edge for ABR
DPP: small edge for SW
BW: small edge for SW

--> predicting ABR to win it all (4 games if I had to guess), especially cause he seems to absolutely have that killer mentality atm. His well thought and executed gameplans + incredible mentality/attitude + calculated risks should be enough to take this series from SW, who has proven to be one of the greatest ever yet still struggles to win a finals. Both are very deserving winners, however. Much respect to Mana too. I always thought you were gonna win during the series vs SW, not sure how you lost :( Hoping to see you do well next classic!

 

[Excal]

DPP: ABR (40) vs (60) SoulWind

ABR’s rapid ascension in old gen competence is very impressive, and his DPP is no exception. However, his team choices aren’t exactly inspired and have been quite one-dimensional. It’s no coincidence that he faced rain twice, failing to notch a DPP playoffs win up until this point. SoulWind is more experienced in the tier and with his recent DPP cup victory as well as several other DPP achievements (SPL IX tiebreak win and even winning a DPP global championship come to mind), he has definitely shown that he’s favored in this matchup. Both players seem to be friends and probably have shared ideas here. I’m not sure how much of a builder SoulWind is but I’m sure he modifies/techs his stuff and has a strong support system. That said, it would not be surprising at all for ABR to get a win here. ABR may switch it up and bring a different team style, displaying more versatility in the tier than previously shown, but SoulWind is likely to have a strong team choice that can adapt well to any potential tricks ABR has up his sleeve. Their set in DPP cup was fun to watch and I’m really looking forward to seeing a DPP rematch here.

This is a fantastic finals and either storyline is a good one; all factors considered, these two are evenly matched. Winner of RBY takes it all (ABR takes GSC & ADV, SoulWind DPP & BW).

 

[NEWAL]

rooting for SW. Having 3 Cups from different tiers in his showcase is impressive. Hes the better rby dpp and bw player.

ABR (GSC) vs SoulWind (RBY, DPP, BW)

 

[kael]

ABR is probably the best player on the site at the moment, but I believe in Soulwind if you check out the smogon history this man deserves, but he needs to prove it against ABR

If I'm not wrong
Sowilnd lost 3 official tournament finals.

Now he has one of the best chances.
Who is winning a tournament against one of the best players on the site

And thus consecrates one of the best pokemon players of the site

Soulwind, you tricked me and fucked my game in the adv cup, but no problem.
I didn't keep hurt
I'm rooting for you, let's do it bro