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Welcome to the playoffs of the 2024 Other Metagames Circuit! The top 16 players have emerged after competing in this year's OM tournament circuit. The winner of this tournament will receive the Other Metas ribbon, as well as the choice between a custom avatar, a new username color, and an inactive username on Pokemon Showdown, courtesy of ironwater!
This is a best-of-five single elimination tournament in the following SV formats: Almost Any Ability, Balanced Hackmons, Godly Gift, Mix and Mega, Partners in Crime, STABmons.
Higher seed chooses first game, loser picks next.
Battles must take place on Pokemon Showdown. Replays are required.
I obviously don't know what I'm talking about I'm washed I don't know the precise level of each players in each tier I don't know the amount of support they got I also don't know BH I have no fucking idea what's going on in PiC but eh it's the game we doing bets don't get mad at me
SammyCe123 (AAA/PiC/BH/MnM) vs. Les2BG (GG/STAB) - I won't be surprised if Sammy 3-0 Les2BG but I expect it to be closer than what people would think. Les2BG can click decently well with good teams and even if I kinda fucked him by posting all my wcup teams he still has other teams in the back. He must not be underestimated in GG even if Sammy is prob slightly better, and he has decent knowledge in all the other tiers. Unfortunately, Sammy for R1 is unluky, but I expect him to win 3-1 or 3-2
Ivar57 (All) vs. Betticus IV (maybe PiC i guess) - one of the most one sided match ups IMO, Betticus only plays AAA afaik and yet he will have the building advantage on it in theory (cuz ivar hates to build in aaa), I think Ivar is by far a better clicker and player in every tier he has knowledge (so not PiC), and I expect him to win 3-0
RoFnA (STAB) vs. damflame 3 (BH/MnM/GG/AAA/PiC) - RoFnA washed af, didn't play in wc, probably thinks he can still teams and wins but this doesn't work, esp against damflame who was really impressive during world cup, showed true knowledge in BH, GG, and MnM, and is probably able to win in all the other metas. Still giving an edge to RoFnA in stab bc he's supposed to be a stab main and he is prob able to find more teams than dam.
Quantum Tesseract (BH/AAA/PiC) vs. abriel (MnM/STAB/GG) - close and interesting pairing, both are excellent players that haven't perform well lately. I'm curious to see if they will use this tour to bounce back or confirm that 2024 wasn't the year for them. abriel still feels a bit stronger overall, but that should be close.
ghostlike (GG/AAA/BH/MnM) vs. Fc (STAB/PiC) - is fraudlike cares of the tour he will win but if he's too focused on farming idiots on the OU ladder he will get crushed. He's insanely good if he has good teams in his mains though, Fc can outclick him once maybe but overall I think he just has a strong building and playing and he will win 3-1 here
Clas (BH/MnM) vs. Kinetic (AAA/STAB/PiC/GG) - I feel like Clas should be favored here esp after their strong showing during omwc, but I got this feeling that Kinetic will surprise it. Clas can be really really good but they're not often 2 steps ahead during the whole BO, so i feel like they'll have a strong start and wins but then they'll lose focus and Kinetic will come back and get the upset.
pannu (AAA/STAB/PiC) vs. Icemaster (MnM/BH/GG) - who knows what Icemaster is doing here ? he probably doesn't give a fuck of the tour but if he has good teams he's a better clicker than pannu esp in MnM and GG. If he still has remains of that BH tiebreak, he's p much able to deliver a masterclass in BH. pannu on the other hand seems to lack motivation atm, maybe NOT playing inh will bring them back to life but I'm afraid it won't and they'll go back playing gatchas.
Evie (PiC/AAA) vs. TTTech (BH/GG/MnM/STAB) - Evie must not be underestimated I think and I expect it to be close, cool games, but TTTech just got the experience in those tiers and he was good during wcup so ultimately he'll get the edge but those could be better games that what ppl could expect
also can we talk on how JOBLESS those two are ? I hope none of them win the tour so they touch some grass
Ivar57 (All) vs. Betticus IV (maybe PiC i guess) - one of the most one sided match ups IMO, Betticus only plays AAA afaik and yet he will have the building advantage on it in theory (cuz ivar hates to build in aaa), I think Ivar is by far a better clicker and player in every tier he has knowledge (so not PiC), and I expect him to win 3-0
Im only picking based on vibes and who I think OM gods would pick out of on a spinny wheel
first of all f u osake for making me do this.
1. Sammy v 16. Les2bg
2. Ivar v 15. Betticus
3. Rofna v 14. damflame
4. QT v 13. Abriel
5. Ghostliike v 12. FC
6. Clas v 11. Kinetic
7. Pannu v 10. Icemaster
8. Evie v 9. TTTech
1. Sammy v 16. Les2bg
Think Sammy takes this low-mid diff since Les2bg is a great builder and has really stepped out of GG and gotten some experience in some other tiers. Still tho buddy has the points and man hrs locked up so I just think it comes to experience, especially in tiers like PiC and BH where skillgap really shows in game.
2. Ivar v 15. Betticus
Thinking same type beat as above dict honestly. One guy has been doing em all for a while at a high level and while the lower seed guy has been a trailblazer in one of the tiers, this is a bo5 where well-rounded strengths make the difference. Ivar low-mid diff
3. Rofna v 14. damflame
Osake said damflame has been focused up and i know if Rofna hasn't been focused up, he'll let it affect his play. Prep wise ik flame has been creative in the past and has experience in all/most (PiC?) the tiers, so i dont really give rofna an edge in anything but stab (council members not caught up in their own meta?!?! no way ). But ya most even and BH lean df so pretty close here either way.
4. QT v 13. Abriel
Abriel's clicking been leveling up for a while so i'd say its pretty even between these two. QT is a good teambuilder but i think Abriel's recent experience in trophy team tours might have opened his eyes to some creative preparation tactics here. Either way tho QT probably has the same BH lean on exp and i dont know if either of these cats has touched PiC. This best mu of r1 tho. Ill lean AB since i think he's luckier.
5. Ghostliike v 12. FC
Fc lowkey pressed he hasnt locked up this circuit yet. Ghostliike is good dont get me wrong, but he doesnt have the lock in, throw out the key, take the box and spin it! kind of mojo that Fc wields. Not to mention STAB and MnM have blacklisted most of the brokens by now so i think better player is winning these metas more consistently. Fc low diff
6. Clas v 11. Kinetic
Clas takes this seriously and actually does good prep for the most part. Kinetic has some energy tho and probably some good help with him, tho im not sure how much actual experience he has in tiers that are removed from regular processing. Kinetic a good clicker for sure so wouldnt be too surprised if he got it done here but i think for now ill take clas. AAA match here will be cool nonetheless
7. Pannu v 10. Icemaster
This the 2nd best mu of the round ngl, pannu a massive malder tho so i can see him throwing this away in 3 quick ones tho. Ice is a better clicker for sure but im thinking pannu is sitting in the prep chair double the time he is this week. Prep really does make the difference in these bo5's if you are actually efficient with your spent time and arent just throwing dumb shit into the builder in GG/BH for hours. Pannu's stab is underrated still and the branch out to PiC and AAA probably help a lot here, even BH since i dont actually think Ice learned how to BH that one time he had to tiebreak vs quojova. Either way toss-up here
8. Evie v 9. TTTech
If wanting it more was a determining factor, u could give this guy the ribbon yesterday lowkey. I think tech takes this high diff tho since evie the only PiC player around. Knowing you gotta go into that moshpit after a win has to be a demoralizer, but i think tttech can gameplan the bo5 and take this.
1/ SammyCe123 vs. 16/ Les2BG
(90-10)
Les obv has great gg experience and has a surprisingly decent understanding of pic, as well as other tiers. He's up against it tho here cus sammy is just so good at every tier - his points tally should be enough to convince you.
2/ Ivar57 vs. 15/ Betticus IV
(80-20)
Betticus can definitely give Ivar a good set - he is especially strong in AAA and if he can get good support for the other tiers he is also equally a good player. But I think this one is just out of reach - as career aptly put it, Ivar is a pretty old horse in this race - 2.6k circuit points is no joke.
3/ RoFnA vs. 14/ damflame 3
(80-20)
Damflame definitely has a chance - he has some pretty unique and unconventional building styles, and has good performances in BH and Inh this year. RoFnA is just that bit much more stronger tho so I think I favour him
4/ Quantum Tesseract vs. 13/ abriel
(45-55)
This is a bit of a weird one - QT has had a mixed summer so far, going 2-5 in OMPL, but scoring a great 5-2 record in HPL, so in terms of form I am not sure what to expect - obv they are one of the best OM mainers around so it will always be a close set. However, I just simply favour abriel in this matchup - she's had a lot of success elsewhere and has been decently involved with OMs this year in particular. Probably the (second) tightest set of the round though
5/ ghostlike vs. 12/ Fc
(30-70)
Fc at 12th is criminal lol. ghostlike probably holds a strong advantage in AAA, but other than that I think I'd probably back Fc
6/ Clas vs. 11/ Kinetic
(50-50)
I'm sorry guys, I'm wimping out of this one. I think this is too close to call - both are insanely good players, insanely good over all tiers. I think kinetic is coming into this with slightly better form, but clas has much more experience in tours, and is slightly luckier. However clas is prone to tilting. I'm really looking forward to this one!
7/ pannu vs. 10/ Icemaster
(65-35)
I was a bit surprised to see icemaster in circuit - purely bcos I haven't seen him touch an OM for a while. He's still probably got a strong advantage in MnM, but pannu is so much stronger in every other tier - especially GG, Inh, and BH. I'd probably back them here as such
8/ Evie vs. 9/ TTTech
(55-45)
This is another fairly even matchup - Evie has a trump card in PiC, TTTech has a trump card in BH. I think outside of that they are basically evenly matched but (slight bias) I think Evie can take it.
Just the STAB predicts (if they even happen). Not much to say.
1. Sammy v 16. Les2bg
Sammy knows what they are doing.
2. Ivar v 15. Betticus
Gonna be honest, was not a fan of that last World Cup game from Ivar. Betticus can win, but I fear this is gonna ultimately come down to the ever skillful "win on team preview" that STAB is known for.
3. Rofna v 14. damflame
Rofna knows what they are doing.
4. QT v 13. Abriel
The one match-up that I have no idea on. I remember seeing Abriel in more STAB games than QT in recent months, so Abriel will win.
5. Ghostlike v 12. FC
I do not recall seeing Ghostlike play STAB ever.
6. Clas v 11. Kinetic
What I predict to be the highlight STAB game this round. Both great players. I am giving it to Kinetic though (I like their team structures more).
7. Pannu v 10. Icemaster
Pannu you better win... If you lose, you lose gacha game privileges for a week.
8. Evie v 9. TTTech
TTTech is good from what I remember battling them in the past.
I obviously don't know what I'm talking about I'm washed I don't know the precise level of each players in each tier I don't know the amount of support they got I also only know BH I have no fucking idea what's going on in half the other metas but eh it's the game we doing bets don't get mad at me
SammyCe123 (AAA/BH/GG/MnM/PiC/STAB) vs. Les2BG ()
I think this is rather unfortunate pairing for Les2BG who is a fairly good player, as Sammy is very solid in the metas Les2BG would try to gain an advantage against a basic player (GG+PiC afaik) while Sammy's weaker points aren't strong points for Les2BG either.
BH - Sammy is extremely good pilot and can build his own teams (huge bonus, way better for piloting as you know all the intricacies yourself and will have a team matching your own style). Les2BG on the other hand I have not seen play BH and so is just very disadvantaged here. I think this could honestly be the most probable first pick for Sammy, but if it somehow is not I think it will for sure only (and likely) be picked by Sammy if he loses a meta.
Ivar57 (GG/STAB) vs. Betticus IV (AAA/BH/MnM/PiC)
Ok contrary to what majority think I do believe Betticus has better chances what people believe. Ivar absolutely hates AAA currently and Betticus despite claiming the same is terminally addicted and ladders every day. MnM Ivar is more seasoned but at the same time his recent games are simply atrocious. PiC is more of a tossup but I have never seen Ivar play that tier. Ivar also apparently is scared af and has recruited like 20 people to help him actual shameless behaviour.
BH - Betticus has premium support and Ivar's most recent BH games are not very good and hes burnt out last time I checked. Ivar might pick BH thinking he has an advantage but I don't think its there, Betticus might also play it depending on how the series goes, if it goes to 5 BH will for sure be played but if not theres a chance neither will pick early.
RoFnA (AAA/BH/STAB) vs. damflame 3 (GG/MnM/PiC)
Awkward predict that I'm giving to RoFnA because first pick and I think has a bit more advantage with most of these tiers going either way because I know nothing. RoFnA is rather inactive and also one of those guys that sign up and play in every tour and so will have less activity which could hamper his chances.
BH - Solid performance from damflame in WC however RoFnA had an fairly good run in HPL and doesn't ever post (terrible) unlike damflame who dropped his teams immediately. RoFnA also very very annoying to prep against because you have no idea if hes going to load some offense cheese or some incredibly solid balance. I expect BH to be played this series because I think basically every meta is going to be close and both players are familiar with BH to prefer to play it over something else despite opponent also being good at it.
Quantum Tesseract (AAA/BH/GG/MnM) vs. abriel (PiC/STAB)
I think this is rather close because abriel did have a good showing in the Bo3 slot during OMPL but I feel like QT has been overall more active, has first pick, and also has realistically I think the most dominant advantage for a meta in this matchup, and on top of that I think they are looking to collect back some of the luck they have experienced recently.
BH - Self explanatory, QT has played a lot of BH this year, abriel idt has played any BH this year. QT builds are only realistically exploitable by more creative players very familiar with the meta which I don't think is the case here and if QT is ever motivated enough they are always capable of building slightly out of the standard box for them. Expect BH to likely be first pick.
ghostlike (AAA/BH/MnM) vs. Fc (GG/PiC/STAB)
I again don't know these players particularly well, ghostlike is way more active within OMs but Fc is still connected and also a very strong player and its also fairly close so I'm giving to first pick advantage because I also don't exactly know how most of these tiers are going to play out and just guessing based on recent + not so recent results this year.
BH - ghostlike has played in HPL and I feel like he will be able to get better support. Playing capabilities I think are roughly similar as Fc is pretty used to BH but I think recent meta familiarity would be quite useful here. I don't actually expect BH to be selected early if at all though.
Clas (AAA/GG/MnM) vs. Kinetic (BH/PiC/STAB)
Giving this to first pick advantage and Clas luck, though if Clas types too much he might very well end up disadvantaged. AAA I think entirely depends if Kinetic is able to get Betticus support because it seems like that makes a huge difference for Kinetic specifically idk why, though even without I think clas hates the meta so theres always that. GG and MnM Clas likes so I will give to him.
BH - Kinetic has far less experience however Clas not only fsr detests the current meta but also has been making very dubious builds recently, like even if you discount the double stone axe mistake (which could happen again) mono removal Giratina is like abysmal stuff. Neither player has an notable advantage here and idk if they are particularly keen on playing it either so fair chance not going to see it depending on series score.
pannu (BH/GG/PiC/STAB) vs. Icemaster (AAA/MnM)
pannu is just way more involved than Icemaster and afaik has way better support on top of the metagame familiarities. However I'm giving AAA and MnM to Icemaster because pannu is actually horrible at AAA from what I've watched and Ice mains MnM while idt pannu is particularly strong there. Granted the atrocities I've watched pannu AAA might also be present in the other metas.
BH - pannu had a great showing in HPL, has demonstrated considerable interest and understanding in the tier, while Icemaster has not touched the meta recently at all and afaik does not like it or is familiar enough with it. Should be a very comfortable tier for pannu and highly likely to be picked if not first picked even.
Evie (AAA/PiC) vs. TTTech (BH/GG/MnM/STAB)
I think overall experience TTTech edges out on more metas. However, Evie should theoretically start off 1-0 and there is no matching meta for TTTech, and while TTTech is solid in every meta I don't think he is like exceptional so there are plenty of chances.
BH - No one knows what TTTech is up to these days after the difference in performance between HPL and WC. His style still has barely changed though so its very easy to potentially ct and get a good matchup and from what I know he probably is going to give more effort to the other metas. Very likely to get played as the 2nd game I think as TTTech will obviously pick it if he loses G1, even though idt the advantage is thaaat big.
1. Sammy v 16. Les2bg
this dude was one of the most expensive picks in ompl, and so imagine what i was thinking since i was mostly lurking. i've had the pleasure of
watching sammy play a few games since then - i don't think he's my any means a monolith, nor do i think he's super dominant, but i think he's got a good shot in longer series. when he's off he's off, but when he's on he's ON. les2bg is a good player (judging by the people in this tour, you have to be good to be in the top 16) and i wouldnt be surprised to see this taken to game 4 or game 5, but between meta expertise and a higher ceiling, i feel like sammy will be taking this.
tiers to watch: gg, stab
2. Ivar v 15. Betticus
this is a super interesting one. i'll go on a tangent here (it's relevant i swear) and say i don't really believe in the concept of a "best" player in developed playerbases. i think past a certain point, it really comes down to matchup and how two opponents play into one another and how that metagame rewards certain playstyles. i think ivar used to be at that point - i'm not sure where he is now, but i'd wager he's still near there. he chokes sometimes for sure, anyone does, but in general he'll be a more consistent opp. i think he's really good at recognizing midgrounds. betticus i find to be a player who either takes a ton of risks or doesn't take risks at all, and i think that sort of playing works well against more reactive opponents, but vs ivar who tends to play in a fairly telegraphed way (depending on matchup and tier, though - he's capable of taking risks) i think betticus will have a rougher time. this really could go either way, though, and i wouldn't be surprised if betticus took this. this isn't getting finished in 3 games, though - both of these players are fire.
tiers to watch: bh, really only bh
3. Rofna v 14. damflame
the only time ive ever played rofna was for a swiss tour that i joined for fun or something and i won that but im pretty sure this guy tilted the hell out of me. damflame has also tilted the hell out of me multiple times when i've played them. these two people are annoying as hell to play against but are actually super nice people to talk to, let's not get it twisted. anyway so here's the thing - damflame is an insane bh player sometimes, but other times he's sorta low end, and that's the only tier i'd give him a huge advantage in. i think he's gonna be able to take mnm too and maybe pic, but those are a lot of maybes against someone id consider a great player. is it in the cards? yeah, but is it likely? rofna has first pick, so i think damflame's chances are sorta worse. that being said - never count a french player out, their community is one of the most tight knit and supportive communities i've ever had the pleasure of coming across and rofna might be in for a doozie when he's prepping for this.
tiers to watch: mnm, bh, stab
4. QT v 13. Abriel
abriel's a player i'm super high on - she's done incredibly in officials and she's no slouch in oms either. i think she could very easily be the next stresh, although she's got a ways to go. qt's an incredible builder and i love to see them play, though. i'm not sure how much abriel builds and how much support she'll have and i don't really think she's up to date across every meta - i think she's super well versed in like, any assortment of mnm aaa bh stab maybe, but qt's good at those too and i know for a fact their knowledge is at least as current if not more. i feel like bh and stab reward prep more - stab rn feels sorta matchup-ey when you really REALLY boil it down, although if there's a bad matchup, abriel's def the person i'd want to go into that. bh is just longer, so there's a lot less potential for a few plays to shake up the battle - but it's possible. i've done it. i just think that it's harder here bc qt's been pretty good at bh since forever and they're no slouch when it comes to playing either. in the other tiers including pic and gg, i'd probably pick abriel, but realistically i think pic gets skipped here (if i were abriel i'd skip the tier between bh mnm aaa and stab that i'm least confident in but qt's got first pick so idk how likely it is for her to wanna force pic). def an interesting series and probably the one i'm most hyped for.
tiers to watch: all of them
5. Ghostliike v 12. FC
ooo ok this is exciting. so ghostlike's a super good player - i know for a fact he's good, and i know that a bunch of you guys should really be rating him higher bc when his skills are on he's like a fucking train. that being said, i think that means squat when going against fc. dude only builds stab sometimes, and he probably got into playoffs on his ability to play alone. i wouldn't bet against fc here at all - against any other opp i'd probably predict ghostlike to win bc he's seriously good and i love his aaa squads and his play in stab/gg, but these are all tiers fc's gonna be good in as well. i think bh or pic gets skipped here bc i know fc hates bh with a passion despite getting to semis here, but now that i said that ghostlike might pick bh early to tilt fc. totally not saying that so ghostlike picks bh first game and fc dms me mad as fuck because i set him up for this
tiers to watch: stab, gg, aaa, bh
6. Clas v 11. Kinetic
if i were kinetic here, i truly wouldn't really care about prepping - you don't know what clas is gonna bring because even he doesn't know what he's gonna bring. read a book. watch a movie. start another hobby. learn to make bread. do literally anything else. gameplay wise, clas is bought and drafted often for a reason, and he's definitely good. he's the 6th seed for a reason. but i just don't think there's any tiers he has the edge in and he has a tendency to get frazzled sometimes. i do think that at his peak, clas could win this and if he's consistent enough i'd even give it to him in 3 games, but his mental is too inconsistent for me to bold him and the earlier he gets tilted, the more damaging it'll be for him in this series. i have no issue writing this out on a public forum as this is something he's aware of too and i know he's working on it, so i'm writing this with hopes that he'll be able to stay level headed and treat this series the way it should be treated so it's a good experience for him, kinetic (who i know is probably looking forward to this series too) and spectators. idk if clas plays pic - i think i saw him play either that, doubles, or vgc at some point - so if that's true then that's the tier i'd start with from his pov, but who knows!
tiers to watch: bh, aaa, stab, mnm, gg
7. Pannu v 10. Icemaster
as much as i love to shit on pannu, i do think they're a good player overall and they have the knowledge in most oms to supplement that. i'd easily bold icemaster against anyone else in the pool barring fc (and i'd bold the vs there) and abriel, but icemaster's typically colossal playing advantage isn't that big here because pannu knows her way around a game too. icemaster's probably got mnm on lock, and pannu doesn't like stab so i'd give that to ice too esp with fc's support, but the rest i'd toss in pannu's favor. i'll be surprised if this doesn't take 5 games with pic being the skip - fully expecting them to trade even. the turning point, if it exists, will be gg (or like, super unlikely but aaa could be a turning point too). neither of those are largely in pannu's favor and his edge in gg is very marginal imo, but it's there. i will say that pannu also plays like an anime side character with way too much to prove sometimes and that could work against them, but i'm choosing to believe. either way - this'll be a super good series.
games to watch: stab, aaa, gg
8. Evie v 9. TTTech
so evie's picking pic first for sure and she's incredible at that. in terms of other metas... i'm less sure how this'll go because i haven't really watched evie play singles. i will say that the bh game is gonna be more interesting than you'd expect, though - you'd think tttech would wash here, but the truth is that there's no opponent scarier to load into in bh than one who hasn't really played the tier before. couple that with tech's traditionally defensive playstyle - i don't mean teamwise, btw - and evie's gonna have a lot of opportuniteis to just randomly break holes in his team. i expect that to happen and also expect evie to lose all her momentum afterwards to some overprediction. it's gonna be funny as hell. other tiers wise... i think evie has the edge, weirdly, but it's not a huge edge at all. it mainly comes from her having wokecord to support her + me favoring her playstyle more. either way i expect this to be an entertaining series to watch, but idk how it'll go LMAO
If you need help building a BH team, message me and I will give you one. I will scout and prepare a team/help build for you to the best of my ability. If I give you a team, you are also free to not use it.
