Tournament Battle Spot Premier League IV - Commishment Thread

I guess I should put my 2 cents regarding the discussion points being the host and all:

I think manager prices could be like 10k + 2k or 1.5k per win in BSPL III. That might alleviate the manager strength differences that would come with a static price tag.

Not really a fan of retains.

Everything else can stay the same as last year I think.
Nice so drafting myself would cost like 0k. I'd love that

Jokes apart, it could be fun to make a pre-bspl part where the community rates managers, putting them in different tiers. The price would be determinated by those tiers, like Tier C 10k, Tier B 15k, Tier A 20k.

Speaking of the setup, i like TP's idea:

USUM BSS-1
USUM BSS-2
ORAS BSS-3
USUM BSD
GBU (<- remove it for another bsd slot)
Multi-Gen BO3

although i do think that 2 doubles slots are somehow necessary, we do need some fresh air and that multi-gen could work. If it were for me, id remove GBU, but you all seem to love that tier -_-
 
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DragonWhale

It's not a misplay, it's RNG manipulation
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This is like the fourth time someone is suggesting both Allgens and GBU simultaneously despite me talking about why that isn't going to be sustainable on discord multiple times, so let me post it here so that everyone can be on the same page:

Allgens and GBU will not be happening simultaneously. If we decide to include Allgens it will be replacing GBU.
 
I'm really feeling the hype. As every year it's going to be great to compete with such strong players, and of course friends.

It's nice to finally see the Iki Inkays become a thing!
A special shootout goes to my long time mate greilmercenary9 : you're going to be a great manager i'm 100% sure of it! Anyway i can't let you win this. This time farseers will take the gold medal!

Also, thanks DW for the wonderful work

Good luck everyone! And may it be a great BSPL!
 
Inkays random draft highlights from Battlespot room saved for posterity:




Misclick (shoutouts to Ullar):


[13:51:14] +Darkinium: .245 lmao
[13:51:29] *moodE: BSPL DRAFT HAPPENING HERE: https://play.pokemonshowdown.com/groupchat-battlespot-bspl4draft
[13:51:46] +The Squash: gonna break the whole bspl economy with that kind of money
[13:52:24] bobochan: .245
[13:52:27] bobochan: the biggest misclick
[13:52:30] bobochan: in the history of BSPL

BoboRIP:

[13:53:10] MisterGX: yay! Guess I'm an Inkay now
[13:53:15] Lego: mew mew
[13:53:40] +RajShoot ♫ ❤♥: nice
[13:55:29] +RajShoot ♫ ❤♥: BOBO
[13:55:31] Lego: damn bobo coming out late
[13:55:40] bobochan: oml
[13:55:49] +RajShoot ♫ ❤♥: inkay
[13:55:50] +Fischgrat: oml
[13:55:53] bobochan: INKAY
[13:55:55] Lego: goatchan a steal for 4.5
[13:55:56] bobochan: f
[13:55:56] +RajShoot ♫ ❤♥: inkaychan
[13:56:00] bobochan: invite me to inkay discord
[13:56:07] Lego: \f
[13:56:07] *moodE: Lego paid their respects.
[13:56:08] +The Squash: \underpay
[13:56:13] bobochan: \f
[13:56:13] *moodE: bobochan paid their respects.

....

[13:56:54] *moodE: bobochan: 4.5k
[13:56:54] *moodE: OVERPAY!!
[13:57:16] Lego: <3
[13:58:04] Ika Ika Musume: press f more times
[13:58:05] Ika Ika Musume: for bobo
[13:58:16] +Fischgrat: \f
[13:58:17] *moodE: Fischgrat paid their respects.
[13:58:36] +The Squash: \f
[13:58:36] *moodE: The Squash paid their respects.
[13:59:01] bobochan: ty all

3k -> 10k on 1tp:

[14:19:42] 1_TrickPhony: mish
[14:19:46] +Fischgrat: mish
[14:19:47] +RajShoot ♫ ❤♥: ika playing hard ball
[14:20:05] 1_TrickPhony: ultra mish
[14:20:08] +Darkinium: \f
[14:20:08] *moodE: Darkinium paid their respects.
[14:20:10] +Darkinium: haha
[14:20:11] +Fischgrat: gg.
 

marilli

With you
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Championis a Former Other Tournament Circuit Champion
BSPL4 Official Manager Power Rankings




My personal commentary:
  1. Coming in first place is Greilmercenary9's Lumiose Luxrays. Thanks to Greil getting to draft himself for 10k, he has managed to round up a great starting roster. While some might question marilli's 22k price tag, Greil has managed to get highly esteemed VGC player EmbCPT and strong GBU starter Megazard for a bargain. Plas is also a strong BSS starter in the USM slot. Sunrose is a solid doubles sub that covers EmbCPT's VGC leave and potentially allows marilli to rotate into Singles. Moose and Goose and MAMP round out the team's singles depth in across GBU and USUM, and should get plenty of chances thoughout the season.

    The roster is very strong which only really leaves small room to nitpick. A question one could ask, is who would be the 6th starter - which does not exactly seem to be set in stone at the moment. However, they will have plenty of time to experiment.

  2. NOVED's Rustboro Rocky Helmet comes second place. They started off the draft with the classic Demantoid and Mishimono core. Both are likely to play Doubles with their experience, but just as easily could start in Singles as well, giving the team a lot of flexibility. NOVED and Pearl are the old gens starters with excellent track record. Raj.Shoot and Monsareeasy should get plenty of chances in the USUM BSS slot, while eiwug would be great if he can stay active. And in the worst case scenario if none of them pans out, there's always the option to rotate one of their doubles starters to Singles, and start Lightscreener in the doubles slot instead.

    The roster's main question would be the USUM BSS Starters, and it is apparent from the manager's individual rankings with high variance. The people who think highly of monsareeasy and Raj.Shoot's potential to fill in the shoes of a full-time USUM BSS starter, were high on the team. On the other hand, those who were not quite convinced, tended to rank the team fairly low. It will be fair to say Monsareeasy and Raj.Shoot exceeding their expectations could turn this team into the repeat Champions.

  3. Charlotte has an amazing track record in ORAS BSD with an insane winrate. 11oyd is one of the community's stronger cartridge ladder players, Darkinium has been on fire in GBU, and Cynara has been playing well in ORAS in past BSPL. Together, they cover every generation's singles slots. Memoric, though he may prefer ORAS BSD, is a fine doubles player. The Japanese player youmupoke for 4.5K is an unbelievable bargain. martha and mikaav round out the bench but their starting lineup is already so strong there's little depth needed.

    I don't think there's a real weakness of the Drummers on paper. Their only real weakness might be their lacking depth. It may not really come into relevance this whole tour, but if anyone on their team struggles or sidelined for activity reasons, the team as a whole could underperform.

  4. Iki Inkays managed to draft an extremely well-rounded team with a strong Doubles focus. Puff Killa with his Fall Seasonals and BSLT win under his belt, will be their main USUM Starter along with 1_TrickPhony. This team has some great depth in Doubles, with PinkSylvie, Mr.GX, Legasey, and kaori. kaori will likely start in GBU as a result. The Squash / Misaka Mikoto / bobochan round out the team's bench and ORAS starting slot.

    The main strength of the team has to be the Doubles depth. They have 4 doubles players who would be perfect starters. I suppose the downside of the team will be that it is impossible to field all of their strong doubles players every week due to there only being 2 doubles slots in the tournament. ORAS BSS is arguably also one of their weaker slots, but they will have time to experiment.

  5. Castelia Cavaliers managed by can't say picked up chemcoop at 28k, but managed to draft a well-rounded roster to complement him. ck49 put up a good record in last year's BSPL. Both ankle1 and Japanese hzhz are flexible players capable of playing both singles and doubles. can't say is likely to start in ORAS for himself. Finally, floristthebudew and TheLoanRanger are competent doubles players for the team. On the bench, GroudonEmpire and average fella and round out the team. GE seems to be an activity risk posting he will not be available until the later weeks, but for 4.5K that kind of risk is worth taking.

    Chemcoop and can't say will try to lead this team into playoffs, but the question of who will be the GBU Starter is inevitable. Average Fella has plenty of GBU games under his belt in BSPL setting, but unfortunately has not put up a good record thus far. If someone can step up for the team in the GBU slot, it will be a big help for the Cavaliers.

  6. It's hard to believe Anistar Farseers is ranked last despite their strong players. Solerme managed to pick up zaaya, Jmal98, and Lego earlier in the draft for large sums. zaaya has been on fire winning the BSS Open with his innovative teams, and Jmal98 just managed to be the BSS Classic finalist. Together, they will undoubtedly form the cornerstone of the team. BK is a known Italian tours player and umbreon098 is a token solerme Italian pick that plays good Doubles. He managed to pick up both at bargain price. Havens and Broken Phobias round out the team, which provide the team with singles and doubles support flexibility.

    It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what made the Farseers be ranked last. They have a solid doubles player in zaaya, strong bss players in jmal98 and zaaya, and old-gen options in Bro Kappa, and rest of the team are capable of racking up wins. Perhaps it was zaaya's wild teambuilding and other uncertainties that put off managers going high on the Farseers? Whatever the reason is, the Farseers find themselves as the BSPL underdog, which isn't a bad thing considering how strong their roster is.
I ignored managers ranking their own team for obvious reasons. Every manager who ranked their own team, ranked themselves first or second. Cheers and good luck to everyone in bspl!
 
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BP

Beers and Steers
is a Contributor to Smogon
Yo lets be real here the Anistar farseers do have an absolutely stacked roster and there's no denying it either. When I entered the discord the first person I saw was Jmal98 and I instantly nutted because I knew that we were the shit.
Psiana-Sprite aus Pokémon Conquest

Get in line losers, Espeon's are bringing it home this year!

EDIT: as a 4K bid I def have the authority to make this post
 

cant say

twitch.tv/jakecantsay
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hung out with Ika Ika Musume greilmercenary9 Puff Killa and Lego to talk about greil’s game vs youmupoke, watch chemcoop get destroyed by hax (and potentially knock us out of playoffs), and look at the playoff picture going into the final week. Greil put in a lot of work for us to explain all the potential outcomes and what the top 3 might look like so definitely check that out (it’s time stamped in the description)
 
I very much enjoyed being on the podcast and it was definitely an entertaining one that's worth a watch. Since I've seen the title I want to just mention something that I didn't really talk about too much in the actual chat about that Chemcoop game which I wanted to make sure was said because I didn't really articulate it properly at the time and I think the perception that was given was that Chemcoop was robbed blind and the Cavaliers deserved to lose 2-4 in differential instead of 1-5 which is unfair and kind of discredits 1TPs play during the set. I hadn't really analysed the game and gone into calcs at the time of the podcast so I said some things that were wrong. I also had to defend my boy despite this post probably being a dumb idea that will annoy people, even tho I like the Cavs a lot. I understand due to the timing and it being the only out, it was heartbreaking to watch but 1TP was likely to win anyways instead of the set being remembered for that hax. Allow me to explain this properly.

What happened at the end of game 3 sucked and was at the most tragic of timings, however it only transpired because of an earlier situation where Chemcoops Charizard Y crit a Fire Blast onto Tapu Lele outside of Sun. If Chemcoop does not critical that fire blast, then he is more likely to lose the game since he doesn't have the damage to KO lele with Fire Blast outside of the Sun into Electrium-Z from Thundurus-T and has to win a bunch of 50/50s on top of that. We know the Charizard Y is bulky from it living Fake Out into Return, you can see the damage consistent with the very bulky Charizard Y spread, probably either 156hp/132def or 252hp/100def for taking certain rock moves such as rock tomb from Landorus-T.

252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Fake Out vs. 156 HP / 132 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 37-45 (21.3 - 26%) -- 1.3% chance to 4HKO
252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Return vs. 156 HP / 132 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 94-112 (54.3 - 64.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Fake Out vs. 252 HP / 100 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 39-46 (21 - 24.8%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
252 Atk Lopunny-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 100 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 99-117 (53.5 - 63.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Lopunny used Fake Out!
(The opposing Charizard lost 20.9–22.9% of its health!)

Lopunny used Return!
(The opposing Charizard lost 60.5–64.5% of its health!)

It is hard to tell if it is less bulky or more bulky spread, but these damage calcs are consistent with either of these spreads, the ice punch damage from Lopunny in Game 1 seems to suggest it is 156/132def. This is irrelevant anyways, most bulky Charizard Ys run the same special attack investment which is 100 special attack modest. You don't really have enough EVs to go any stronger than that, though you could theoretically be weaker. This is important because we can calculate the damage onto 1TP's Tapu Lele.

100+ SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. 196 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele on a critical hit: 145-172 (85.2 - 101.1%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

The opposing Charizard used Fire Blast!
A critical hit!
(Tapu Lele lost 89.7–91.7% of its health!)

As we can see from this calc, Chemcoop got a low roll crit. Incidentally, he could not have gotten this roll with 252 modest because the min roll on a crit is 94.7% So essentially we can extrapolate from here what would have happened if Chemcoop had not gotten that crit. I'm going to also assume btw that this is a max max timid Thund-T. This is not only kinder to chemcoop in the damage calcs, but also I don't believe he would have switched out of Thund-T vs. Greninja otherwise since Ice Beam doesn't KO bulky Thund-T.

100+ SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Fire Blast vs. +1 196 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 66-78 (38.8 - 45.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Thunderbolt vs. +1 196 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 51-60 (30 - 35.2%) -- 13.8% chance to 3HKO
252 SpA Thundurus-Therian Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. +1 196 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 96-114 (56.4 - 67%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

First few things to note:

1. Fire Blast into Tbolt does not KO. Fire Blast into Gigavolt Havoc has a chance to KO. Given the low roll that Chemcoop got with Fire Blast, if he got that non-crit roll, Fire Blast would have done around 40.5%, which means chemcoop would have about a 65-70% chance to KO assuming he got a higher roll.
2. If Chemcoop Clicks Elec-Z as 1TP goes into Greninja, it brings Greninja down to sash, Greninja uses Icebeam until it is KOed. Assuming Thund-T is max max, Greninja guaranteed KOs Thund-T so you have to switch it out. Then Tapu Lele calm minds once and wins the game guaranteed.
3. If Chemcoop clicks Tbolt into Tapu lele, it KOs Thund-T with Psychic and then Porygon2 with Fightinium-Z winning the game.
4. All of this assumes that Chemcoop hits Fire Blast, which further lowers the odds.

Chemcoop can only win by getting multiple 5050s right. Even assuming he gets that predict right, then he has to either get the roll on Lele with Thund Elec-Z or make further predicts if he tbolts the gren since lele can still double into Porygon2 and then has to get a bunch of plays right where Lele can essentially CM on Porygon2 for free or throw off the Fightinium-Z. Even if the correct play is made there, then Chemcoop still has a decent chance not to get the roll on Gigavolt Havoc again. Chemcoop can definitely do this, he showed in game 1 and throughout his career he has a good grasp on making reads and winning 50/50s, but 1TP is definitely at the advantage if this game was played with Crits and Freezes off.

I didn't want to be harsh here because I thought it was a very interesting set to watch but also wanted to clarify a few things because I think its a shame that 1TPs play is being overshadowed by a freeze.
 
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cant say

twitch.tv/jakecantsay
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Little late at this point but I wanted to shoutout my team real quick. I'm super proud of how everyone did this season, to get third in a BSPL this stacked is something to be proud of imho. It does hurt to miss out on first seed by differential and then get bopped in semis, but going down to this Luxrays team is nothing to be ashamed of.

This may have been my last BSPL as a manager. I think I did everything I could as a manager to help my team succeed (because let's face it 90% of managing is putting together a successful draft, the rest of the season almost runs itself), but I've been less and less active in my team's chat each season due to my awkward af timezone and increased work commitments, and if I'm managing I want to be around for as much teambuilding and cheerleading as possible, and it's hard to say how much time I'll have available next BSPL. I might not even be here at all! :psycry:


anyway that brings me to the first shoutout. spending 28k on chemcoop to assman was 100% worth it. he also played pretty good I guess. it was awesome being able to work with him in this tournament, even though I was able to execute my initial draft plan almost flawlessly, having him right from the start to assist with that along the way - as well as bounce ideas for weekly lineups off him - was super valuable. The guys in the team probably thought at some point that he was the actual manager instead of me! If you guys think the Luxrays team is sick, you better hope chemcoop doesn't decide to manage a future PL.


average fella GroudonEmpire hzhz my singles guys were so fun to work with. They all put in a tonne of work for their games, and were still enthusiastic when they were rotated to the bench. The whole singles teambuilding vibe was really enjoyable. As much of a meme as it was, I definitely got my moneys worth with GE lol. I regret not playing fella more :( I probably should have rotated myself out, but you kept putting in work for us.

ck49 FloristtheBudew TheLoanRanger I've been historically bad at drafting doubles players so you were all high priority for me this season and you didn't disappoint. ck had an unfortunate run but it didn't worry him. florist was a great presence and stepped up when we needed him. biggest shoutouts to TLR for being a 4-0 regular season goat and overall cool guy.

ankle1snowfan I'm sorry we didn't get to use you more, but the work you put in for your series was impressive. hope I can get you again for some more game time in a future PL.



Regardless of what the future holds for the Cavs, I'm proud we were able to put together a solid season this year!
 


The Inkays, like a lot of great things do, started off as a meme by a dude who spends his days hanging out in the Battle Spot room on Showdown. Memes probably should not become reality, but far too often they end up happening and beautiful things do happen. I’ve never gotten to a finals, I’ve never gotten to a semi finals or a quarter finals. So when it happens that I, or a team that I am in, gets far, I am not entirely sure what to say. The Inkays had the biggest burden of any team in the league, me, and yet you guys were so good that you managed to get a team that was crippled so much from even before the draft phase into Finals and nearly winning the whole thing. The games didn't go our way, but that's how it goes sometimes. You showed through play that I had no place being on your team and got places where I don’t think anyone believed at the start of the season we would get to even when there were very strong teams were against us. I hope you all had a great time this BSPL and it was a pleasure working with you..

Individuals shoutouts in no particular order (Alphabetical):

1_TrickPhony:

I’ve been saying it for a long time that people sleep on you and you are one of the best USUM BSS players in the community. This year, you were certainly the best second slot in the league. You gave me the confidence to not really have to worry about mindgames with USUM BSS slots because I knew you had a decent chance of winning against any 1st slot you were put up against anyways with your strong prep and play. The stronger the challenge, the stronger you are. I know you want to manage next year and I am sure you will reach heights I never could.

Bobochan:

Goatchan the great, smiter of trolls, winner of BSPLs, ultimate benchwarmer, Saitama and many more titles that I forget. I was hoping to get the 3k core (Bobo, Ika and NG) back together but was unable to at the last minute. Fortunately, no other team had the intelligence of picking up NG, the only Bobo counter so you were unstoppable. I know you ended up going 0-1 this BSPL and I was really sad that I couldn’t play you once more so you could get a win. The ultimate training partner, friendlies opponent, morale support and general all round great chat presence.

Kaori:

My former manager and GBU phenom. An unseen part of why the Inkays turned out so well was because I came to you before the draft for advice. Even though you did not have to, you took time out of your day to tell me who was good at doubles when I had no clue. You built all of our GBU teams and they worked great on stage where we only lost in GBU due to bad luck all the way until finals. I know if you had decent luck, you would have gone undefeated but that is the game we play. A lot of what I put into the Inkays, I learned last BSPL so I thank you for that also.

Legasey:

Funny story, when I was writing my draft plan, I originally thought you were someone completely different which was why I picked you up for 3k. I’m all for low risk high reward plays and yes you ended up going 0-2 but I think you definitely deserved to beat Mishiimono but just got very haxed. You showed the league some really cool and interesting teams and were a sound dude and I hope that you can keep on that path and continue to be part of the community.

Misaka Mikoto:

I know that originally you wanted to be on the Farseers and I ended up ruining that when I didn’t let SoLerme have you. At the beginning of the season, I said that you would become our ORAS starter if you proved yourself and at the end of the regular season you were 4-1 and the only player that played all 5 weeks. Needless to say, you broke everyones expectations and made our ORAS a strength instead of a weaknesss. Ignore those who said you got lucky, they do not know the work you put in and that you fully deserve the record you got. Keep on railgunning :)

Mr.GX:

Tuturu~ :P All hail Mr.GX, creator of the Cat (and birb) room, spoiler of mangas and user of the majestic beast that is Suicune. Mew Mew and cat memes aside, you played great the entire BSPL and made all of your opponents look free even when you had difficult matchups to play. Even though you went 4-0 last year, to come this year and repeat that but even better is really impressive and I’m happy I picked you up for really cheap. Even used your suicune a few times. Still unsure how I got you for only 7k, but that will have to be one of BSPLs many mysteries.

PinkSylvie:

Pinku, you were one of the two people I didn’t know at all before I drafted you so I was not sure what to expect other than you having a great record last year. Your knowledge of doubles is really really good and it impressed me within the first few days of the season and you were always willing to share and help others out. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t get a better record and were busy W2 and W5 so you couldn’t play more, but that is sometimes the way pokemon works. Also you have quite the collection of cute birbs, it was good getting to know you.

Puff Killa:

Puff, you were my first choice for USUM BSS slot 1 and I am so glad that I managed to get you rather than having to settle for someone else. Your skill pretty much showed through every series you played, even against the toughest opponents in the scene. I knew that whoever you played, even if it was Chem or Greil, you had a very good chance of winning, you’ve gotten so far as a player since I started in BSS and are that good and willing to put in the work. I know that you will go to further heights, like winning invitationals this year if you want and I’ll cheer for you.

The Squash:

Last but not least, moose and goose. Last year you won a pivotal set vs. Chemcoop for the Helmets. This year, you won the hardest set of our final week vs. Darkinium which allowed us to secure 1st place. Even though your record wasn’t perfect, which was a large part my fault for putting you in last minute vs. MZ, you are clutch when it counts. I'm happy that you put work behind the scenes to help our guys out even if you weren’t playing every week. Im sorry as well I could not play you more either, we needed you in finals :(.
 
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1_TrickPhony

BSS Circuit Co-host
Shoutout to my manager, Ika Ika Musume

I came into this community just about 1 year ago, and quickly found myself feeling pretty isolated. I had my tutor, Solerme, who is a really great person overall, but since he started getting busier with real life and getting less active, I didn't really have anyone to lean on. In stepped Ika, Solerme's other tutee, and he has been one of my closest friends/training partners ever since I first played him with my level 2 probopass against his mono-flying team. I don't think I'd still be playing pokemon still if it weren't for him, he has been a constant friendly voice in the battle spot room and is always willing to help the little guy: a trait truly unique to him. I thank him so much for giving me the opportunities to get revenge on chemcoop and finally getting a set vs my idol (turned rival), Greil.

Its quite fitting that in the end, our squad became such a close knit group, with him giving everyone chances to try their hand at games and making every player we had feel valued. No one player on our squad felt more important than another, it was a fully team based effort with each of us having each others backs. Thats the kind of environment Ika fostered.

Ika has overcome a lot to become a manager of BSPL (insert unwarranted drama here). He overcame even more to become the runner up this year, with being the only manager arguably not worth the 10k price tag while every other manager got free value from drafting themselves for an absolute steal. But we were able to get inches away from glory thanks to the galaxy brain of his, through his careful drafting, teambuilding help, and scouting reports he worked very hard on. The intangibles he brings cannot be understated enough, and given a fair playing field, I'm certain Ika would have been able to lift that BSPL trophy, he's that damn smart.

Figured I'd also make a quick shoutout to my team, the Inkays.
I loved practicing with all of you: I had the chance to play multiple sets with all of y'all and it was a blast. I learned so much about doubles and old gens from sparing, and while my goal was to help you all prep, I really appreciate how you guys and gals helped me grow as a well rounded player alongside that prep. Unfortunately, I'm certain most of us won't be back together because we were THAT good, and no way we can get steals like GX and Misaka next year in the allotted budget. But I want you all to know you have a special place in my heart, and will be absolutely welcome next year as a drafted/honorary Pony, when I go to manage next year.

See you all next year for BSPL V, and lets fucking go Inkays!
 
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193110


Wow! I’m still not sure it has sunk in that the Luxrays are the BSPL4 champions! I am really proud of the team overall through the entire process, from the draft, to fighting through all sorts of in-season adversity, especially IRL, to managing to fight our way through a very tough playoffs to win the title. I think it is fitting that we both managed to turn the tables one of our our regular season losses in Semis against the Cavaliers and then come back from 2-1 down in the Finals even when some of our best players didn’t win this week. This has been a wild, humbling ride, and in my opinion this was the closest fought BSPL to date, but I’m ecstatic that we managed to claim the title!

Now for some shoutouts:

I will get to my own team in a moment, but the first shoutout goes to Solerme. Without him the Luxrays woudn’t have existed. But despite us both wanting another chance to play together, I felt like this was the ideal time to try managing with a couple of regulars not able to manage this year, and you were incredibly supportive of my decision. Your prep help and encouragement vs Chemcoop in Semifinals was also a vital moment of the tour for me personally and maybe even for our team in general. Thanks for everything man! Consider this like a Farseers title by proxy.

The first shoutout for my team goes to marilli. In prepping for the draft I had targeted you as my top pick due to your incredible knowledge, versatility, and work ethic, and I was thrilled to get you at 22k. Whether or not that was better pure money value than some of the other top picks, your skill set worked perfectly with mine; you were able to provide immense knowledge in Doubles where I’m not as helpful, while also still being someone who could help with Singles teambuilding and knowledge as well. Your experience with managing minutia was also incredibly helpful to a new manager like myself, and you were capable of stepping up in my stead when I had major IRL problems in Weeks 2-3 in particular. Also, someone to talk Fire Emblem with is a great bonus! LOL

Next up is EmbCPT. When prepping for the draft I had to do extra scouting and investigating for Doubles since I didn’t know as much about BSD players as I do about the BSS scene. But once your sign up post was live, all my discussions with BSD players came back to: edu is insanely, insanely good. So when I got you in the draft for 17.5k, I was stoked. But it still blows my mind that I had a World Top 16 finisher to help lead the charge in Doubles. Your skill level is just insane. And I think even given all that that your overall mons knowledge might still be underrated. Your prep help for my Week 4 BSS game vs youmu was incredibly valuable, especially since I was coming off a couple of rough IRL weeks and a loss in my previous set, and you were an incredible teammate. Now we just need that Edu vs Wolfe VGC Worlds Finals that I was desperately hoping for to go live next year!

Megazard You’re the original GBU GOAT and you proved in this BSPL that you’re still on top of the GBU scene when RNG doesn’t deal you a bad hand. You’re an incredibly knowledgeable and reliable mons player--a slot that most weeks I could fire and forget on in GBU with expectation of general good results. You also were willing to branch out when the team needed you to, playing ORAS one week despite being on a hot streak in GBU, and while that didn’t go as well as we hoped, I really appreciate your willingness to move around when the team needed you to. I’m also glad we got you the extra games so that you could move up to tied with Charlotte for leader in all-time BSPL wins!

Moose And Goose you were an excellent teammate despite that I know you weren’t really always playing your preferred format. But despite having a little bit of a rocky record overall, you never failed to come up big when the team needed you most. Where ORAS titans like Pearl failed, you succeeded, being the ultimate Misaka/railgun gif slayer! And your set in the Finals might have been the most critical for us, turning the tide and giving Megazard and Plas the chance to finish things off.

MAMP I know you didn’t get to play much, but your willingness to be able to step in at a moment’s notice when IRL caused the team problems was critically important even in the instances where you didn’t have to ultimately fill in. While the overall record ended up not being great, you were still an important part of the team and the chat and I appreciate your presence.

Sunrose When I was scouting before the draft and you sent me your resume, at first I wasn’t sure what to think. But even before the draft Marilli vouched for you pretty vociferously, and that convinced me to take a chance on you at 3k. And while you didn’t get to play much (which was especially annoying in Week 5 when I was desperately trying to get you in but the results were not cooperating), you were every bit the team morale support, chat presence, and incredibly positive attitude that our team desperately needed in this BSPL: our team’s answer to Bobochan. Perhaps as a reflection on me, we probably weren’t the most talkative team, but whenever we needed a chat presence to step up or someone to spar with to test teams, you were there, and your positive attitude was infectious, even with all the crazy IRL stuff that happened this BSPL. You’re an amazing teammate and I hope enjoy playing BSS in Masters as well. Future managers take note: Sunrose absolutely belongs in the Bobochan tier of elite team support even when he isn’t fielded every week.

Plas I saved Plas for last since he’s essentially our closer. I had targeted you before the draft as an elite option in the second BSS slot who has shown repeatedly that you could take on elite players and win as well, but I was hesitant to count on drafting you since I figured Noved would have a big number saved up for you. But when Noved spent most of his remaining money on Pearl, my eyes went wide because I was pretty sure I’d be able to draft you. You’re like the Cris Carter of BSPL: if Cris Carter was known for “all he does is catch touchdowns”, then your mantra can be “all he does is win BSPLs”. It’s not a coincidence that you’ve been on the winning team three times in a row either: each time you’ve provided elite value for a fairly low price, and this despite joining the 10+ wins in BSPL club this year and constantly playing against very strong competition. Even last year I was telling Noved how your advanced stats showed that you were playing at an elite level even though you lost twice (sorry about that!), and you proved that again this year. Since the team that drafts you in BSPL5 is almost guaranteed to win, I expect an impressive bidding war that rivals the prices that Jmal and I went for last year!

You guys were the best team a manager could ask for, and I appreciate all of you being patient with me given how absentee I was at times in the middle of the season given IRL stuff. :)

Now for a few more shoutouts to others:

First I want to thank everyone who was willing to lend an ear about my IRL issues this BSPL, most especially cant say, Puff Killa, and 11oyd. I appreciate your support beyond mons more than I can adequately express in writing here. Thank you! I’m rooting for cant say and 11oyd to rise up the ladder a bit more before the end of the season tomorrow too!

NOVED I appreciate all of your support especially when I was deciding whether or not to manage. While we didn’t get to work as much in concert as last year on draft prep since we were both managing, it’s always fun when we get a chance to talk, whether that be about mons, sports, or whatever else.

chemcoop My fellow All-Star Manager! It was incredible to get to play you twice in this BSPL, and true to form… we split the sets. That always seems to happen (and they go the max # of games too)! I also appreciate your willingness to discuss team ideas when we weren’t directly playing each other. Also, you got the real prize at the end: you’re definitely better at training your Dewgongs for Dewgong Cup than I am! LOL

DragonWhale The real MVP: without you we wouldn’t have BSPL. Thanks again for being an amazing host!

Also shoutout to Givrix for the awesome logo! Thank you so much!

Also I want to shoutout to all of the other managers in general for having the most closely contested BSPL to date IMO. To win this one was especially gratifying because of how close the teams were. I also want to give congratulations to the other playoff teams on having a fantastic season: the Cavaliers and the Inkays were both formidable opponents and I feel fortunate that we came out on top. Particular congratulations goes to Ika Ika Musume, my fellow first time manager, for showing that we could both keep up with the rest of the pack with the proper support, as well as an amazing season that could’ve easily ended in an Inkays championship with very minor differences in how the Finals series went.

I hope that everyone else had a great time this BSPL as well, and hopefully next year’s version will be just as exciting!
 
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bobochan

slow mo my bobo
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Ika Ika Musume
First and foremost I would like to take this opportunity to thank my former boss Ika, for drafting and having faith in me. Prior to the draft I was memeing about being on the drummers and luxrays and I sincerely apologise for my behaviour. I have already said this last year but I will say it again: Ika, I believe you have the potential to be something special, in your BSPL debut you went undefeated whilst helping your teammates (like myself) greatly throughout the season. Fast forward to the present and you managed to reach (1st seed) finals with an underdog team. No matter how you look at it, these are major milestones/achievements and I hope things will only get better for you from here on. The most important thing is don't give up, looking forward to your stellar performances both on circuit and in BSPL V!

kaori
Second shoutout goes to my former, former boss Sam. To say it was honour playing with you on the same team two years straight would be a severe understatement. As I've said previously, being able to play so well in any BSPL formats, whilst having leader-like presence in chat and vast meta knowledge is a huge asset, we (the Inkays) were extremely fortunate to have you on the team. I'm gonna get called biased for saying this but: you are the best GBU player in our community, in a one on one situation where both players are given an equal amount of time to prep and teambuild by themselves, no player can touch you. Even though the format is getting axed (maybe) next year it won't affect you in the slightest. You will continue to excel regardless of what formats are in BSPL. Sam, you are an amazing friend and BSPL would absolutely suck without your presence, so please continue to play or even consider management. As a Smogon DOU GOAT who is long overdue for a trophy, I hope you get your first one sometime down the line (maybe SPL), you deserve it more than anyone.

Misaka Mikoto
Pups unite! Lucy, I was super stoked to be on the same team with you again. Without a doubt you were Inkay's best morale support this season, your presence throughout the season brought so much hope and positivity to the team. ORAS was seen as the weak link of our team and I'm glad you proved everyone wrong with your 4-1 record en route to the finals. I think out of the 100 odd games we've played each other I only managed to win around 30% of them, you were really in top form this season. Had you and Sam played this well during BSPL III, I have no doubts that we would've overkilled it in the finals last year and claimed the title with ease. Initially I thought 8500 for Megazard was outrageous but looking back at the draft now it's safe to say you were the biggest steal, best ORAS player for only 3500! Lucy, I hope we end up on the same team next year so we can play some more ORAS together.

Puff Killa
Puff the best youtuber, I don't know how inflation works in BSPL but to think we were both 3500 last year seemed rather awkward. You've come a long way as a player in this community and after beating greil + zaaya in BSSLT finals this year, established yourself as one of the best USUM BSS players there is. We didn't get to practice as much as we would've liked to but during our short sessions, I was playing like a madman yet still failed to gain the upper hand in our games. I knew whoever was playing you would have a difficult time because a single moment of lost concentration could cost them the entire set. If we end up on opposing teams in the future I would hate to play against you, knowing how good your prep and game is to take down. See you around my friend and most definitely aim for the Invitational champion since I honestly believe you have a good shot this year!

PinkSylvie
Pinku the Bird Keeper. First impression is always important and at the start of the season I was really curious on what type of person you were, since we've only had limited interaction with each other on PS. I have always held you in high regard because you were on the underdog team (PTC) last year yet you went undefeated in both BSD and ORASD. While there are teams that try to break the bank going for well known doubles players such as marilli, Edu, and Demantoid, you can also draft players equally as good as them for less than half the price. In the end, it's safe to say that the Inkays ended up with the most efficient doubles draft (Pinku + GX both undefeated last year) for only 17000 combined. I want to apologise for not being able to help you out much in prep since I know nothing when it comes to doubles so I just ended up spamming you with random blogs (lol). You are an outgoing, and passionate teammate, and it was really delightful to have you on the team. It was hilarious when you managed to transform GX's cat channel into a bird channel, so thank you for sharing with us your lovely birds. It's in my top priority to remind you sign up for the next year's BSPL as well. Regardless as teammate or opponent, we'd love to see you play more doubles. As I like to say to all my BSD friends, I hope to see you win Worlds one day.


1_TrickPhony
Self proclaimed best player in the community 1TP aka OTP, you've got everything going well and under control so I'll keep this one short. I wasn't sure if our team's assistant manager was Sam or yourself so I'll just assume it's you since you and Ika are like brothers. You are like the Hulk when it comes to BSS, the stronger the opponent you face, the better you will play in your matches, their strength feeds into your hunger, it gets you fired up. I don't take sarcasm and jokes very well, so when you talk trash in chat it's sometimes very hard not to get offended. We were all on the same team so there's no reason to be strict on each other during practice or seeing our players lose. I know you have what it takes to win big but just gotta tone down that "smack talk" personality of yours so you can become a model user who is loved and cherished by all.

Mr.GX
On behalf of the team I would like to present the Inkays MVP award to GX aka Metal Bat. Despite not having the chance to beat Charlotte on his home turf (ORASD), you still managed to beat him and marilli in BSD, in addition to going undefeated in two BSPLs is a legendary feat. It's always a pleasure to have you on the same team, the familiar experience I had two years ago when we fought along side DK in BSPL II. I'm really going to miss seeing you getting drafted for cheap so I better get used to seeing big numbers (~15000) come next year. Oh btw: KOU KOU > MEW MEW (https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen5gbusingles-961978977)

The Squash
Squashie the Inkay aka chem counter, it was an honour being on the same team as ya. You are a good friend and we never got a chance to play along side each other until now (I played on the same team as your alt Meese but that was BSPL II). Besides Lucy I think you're the only player on the team who I played over 50 matches with, and they were a blast and a great learning experience for me. You were very active throughout the season and a versatile player who could fit nicely into any of the singles slots should one of players needed a break. What I like most about you is your unwillingness to give up, when you're about to lose your games you make a godly play, when you have an overwhelming bad matchup you play it until the end, you are the one and only true fighter in the community.

Legasey
Last but not least, Legasey aka LegacyVGC (?). I was told by Ika that you were busy with something in the second half of the BSPL so you kinda disappeared, however your presence was influential during the start of the season. Don't be too hard on yourself despite going 0-2 everyone on the team knew in reality it's actually 1-1 because you were robbed of your week 1 win. I hope everything is okay for you irl and see you return in time for BSPL V next year, nowadays good doubles players are scarce.

Closing Words
Needless to say this year was my worst performance in a BSPL and I have no excuses for that. I would like to apologise to Ika for not being able to live up to my 4500 price tag's expectations because I know he had a great deal of trust in me. Also apologies to my team as a whole for being dead weight on the bench, you guys carried me to the finals. It's frustrating to watch on the sidelines and not being able to do much (because I'm bad). Hopefully I'll be good enough to return in BSPL V but only time will tell.

 

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