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Tournament DWL I - Commencement

goldmason

goldmason

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Commence!​
 
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DWL POWER RANKINGS​

Don't get mad at me if I called you bad this is just my professional opinion. I am often wrong.

Contenders
1. Better Call Stall
This team is led by two consistent performers in hjkhj and 100p and a non-playing manager with a strong record of success over the past year in Jscurf, who won DLWC managing Canada and DPL on DUI. In hjkhj and 100p, they have two of the three strongest SS players in the pool and should be expected to dominate the SS slot each week. Alongside them, they picked up mind gaming, who at 14.5k I consider the steal of the auction considering how he dominated DCL last year, putting up a 6-1 record and bringing home the chip on ZFG. That is insane value for probably the best SV starter in the pool. lax for 13k is another strong pick, albeit he claims he is locked to DPP for the season. However, given that the DPP and BW pools are considered weak in this tour, he should be expected to dominate. blittius is a terrfiic all-round performer who is able to flex into most tiers and gives the team flexibility and clutch factor, evidenced by his cinderella run in the DPL finals last year. GXE and Fogbound Lake are strong smogon players and although it is uncertain how they will adapt to draft, their roster has sufficient strength to cover for either of them stumbling. Nonetheless, GXE's solid 5-3 run in DCL S1 inspires confidence that they have what it takes. If both players click immediately, this team could be very hard to beat. a12qsd too gives them a solid ORAS starter and A3ONFA I've heard is a strong BW player. Ryan&Ditto and Scarcity2K round out the roster as activity picks and will be unlikely to see much play time unless a few of their smogon players flop.

Undoubtely, on paper, BCS has the most talent of any team in the tour. However, a majority of their team is playing in SPL at the same time as this tour and thus, the amount of time they will invest in DWL is questionable. This team is also lacking in top tier prep support, given that hjkhj, mind gaming and lax are generally lone wolves and are unlikely to support the others players much. Activity will be their main concern. USUM is also an area of concern, as they lack a strong mainer compared to other teams. Nonetheless, I think that between hjkhj, 100p, mind gaming and lax, it is very difficult to see them missing play-offs. Whether they win it all though, will heavily depend on their managers' ability to support their cheaper players, especially those new to top flight draft.

2. Espada Ruins
This team is led by three draft veterans in OdinRM, Luxanse and 2playaLuffy, who will be hoping to improve on their teams' lackluster performances last DCL on Mythical Alliance and Yarn Yoshis. They have gone some way towards doing that with the addition of Draft GOAT Gypsy King for only 19.5k in a hilarious auction fuck-up. As one of the best ORAS players in the pool, Gypsy brings strong prep support as well as a near-guaranteed win in ORAS each week. 2playaLuffy has put up strong results in SV across DPL and DCL last year and will be expected to do the same in SV Natdex this tour. OdinRM is a few years removed from his dominant USUM runs on DPL winning teams but will be excited to prove he still has what it takes in modern USUM after some middling results playing SV in DCL. While Habaduh's results have dipped in the past couple years, he is still one of the best SV starters and will form a strong SV core with Zooch, who had a good DCL but a poor DPL. Habaduh can only win with Zooch teams so this bodes well /s. LpZ is a strong starter in most smogon gens and will look to take advantage of support from Habaduh and Gypsy King to make his mark in draft. ItsNimXD has shown his ability to pull off impressive upset wins with his 4-0 run in DCL last season. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if he is able to keep it up- performing well in back to back seasons is tough for new players and he will be the starting SS in a strong pool that includes the likes of 100p, Glop and hjkhj. My sources say magialice is a strong BW tour player. Truthfully, I think the roster falls away quite heavily with the remaining names, as mayo and Logice are players without significant results in top flight singles draft. However, berna~ is one to watch after a strong 5-1 performance in USUM during DFL last year, especially under Odin's tutelige.

I think the success of this team will be heavily influenced by the results of the managers and Gypsy + Habaduh, given the top heavy nature of their auction. If they are to win it all, I suspect that Gypsy and Habaduh will have to carry a heavy prep load in the play offs in order to compete with some of the other stronger teams in the tour. Nonetheless, I think they are comfortably a top 2 roster in the tour and should be expected to make play-offs at absolute minimum.

3. Spectral Thieves
When I look at this team, all I see is chaos, and that starts with their managers. AgencyIsOwn and The Diabolic Gift are strong players in their own right and should put up consistent results in SV and SS respectively. Agency, in particular, is coming off an impressive 7-2 season in the last DCL and has proven himself to be a top tier threat in current gen. However, I am unsure about his leadership capabilities given his team tour history. Only time will tell if those concerns are valid and I am excited to see him prove me wrong. TDG has shown his leadership pedigree in leading his SS champions team to the finals but he is nothing but unpredictable in any measure. Mada is there. To keep up the theme of chaos, their most expensive player is the enigmatic Wombology for 18k. In the past, he has been a top tier performer in the USUM tier and boasts one of the best winrates in DPL history. However, he has not played in DPL since s7 (the less said about that the better) and DCL not at all. It remains to be seen if he can put up the same results but I would expect a postive season from him. HisuAvalugg (16.5k) has been a consistent performer in the past year and has shown his versatility in being able to flex across multiple generations, making them extremely adaptable. I've heard that evakiyama! (11k) is the best BW player on the site and will be expected to dominate the tier. Raiyan for only 6.5k is a strong choice to partner Agency in SV after putting up an impresssive 4-0 record in DCL last season and bringing home the chip on ZFG. To round out the roster is an assortment of minbids that have varrying levels of merit. Of them, Fierce Flamethrower stands out for putting up a dominant 7-2 record in SV during last DFL and Sharky King is a solid, versatile 3k who can flex across all gens.

This is a team with both potential to win it all and combust in spectacular fashion given the strong personalities on show. I'd moreso lean towards the former and expect them to make play offs, based on the strength of their individual players but only time will tell. I expect HisuAvalugg to play a significant leadership role and will be a big factor on whether the team is able to gel cohesively. Generally, most of the team seems to be good friends with each other which is obviously a positive. I've placed them below Espada Ruins and Better Call Stall because I think they have a slightly lower talent ceiling and am unsure about how well they will be able to work together. Further, while HisuAvalugg's flexibility helps alot, I think the roster is quite lacking when it comes to the 2nd ORAS slot.

In The Mix
4. Flex Appeal
In Glop, Loqp and King L5, Flex Appeal boasts likely the strongest manager core on paper, with all three managers boasting consistent results in top flight draft across a long period of time. Loqp and King L5 also boasts championship winning pedigree as managers and know what it takes for a team to do well. Glop is a first-time manager and whether he is able to juggle the responsibility of supporting his players alongside being able to spend enough time on his own match-up will be an important factor in the teams success. However, at his best, Glop is a consistent winslot in SS and will be expected to do well as one of the best SS players in the pool. Loqp is another strong performer and will look to main SV Natdex this season but has the skillset to flex to any gen if required. They took Tech Froakies for 23.5k as their first pick and he is coming off a strong 7-2 season in USUM last DCL. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen if he is able to perform under the pressure of a heavy pricetag as he has faltered in past DPLs with heavier responsibilties as captain or star player. He will be keen to prove last DCL was not a flash in the pan. Nalaa for 13.5k is a bit of a weird pick as I'm unsure where he will slot on this team. His best tier is SV but this team seems to have SV pretty well covered, with the cuppboard for other tiers a bit lacking. Nonetheless, he put up an impressive 7-0 performance last DLWC and will be keen, after a short break, to show that he remains a top threat. The Glop goons, subzero_slammer, FackLugi and WagonFruit make up the SV core of this team, which means we're probably in for some tera clefable and terrakion. Don't worry, if they win, he will hate to let you know about it. Nonetheless, these are players who glop has worked closely with in the past and put up good records with and there is no reason they can't do it again. WagonFruit, in particular, is coming off a strong 6-2 season for DPL finalist PTE. Whilst solid, I think this core is lacking compared to alot of the elite SV cores that the other teams boast. To round out the roster are a hodgepodge of minbids. Of them, Dr. Geo is a solid DPP player and will likely be expected to carry the load in that tier if Jake stays in USUM, as I expect.

Truthfully, I think that this roster is weaker than the two I've placed below it, TOE and PP. But I also think that in the three managers, they have the best support of any team in the tour so I am placing my trust in their ability to raise the skill floor of their teammates. They have heavily invested in SV and I am also concerned that they are a bit lacking in other tiers, especially BW. Nonetheless, I would probably still hedge them to make play-offs and perform better than the sum of their parts.

5. Trick of Eye
One of the oldest franchises in draft league and coming off a successful SS champions run, TOE returns with the familiar manager core of Eye Aye, SkyhorseTamer and profchipboard. Eye Aye presents as one of the strongest USUM players in the pool and boasts a strong record of consistent success across previous DCLs and DPLs. profchipboard is an ORAS veteran with multiple DPL & DCL championships and will look to flex into DPP/BW with success. Whilst no longer playing, Skyhorse is a valuable prep presence and will be the main source of activity amongst the three managers. They have retained Tidal from their winning SS champions team for the price of 16k. A draft newbie, she has made a splash in the past year with a 4-2 USUM run in DPL and the SS Galardex MVP in the champions tour. She will have to deal with the pressures of a big pricetag and being the star player of the team. It remains to be seen if she can put up similiar results with the added responsibility. Next, ~Undead~ is a steal at 15k, boasting one of the best team tour records in the last few years, as well as the single best play-off record of anyone in draft, being a major part of the DCL winning ZFG roster. Given the depth of USUM talent on this team, Undead will likely be the SV mainer on this roster. sablolol for 8k gives the team ORAS depth, with faygoes (6.5k) likely to partner Undead in SV. Just make sure Mishmesh isn't on the other side. Hacker (5k) is another versatile depth piece, being able to slot into any tier as required. TheRageSmogon (7k) has shown consistent improvement over the last year and will be looking to prove he belongs. vengabenga (5k) is a solid DPP slot and an assortment of minbids round out the roster.

Undead apart, the rest of the roster have all put up solid, if unspectacular records in top tier team tours over the last couple years. As such, I think that this roster from a skill perspective is a tier below BCS, ER and ST, but they will likely shape up as the most active team in the tour, with known sweats like Tidal, TheRage and Undead providing prep support and mocks. This is a very TOE team and one that they've overperformed with in the past. I wouldn't be surprised to see them do it again with this roster.

6. Pacifidlog Plunderers
Girl power is on show here with the manager core of Violet River, SoggyDoggySage and Stories. Sage will be looking for redemption after a disasterous season captaining the Ballio World Tour to last place in DPL last year. Nonetheless, there is no doubting her pedigree as one of the best SV players in the tour, with consistent results in everything she has played since she popped up 2 years ago. I don't doubt her ability to put up a good record herself. However, her ability to support the rest of team is questionable given her busy work schedule. Violet River is a strong old gens player and has shown herself capable of performing at a high level in BW/DPP draft. She will be a significant influence on the teams old gen stocks but I have similiar concerns over her activity as manager. Stories is on the team too. They started their roster off by spending 27k on Almighty Rye, who was the most expensive player in the auction. Rye is a fantastic pick up given his high activity and strong results across all team tours last year. He is one of the best ORAS players in the pool but has the capability to flex to any gen. Castelia is of course signed up for a tour sage is managing and was taken for 11.5k. She has proven herself as a strong SV player across two DPL seasons, the 2nd with a tera heatran(?) so she must be schiest. bbeeaa is an interesting pick up for 8.5k. He performed poorly on a good team in DPL s6, going 0-2 before being benched due to inactivity. However, there is no doubting his pedigree given his strong results in non-draft tiers. The fact that SPL is also ongoing, where he got taken for nearly 40k, places concerns over his capability to be active for this tour. I wouldn't be expecting a strong performance but I am keen to see myself being proven wrong. Haildras is a solid SS starter for 6.5k but is coming off a poor DCL where he struggled. Quarante8 and Watashi represent strong depth in BW/DPP, which is an advantage given that many teams appear significantly lacking in those tiers. PZZ is a steal for 3k if he is not busy with SPL, given his ability to flex across all gens and will likely start as the 2nd SS/USUM/ORAS on this team. amyayayy and olivia talk a lot.

I think that this is a top half roster from a talent perspective. However, I am concerned by the ability of the managers and players, Rye apart, to keep activity up. If Sage and Violet are active, I could see them being a dark house, especially given the old gen profficiently on this team. Despite their ranking, I wouldn't be surprised to see them make play-offs.

Missing Play-offs
7. Ragey Bolts
The managers of this team have done something I commend them for. They have recognised they are not worth the pricetag of buying in and have opted to save the funds so they can use them on building a stronger roster instead. thenuttman, idkup and P is for Penguin are up-and-coming draft talents with minimal experience in top flight drafts tours. idkup performed well with a 4-2 record on the DPL winning team, DUI, last year and will look to draw on that experience to guide his team towards success. In Nick6564 for 18.5k and agentflane for 17.5k, they have retained the core of DUI and will form a formidable SV core with their brand of strange and funky offense. Nick6564 has put up consistent records over the last year in SV and cemented himself as one of the better players in the tier, while agentflane proved her cinderella DPL run was no fluke with an impressive 5-2 SV record in DCL last year. Nonetheless, I'm assuming one of them or hellom (13k) is going to have to slot SV natdex in this tier given the logjam of SV talent on the roster. hellom had an impressive showing last DCL and will be keen to prove it on a team with lesser support options than the Tacticians did. Obviously, SPL ongoing is also a concern and he has already said he will not be super active in the server. However, I would still expect him do well. I'm assuming SlickPanther will main ORAS on this team and look to prove that he has what it takes in old gens. Nonetheless, given his performances over the past year, I think his pricetag of 13.5k is a bit steep. clean is a strong player and will start in SS for 11k. He has performed admiredly with good support in previous DCL and DPL seasons. Nonetheless, the lack of top tier SS prep support for him on this team is real a concern as he has openly admitted to needing teams built for him. himynameisbobert (8k) and JimmyG (8k) are coming off solid DCL/DPL seasons over the past year and will start in USUM and SS respectively, although the latter also has the capacity to play ORAS if required. StreetCredCookie looks like he will be mostly playing SV this season given he has locked himself out of USUM. 7.5k looks to be a steep price for him given the oversaturation of SV players on this roster and the fact that there are only 2 SV slots. I am not very knowledgeable of the remaining 4 players on the roster apart from dawn but I am hoping they are strong DPP/BW players because it seems to be a serious area of weakness on this team as presently constructed.

It seems to me that this is a team of missed opportunity. Given the extra budget, I would have expected for them to have gotten a top tier player, especially in old gens. A player that could be the 'honorary manager' with the ability to carry the activity and prep across multiple gens would have made the roster alot better. I think that most of the old gens roster are solid players by themselves, but need that elite support to get to the next level. On this roster, the support seems to be limited to NIck6564, whose really only knowledgeable about SV. As such, I am pessimistic about the chances of this team. However, if the old gen players are able to lock in and perform above their level, I could see them exceeding expectations.

8. The Random Finizens
The Megamind reference is just about the only thing I like about this roster, unfortunately. Of the managers, SammyCe123 had a fantastic DPL debut, going 6-1 in USUM and winning the USUM MVP. However, in a strong USUM pool, it will be up to him to prove that it was not just a flash in the pan. ThinkingSceptile has performed admirably in circuit this year, qualifying for the Top 16 circuit play offs. However, I think even he will admit that in a regular auction, he would have been a minbid at best and the 18k buy in represents a significant amount of lost funds. The main issue with this team is that like many failed teams (look at Ballio), they have decided to focus on drafting their friends who are largely unknown quantities in the community. One or two of them might be good. It is very unlikely for all of them to be. Especially when they make up a significant portion of your roster. It is very clear that the finizens decided to just draft what was their championship winning PGP team and I wish them the best but they will have to perform well beyond their capabilities to win the tour. Lejon Flames was their most expensive player at 17k which is quite baffling when you consider that he has gone negative playing USUM in DCL/DPL for most of the half a decade. robjr is their starting ORAS for 11k and while he has performed well in DPL in the past, his recent DCL/DPL seasons do not inspire confidence. AM22 for 9.5k is their other starting ORAS player, performing well on armory last DCL with a positive record. The next player on the roster is reknowned cheater Hallucination for 9k. It is baffling to me that we even let this guy continue playing given the long track record of dishonesty he boasts but I cannot deny he is a strong player and prepper. However, he has stated that he will not be playing any games this season and is focusing on support anyways. HarrisIsAwesome for 6k had a solid showing in DCL last season and will likely either be slotting SS, given the lack of SS players in their line up, or SV. The remainder of the roster is made up of the manager's PGP teammates and I admittedly do not know enough about them to weigh in about their skills. The one silver lining is that I think Nerf is a fantastic pick at 3k and is able to slot into both USUM and SV competently.

Ultimately, I have very few positives to say about this team and I would be really surprised if they happen to end up doing well. In draft team tours, that usually means that this team is winning it all so congrats guys I guess lol.
 
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