#1
Iron Man Machamps: When I had a minute to actually look at the draft as it began (S/O to FOMG who took care of the whole affair), I didn’t think I’d be seeing Earthworm’s name be pulled up immediately ON THE VERY FIRST NOMINATION. Despite the
Brazy play, I think Mr.378 managed to get the right amount of value out of this first pull, without it costing him too much in the rest of the roster. Earthworm is without a doubt someone who needs no introduction and it should go without saying that a price like the one he went for is more than adequate for GSC’s all-time superstar (28500). I don’t know for sure, given the other teams’ players, if he will go 5-0 or 4-1, but when I look at Mr.Numbers’s team, this pick makes so much sense. Earthworm is apt at all tiers of gsc and can offer just the kind of support that the mid-to-high level teammates he has would need to have the edge in this competition. Diophantine is a skilled OU player and perhaps even more at UU, FNH is also a phenomenal player in NU who is making his return from last GSC PL and Egor also did a really good job at the GSC OU Winter Seasonal this year. His players that are bought for 3k I am not too familiar with. To top it off, the Iron-man himself might just clutch the gsc invitational as we speak and is also a beast at GSC Ubers. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team pretty cleanly make it to the playoffs considering how well versed they are in all tiers (without having a weak OU slot). That said, their matchup against the Raikous in week 1 will be a tough one.
Which brings us to...
#2-3
Royal Raikous OR Wii fit Wolverines
I will start by covering the Raikous
Raikous: this team has very solid lower tiers players. They will most likely be able to clutch some matchups just by virtue of the lower tiers players’ experience (Estarossa, Holly, Siatam), granted that they don’t lose 3-0 in the OU tiers. Siatam, Lord Thorx and Uncle Eyeroll are all very qualified when it comes to OU. If Eyeroll is subbed this week and in the future I believe the Raikous are more aware of the Jester and Chiles’s experience than I am. Their rather ample roster and the high variance in tiers that many players have, means they have some unpredictability in their favor as they can opt with a great deal of ease to sub in Celebii or Neon Voyager to certain tiers, should they choose to focus some of their higher ranked players in other slots. Malleability may be just the thing they need to clutch a victory this year.
Wolverines: TC, Vileman and HSA + Tony Flygon support. An absolutely deadly combo. This year BKC stepped down from his managerial role and now Vileman is taking his place to co-manage alongside Tony Flygon. That meanest this team not only has the power, but it also has the hype on their side (as well as the tragic backstory, R.I.P.). Robjr won the GSC UU cup and though the circumstances were weird (game 2 was pretty full of RNG, but who am I to judge when most of my wins happen because of that) he’ll be given the chance to prove his victory wasn’t a fluke. On his side is another GSC UU cup winner HSA, who already took Robjr under his wing during said tour. This season may promise with more of his skill rubbing off on the “pupil”. In addition to the new talents, the wolverines are happy to welcome GSC’s oldest innovator (or was it “inventor”), Jorgen. I personally don’t know if his re-entry in this tournament after a many year long hiatus (iirc) will show us just how much he can dominate or if his distance from the game will prove difficult for him to keep up with today’s meta.
#4 
Vaporized Vaporeons:
This may seem rather controversial, since they are the defending champions. I don't think any of these teams that I put in the bottom half are bad. After all, the team managed to take the title with a bunch of 3k players, and the Ttar's made the semifinals too. The vaporeons even have a 3 solid OU players (the patate, Kenix, Raichy) and 2 above average lower tier players in Staxi and Lpz. It seems that they prefer to stick to a strategy of winning wars of attrition through spreading out their resources. And if they managed to do something similar last year, than that only means Nalorium knows exactly how much value his players are worth and how to make the most of it. 80k credits can make our opinions on the skill gap a bit skewed so it will be interesting to see how he will manage with Justamente this year.
#5 
Tyrannous Tyranitars
The second to last in power rankings. Are they bad? Not at all. They have 2 powerful Ubers players in Vani and Amaranth (both of which have won tournaments in gsc Ubers) an SPL level player in Aliss ,and Trevelion and File 13 who, at the very least, should make it so that they aren't the worst off in the lower tiers. This team is actually very solid but it can be hard to say with certainty how they will fare with the rest of the competition.
#6 
Spiky Eared Pichus
This team has fewer GSC specialists than the others, and that includes the managers, but if we’ve selected them, it’s because we know that it takes more than being a gsc main to take a title.
As one of the hosts, it was kind of heartbreaking to have to tell Starry and Lunala that they basically had only 2 players to retain from last year’s Magnificient Muks (in which there is one current host, 3 managers, and a bunch of players that didn’t even signup). To add insult to injury one of the best players in GSC OU currently, didn’t sign up this year due to overlap with SPL. At least they got to draft Iguanadon (Mc56556) for cheap instead of retaining him for 10k (he didn’t buy himself last year and instead managed the team). John W was someone whom I hadn’t heard of before last year but he’s qualified for the GSC championships and was even a runner up for the Global Championships. His proficiency as a teambuilder and a player should mean the teammates are not without their support. Super Epic Ampharos is someone I’ve seen play a lot in the Ruins of Alph room tours and I am not sure if he intends to play for an OU slot or fill in a lower tier slot. FC is a player who made it to the finals of the RBY Ubers segment in RoA Olympics this year and his general knowledge with Ubers may carry over to GSC. I’ve seen upsets before and I’ve seen unproven players outperform mainstays so I’d be a dummy to rule out this team from the competition. That said, I think it will be hard for them to win weeks against the stronger teams.
