MrSoup Earthworm hellpowna LustfulLice NotVeryCake Sunlight Laughs GLFGno7 BloodAce CrossHeart chub Jhonx~ Raahel Onraider skrimps Gallinova if you want to skip directly to my shoutouts they start at minute 9:30
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Tournaments GSC PL V - Finals [Won by Ladder-Bayleef Saints]
- Thread starter Zcarlett
- Start date
MrSoup Earthworm hellpowna LustfulLice NotVeryCake Sunlight Laughs GLFGno7 BloodAce CrossHeart chub Jhonx~ Raahel Onraider skrimps Gallinova if you want to skip directly to my shoutouts they start at minute 9:30
When a certain mantis DMed me out of the blue with a proposition to "manage" their team in order to help both of them manage and play at the same time, it had the characteristics of the perfect lure--an audacious plan to get around the rules, the ability for me to avoid committing my precious time to competitive Pokemon, and on top of that, the omission of the other lower tiers in the sentence "Your input on OU and Ubers would help a bunch" was just subtle enough that it pricked my pride. Against my best judgment, I gave the tentative reply "i can probs do it but no guarantees i will actually do anything".
Like the sucker I am, I dove headfirst into researching basically every player that signed up and determining who had the most potential to perform alongside our highly talented managerial team. We accepted the risk that vani would upbid the mantis to the moon (which thankfully ended at 21k... we were prepared to go a little bit higher) and executed our draft strategy nearly flawlessly. We went after players with strong tour performances and those we thought wouldn't be too fearful to break the mold if we asked. We were very happy with how it worked out.
We had far from a perfect tournament (as you would expect when playing Pokemon), but our team spirit never wavered at all. Our team was very committed to a positive attitude and kept up the energy throughout most weeks. We also really kicked it up a notch for our finals prep, which I think is evident in the result--there wasn't a single slot without a great deal of teamwork in prep contributing to the outcome. I thoroughly enjoyed this tournament and got to know a lot of new faces who have carried on the torch for GSC while I've been gone. I can't say that the tournament didn't take a toll on my normal routines, but I have no regrets around my choice to partake.
I want to thank everyone that made the tournament happen--the hosts, my co-managers and teammates, our helpers, the people who have contributed to making hosting and playing easier, and all of the opposing teams--all necessary ingredients to make this something worth getting involved with.
Onraider: I'm super grateful we had an actually helpful helper in our server giving good advice. Your presence was appreciated.
skrimps: I am not really sure who you are but I acknowledge your contribution to the team lore and your choosing of a nice hex code for the helper colour.
Jhonx~: It was unfortunate you never got to play even after we prepped, but thanks for your positivity and contributions.
Raahel: A good contributor to the team atmosphere. Always willing to help out and I felt you wanted the best for the team.
chub: A mysterious fellow who isn't afraid of making enemies. He brought home some nice wins with some fun teams but then left the server and never returned after an apparent loss by misclick.
CrossHeart: Our undefeated secret weapon. You've got great potential to go far and very solid fundamental knowledge--confidence will come with continued experience.
BloodAce: I felt you got better and better as the season went on. Thanks for tolerating my incessant demands to try wild strategies and glad we were able to work together well in the end.
NotVeryCake: The comeback queen--I honestly was gobsmacked by some of the games you turned around this season. You've really improved your ability to pilot a variety of teams over the course of the tournament. If you choose to continue, I believe you have what it takes to get to the top.
Sunlight Laughs: If you were wondering who it was you were facing when you ran into that one stall demon on the GSC ladder, it was probably Light. It's always a risk in a tour setting to choose a player who is really dedicated to a particular playstyle, but after watching your games and how well you make reads and pilot stall aggressively, I had no doubt that you would be a good pickup and bring home crucial wins when it counted. Welcome to the 1K-move tour game club...
LustfulLice: I have to admit, I was a bit sceptical when Soup and BFM explained our UU strategy, but I decided to trust them and boy was my scepticism off. You have an amazing collaborative attitude and made the most time for prep out of any of our players. There is a good reason why this guy went 8-1--he has the deadly combo of talent and diligence.
GLFGno7: At the beginning of the tournament, I felt like you weren't much of a team player and just wanted to do your own thing. Any feedback I gave was immediately rebutted, almost without exception. It only took being bested by a duck four times before you loosened up a little, and we were much more successful (and had a bit less bad luck) from that point. We still have fiercely opposing views about certain aspects of the game, but you were really able to turn things around and deliver a number of crucial wins, especially against the Tyranitars in the last week of the second round robin. I never doubted that you had excellent battling skills and I hope you had a good experience in spite of the bad start. It was a pleasure teaming up with you.
hellpowna: hellpowna was the emotional heart and soul of the team. His passion for teamwork and encouragement really inspired us all, and his confidence and performance in a brand new tier was quite impressive. I love the way you approach the game and was incredibly happy to have you on the team. I couldn't have asked for someone better.
BigFatMantis: The reason I joined this tournament in the first place, BFM is a fearless memer and the primary author of the Bayleef lore. He has zero fear of stepping on toes if necessary, which makes him a crucial part of the managerial team. It was a real pleasure getting to know you throughout the tournament, and your work prepping UU and PU every week was excellent. BFM is another key contributor to the mold-breaking part of the team, and while sometimes our techs didn't play out as we would have liked, your fearlessness to think outside the box and disregard norms and forbidden strategies was crucial to our team's identity. Congratulations on running it back, though next time I am going to more forcefully veto the use of Parasect.
MrSoup: MrSoup, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was the greatest contributing factor to the success of our team. If someone had asked me prior to the tournament whether I would admit that someone is clearly better than me at any of the GSC lower tiers in this tour, I wouldn't have. If you ask me now, I can confidently say that MrSoup is a much stronger GSC NU player than me. Managing with you was like a dream come true. I never felt constrained but the reality checks were still there at times when needed. MrSoup must have spent more than a hundred hours in the team builder this tournament, and I never saw a truly bad team come of anything he worked on in any tier, whereas I produced a lot of them. I have no idea how he managed to keep his energy up week after week, and I'm sure all of us were getting a bit tired towards the end of the second round robin, but we still managed to do fantastic prep in the final week, to the point where I genuinely thought we had a chance to win all our games based on what we had come up with. Congratulations on your achievement--you really deserved the repeat and it makes me happy to see how much joy you derived from leading the team to victory. I'm privileged to have been able to bond with you and BFM over the course of the tournament and grateful for the experience.
While I really enjoyed myself this tour, I certainly don't have the time to spend on this hobby that I once had. So no, I am not going to be involved in SPL for those who keep asking me. I won't rule out coming back for a Bayleef threepeat next year though.
Like the sucker I am, I dove headfirst into researching basically every player that signed up and determining who had the most potential to perform alongside our highly talented managerial team. We accepted the risk that vani would upbid the mantis to the moon (which thankfully ended at 21k... we were prepared to go a little bit higher) and executed our draft strategy nearly flawlessly. We went after players with strong tour performances and those we thought wouldn't be too fearful to break the mold if we asked. We were very happy with how it worked out.
We had far from a perfect tournament (as you would expect when playing Pokemon), but our team spirit never wavered at all. Our team was very committed to a positive attitude and kept up the energy throughout most weeks. We also really kicked it up a notch for our finals prep, which I think is evident in the result--there wasn't a single slot without a great deal of teamwork in prep contributing to the outcome. I thoroughly enjoyed this tournament and got to know a lot of new faces who have carried on the torch for GSC while I've been gone. I can't say that the tournament didn't take a toll on my normal routines, but I have no regrets around my choice to partake.
I want to thank everyone that made the tournament happen--the hosts, my co-managers and teammates, our helpers, the people who have contributed to making hosting and playing easier, and all of the opposing teams--all necessary ingredients to make this something worth getting involved with.
Onraider: I'm super grateful we had an actually helpful helper in our server giving good advice. Your presence was appreciated.
skrimps: I am not really sure who you are but I acknowledge your contribution to the team lore and your choosing of a nice hex code for the helper colour.
Jhonx~: It was unfortunate you never got to play even after we prepped, but thanks for your positivity and contributions.
Raahel: A good contributor to the team atmosphere. Always willing to help out and I felt you wanted the best for the team.
chub: A mysterious fellow who isn't afraid of making enemies. He brought home some nice wins with some fun teams but then left the server and never returned after an apparent loss by misclick.
CrossHeart: Our undefeated secret weapon. You've got great potential to go far and very solid fundamental knowledge--confidence will come with continued experience.
BloodAce: I felt you got better and better as the season went on. Thanks for tolerating my incessant demands to try wild strategies and glad we were able to work together well in the end.
NotVeryCake: The comeback queen--I honestly was gobsmacked by some of the games you turned around this season. You've really improved your ability to pilot a variety of teams over the course of the tournament. If you choose to continue, I believe you have what it takes to get to the top.
Sunlight Laughs: If you were wondering who it was you were facing when you ran into that one stall demon on the GSC ladder, it was probably Light. It's always a risk in a tour setting to choose a player who is really dedicated to a particular playstyle, but after watching your games and how well you make reads and pilot stall aggressively, I had no doubt that you would be a good pickup and bring home crucial wins when it counted. Welcome to the 1K-move tour game club...
LustfulLice: I have to admit, I was a bit sceptical when Soup and BFM explained our UU strategy, but I decided to trust them and boy was my scepticism off. You have an amazing collaborative attitude and made the most time for prep out of any of our players. There is a good reason why this guy went 8-1--he has the deadly combo of talent and diligence.
GLFGno7: At the beginning of the tournament, I felt like you weren't much of a team player and just wanted to do your own thing. Any feedback I gave was immediately rebutted, almost without exception. It only took being bested by a duck four times before you loosened up a little, and we were much more successful (and had a bit less bad luck) from that point. We still have fiercely opposing views about certain aspects of the game, but you were really able to turn things around and deliver a number of crucial wins, especially against the Tyranitars in the last week of the second round robin. I never doubted that you had excellent battling skills and I hope you had a good experience in spite of the bad start. It was a pleasure teaming up with you.
hellpowna: hellpowna was the emotional heart and soul of the team. His passion for teamwork and encouragement really inspired us all, and his confidence and performance in a brand new tier was quite impressive. I love the way you approach the game and was incredibly happy to have you on the team. I couldn't have asked for someone better.
BigFatMantis: The reason I joined this tournament in the first place, BFM is a fearless memer and the primary author of the Bayleef lore. He has zero fear of stepping on toes if necessary, which makes him a crucial part of the managerial team. It was a real pleasure getting to know you throughout the tournament, and your work prepping UU and PU every week was excellent. BFM is another key contributor to the mold-breaking part of the team, and while sometimes our techs didn't play out as we would have liked, your fearlessness to think outside the box and disregard norms and forbidden strategies was crucial to our team's identity. Congratulations on running it back, though next time I am going to more forcefully veto the use of Parasect.
MrSoup: MrSoup, beyond a shadow of a doubt, was the greatest contributing factor to the success of our team. If someone had asked me prior to the tournament whether I would admit that someone is clearly better than me at any of the GSC lower tiers in this tour, I wouldn't have. If you ask me now, I can confidently say that MrSoup is a much stronger GSC NU player than me. Managing with you was like a dream come true. I never felt constrained but the reality checks were still there at times when needed. MrSoup must have spent more than a hundred hours in the team builder this tournament, and I never saw a truly bad team come of anything he worked on in any tier, whereas I produced a lot of them. I have no idea how he managed to keep his energy up week after week, and I'm sure all of us were getting a bit tired towards the end of the second round robin, but we still managed to do fantastic prep in the final week, to the point where I genuinely thought we had a chance to win all our games based on what we had come up with. Congratulations on your achievement--you really deserved the repeat and it makes me happy to see how much joy you derived from leading the team to victory. I'm privileged to have been able to bond with you and BFM over the course of the tournament and grateful for the experience.
While I really enjoyed myself this tour, I certainly don't have the time to spend on this hobby that I once had. So no, I am not going to be involved in SPL for those who keep asking me. I won't rule out coming back for a Bayleef threepeat next year though.
My 1000th post, would like to use it as an opportunity to shout-out the Saints as well as others would have been influential in my journey this year and for this tour. From GSC PU to SS AG to SM RU to natdex NFE, ive gotten to learn alot this year but more importantly got to know many great people throughout. I'll go in somewhat chronological order.
and finally,
The Saints
MrSoup BigFatMantis Earthworm While I had some help prepping for this tier in previous tours by Bee and Lice respectively, this was the first time I was blessed with full-on support the entire season by a bunch of people. I didn't personally have quite as good of season as I could have but I learned alot from it. I know you many of you guys had fairly minimal experience with the tier before this but the amount of effort you put in to help me out, especially when I was a bit frustrated, was amazing and I am incredibly grateful and i couldnt have done it without you. You all really stepped up to help cook and its a testament to how great of managers you guys were.
I'll be honest in that I did not know the lore of this team and never followed this tour before but I now understand why the Bayleefs are back to back champs, largely thanks to this amazing leadership and environment they have fostered to prepare their players for journey. Thank you for granting me the privilege of being a member of the Bayleef congregation, it was an honor. The goat Raahel also helped with tests when they could which was incredibly valuable to get some extra games in.
For everyone else on the team, it was great to team with you all, whether I was meeting you for the first time (like our higher tier legends GLFGno7, NotVeryCake , Sunlight Laughs , hellpowna / COCOAT, and Jhonx~ ) or getting another chance together to chase a victory, it was truly a pleasure, a blessing you could even say. (very glad we got to run it back after ORASPL CrossHeart, you came in clutch this season too). Thank you all and godspeed.
LustfulLice If I had nickel for every teamtour we won together this year that had GSCPU involved and had a member of the chikorita line as the mascot, id have two nickels. Which isn't alot but its weird that it happened twice. But perhaps its not a coincidence either. I have to credit you for helping me get back into ZU and mons in general during UMPL 3 last year. We've gotten to team a handful of times this year and in each one of those tours you've been a player I've had alot of respect for even if we didn't always take home the trophy. I'm impressed but not surprised you were able to have such a phenomenal run this GSCPL. Whether its cooking in ZU tiers, helping me through PUBD, or carrying me in GSCPL, you've been a great teammate to have consistently. Thank you and I know you will continue to do well in whatever you look to play next
BeeOrSomething I know we were on opposing sides for this tour but I have to thank you nonetheless because you taking a chance and getting me in ALT PL at the beginning of the year was probably one of the most consequential things for me this year. I had no experience in the GSCPU prior but thanks to your help made it through the tour with one of the better records on our team. I know we ultimately didn't win that tour but the fun I had and experience I gained in learning this metagame had a ripple effect for me this year being able to build confidence and get noticed for future tours like PUBD, PUPL, and now GSCPL and is something I am incredibly grateful for. Hopefully we get an opportunity to collab again in the future.
BP skrimps sleid you guys been constant this year since ZU Olympiad. I'll keep this brief but I've always had a great time teaming with you guys or even just playing around in the builder for fun. I don't think id have the motivation for this game if not for this group. The wider ZU community has been a cornerstone for me as well, both reconnecting with old ZU players from years ago and meeting the new faces has been fulfilling. I'll spare the rest of them the pings this time but they all know who they are.
and finally,
The Saints
MrSoup BigFatMantis Earthworm While I had some help prepping for this tier in previous tours by Bee and Lice respectively, this was the first time I was blessed with full-on support the entire season by a bunch of people. I didn't personally have quite as good of season as I could have but I learned alot from it. I know you many of you guys had fairly minimal experience with the tier before this but the amount of effort you put in to help me out, especially when I was a bit frustrated, was amazing and I am incredibly grateful and i couldnt have done it without you. You all really stepped up to help cook and its a testament to how great of managers you guys were.
I'll be honest in that I did not know the lore of this team and never followed this tour before but I now understand why the Bayleefs are back to back champs, largely thanks to this amazing leadership and environment they have fostered to prepare their players for journey. Thank you for granting me the privilege of being a member of the Bayleef congregation, it was an honor. The goat Raahel also helped with tests when they could which was incredibly valuable to get some extra games in.
For everyone else on the team, it was great to team with you all, whether I was meeting you for the first time (like our higher tier legends GLFGno7, NotVeryCake , Sunlight Laughs , hellpowna / COCOAT, and Jhonx~ ) or getting another chance together to chase a victory, it was truly a pleasure, a blessing you could even say. (very glad we got to run it back after ORASPL CrossHeart, you came in clutch this season too). Thank you all and godspeed.
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Very enjoyable tour . Thanks all <3 Dropping these sample teams soon!