After a great, winning season like this, it's just... extremely hard to really say goodbye to what have been (probably) the most magical eleven weeks out of the seven years I have interacting with this website. While I, yes, have had great experiences previously (MWP, both BLT teams, and various side things), I think the context, unrollment, and ending of this tournament tops it all, despite myself admittedly not being as active as I projected to be due to irl factors and just laziness overall (more on that later). At the start of the entire event, getting a spot to manage a full-fledged team in the biggest Monotype scene of all things was already a victory in my book, and when we made it, we thought that was a great start (especially when factoring what happened some time ago... thankfully the past stays in the past, and it's something you look back and learn from). Then next was getting a powerful team in the draft, and oh boy we did manage to succeed. Each milestone we achieved as a team made me incredibly happy and excited, considering I was, personally, happy to just be in the big stage. Because of that, I think I would be in debt if I didn't shoutout such an amazing group of players, and here goes:
SoulWind our very first draft pick and the undisputed BW goat. After what you did in mono wcop, our eyes were instantly rolled on you to occupy the BW slot and be a reliable beater there, and I must say you met all of our expectations. Surely I didn't help much in the BW slot since I don't really know the metagame, but the work you and JT put there was very solid indeed. Proud to have teamed with you in a big team tour!
Bushtush lax when I was a newer face in the community, I remember looking up to you two as some of the top monotype players because you were in all sorts of places I lurked at. Surely time has passed and you eventually started playing and succeeding in other tiers and bigger pictures, but I am thankful you definitely cared about a MPL of all things again and, well, had an amazing winrate at it and even carrying the team at some weeks. The positive energy you guys transmitted in our team chat was very beneficial, and the games you guys played were something else quality wise that I can say I learned a thing or two by watching them. Hope to see you guys succeeding more and more, and return to Monotype sometimes :D
Harpp bro first off, I'm sorry about slotting you in that SM slot week 7. I should be the only one to blame considering I was the one who made an agreement with Zarif, and I definitely wasn't thinking the outcome would happen. Aside from that, thank you for providing most SM teams (and even some ORAS ones). Your teams were the reason we could have a good SM record overall, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Sad to see you going out of mons, but I wish the best of luck in your future endeavors, you deserve it!
tko not gonna lie, going into the tournament I had some questions about you (because I haven't really paid attention or talked to you before), but you were consistent throughout all season. You were also a very good presence in our chat, even encouraging me up when I screwed my game up week 6, and it shows why you are a SCL manager of all things. Good luck in there, and hope your team has a great run!
SwordStrike THE talisman of our team. Drafting you was sort of a gamble considering the only source we had from your playing were the OU replays you sent to us in the tryouts channel, but it definitely paid off in the end (after all, you defeated the top 2 SS players in the PR as well as the current ribbon holder in finals LOL). The thing we liked the most about you is how calm and smart you were in all of your testing games and tournament matches, and how you adapted pretty quickly to a metagame you weren't familiar with beforehand, which made you perfect as a lure to some of the mono mains. Really hope to see you in more monotype tours, I'm sure you will kick ass around here!
Sificon everything I said about SwordStrike also kind of applies to you as well. You impressed us in the replays you sent out as tryouts, and buying you was really worth it with the two clutch wins you net in weeks where we needed to win. Just like Sword, your adaptability to the meta was incredibly fast, and you didn't seem to feel any pressure in the games you played. Unfortunately we couldn't fit you in the later weeks (we had 9-10 solid players for 8 slots), but your performance deserves to be highlighted here for sure :)
TJ I remember we made a trade deal with the treeckos to get you, and I can say it was worth it overall. Despite a negative record, you had some games where matchup was just the reason why you lost, and even then, your three wins across this season were more than enough to push our team over the edge in some weeks. Just like lax and bush, you also had a good presence in our chat, especially when cheering for us, and I thank you for all of that.
roxiee when we drafted you, we were expecting nothing more than ORAS builder since we didn't have someone who was used to the tier, but you ended up being much more than that at the end. Surely you had a late (and kinda rough) debut, but it all paid off when you paved the way to the final level with that semifinals win. Other than that, your motivation to build innovative stuff really made a difference, especially in the later weeks (also thank you for week 7 LOL). Overall I think I have a different opinion of you post-tournament, and you're definitely someone to look out for!
Clarity style.css Leafium Z the cheerleader/bench/team support squad. While you guys haven't played much throughout the season (Style wasn't even drafted but he was a part of our team at heart), you guys were definitely good test/building helpers throughout all slots overall, fixing minor nitpicks here and there when needed, and that was useful throughout the entire season (especially in finals where Plundy and Style just did a lot in the SS slots via scouting). As for you Leaf, I think that was definitely not your best showing, but mostly because pressure got your way I feel. Next time I know you're going to do as well as you did in BLT or even better, I'm sure of it as a friend :)
Bondie despite not getting the opportunity to play, I would still like to make a separate shoutout to you because you were one of the most active people in our teamchat during the season, and was very helpful as well. Most times when a team was posted, I remember you always gave in some useful input, and sometimes that ended up winning us some games (the Gen 5 game where you suggested Specs Keldeo vs Steel comes into mind on the top of my head, but I'm sure there were more). Thanks for being a gentle, positive, and knowledgeable presence on the team.
trace well unfortunately you only got to play 1 game, but I think you should get a shoutout because you were a part of the team. Hopefully one day I get to know you better, I know that wasn't your day and we had a stacked roster so it was difficult to get into the starting lineup :(
Cell LuckyPiper maroon Anttya ChessRobot general helpers who cheered for us and gave tips and suggestions in some slots, thanks a lot to each of you for the support!
And, of course...
Jolly Togekiss ^-^
I still remember this log like it was yesterday. We were just kept out of managing, and I remember seeing this log as if my heart was just shattered into pieces because that was what I wanted to do the most regarding this game.
A year later, I... don't know where to even start. First of all, thanks a lot for staying by my side and accepting my invite to manage a MPL team again, even though we weren't a guaranteed pair at that point. I really wanted to manage a MPL with you because we were involved in various projects together, and I knew you would be a very reliable and respectful person just like in the projects we ran.
I fondly remember that we started to disagree on things as soon as day one when I was leaning towards getting a team full of mono mains while you wanted a team with big tournament names. I think that your opinion there really made the difference as I realized I would have gotten hella upbid on the picks I wanted because it would be predictable to everyone else. And turns out the path we ended up taking was the one that ultimately led us to the title.
As for the tournament proper, I think you were probably the best manager I could have teamed up with. Like, you scouted three gens AND prepared six teams a week without burning out at any point of the tournament - that is quite the insane feat, you know?!. Your dedication and intelligence ensured we had competitive slots all around (despite me thinking some ideas were quite crackhead LMAO), and at the end, it really made the difference for us to win it all.
Coming from a friend, I'm grateful for all you did this tournament. Who knew two bird shitters would manage an MPL AND win it all on their first try? Probably no one tbh. But dude, we just made it. From Togekiss vs Staravia beef to this, I think we should be proud of ourselves
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To the other managers and hosts
Ticken and
Perish Song, thanks a lot for this tournament. As I said before, winning wouldn't be rewarding if there was no fun or challenges, and I think we could field 8 very competitive teams this year. Sure, I'm very happy to have won the whole thing, but it feels even better to have had a tournament without major off-the-field issues and quality hosting.
As for myself... I feel extremely relieved, as if some sort of weight just lift out of my whole body. Sure, this might be just a pathetic online game (emphasis on pathetic) and I'm still quite mediocre at it, but after years of expecting to get drafted by a team just to end in the shore, and then being gatekept from a managerial spot when all odds were in favor, I think this is as relieving as it could be. To everyone that's reading, especially the newer faces out there, if there's a message I would like to spread, is to never give up, be it mons or real life. You never know what might come next, so it's your duty to give your best shot out there!