Yep, predicts.
The Snap Trappers (4)
vs Happy Huntails (4)
SWSH: Greybaum vs
Ktütverde - Greybaum has been making some waves, making it all the way to PU Open semis, but Ktut remains the better player for me here. Greybaum may be able to get the jump on Ktut in the builder if he's more comfortable with the new meta but otherwise this is pretty solidly in Ktut's favor.
SWSH: Squash vs
TJ - Squash has his moments but I think he needs his opponent to be in a more reactive position in order to win, I think anyone willing to make plays has a good shot vs him. TJ can be that player but I feel like he can also fall back into reactive mode so we will see, I favor him anyway.
SWSH:
chlo vs Lambovino - Lambo's ok but chlo is better and I feel like she's good at coming up with nasty little tricks that give her a one-up over the opponent, definitely favor her.
SWSH: ojr vs
lockjaw - I presume lockjaw is more familiar with the tier than ojr and other than that I really don't have much to say about this one.
USUM:
MZ vs yandaud - Good matchup. MZ definitely has not had luck on his side lately but I know he's capable of performing, yandaud has also been doing fine in the last couple of weeks although he slipped up a bit vs Finch. Think I'm going with MZ here because he strikes me as a bit more diverse in the builder, he can probably take advantage of yandaud's tendency to use more cookie cutter teams.
ORAS:
Bobby Dagen vs lighthouses - Both players put up very strong ORAS records last year so this might seem like a close one to some but imo there is a pretty obvious difference in terms of skill ceiling here. Rodri is not your average player and really only needs a winnable matchup and neutral luck to do it, Diogo will have to outmaneuver him in the builder if anywhere.
BW2: SOMALIA vs
Feaniix - Feaniix has been decent in BW so far and I know he's motivated, meanwhile I don't really know how somalia's gonna do, he's capable of performing in this meta but will need to pull up with something solid.
DPP:
Heysup vs GeneralAnnoyance - Two very strong DPP players, could really go either way. Heysup's DPP building has been getting wackier over the years which could give him the surprise factor he needs or backfire horribly (he did put up a disappointing record last year). I'll bold him this time because of that insane Sucker Punch sequence last week. Gotta know how to get in your opponent's head to win a sequence like that.
The Vicious Rends (5) vs Moo Moo Milkers (3)
SWSH:
Decem vs Vulpix03 - Can't really assess Vulpix in current meta but he's probably solid, that being said Decem has proven himself as of late and after testing with him recently I'm pretty confident in saying he's someone to watch out for.
SWSH: Expulso vs
Star - I recall Expulso ending his Slam run over some poor choices in the builder, he will definitely have to do better than that to stand a chance here. Even so, Star is easily one of the best players in the pool and will give Expulso a run for his money even if the latter scores a good matchup.
SWSH:
mncmt vs Osh - I kinda wanna bold Osh here but despite him doing well so far I haven't been liking his teams, feel like the Milkers' lack of great team support hurts them here. mncmt isn't too shabby as a player to say the least and I think has more support to rely on so I wanna give him the edge.
SWSH:
TheFranklin vs Splash - Splash hasn't been making a
splash in PUPl thus far (lol) (lmao). He made some pretty elementary mistakes in his last couple of games, which is not something you can afford vs a reliable player like Franklin.
USUM:
LordST vs HJAD - I would favor HJAD in SM typically but he is so one-dimensional and still relying on years-old teams that I think anyone with the motivation to do solid prep vs him has a good shot. I assume LST does know how to prep vs HJAD and is good enough as a player to overcome the British menace.
ORAS: TSR vs
Taskr - Not sure where either player is at. Taskr I still don't know how to assess in ORAS and the one game he played so far he had an unwinnable matchup, whereas TSR had a very good matchup week 1 and went up against Aldo week 2. I think I slightly favor Taskr assuming his ORAS is actually decent and week 1 was a fluke.
BW2:
EviGaro vs Tack - love Tack but Evi in BW PU is out of her league I'm afraid.
DPP: SergioRules vs
JabbaTheGriffin - Rends are already looking pretty desperate in DPP. Maybe Sergio can do more than Rosey, but Jabba is obviously just a more proven player so I have to favor him.
Deez Nuts Druddigons (5) vs M.A.A.D City Magmortars (3)
SWSH:
Punny vs zS - Grand Slam winner Punny
SWSH:
umbry vs Drud - Drud brought an Aromatisse last week and I can't vouch for that at all. All joking aside, I do think Drud's teams have looked slightly more inconsistent compared to umbry's, who's just been bringing kinda boring but solid stuff the last couple of weeks. In SS I feel boring but consistent has been a winning strategy and umbry definitely is a good player who can pilot that sort of thing so I'll give her the edge.
SWSH: Serene Grace vs
Raiza - Not sure about Serene, he's something of a clicker and I don't think the current PU meta really favors the kind of team you would want Serene to be pulling up with. Raiza seems more equipped to succeed in this meta, afaik he's been building a decent amount and he's generally a strong player so I gotta favor him.
SWSH:
Bouff vs pdt - Good players, should be a fun match. I favor Bouff here because I've just been liking what he's been bringing more.
USUM:
Pak vs Wingless - Pak's solid, Wingless threw rather hard last week and I already had him ranked near the bottom of the (admittedly strong) SM pool, so if he doesn't catch Pak off guard with a tech the way he did Xiri week 1 I definitely think Pak is stronger here.
ORAS:
Sensei Axew vs ManOfMany - The ORAS games so far have given me very little to work with between a lot of games being decided because of luck and/or matchups. I favor Sensei in these types of tours typically but it's probably a pretty close call.
BW2: DnB vs
Bushtush - Entirely biased prediction because I love Bushtush. I do favor him as a player here but it remains to be seen if he can master the intricacies of BW PU, something we know DnB most definitely can.
DPP: HSOWA vs
Aliss - HSOWA got his ass kicked very thoroughly last week when he had the means to break the opposing team, just an incredibly rushed game on his end. I think he had an insanely good DPP record in NUPL so my judgment may be entirely off here, but last week's game did not inspire confidence in me. Alice meanwhile knows the meta well and plays pretty methodically, gonna have to favor her.
