Toxic Chains (4) vs (4) Tenacious Technicians
SV - feen vs Floss - i believe in the mad lad, has had an especially strong showing in ssnl as well as rult and I think momentum when coming into this tour is going to be big week 1 moreso than anything else
SV - xavgb vs ishtar - this is a familiarity pick for me. ishtar has been relatively more kept up/comfy w the RU meta as it has been developing as well as had pult going thus far to keep the skills sharp. xav however is an arguably fundamentally more sound player with a tremendous backbone in terms of teambuilders/experienced RU heads so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out either way
SV - Xiri vs zS - im gonna be so honest idk what to make of this but i think ive seen more of xiri being goated so im goin with that lol
SS - Mac3 vs QWILY - again no clue really whats goin on with this one lol. I've personally played w mac3 a few times in the past and moreso than he was actively requesting SS games, he seems still very engaged with that meta so ill put it on him
SM - xXcrossbowXx vs odr - ik he's godr but ive just seen more consistent commitment from crossbow to SM recently. he's always bringin smth funny to the table and when it comes to two vets of the game like this, sometimes funny can be enough to tip the scales
ORAS - eifo vs etern - im gonna be so honest this pick is mostly attributed to recent burnout ive seen from eifo. The man has been putting himself through the ringer with a literal gauntlet of individual tours and that very well can run a persons mental into the ground esp when mons are involved. especially too when you're up against someone as fundamentally sound and collected as etern the mental game might be a real issue to contend with.
BW - devin vs BlazingDark - im gonna be so real again idk wtf is going on lol but BlazingDarks name is so dope i gotta give him the nod
BO3 - EviGaro vs TheFranklin - one of the manager/retains, franklin has just been really solid. he's been staying in touch with basically all the metas, is coming off really strong showings in the throwback ru cups and has history of success with these tiers. this is not to say that evi is not on as similar level especially when it comes to familiarity and prolonged experience with these metas but franklins recent results, i think, have given him really valuable momentum when it comes to a week 1 mu
Iron Fisters vs Bulletproof Bombers
SV - atomicllamas vs blunder - Feliburn
SV - Mana vs tko- ran
SV - Master Chief vs MAHOH - from
SS - dunoks vs Meru - the
SM - cyanize vs ima - Feli
ORAS - robjr vs Ajna - vs
BW - Feaniix vs lax - Feli
BO3 - sensei axew vs Feliburn - Money Match
Rocky Mountain's Payloaders (4) vs (4) Deranged Hustlers
SV - Danny vs LpZ - Dannys goated but like ive said before LpZ has the momentum on his side with recent ssnl performances, it is hard to pick anyone really over him right now
SV - Leni vs Lime - I value experience with the tier and creativity a lot when it comes to evaluating these types of matchups and Lime has both of that in spades. i havent seen Leni doing anything big in terms of RU tours recently either and again I think momentum is a big thing leading into these matchups which I'd also have to give to Lime at this point
SV - Bouff vs Thiago Nunes - I'll be so honest beraldo was gassing me up on tnunes i dont have the most info on either of these guys so im trusting the goat baldo on this one
SS - BluBirD vs Metallica126 - meta is like SO cracked but SS blub is DIFFERENT so im with it lol
SM - Hurtadoo vs Santu - i will again be so fr rn idk either of these dudes but hurtadoo and feen spawned THE MOST fire rugl team name possibly ever so like, im giving him the nod lol
ORAS - Chaitanya vs DugZa - this mu is gonna be so goated, both of these guys have been on a tear in the throwback cups leading up to rupl but chait has like, all time record status backed by recent successes so i have to give the nod
BW - GoldCat vs Guille - gk might just own bw idk
BO3 - Star vs Beraldo - yknow i dont think I actually remember seeing/playing against beraldo? but like it means smth to be defending champs and i do believe that beraldo will be out to send a message his team are the favorites this week
Noble Guardians (5) vs (3) Crunchwrap Supreme Overlord Juniors
SV - umbry vs hellom - would be lying if I knew much ab either of these players lol but when i accidentally messaged umbry ab manager interviews I was answered w EXPEDIENCY and also redirected to the actual managers so I predict Ws all around lol.
SV - hariyana grande vs hjkhj - so fr rn, i have no idea who hariyana grande is lol, but hjk shown dedication to the tier and a strong run through rult which I think is enough to give him the nod. he is also unique in his building which is very fire
SV - Cielau vs Kushalos - another strong run off of rult, i think ciel really is someone REALLY flying under the radar and I'm excited to see what he's got this week
SS - Attribute vs Fogbound Lake - i will be honest. another vibes pick lol
SM - Gondra vs Denial - if denial can successfully edit 6 manager interviews (including my scuffed one w/ out the overlay we love u for that btw denial) in like 3 days, w1 is probably just easy money
ORAS - Piyush25 vs avarice - from here on out i know nothing ab anybody so its all vibes lol
BW - Lily vs ninjadog - more vibes
BO3 - Punny vs mncmt - omg the VIBES