Last year I made a post about potential UU slots that might go under the radar back then - this year I feel the manager pool may be lacking a bit of depth within UU specifically, so I'd like to take this opportunity to give you guys a reference for players you may or may not be aware of. Everyone I'm about to list will bring something good to your team, and at the end I'm going to also list a few players who may not quite be ready yet but still deserve a shot as either a sub or an invitee to your chat.
This is in order of signups by the way. No priority here, just listing people as I see them when I search UU in the signups thread.
me
no, i'm not vain enough to say draft me lol i just wanna say that if anyone has intention of getting me, please let me know / don't spend too much! i am happy to team with anyone but i'd like to know what's expected of me activity-wise and such bc i'll be going back to school & have other commitments etc etc you get it, ty!
hariyana grande
hariyana grande has recently made a name for himself as a surprisingly capable UUer, after making a deep run in UU Open (where he lost to umbry, who won the entire thing). I think this one result is a little tough to go off; while he has good results in team tournaments, none of them have been in SS UU, so I'm not quite sure he's earned a starting spot yet. That said, he'll almost certainly go quite cheap and would make for a good sub / support slot if you're looking for that, and is very easy to get along with / makes a good chat presence too. Please don't take this as a "diss" or w/e - you should 100% draft this dude, literally zero question.
Lyss
With a recent string of fairly good tournament results, Lyss is a very likely pickup in this tournament and is someone you should be on the lookout for. She's definitely a solid pilot and while she's also self sufficient, having someone she can bounce ideas with may help her teams to be more solid and also may prevent her from getting metagame-related headaches. She's also very active which is a huge plus. Definitely consider grabbing her.
LNumbers
Given his excellent showing last year it's probably obvious that Clark will find his way onto a team once more, so I don't have too much to say here. He may need a little bit of support - probably something you should ask him about yourself - given he hasn't really played much UU lately, but other than that he should be good to go.
Monky25
Monky is someone who I don't think is quite up to snuff when it comes to starting in official team tournaments yet, but if there's one thing he is, it's a tryhard - you'll definitely see him all over the chat pumping out teams left and right. He's a very good person to get if you intend to get a less self-sufficient UU player, and he'll be very active and pleasant within your chat. If worse comes to worst he's a fine substitute too, and given his inexperience he will likely be just 3k for whichever manager is willing to take the shot.
Sage
Sage needs no introduction, but as far as I know she'd prefer to play OU this tournament which is 100% something you're going to want to keep in mind. She does know UU, though, and while I don't wanna speak for her, she's definitely capable of lending a hand to your UU slot while being part of a good OU backbone. She's super versatile and obv doesn't need me to gas her here lol.
avarice
A likely pick given he was on the winning SCL team last year, avarice has leveled up a lot and should be capable of being either a decent starter or a really good sub. He's been putting up good records for quite some time now and doesn't show any real signs of stopping, giving a nice modicum of consistency. As a nice bonus, he's also got some experience in OU and a lot of experience in PU, meaning you can put him in three different slots and he can probably help with all three regardless of what he's playing!
crying
Grand Slam finalist and concocter of UU bullshit crying has signed up for this tier among many others. Getting her will mean getting someone who has been on fire for quite some time now, and while UU may not be her strongest tier, she's self sufficient in it and has clearly been able to hold her own both in Slam and UULT. Definitely not someone to overlook especially given how much she's been killing it recently. Skill Swap Minecraft may not be the move though.
passion
passion is very good at piloting UU teams. That's all you need to hear. He's been putting up great records in anything UU related that he signs up for, and he's also one of the best chat presences I've come across with a great positive attitude that really helped my team in UUPL. I'm not sure if he builds his own stuff, so you may need to get him with a support slot, but he's definitely worth it.
pokemonisfun
pif is pif, you know pif, he's been one of the best UU players ever for longer than most of us have been on the site and will probably do just fine if you opt to draft him. You definitely should.
mncmt
Ran from Bushtush, activity L to Mario34, claims he will cancer on like 4 different managers and requires support from his bestie who he will cancer without. Do not draft for sure. Will win a lot tho.
Highways may have only mustered 11 points in Grand Slam - granted, that's still 1 more than the differential of his legendary 3-13 UU team tour record - but that's all in the past now, and he has surprised many by putting up consistently good results in a variety of games lately. Not only is he in grand finals of the UU Invitational, possibly the most stacked UU tour in a long time, but he also comes from the winner's bracket. On top of that, he has consistently put up good team tournament records lately and has been good backup in the past couple of SCLs/Snakes (he supported me on my legendary 5-5 Snake 4 run...). Absolutely should be starting this tournament.
Meru
Meru is very good at winning in SS UU, altho I don't think he's entirely self sufficient. That shouldn't deter you though; his sheet record is absurdly good outside of a recent uncharacteristic UUSD, so as long as you throw some support his way, you'll have a very good slot that can hold his own against anyone in the pool and likely put up a strong, positive record. He might be cheap too!
pdt
pdt is a huge tryhard that managed to win the entire tournament last year on the Islanders. That alone should get him drafted, and if you feel you want to start him, he's definitely good enough for that. This assumes he won't be a retain, of course, which is possible - if not, though, definitely keep your eyes on him. He's a big clicker and always has been, but he'll throw in help for every slot and is a very nice person to be around on top of being a solid player.
Shiba
Mickey Mouse ribbon winner Shiba returns to the fray in unexpected fashion and will likely be a pretty good slot if drafted with a little support. Shiba is obviously very strong as a player, but has not played SS UU much if at all since his Championships win, so he'll definitely need a bit of a hand there. Don't be too worried about this slot as long as you can provide that, though.
KSt3ve
shoutouts ksteve
KSt3ve is a self-sufficient builder that has recently gained some playing experience in various UU team tournaments, meaning he's a pretty capable player by now. Whether or not he's up to scratch when it comes to starting in official team tournaments is hard to say; you never really know unless you try, but it may be best to give him a shot as a sub that can go in if things go awry with a more established player. Nonetheless, if you end up needing a decent budget starter, KSt3ve may be exactly what you're looking for. He is French though.
Estarossa
If you want someone that talks more about GSC UU than SS UU or you just happen to really like Umbreon and want someone that shares your enthusiasm, Esta is your guy. That aside, he's definitely a capable support option that's been on top of metagame trends time and time again - notably inventing Calm Mind Glowbro, no RU didn't do it first shut up, anyway he's got an unorthodox style of building fat so if you want to pair him with someone like Spanish or Italian or something then he'll probably do pretty good there
GXE
GXE Is a capable player in a wide variety of tiers and UU is no exception. That said, I think he's more likely to go for NU - where he has been dominant for ages - so I'm not expecting him to really start UU. That said, he absolutely
could, he definitely has the talent and with a little support he should be able to make things work just fine. He's also somehow permanently underpriced, so that could work out in your favour.
KM
he's good i promise. his record in recent times is like 10-4 or some absurd shit. please buy him
Sirwings
Sirwings is a hyperactive chat presence that will post shit memes and make you hate him. THAT SAID he's a pretty good builder and might be worth a sub slot given he's also a prep tryhard. He was a helpful presence in my UUSD2 chat at least.
aim
I don't need to tell you about joey lol but just in case, he's one of the best to ever do it and will surely smash the UU field if he's got decent support and feels like playing the tier. Kinda how it's always been for him, as long as he likes a tier he'll do well. I honestly dunno what to write here lol he's just really good at pokemon and we all know that
Moutemoute
One of the rare Smogon users with the confidence required to put their selfies on full display, Moutemoute will probably do fine if you can put up with the maldery. He's not a bad pilot and is self-sufficient, so he'll make for a fine starter or sub if you choose to draft him. Plus he did win Snake 4!
TSR
The Shit Rag, Tommy, The Stupid... anyway he's good as long as you don't let him near Thundurus bc he'll probably have an aneurysm and die if you do
udongirl
A talented ladder hero that's been rising in the ranks is udongirl who seems to have solved Pokemon by slotting Choice Specs on everything with a base Special Attack stat of 105 or higher. Not consistent enough to start yet but could be a very fun and dangerous sub slot.
dunoks
I got to both team with dunoks in UUSD and play him in UULT finals and I can say firsthand that he's a competent player. I think that if he's got his activity in check then he'll definitely be a good person to buy in this tournament. He also knows more than just UU which is a great bonus of course.
Totomon
Totomon is a pretty cool person to have around, they know the tier very well and ladder frequently. The main thing you'll want Totomon for is support, either as a sub or as a member of your team chat - they're a solid chat presence that's very easy to get along with and can help your UU slot out well. Not to sound like some wise old sage from an RPG or whatever but if you can befriend them you'll have a helpful ally.
SoulWind
I mean it's SW dude what can i really say? I dunno if he'll even be playing UU but if he does then yeah just pair him with someone who can make half-decent teams and enjoy your free win slot
dragonitenb / xujing691691
Pairing these two up just because I had the pleasure of teaming with them recently and I can tell you they're really good. They do need some help in the building department (they are self-sufficient but a helping hand never hurts) but they're very dangerous secret weapon type people, you should really consider getting them. Weaponised timezone too since both are Chinese. Really nice people to be around and they've got the skills required.
vivalospride
Chances are you know who viv is if you've been around for a while. For a while he was kinda stuck in this limbo of being just a tiny cut below what was required for an official tournament, but post-girlfriend viv is a whole different beast that can really hold his own. He'll be cheap and is a strong contender for a sleeper pick in this draft, and is also a great builder that can help out a more established player like SoulWind or watashi or aim or whoever. A great buy for sure.
Allen-xia
Honestly one of the more underrated slots, Allen has quietly been putting up good results in both individual and team tournaments for a while now. He's pretty solid overall and has made deep runs in a bunch of things, which you can go fact check yourself if you don't believe me bc I have been writing this for hours and sure as shit am not sifting through any more threads. He's pretty good that's all you need to know
Poek
Poek is just so good at Pokemon and now that he knows what Centiskorch is he really has become unstoppable. Expect 30 different rain teams week 1 into no lines until week 6. Goated pickup.
Anyway, sorry if I missed anyone. When you're at it for so long you will inevitably skip signups without meaning to and will upset someone so yea I promise I don't mean to! Just wanna help out some prospecting managers and gas up some community dudes who may not get the recognition without a little boost. Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone in the tournament o7