1. M Dragon vs 8. Isza - M Dragon looked exactly as sharp as I expected from him last round, disposing Star in 3. On the other hand Isza surprised me with a win over get backer, looking way more proficient than I had been giving him credit for. The premier RED BLUE YELLOW enthusiast should be favoured over everyone left in his staple gen, but proved last round that he's no slouch in 2-5 either. Isza seems to have studied up and looks to be in top form, as well as being one of the most motivated players in the tournament. Meanwhile M Dragon seems to similarly be at the height of his abilities, and prime M Dragon has accomplished numerous feats in this game that leave no question on his status as one of the all time greats. I predicted Isza to win RBY and lose the other 4 last round, and despite being proven wrong, I will reluctantly do so again. As solid as he looked last round, M Dragon is among the greatest in all of these generations, and has certainly performed up to par so far. Would love to be proven wrong a second time though.
2. Luthier vs 7. Zokuru - Both of these competitors scored hard fought victories in 5 game sets last round, with Zokuru needing some RNG to win the ADV game after the GSC match went to 600 turns. I'd say these players are relatively similar in having a bit of a jack of all trade type spread, with none of their tiers really feeling like they lag much behind. Of course, I'll favour Luthier in BW and Zokuru in GSC respectively, but the other three could go either way in my mind. Zok expressed that he'll up his game this round to make sure he won't need RNG again, but generally speaking I would still favour Luthier here based on prior form. Between qualifying as the second stage and his first round victory, Luthier seems to have adapted pretty well to most of these gens, so it'll be interesting to see if he can keep his run going.
14. mind gaming vs 6. Fakes - Only pairing where I predicted both of the competitors to actually win their last match. As I said, I think mind gaming is actually one of the best players on this site right now with a true understanding of Pokémon, so he's one of my top picks for a dark horse in these playoffs. That being said, I still think Fakes will make it to the finals. Besides once again demonstrating his paltry understanding of RBY especially in the lobby chat, he looked extremely strong during his series vs Jabba only dropping the BW game to a lot of RNG. Fakes is easily one of the strongest players on the site right now in multiple of these formats, and arguably the strongest in BW. I once again am very interested to see how mind gaming tackles this challenge as I respect his take on the game a lot, but fear this mountain may be a bit too steep as Fakes looks to be unstoppable in 2024 so far.
13. crucify vs 12. ABR - Finally, the man who has been asking for these predicts the most. ABR showcased why I continue to glaze him on tuesday (insane dodger btw) with a 3-0 victory over top contender BIHI. crucify on the other hand took down SoulWind in what has been the upset of the tournament so far. His team choices were innovative and both his long-term planning and game sense looked sharp, as he played strong games in each 5 gens. Versus any other opponent, his extremely impressive performance paired with my bias would be more than enough to sway me into bolding him. Unfortunately, after slaying one giant he's immediately faced with quite possibly the only person on this site that could be an even stronger opponent. Big fan of both of these guys, so hoping to see a spectacle here similar to crucify's series last round. Predicting ABR in 4.
