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Playoffs Smogon Classic XI Playoffs - Finals [Sunday @ 4PM -4 / 9PM +1]
- Thread starter Hiro'
- Start date
1. PDC vs 9. Fakes - When your two uncles encounter each other at a family reunion and one is the most boring, generic middle aged fella while the other went on one too many benders in his 20s. PDC — the golden standard of ten years ago spamming balances from five years ago in tiers fifteen plus years old — draws Fakes, who seems to be experiencing his second peak as a player thanks to the highs of inhaling German tractor gas fumes. Fakes is definitely favored in BW while I think the oldest generations tilt towards PDC. ADV and DPP will be huge in deciding this; I think Fakes has proven slightly more there, but this can go either way and the winner is the favorite moving forward. Great players, great set, and great deal of meme fodder. Win for the spectators.
15. Exiline vs 7. Fear - Fear’s GSC prowess is perhaps the most respected of anyone’s single tier competence of everyone left in the field. Having that edge, I find it hard to bold Exiline. He should in theory be favored in BW, but many metagame mainstays are skeptical of his results due to some of the teams and contents of the games. I get this, but personally still think Exiline is favored in BW as he plays well enough and could take the bookends with RBY being plenty winnable. The issue is 2-4 likely goes to Fear and the margins there feel larger than those of BW/RBY, so I favor Fear to be the second member of a strong final four. Competitive set either way, very curious to see BW team pick from Exiline as it’ll be telling about his confidence levels for the entire set probably.
3. elodin vs 6. Kristyl - This series is weird as they neutralize each other. Elodin is perhaps best in BW in the pair, but Kristyl is sneakily superb at the generation. She builds well, understands the metagame, and can easily compete against SPL level players. Elodin also has the self sabotage angle where he loads dogshit, playing it off like BW is a meme or he does not truly know better. If we see a Jolly Forretress, simply call it before we have to watch the world’s worst movie once more. On the flip side, Kristyl is great at DPP, but Elodin has proven he’s just as capable there. I do think I would take Kristyl in ADV, but Elodin has put in the work to have decent range in this format and I view him as a tad better overall. I actually think Elodin’s recent interest in DPP makes him a major threat to win the whole thing, but either of these two I would have up there with Fakes/PDC as a very likely tournament winner. Great, close, hopefully 5 game set.
13. Amaranth vs 12. Kingler - Kingler, formerly known as Kingler12345, is just not that good at 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. In big 2025, it was quite frankly a miracle that he made it to this point. I will give him his flowers for two strong, middle generation wins against a formidable opponent in GtG. I do think RBY was a little silly and he definitely lost the plot in his two losses, but that’s more than I figured he would get. This does feel like the end of the road though. Amaranth demonstrates close to mastery in RBY, especially relative to a less experienced field, alongside a quiet slew of solid BW results. I think Amaranth put in the work to polish his 2, too, given some recent displays. 3-4 will be a tossup that may favor Kingler as he was able to beat GtG there, but it isn’t nearly as big of an edge as RBY is for Amaranth.
15. Exiline vs 7. Fear - Fear’s GSC prowess is perhaps the most respected of anyone’s single tier competence of everyone left in the field. Having that edge, I find it hard to bold Exiline. He should in theory be favored in BW, but many metagame mainstays are skeptical of his results due to some of the teams and contents of the games. I get this, but personally still think Exiline is favored in BW as he plays well enough and could take the bookends with RBY being plenty winnable. The issue is 2-4 likely goes to Fear and the margins there feel larger than those of BW/RBY, so I favor Fear to be the second member of a strong final four. Competitive set either way, very curious to see BW team pick from Exiline as it’ll be telling about his confidence levels for the entire set probably.
3. elodin vs 6. Kristyl - This series is weird as they neutralize each other. Elodin is perhaps best in BW in the pair, but Kristyl is sneakily superb at the generation. She builds well, understands the metagame, and can easily compete against SPL level players. Elodin also has the self sabotage angle where he loads dogshit, playing it off like BW is a meme or he does not truly know better. If we see a Jolly Forretress, simply call it before we have to watch the world’s worst movie once more. On the flip side, Kristyl is great at DPP, but Elodin has proven he’s just as capable there. I do think I would take Kristyl in ADV, but Elodin has put in the work to have decent range in this format and I view him as a tad better overall. I actually think Elodin’s recent interest in DPP makes him a major threat to win the whole thing, but either of these two I would have up there with Fakes/PDC as a very likely tournament winner. Great, close, hopefully 5 game set.
13. Amaranth vs 12. Kingler - Kingler, formerly known as Kingler12345, is just not that good at 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. In big 2025, it was quite frankly a miracle that he made it to this point. I will give him his flowers for two strong, middle generation wins against a formidable opponent in GtG. I do think RBY was a little silly and he definitely lost the plot in his two losses, but that’s more than I figured he would get. This does feel like the end of the road though. Amaranth demonstrates close to mastery in RBY, especially relative to a less experienced field, alongside a quiet slew of solid BW results. I think Amaranth put in the work to polish his 2, too, given some recent displays. 3-4 will be a tossup that may favor Kingler as he was able to beat GtG there, but it isn’t nearly as big of an edge as RBY is for Amaranth.
the boring uncle won, ggs to fakes. been friends for 10 yrs and first time we actually played for anything this classic. see you at the reunion.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5ou-878647?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4ou-878661?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-878713?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen1ou-878719
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2ou-878740?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen5ou-878647?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen4ou-878661?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen3ou-878713?p2
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen1ou-878719
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen2ou-878740?p2
ggs amaranth. think fear pdc or elodin take this for sure, pdc in particular looks threatening
shoutouts to serpi for the insane depth of rby help, kevin for the adv team/gsc team i planned on bringing, finch abr choolio etc for some teams/advice and laurel groudon for dpp help. not my best work gl to everyone left
edit forgot cow july thanks guys get cow for spl
shoutouts to serpi for the insane depth of rby help, kevin for the adv team/gsc team i planned on bringing, finch abr choolio etc for some teams/advice and laurel groudon for dpp help. not my best work gl to everyone left
edit forgot cow july thanks guys get cow for spl
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PDC (DPP, ADV, GSC) vs Amaranth (BW, RBY) - the clutchest man on Earth is going to win another tough, close set. Amaranth has been impressive this tour but PDC's mental game is second to none, the guy just has true grit in tournaments. This classic is his to win
Fear (GSC, ADV) vs elodin (BW, DPP, RBY) - elodin is a dangerous customer and has a very well balanced mons skillset with great fundamentals. Fear is of course dominant in GSC but whether he can threaten elodin in BW or DPP remains to be seen.
Fear (GSC, ADV) vs elodin (BW, DPP, RBY) - elodin is a dangerous customer and has a very well balanced mons skillset with great fundamentals. Fear is of course dominant in GSC but whether he can threaten elodin in BW or DPP remains to be seen.
I gotta disagree with your prediction on Fear. While he’s mostly known for being one of the GSC goats, I can’t imagine his RBY and ADV being far worse given good team selection. DPP/BW is an edge for elodin but given the lack of information on fear in the millennial-and-younger gens I really think he’s the most scary player left in this pool (PDC is a damn close second).
I expect a barnburner of a series similar to PDC-Fakes. Fear beat two excellent overall players in ima and Exiline, while elodin beat two great old gen mains in OmBrArch and Kristyl (the latter of whom is an established classic powerhouse now).
This sounds like an amazing finals.
O/U Total turns:
PDC vs Amaranth: 380
Fear vs elodin: 230
PDC vs Amaranth: 380
Fear vs elodin: 230
Want to quickly shout out gorgie Prinz violet river TyCarter Raiza for help, huge support in the top16, sorry I couldn't take it all the way.
Thanks to everyone rooting for me from RBY/DOU/Italy/etc. love you all.
Sad to go out on a set with such high impact RNG but that's pokemon.
Should be a banger final, what PDC did this Classic is really impressive and the two on the other side are behemoths too. GLHF
Thanks to everyone rooting for me from RBY/DOU/Italy/etc. love you all.
Sad to go out on a set with such high impact RNG but that's pokemon.
Should be a banger final, what PDC did this Classic is really impressive and the two on the other side are behemoths too. GLHF
Great finals. Also congrats to the semifinalists. While it stings not to reach the end of the journey, getting there is not an easy task especially in a tourney with such a great variety of tiers.
What I absolutely love in classic is the comeback of old legends with a shot at an individual tourney, so I'd love to see Fear with a trophy in the footsteps of Conflict, August and M Dragon. PDC is also amazing tho. Good luck to both!
What I absolutely love in classic is the comeback of old legends with a shot at an individual tourney, so I'd love to see Fear with a trophy in the footsteps of Conflict, August and M Dragon. PDC is also amazing tho. Good luck to both!
Awesome finals between two guys I have immense respect for. Congrats on your runs thus far. It’s amazing seeing two competitors who have been at it on-and-off for 15+ years return to this form across five tiers. Staying ready with the range required to contend here is no easy task, but doing show while exhibiting mastery in certain metagames is even more impressive.
As for predictions, I think you gotta take Fear in GSC and ADV no matter what. His GSC needs no introduction, towering above the entire field and giving him a cushion against opponents who are more savvy in DPP/BW areas. I won’t pretend to be in the weeds in GSC (or RBY), but conventional wisdom says Fear is comfortably favored in GSC.
As for ADV, PDC has been hit-or-miss there whereas Fear has been in good form. We saw Fear pilot two different Registeel offenses to victories, suffocating the opponent and cornering them earlier on in games with MixTar trades and aggressive, but calculated, lines to assure tempo wasn’t forfeited at many points. I do think Fear will feel pressure to change styles this time around, but so long as he can make a smart pivot, there’s no reason to suspect he will falter. PDC I think has a fighting chance here as he used to be more than passable in ADV, but the metagame has shifted a lot since back then and Fear has proven to adapt better here specifically in my eyes.
This makes it incredibly uphill for PDC as he would need to win each of the next three. I think DPP is his most likely tier to win here with BW being, albeit distant, second. PDC’s DPP has historically been good enough and his builds could be enough to keep Fear from doing much damage — I suspect PDC to be equipped with anti-offensive strategies there. Fear will probably be ready for generic Clef Hippo Skarm Jira Zap etc. slop balance we see ran back a ton, so curious to see how he accounts for that and how PDC tries to adapt his own approach. These type of adjustments can make or break series after all — same goes for the above discussion about ADV now that Fear has repeated a vague archetype in his own usage. I think PDC will do what he needs to assure the upper hand here and I do wonder if Fear’s comfort spans beyond offense. We saw him win with a Nido Clef balance against Exiline, which gives me some hope, but PDC is a different caliber opponent in DPP, so that’ll be a big test.
BW is weird as PDC has shown some strides, but also made some errors. Historically he’s more proven here, but that all goes out the window in a single game with these stakes. Fear did best Elodin to his credit and took the right risks to force defensive play, give himself odds to dispose of the Latios, make aggressive pivots, seize momentum, etc. and it worked out well. Not sure I get the Sludge Bomb Air Balloon Tentacruel, but who the hell am I to question shit that works and his gameplay was great. PDC has decent range, a boatload of experience, and some connections, so I won’t pick against him, but if Fear manages to take BW, I find it hard to see him losing the set as a whole.
RBY is mostly a tossup to me and I think that just given how close RBY and BW are, Fear is likely to take one, which is enough with GSC and ADV. So I say he is like a 60/40 favorite in what I hope to be a 4-5 game set. Would love to see another marathon game, which PDC has a tendency to get into, which goes down to the wire. Have fun to both the competitors.
As for predictions, I think you gotta take Fear in GSC and ADV no matter what. His GSC needs no introduction, towering above the entire field and giving him a cushion against opponents who are more savvy in DPP/BW areas. I won’t pretend to be in the weeds in GSC (or RBY), but conventional wisdom says Fear is comfortably favored in GSC.
As for ADV, PDC has been hit-or-miss there whereas Fear has been in good form. We saw Fear pilot two different Registeel offenses to victories, suffocating the opponent and cornering them earlier on in games with MixTar trades and aggressive, but calculated, lines to assure tempo wasn’t forfeited at many points. I do think Fear will feel pressure to change styles this time around, but so long as he can make a smart pivot, there’s no reason to suspect he will falter. PDC I think has a fighting chance here as he used to be more than passable in ADV, but the metagame has shifted a lot since back then and Fear has proven to adapt better here specifically in my eyes.
This makes it incredibly uphill for PDC as he would need to win each of the next three. I think DPP is his most likely tier to win here with BW being, albeit distant, second. PDC’s DPP has historically been good enough and his builds could be enough to keep Fear from doing much damage — I suspect PDC to be equipped with anti-offensive strategies there. Fear will probably be ready for generic Clef Hippo Skarm Jira Zap etc. slop balance we see ran back a ton, so curious to see how he accounts for that and how PDC tries to adapt his own approach. These type of adjustments can make or break series after all — same goes for the above discussion about ADV now that Fear has repeated a vague archetype in his own usage. I think PDC will do what he needs to assure the upper hand here and I do wonder if Fear’s comfort spans beyond offense. We saw him win with a Nido Clef balance against Exiline, which gives me some hope, but PDC is a different caliber opponent in DPP, so that’ll be a big test.
BW is weird as PDC has shown some strides, but also made some errors. Historically he’s more proven here, but that all goes out the window in a single game with these stakes. Fear did best Elodin to his credit and took the right risks to force defensive play, give himself odds to dispose of the Latios, make aggressive pivots, seize momentum, etc. and it worked out well. Not sure I get the Sludge Bomb Air Balloon Tentacruel, but who the hell am I to question shit that works and his gameplay was great. PDC has decent range, a boatload of experience, and some connections, so I won’t pick against him, but if Fear manages to take BW, I find it hard to see him losing the set as a whole.
RBY is mostly a tossup to me and I think that just given how close RBY and BW are, Fear is likely to take one, which is enough with GSC and ADV. So I say he is like a 60/40 favorite in what I hope to be a 4-5 game set. Would love to see another marathon game, which PDC has a tendency to get into, which goes down to the wire. Have fun to both the competitors.
I'm not finchinator so I won't spend too much time writing this
Bw, Rby- tossup
Dpp- PDC
Gsc- fear
Adv-slight leaning to fear but PDC is also a v v good adver so beware
Every PDC set is a fucking showstealer so I think this one will be too--he has a great tendency to take the game deep
Fear has been extremely well prepped and nicely teched out too--prolly the best prepped in this tour imo
Almost a true 50-50
I like both these guys... May the sets be clean and free of RNG and may the best player win!
Bw, Rby- tossup
Dpp- PDC
Gsc- fear
Adv-slight leaning to fear but PDC is also a v v good adver so beware
Every PDC set is a fucking showstealer so I think this one will be too--he has a great tendency to take the game deep
Fear has been extremely well prepped and nicely teched out too--prolly the best prepped in this tour imo
Almost a true 50-50
I like both these guys... May the sets be clean and free of RNG and may the best player win!