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Finals Smogon Premier League IX - Finals [Won by the Wi-Fi Wolfpack]
- Thread starter OP
- Start date
- Status
SM OU: ABR vs TDK - as good as TDK's looked the last few games, it's fucking ABR lol you can't predict against ABR
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra - Both have had highs and lows this SPL but I think Trosko's overall better and will show up clutch now that his team needs him to
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak - Pak's dominance has been key for the Raiders and with Christo out of the tour I don't think anyone can stop him
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami- - Shake is bad, and soulgazer's good at messing people up
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku - Rodribrutal, this man is not to be messed with
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori - Kaori's been doing better from what I can see
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs Ricardo - Kanto stuttered vs hiye but I think he bounces back here pretty solidly, Ricardo's done ok but Kanto's been way too dominant to stop
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC - highlight game, think that Soulwind will be itching for revenge and encouraged after seeing dice crack the myth of Kev's invincibility...but it's motherfucking Kev Crocune with the SPL trophy inches away from him, and he'll probably bring his all
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe - roscoe's way too hot to predict against alas, should be a fun game though
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee - Asta's tiebreak game vs undis was the stuff of legends, and idt Jirachee can stop him now that he's got his mojo back.
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio - Fear's just too hot too stop, never seen a man dominate GSC like him before
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$ - TINman is the man, the myth, the legend, he's scrapped hard all SPL and he's here to lock down his positive record.
Hope Wolves win bc they're a cool squad and TIN's my friend and deserves a condolence for us missing out on winning EGL, should be a good final set though.
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra - Both have had highs and lows this SPL but I think Trosko's overall better and will show up clutch now that his team needs him to
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak - Pak's dominance has been key for the Raiders and with Christo out of the tour I don't think anyone can stop him
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami- - Shake is bad, and soulgazer's good at messing people up
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku - Rodribrutal, this man is not to be messed with
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori - Kaori's been doing better from what I can see
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs Ricardo - Kanto stuttered vs hiye but I think he bounces back here pretty solidly, Ricardo's done ok but Kanto's been way too dominant to stop
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC - highlight game, think that Soulwind will be itching for revenge and encouraged after seeing dice crack the myth of Kev's invincibility...but it's motherfucking Kev Crocune with the SPL trophy inches away from him, and he'll probably bring his all
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe - roscoe's way too hot to predict against alas, should be a fun game though
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee - Asta's tiebreak game vs undis was the stuff of legends, and idt Jirachee can stop him now that he's got his mojo back.
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio - Fear's just too hot too stop, never seen a man dominate GSC like him before
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$ - TINman is the man, the myth, the legend, he's scrapped hard all SPL and he's here to lock down his positive record.
Hope Wolves win bc they're a cool squad and TIN's my friend and deserves a condolence for us missing out on winning EGL, should be a good final set though.
JUST FEW WORDS:
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
AND
THE FUCKING IDIOT GOD NINJA
AWOOOOO
Oh yeah...just saying..s/o to to the formidable player BKC. If you win this tournament, it will be the 4th trophies...just impressive.
Ive never seen in my pokemon life a player like him, which is capable of playing in every fucking tier at high level, capable of winning every type of tournaments. He prolly is the greatest player alive in the smogon history.
never arrogant and presumptuous.
ive met lots of players that whit some pixels became some1 else, acting like "a boss"'
You're who's still themselves.
you should be an inspiration for the new generations of players, and prolly for some of old ones.
Pleasured and honored to have met and played you some dpp.
Chapeau mr. Kevin
AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
AND
THE FUCKING IDIOT GOD NINJA
AWOOOOO
Oh yeah...just saying..s/o to to the formidable player BKC. If you win this tournament, it will be the 4th trophies...just impressive.
Ive never seen in my pokemon life a player like him, which is capable of playing in every fucking tier at high level, capable of winning every type of tournaments. He prolly is the greatest player alive in the smogon history.
never arrogant and presumptuous.
ive met lots of players that whit some pixels became some1 else, acting like "a boss"'
You're who's still themselves.
you should be an inspiration for the new generations of players, and prolly for some of old ones.
Pleasured and honored to have met and played you some dpp.
Chapeau mr. Kevin
Last edited:
Good luck pack, good luck Raiders.
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak: pak's heat as fuck, other guys got 4 numbers in his name pak gonna feast.
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori: lopsided on paper but Kaori's desire to use bad pokemon makes this a close game, marilli's played pretty poorly down the stretch and sam played well last week so edge sam.
corrupt ass raiders but gotta pull for my day 1's.
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori: lopsided on paper but Kaori's desire to use bad pokemon makes this a close game, marilli's played pretty poorly down the stretch and sam played well last week so edge sam.
corrupt ass raiders but gotta pull for my day 1's.
pasy_g
Banned deucer.
SM OU: ABR vs TDK
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami-
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs R!cardo
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami-
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs R!cardo
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$
Shoutouts time
We were very underrated as a team at the start of the season tbh, and I really think we proved people wrong by reaching playoffs. I was so excited in joining SPL for my first time. Thanks to my managers for picking me up and trusting me.
I met several good people during this experience and I'm glad because this really turned the environment way more enjoyable.
Thanks to:
The french core formed by Cdumas and Kory, both really solid af and consistent ou players and teambuilders;
Bush, for volt switching a krookodile and clinching the week before poffs;
lax and snaga for being two good teambuilders with lots of surprise picks and crazy mons;
Croven and qsns for putting a ton of effort in preparing for your games. You are a really strong duo, also I'm glad how Croven did well after a rough start;
Chill and 49, the latter just makes the craziest ev spreads ever, real mathematician here. chill sunday night is your kingdom btw;
Hiye, togedemaru! Despite the fact that you weren't the most active person in the chat, you managed to prep for your games and end up with a nice record. I won't forget your game vs Kanto, truly a showcase of one of the coolest games of oras, full of 50/50s and a really intense one;
Zorodark, it's a shame that you rushed your prep in some weeks because you're better than what your record says. I hope you will play more tours in the future;
Lasse for never posting the team :) jk, actually you're a cool mate, i dig all the teams you have brought and you play well too. dpp is a wild tier and you managed to be successful in the majority of games you played, so props to you;
Undisputed for being the greatest of all time in adv. I was so confident when you played because you bring very cool stuff and you play so well. Don't be sad about your last loss in tiebreak though, bad weeks happen for everybody. I won't forget your initial speech which motivated every single person in the team;
Tiba, too bad you got lucked in some of your games, your record definitely doesn't show who you are. I hope you get better luck in other tours, batalha;
Roudolf for being so underrated lol, after a bad start you literally destroyed everyone. You are very good at rby, glad to have met you man
jacob for subbing in sometimes, you're a nice person and a nice motivator for the team :)
Rewer for making every scout yourself, you're a machine. You're a good motivator too, and you really wanted us to win, so I'm extremely thankful to you;
marcop, another great and extremely cool person. even if you got banned for such a stupid reason, I was so glad to have you around in the team chat for your teams ideas.
Devicio for being my #1 macaco bf :blobpats:
Well, I also want to thank people who helped us in playoffs: Sabella, Pohjis, Bouff and Gama.
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: fuck u marcop
[1:20 AM] staba: when i can have my local PD
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: literally
[1:20 AM] staba: just shoot bush
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: if i fight
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: anyone here
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: id beat
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: anyone
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: its not about
[1:21 AM] Rewer: nah
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: strength
[1:21 AM] Rewer: u dont beat marcop
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: in this world
[1:21 AM] marcop: Nah dude
[1:21 AM] Rewer: marcop is strong
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: its colour
[1:21 AM] marcop: I got my timbs
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: black is the strongest
Bushtush - Today at 6:45 PM
vrazilians are good for 2 things
their butts
and thei r loyalty
Ed Sheeran - Today at 1:06 AM isnt bulu the obvious one
bc it's better vs the electric tapu
i cant think of the name
lele
wait no that's the psychic one
oh my god
cya around guys
We were very underrated as a team at the start of the season tbh, and I really think we proved people wrong by reaching playoffs. I was so excited in joining SPL for my first time. Thanks to my managers for picking me up and trusting me.
I met several good people during this experience and I'm glad because this really turned the environment way more enjoyable.
Thanks to:
The french core formed by Cdumas and Kory, both really solid af and consistent ou players and teambuilders;
Bush, for volt switching a krookodile and clinching the week before poffs;
lax and snaga for being two good teambuilders with lots of surprise picks and crazy mons;
Croven and qsns for putting a ton of effort in preparing for your games. You are a really strong duo, also I'm glad how Croven did well after a rough start;
Chill and 49, the latter just makes the craziest ev spreads ever, real mathematician here. chill sunday night is your kingdom btw;
Hiye, togedemaru! Despite the fact that you weren't the most active person in the chat, you managed to prep for your games and end up with a nice record. I won't forget your game vs Kanto, truly a showcase of one of the coolest games of oras, full of 50/50s and a really intense one;
Zorodark, it's a shame that you rushed your prep in some weeks because you're better than what your record says. I hope you will play more tours in the future;
Lasse for never posting the team :) jk, actually you're a cool mate, i dig all the teams you have brought and you play well too. dpp is a wild tier and you managed to be successful in the majority of games you played, so props to you;
Undisputed for being the greatest of all time in adv. I was so confident when you played because you bring very cool stuff and you play so well. Don't be sad about your last loss in tiebreak though, bad weeks happen for everybody. I won't forget your initial speech which motivated every single person in the team;
Tiba, too bad you got lucked in some of your games, your record definitely doesn't show who you are. I hope you get better luck in other tours, batalha;
Roudolf for being so underrated lol, after a bad start you literally destroyed everyone. You are very good at rby, glad to have met you man
jacob for subbing in sometimes, you're a nice person and a nice motivator for the team :)
Rewer for making every scout yourself, you're a machine. You're a good motivator too, and you really wanted us to win, so I'm extremely thankful to you;
marcop, another great and extremely cool person. even if you got banned for such a stupid reason, I was so glad to have you around in the team chat for your teams ideas.
Devicio for being my #1 macaco bf :blobpats:
Well, I also want to thank people who helped us in playoffs: Sabella, Pohjis, Bouff and Gama.
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: fuck u marcop
[1:20 AM] staba: when i can have my local PD
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: literally
[1:20 AM] staba: just shoot bush
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: if i fight
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: anyone here
[1:20 AM] Bushtush: id beat
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: anyone
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: its not about
[1:21 AM] Rewer: nah
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: strength
[1:21 AM] Rewer: u dont beat marcop
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: in this world
[1:21 AM] marcop: Nah dude
[1:21 AM] Rewer: marcop is strong
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: its colour
[1:21 AM] marcop: I got my timbs
[1:21 AM] Bushtush: black is the strongest
Bushtush - Today at 6:45 PM
vrazilians are good for 2 things
their butts
and thei r loyalty
Ed Sheeran - Today at 1:06 AM isnt bulu the obvious one
bc it's better vs the electric tapu
i cant think of the name
lele
wait no that's the psychic one
oh my god
cya around guys
Last edited:
[#1] Wi-fi Wolfpack (7) vs [#3] Team Raiders (5)
SM OU: ABR vs TDK
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami-
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs Ricardo (kantoat)
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC (the battle i'm most looking forward to)
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$
SM OU: ABR vs TDK
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami-
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs Ricardo (kantoat)
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC (the battle i'm most looking forward to)
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$
I'm obviously pretty sad to see the Tyrants go so far just to miss the mark, not just because it means that we are walking away from the trophy but because it means our season is over. To all the Tyrants: you were the best team a manager could ask for. You fought hard, you fought clean, you fought for each other. The amount of support from player to player was amazing and I can't imagine being on a better team. I'm really glad I got a chance to work with you all. Thanks to each and every one of you for everything you've done this season.
Special thanks to Dr. Rey for being a fantastic partner in crime. It was your vision that made this team what it was and we would not have gotten anywhere near as far as we did without you. Thanks for pushing me to manage with you. Let's do it again in 2019.
Special thanks to Dr. Rey for being a fantastic partner in crime. It was your vision that made this team what it was and we would not have gotten anywhere near as far as we did without you. Thanks for pushing me to manage with you. Let's do it again in 2019.
Wi-fi Wolfpack (6) vs Team Raiders (6)
SM OU: ABR vs TDK - hl
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami-
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs Ricardo
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC - hl
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$
good luck to both teams
SM OU: ABR vs TDK - hl
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami-
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs Ricardo
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC - hl
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$
good luck to both teams
GO RAIDERS!!! BOTH TEAMS, HAVE FUN!
Tin better prepare his best mono ice team, daddy Metalgross is angry and looking for revenge after the Wrap. Let's not forget, this is the spl final too, i wouldn't be surprised if he somehow finds a way to break the showdown script and go through the freeze clause during the peak of emotions between carrying his team dream and the desire for revenge. Hyped af for this "anime-like" bo3.
sam-testings
What a beautiful face, I have found in this place
[#1] Wi-fi Wolfpack (12) vs [#3] Team Raiders (0)
SM OU: ABR vs TDK - Battle of the three letter tour players, but ABR is on a roll so he's gonna win
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra - gondras good, TROSKOAT is better
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak - TCGoat the underdog to win once again
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami- - shake himself said it so.
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku - Rodri with computer is unstoppable :o
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori - love marilli :3c
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs R!cardo - Best 3k pickup in the existence of SPL, Kantoat
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC - SoulWind is the best to have ever touched this metagame, and he's looked unstoppable in these last matches
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe - There's never been anyone that's been as good at guessing than Void, and that will determine this match
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee - astamtitos won last week and he's lookin like he's back
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio - Fear is playing insanely well this entire tournament, and he'll continue to dominate
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$ - TINGOAT's tryhardness will carry this match
and finally, no matter the outcome of this series, a huge shoutouts to Tony for inviting me to the wolfpack discord. I really didn't expect it nor did I ask for it, and it was great hanging out with yall for most of spl. Thank you so much
AWOOOOOOO LFGI WOLFPACK
SM OU: ABR vs TDK - Battle of the three letter tour players, but ABR is on a roll so he's gonna win
SM OU: Trosko vs Gondra - gondras good, TROSKOAT is better
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 vs Pak - TCGoat the underdog to win once again
SM RU: soulgazer vs -Tsunami- - shake himself said it so.
SM NU: Rodriblutar vs Zukushiku - Rodri with computer is unstoppable :o
SM DOU: marilli vs Kaori - love marilli :3c
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto vs R!cardo - Best 3k pickup in the existence of SPL, Kantoat
BW OU: SoulWind vs BKC - SoulWind is the best to have ever touched this metagame, and he's looked unstoppable in these last matches
DPP OU: Void vs roscoe - There's never been anyone that's been as good at guessing than Void, and that will determine this match
ADV OU: Astamatitos vs Jirachee - astamtitos won last week and he's lookin like he's back
GSC OU: Fear vs choolio - Fear is playing insanely well this entire tournament, and he'll continue to dominate
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja vs MetalGro$$ - TINGOAT's tryhardness will carry this match
and finally, no matter the outcome of this series, a huge shoutouts to Tony for inviting me to the wolfpack discord. I really didn't expect it nor did I ask for it, and it was great hanging out with yall for most of spl. Thank you so much
AWOOOOOOO LFGI WOLFPACK
Last edited:
Last one for the road!
SM OU: ABR (49) vs (51) TDK - A modern clash of the titans here with the two most recent OUTLs going at it. TDK recently passed the baton over to ABR for leadership of SM OU, but that does not mean he hasn't been in form lately, winning his last three in three different tiers against top players in each. From a raw playstyle perspective, ABR is a bit more reactive when it comes to forming strategies and cores around what he figures will do decently against his opponent whereas TDK is a bit more versatile outright, showing a number of fallback balances, a periodic stall, and even flashes of more offensive teams. In terms of gameplay, ABR is almost always a more conservative pilot, prioritizing preservation of tools necessary to win the game over immediate positioning and slight advantages in the early-to-mid game stages. He tends to minimize misplays, aside from a stray example or two throughout the course of the season, but also not rely upon many flashy reads or doubles until backed into a corner, which tends to fit well with his playstyle that usually gives him an inherent advantage from the start. On the other end, TDK is a bit more naturally aggressive, not quite reaching the extremes of modern day quick risk taking extraordinaires like two of his prior opponents, CBB and Blunder, but also not afraid to take the risk if he feels the reward is likely and worthwhile, especially when it comes to doubles when playing bulky-offense and balance early on. It is likely that this approach has let TDK keep up with both CBB and Blunder in recent weeks while still not falling for many of their aggressive doubles and reads, letting him storm through both games without much trouble. Given this and his tendency to naturally vary his teams that I touched on before, I reckon that TDK has the inherent upper-hand on ABR due to the element of unpredictability and the fact that he can use whatever tools he has at his disposal to position himself in a more comfortable fashion than ABR can in order to make progress, basically giving him a natural stylistic advantage. I do think that a lot will come down to the teambuilding of each player as opposed to the plays made, unfortunately, as I do not expect either to misplay much. All things considered, the game can go either way, but the match-up favors TDK despite ABR being more dominant and less prone to miscues thus far. Really looking forward to this one and perhaps the memes that proceed this post given the length of this prediction!
SM OU: Trosko (55) vs (45) Gondra - Both of these players have been impressive at times, but also questionable at other points. Throughout the past 4-5 weeks, Gondra has made some really impressive reads and they have paid off at some points, but he also has made a number of costly mistakes that surely hurt his chances of winning multiple games. Trosko is similar, but both sides of the spectrum are minimized significantly -- he does have plenty of outplaying potential, but also has had a couple of small slip-ups. Ultimately, I think he is a bit more of a steady and reliable player, especially in situations like these where there is pressure and he has a year or so more experience, which is part of why I favor him here. However, I'd like to top-it-off by saying that the Wolfpack have some pretty strong synergy when it comes to idea-sharing, which obviously correlates to teambuilding, and I think that they just have the better SM core of the two teams, which tends to correlate to success in these tournament settings more often than not. Overall, could go either way, but more faith in Trosko to play a well-rounded game and bring a solid team. Gondra can easily show up with a decent team and play the game of his life still, so don't count him out.
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 (40) vs (60) Pak - I think these two are closer than most may seem to think in terms of gameplay, but it is clear that the influence of teambuilding help will play a large role on both sides and thus far Pearl is unmatched, as shown by the success of Pak thus far and even TDK in the tiebreaker game vs Christo. This isn't meant to take much away from Pak, who has shown to be a reliable and successful pilot and likely influence on these teams, and this is a large part of why I predict him to come out on top, but it would not be the most surprising thing for PokeTCG to come in and play a really strong, aggressive game and emerge victorious in a close one, so we'll have to wait and see what comes of it.
SM RU: soulgazer (75) vs (25) -Tsunami- - Jesus fucking christ, this season is a train-wreck and a half for Shake as is, but now he's also put in the tier that has played a large role in it becoming a train-wreck, RU. Oh and to top to it all off, he's also against the most consistent lower tier SPL performer out there in sg, so he's fucking doomed. As a spectator, all I can personally hope for is the most amount of aids, chokes, and meme-worthy moments possible in order to get the most value out of what surely will be a forgettable display from the rusted out clown who not only predicted his own teams games, but also predicted himself to lose for fucks sake. And there it is.
SM NU: Rodriblutar (45) vs (55) Zukushiku - Usually have a bit more to say on NU as it is one of my areas of expertise, but both of these guys are solid pilots who are pretty soft-spoken and tend to go under the radar. Rodri is a bit more wild, showing strokes of inexplicable genius at times, whereas Zuku is a product of monotype who has shown the big tournament scene that he can play with the best recently. Overall, Zuku has misplayed a couple games, but he has not done so to a horrible extent, especially relative to other NUers, and when he is playing his game, he does really well. I think this paired with the fact that he is more in-sync with his team support than Rodri (fuck rozes) leads me to favor Zuku, especially given recent performances, but both are pretty similar in terms of skill level and gameplay, so just going mostly off of external factors and overall performance thus far than anything too analysis based here.
SM DOU: marilli (45) vs (55) Kaori - I don't play doubles much, but I do want to say that Kaori demonstrates a really clear and intriguing understanding of the metagame and how games unfold as seen by his videos, which everyone can see on his channel btw, and from my personal experiences with him in call when other dudes play in the tier. marilli has been impressive dating back to Snake, even if he cooled off a bit recently, and I do not know enough specifically to really pick between the two, but my gut and minimal, likely unreliable intuition favors Kaori, so let's go with that!
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto (70) vs (30) Ricardo - A simple equation can be derived from this SPL's ORAS games in order to calculate consistent success: Updated Kanto + ABR support - xtra$hine support = w. UK has emerged as one of the more respectable pilots in the tier and while he has not played flawlessly, he has not hesitated to make a plethora of impressive positioning plays and reads to help him manage a more diverse gameplan than his past solely-offensive approach. R!cardo continues to show potential, but some games he just doesn't have it and you have to wonder what we will see from him here, his high ceiling or his low floor. The former may be enough for UK, but the latter surely will not be sufficient, leading to my significant favoring of the man who has been the most consistent in this metagame thus far compared to the utility substitute.
BW OU: SoulWind (45) vs (55) BKC - Another battle of two greats, this time in my old stomping ground of BW OU. Dating back to a much earlier time, both of these two have been seen as two of the better BW tournament players and this holds true to the present, where they have undoubtedly been two of the three best players in BW this SPL (alongside Dice). BKC's no-nonsense approach has worked wonders thus far and tends to put the game in the hands of him as a player as opposed to him and his opponent as teambuilders, which is ultimately his goal approach wise. This means that he does not overwhelm himself with potential outlets to maximize advantages with the cost of more unfavorable match-ups and he tries to be prepared for whatever can be thrown at him, a style that is fit fairly well for high-stake games such as those in playoffs or tiebreakers. SoulWind, on the other hand, is a bit more of a loose cannon, not afraid to mix it up and bring less orthodox teams that are likely to exploit whatever he expects while also being unpredictable himself. Over the past 3-4 years, SoulWind has not only risen to prominence in the SPL scene as a BWer, but also grown from a more standardized player when he was consistent to a consistently versatile, unpredictable player who has done well utilizing a number of different, incomparable strategies. Personally, I'm a big fan of this development and the fact that SoulWind has stuck with this throughout this SPL, but I still do not necessarily think that it will lead him to much success against BKC unless he wants to risk a lot for potentially nothing (or potentially a big initial advantage). Honestly, I'd put my money on SoulWind settling on a fairly run-of-the-mill Sand or Rain that may lean a bit more offensive while BKC settles on a Sand of a bulky-offensive variety, something that is right up his normal alley yet hard to take advantage of without very specific means of doing so that are often not worthwhile. This is as close as you'll get to a true man's SPL BW game under these current metagame conditions and I am thrilled to see it in finals and I hope that the better player wins, which leads me to my ultimate prediction -- BKC has played a steady, strong read oriented game thus far that gives him a minor upper-hand on SoulWind and I think he will take it, but I cannot say this with a ton of confidence as both are great. Cool game and I hope to catch it!
DPP OU: Void (35) vs (65) roscoe - Void has came in really well prepared against a number of opponents and executed at sufficient levels, but other games he just does not seem to have enough in him to outmanouver top-notch competition and I think this is another case of that seeing how solid roscoe has been all season long (tbh, over the past couple years, but I'm focusing more on the present with this one anyway). roscoe has a ton of support and clearly a strong grasp on gameplay and team structures himself as well. Pair this with success at a very consistent rate dating back to week 2 and I think he is clearly advantaged here in the last thinking match of the tournament.
ADV OU: Astamatitos (65) vs (35) Jirachee - Two of the "nice guy" figures from the old generation tournament community that don't appear to give off the vibes of "back in my day" or "get off my lawn" match-up in ADV for the second time this tournament. While Jirachee took the first game, it was largely thanks to the guiding hand of lady luck's coldest minion and while he gave himself a chance in a game of odds, Asta had a very legitimate chance to come out on top there, too, so it would not be fair to discount his efforts in that game. Aside from their lone prior match, both have played ADV for most of the tournament thus far and Asta has been more impressive gameplay and teambuilding wise despite having a slightly worse record, in my eyes. Asta is always prepared with flashy, yet justified, sets and/or strategies when it comes time to shine whereas Jirachee tends to rely upon fairly conventional, yet reliable and effective, teams from what I can see, perhaps influence by his teammate BKC at times. I cannot decipher a ton of what this will lead to match-up wise as ADV is far from my area of personal expertise, but I have always viewed Asta as a bit of a counter-measure to the standard ADV player and I also feel like his ability to pilot teams that he crafts is at an exceptionally high level whereas Jirachee may not necessarily be building alone and also lacks the amount of experience and success over time that Asta has in ADV. All things considered, I favor the Greek over the Canadian football enthusiast.
GSC OU: Fear (60) vs (40) choolio - Fear has been really solid in his gameplay all season long whereas it feels like Choolio has chooled off (haha) in recent weeks. Can honestly go either way and I do not know the first thing about GSC playstyles besides the fact that both seem to be more modern and take the initiative to give themselves advantages in the teambuilder, but I favor Fear just because it seems he has everything going for him at the moment while the same cannot be said for Choolio.
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja (55) vs (45) MetalGro$$ - Not a ton to say about the players themselves or the series they have to play, but I do want to say that I would pay to hear the thoughts of all four managers/assmen during the series -- holy shit, this must be the worst fucking feeling ever, especially if you're on the losing side or getting haxed out. porco dio
Have it at 6-6, but slightly favor the Wolfpack overall if you want my honest opinion. The Raiders path to the red trophy involves one of two things, I reckon -- forcing a tiebreak at 6-6 as they are slightly favored there in my eyes or having one/multiple of their long-time weaker slots (RU, ORAS, and RBY mainly) pull through after a pretty tough season to sway momentum in their favor and perhaps break it open, especially if any of these games happen earlier on in the week. The Wolfpack have the more well-rounded, consistent roster whereas the Raiders have the higher highs and lower lows, for the most part. Series wide, I feel this favors the Wolfpack as I said before and I think the season thus far agrees with that assessment, but it is only one week and just twelve games of Pokemon, so anything can happen. Good luck to both teams and while I am not really pulling for either specifically, I am rooting for all of my friends so good luck to you guys!
Finally, thanks to everyone who actually told me they enjoyed to read these predictions posts and asked for more of them -- it's fun for me to think through and write out (I actually do quite a bit of replay watching, recollection of past games, and analysis of tiers I know that goes in to some of these) and while I know they have apparently stirred up controversy (not my intention and now how I thought some people would respond), I would like to believe they were worthwhile as more and more people got into predictions and some sick memes got produced because of my posts, so I am glad to help promote any positive tournament community interactions and enjoyment. Hope everyone had as fun an SPL as possible tbh!
SM OU: ABR (49) vs (51) TDK - A modern clash of the titans here with the two most recent OUTLs going at it. TDK recently passed the baton over to ABR for leadership of SM OU, but that does not mean he hasn't been in form lately, winning his last three in three different tiers against top players in each. From a raw playstyle perspective, ABR is a bit more reactive when it comes to forming strategies and cores around what he figures will do decently against his opponent whereas TDK is a bit more versatile outright, showing a number of fallback balances, a periodic stall, and even flashes of more offensive teams. In terms of gameplay, ABR is almost always a more conservative pilot, prioritizing preservation of tools necessary to win the game over immediate positioning and slight advantages in the early-to-mid game stages. He tends to minimize misplays, aside from a stray example or two throughout the course of the season, but also not rely upon many flashy reads or doubles until backed into a corner, which tends to fit well with his playstyle that usually gives him an inherent advantage from the start. On the other end, TDK is a bit more naturally aggressive, not quite reaching the extremes of modern day quick risk taking extraordinaires like two of his prior opponents, CBB and Blunder, but also not afraid to take the risk if he feels the reward is likely and worthwhile, especially when it comes to doubles when playing bulky-offense and balance early on. It is likely that this approach has let TDK keep up with both CBB and Blunder in recent weeks while still not falling for many of their aggressive doubles and reads, letting him storm through both games without much trouble. Given this and his tendency to naturally vary his teams that I touched on before, I reckon that TDK has the inherent upper-hand on ABR due to the element of unpredictability and the fact that he can use whatever tools he has at his disposal to position himself in a more comfortable fashion than ABR can in order to make progress, basically giving him a natural stylistic advantage. I do think that a lot will come down to the teambuilding of each player as opposed to the plays made, unfortunately, as I do not expect either to misplay much. All things considered, the game can go either way, but the match-up favors TDK despite ABR being more dominant and less prone to miscues thus far. Really looking forward to this one and perhaps the memes that proceed this post given the length of this prediction!
SM OU: Trosko (55) vs (45) Gondra - Both of these players have been impressive at times, but also questionable at other points. Throughout the past 4-5 weeks, Gondra has made some really impressive reads and they have paid off at some points, but he also has made a number of costly mistakes that surely hurt his chances of winning multiple games. Trosko is similar, but both sides of the spectrum are minimized significantly -- he does have plenty of outplaying potential, but also has had a couple of small slip-ups. Ultimately, I think he is a bit more of a steady and reliable player, especially in situations like these where there is pressure and he has a year or so more experience, which is part of why I favor him here. However, I'd like to top-it-off by saying that the Wolfpack have some pretty strong synergy when it comes to idea-sharing, which obviously correlates to teambuilding, and I think that they just have the better SM core of the two teams, which tends to correlate to success in these tournament settings more often than not. Overall, could go either way, but more faith in Trosko to play a well-rounded game and bring a solid team. Gondra can easily show up with a decent team and play the game of his life still, so don't count him out.
SM UU: PokeTCG gamer1288 (40) vs (60) Pak - I think these two are closer than most may seem to think in terms of gameplay, but it is clear that the influence of teambuilding help will play a large role on both sides and thus far Pearl is unmatched, as shown by the success of Pak thus far and even TDK in the tiebreaker game vs Christo. This isn't meant to take much away from Pak, who has shown to be a reliable and successful pilot and likely influence on these teams, and this is a large part of why I predict him to come out on top, but it would not be the most surprising thing for PokeTCG to come in and play a really strong, aggressive game and emerge victorious in a close one, so we'll have to wait and see what comes of it.
SM RU: soulgazer (75) vs (25) -Tsunami- - Jesus fucking christ, this season is a train-wreck and a half for Shake as is, but now he's also put in the tier that has played a large role in it becoming a train-wreck, RU. Oh and to top to it all off, he's also against the most consistent lower tier SPL performer out there in sg, so he's fucking doomed. As a spectator, all I can personally hope for is the most amount of aids, chokes, and meme-worthy moments possible in order to get the most value out of what surely will be a forgettable display from the rusted out clown who not only predicted his own teams games, but also predicted himself to lose for fucks sake. And there it is.
SM NU: Rodriblutar (45) vs (55) Zukushiku - Usually have a bit more to say on NU as it is one of my areas of expertise, but both of these guys are solid pilots who are pretty soft-spoken and tend to go under the radar. Rodri is a bit more wild, showing strokes of inexplicable genius at times, whereas Zuku is a product of monotype who has shown the big tournament scene that he can play with the best recently. Overall, Zuku has misplayed a couple games, but he has not done so to a horrible extent, especially relative to other NUers, and when he is playing his game, he does really well. I think this paired with the fact that he is more in-sync with his team support than Rodri (fuck rozes) leads me to favor Zuku, especially given recent performances, but both are pretty similar in terms of skill level and gameplay, so just going mostly off of external factors and overall performance thus far than anything too analysis based here.
SM DOU: marilli (45) vs (55) Kaori - I don't play doubles much, but I do want to say that Kaori demonstrates a really clear and intriguing understanding of the metagame and how games unfold as seen by his videos, which everyone can see on his channel btw, and from my personal experiences with him in call when other dudes play in the tier. marilli has been impressive dating back to Snake, even if he cooled off a bit recently, and I do not know enough specifically to really pick between the two, but my gut and minimal, likely unreliable intuition favors Kaori, so let's go with that!
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto (70) vs (30) Ricardo - A simple equation can be derived from this SPL's ORAS games in order to calculate consistent success: Updated Kanto + ABR support - xtra$hine support = w. UK has emerged as one of the more respectable pilots in the tier and while he has not played flawlessly, he has not hesitated to make a plethora of impressive positioning plays and reads to help him manage a more diverse gameplan than his past solely-offensive approach. R!cardo continues to show potential, but some games he just doesn't have it and you have to wonder what we will see from him here, his high ceiling or his low floor. The former may be enough for UK, but the latter surely will not be sufficient, leading to my significant favoring of the man who has been the most consistent in this metagame thus far compared to the utility substitute.
BW OU: SoulWind (45) vs (55) BKC - Another battle of two greats, this time in my old stomping ground of BW OU. Dating back to a much earlier time, both of these two have been seen as two of the better BW tournament players and this holds true to the present, where they have undoubtedly been two of the three best players in BW this SPL (alongside Dice). BKC's no-nonsense approach has worked wonders thus far and tends to put the game in the hands of him as a player as opposed to him and his opponent as teambuilders, which is ultimately his goal approach wise. This means that he does not overwhelm himself with potential outlets to maximize advantages with the cost of more unfavorable match-ups and he tries to be prepared for whatever can be thrown at him, a style that is fit fairly well for high-stake games such as those in playoffs or tiebreakers. SoulWind, on the other hand, is a bit more of a loose cannon, not afraid to mix it up and bring less orthodox teams that are likely to exploit whatever he expects while also being unpredictable himself. Over the past 3-4 years, SoulWind has not only risen to prominence in the SPL scene as a BWer, but also grown from a more standardized player when he was consistent to a consistently versatile, unpredictable player who has done well utilizing a number of different, incomparable strategies. Personally, I'm a big fan of this development and the fact that SoulWind has stuck with this throughout this SPL, but I still do not necessarily think that it will lead him to much success against BKC unless he wants to risk a lot for potentially nothing (or potentially a big initial advantage). Honestly, I'd put my money on SoulWind settling on a fairly run-of-the-mill Sand or Rain that may lean a bit more offensive while BKC settles on a Sand of a bulky-offensive variety, something that is right up his normal alley yet hard to take advantage of without very specific means of doing so that are often not worthwhile. This is as close as you'll get to a true man's SPL BW game under these current metagame conditions and I am thrilled to see it in finals and I hope that the better player wins, which leads me to my ultimate prediction -- BKC has played a steady, strong read oriented game thus far that gives him a minor upper-hand on SoulWind and I think he will take it, but I cannot say this with a ton of confidence as both are great. Cool game and I hope to catch it!
DPP OU: Void (35) vs (65) roscoe - Void has came in really well prepared against a number of opponents and executed at sufficient levels, but other games he just does not seem to have enough in him to outmanouver top-notch competition and I think this is another case of that seeing how solid roscoe has been all season long (tbh, over the past couple years, but I'm focusing more on the present with this one anyway). roscoe has a ton of support and clearly a strong grasp on gameplay and team structures himself as well. Pair this with success at a very consistent rate dating back to week 2 and I think he is clearly advantaged here in the last thinking match of the tournament.
ADV OU: Astamatitos (65) vs (35) Jirachee - Two of the "nice guy" figures from the old generation tournament community that don't appear to give off the vibes of "back in my day" or "get off my lawn" match-up in ADV for the second time this tournament. While Jirachee took the first game, it was largely thanks to the guiding hand of lady luck's coldest minion and while he gave himself a chance in a game of odds, Asta had a very legitimate chance to come out on top there, too, so it would not be fair to discount his efforts in that game. Aside from their lone prior match, both have played ADV for most of the tournament thus far and Asta has been more impressive gameplay and teambuilding wise despite having a slightly worse record, in my eyes. Asta is always prepared with flashy, yet justified, sets and/or strategies when it comes time to shine whereas Jirachee tends to rely upon fairly conventional, yet reliable and effective, teams from what I can see, perhaps influence by his teammate BKC at times. I cannot decipher a ton of what this will lead to match-up wise as ADV is far from my area of personal expertise, but I have always viewed Asta as a bit of a counter-measure to the standard ADV player and I also feel like his ability to pilot teams that he crafts is at an exceptionally high level whereas Jirachee may not necessarily be building alone and also lacks the amount of experience and success over time that Asta has in ADV. All things considered, I favor the Greek over the Canadian football enthusiast.
GSC OU: Fear (60) vs (40) choolio - Fear has been really solid in his gameplay all season long whereas it feels like Choolio has chooled off (haha) in recent weeks. Can honestly go either way and I do not know the first thing about GSC playstyles besides the fact that both seem to be more modern and take the initiative to give themselves advantages in the teambuilder, but I favor Fear just because it seems he has everything going for him at the moment while the same cannot be said for Choolio.
RBY OU: The Idiot Ninja (55) vs (45) MetalGro$$ - Not a ton to say about the players themselves or the series they have to play, but I do want to say that I would pay to hear the thoughts of all four managers/assmen during the series -- holy shit, this must be the worst fucking feeling ever, especially if you're on the losing side or getting haxed out. porco dio
Have it at 6-6, but slightly favor the Wolfpack overall if you want my honest opinion. The Raiders path to the red trophy involves one of two things, I reckon -- forcing a tiebreak at 6-6 as they are slightly favored there in my eyes or having one/multiple of their long-time weaker slots (RU, ORAS, and RBY mainly) pull through after a pretty tough season to sway momentum in their favor and perhaps break it open, especially if any of these games happen earlier on in the week. The Wolfpack have the more well-rounded, consistent roster whereas the Raiders have the higher highs and lower lows, for the most part. Series wide, I feel this favors the Wolfpack as I said before and I think the season thus far agrees with that assessment, but it is only one week and just twelve games of Pokemon, so anything can happen. Good luck to both teams and while I am not really pulling for either specifically, I am rooting for all of my friends so good luck to you guys!
Finally, thanks to everyone who actually told me they enjoyed to read these predictions posts and asked for more of them -- it's fun for me to think through and write out (I actually do quite a bit of replay watching, recollection of past games, and analysis of tiers I know that goes in to some of these) and while I know they have apparently stirred up controversy (not my intention and now how I thought some people would respond), I would like to believe they were worthwhile as more and more people got into predictions and some sick memes got produced because of my posts, so I am glad to help promote any positive tournament community interactions and enjoyment. Hope everyone had as fun an SPL as possible tbh!
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