ABR
adam.. you can call me trosko's hoopa, because if there's one thing i'm gonna miss the most it's your zen. it's something i first learned during our time together on the
ABRs bushmasters, but you took it to a whole new level when you were the least nervous person on the team leading up to and even during that g3 vs tdk. to be honest, i can't even remotely imagine a better team mate existing. the absolute first thing i told anti is that i wanted to trade for your retains, which in itself was the first emotional roller coaster we went through this season and probably the one that had you nervous the most out of anything looking back. we learned from the mistakes we (but mostly i) made during ssd and ensured the same thing wouldn't happen again this time around. i think our conversation before you played sums up our understanding perfectly and i'm privileged to have worked with the absolute best two team tours in a row. the way you wrote up your shoutouts is fantastic btw. it could not have been written in a more ABR way lmfao.
Astamatitos
this was our second spl together and it was a delight yet again. as soon as i decided i wanted to manage i knew i wanted to team up with you and fear again, and thankfully that feeling was mutual. so much so that we started discussing how to go about getting it done only a few days after anti and i decided to team up with
the creation of our group pm with fear. i wish you weren't as hard on yourself as you are, because you're a dream to work with! luck was rough on you this season, but you came through big time when it mattered the most during the semi finals tiebreaker. you are a fantastic adv player and team builder and your record does NOT reflect the quality of your season. as i've said to you many times, there's no adv player i'd want on my team over you and no spreadsheet will convince me otherwise. i am sorry for asking so much of you to the point that you got into trouble with your wife lmfao. :messi: you can tell her it was my fault and that i'll stop bothering you for at least 6 months. ;)
Cynde
after getting soulgazer in the draft we immediately switched our focus to you as we wanted one "big" lower tiers player for either uu or ru, and you were part of the preferred cheap uu package alongside rob. while results wise it may seem like things didn't work out, i couldn't be happier that we got you for this tour. you're an A+ team team presence and between rob, me and yourself we've pumped out some really cool ideas and teams for uu this season. as i've been preaching throughout the tournament, team atmosphere is my #1 priority in team tournaments, and you were a HUGE part of that for our team. you got along with everyone instantly and not only enjoyed my borderline insufferable puns and wordplay, but joined in when mana and i were (admittedly) spamming them seemingly every day. don't be too down about your record, because this not only was your first ever official team tournament, but you've also shown you have a great and positive attitude towards everyone on our team regardless of your individual success. 10/10 would draft again. :ear_of_rice:
Earth
it's earthie bitch. it took about 4 hours before we had to make a dedicated channel for your "traps" because it just wasn't safe for work to look at the main chat in any public area anymore lmao. we took a chance on you because we had rozes as part of our setup and he wanted you the most out of everyone. the tournament didn't go as you'd have liked it to beforehand, but everyone can see the potential is very much there. reading your shoutouts post put a smile on my face because i was worried you weren't enjoying the second half of the season, so i'm glad you still had a good time on the pack. i hope you don't give up playing tournaments after this either! you're still young and inexperienced and with the first big one out of the way things should go smoother from here on out. finally, i want to personally thank you for giving the social justice warrior in me an outlet to start preaching so often.
Fakes
god i wish you weren't german. i swear it's the language that's causing all these issues, but w/e. when we were discussing getting you for 3k some activity and "wild boar" concerns were raised, but given your quality and experience as a player, asta's ability to tame you over whatsapp and the low price tag we decided to give it a shot despite the fact you're german. looking back it's that last bit that did you in, but i would like it on the record that you were actually fantastic for as long as it lasted. you worked really hard on your preparation, you scheduled properly and supported your team mates, too. all things that go against your (now proven to be incorrect) reputation. i'll probably never draft a german again, but i don't really regret getting you looking back. getting you and rodri with a 5.5k midseason budget is a great return i'd say, if only you weren't german.. :'(
Fear
holy shit. you sir are something else. did you know our retains won a combined 26 games? i think that's a record i can't imagine it not being one. your approach to this tournament is unique and unrivaled. your building and dedication isn't just great, i'd describe it as intense. kanto already mentioned being intimidated by you at first in his post and i can imagine why as well, but i think that aura of intimidation quickly transformed into one that won the whole team's respect and admiration. you played the biggest game of the week most weeks and your game vs tiba was probably the biggest of the season after abr's tiebreaker game vs tdk. you won all of those games btw. most of them were emotional roller coasters, too. momentum shifts into the biggest of big dick plays at the end were not uncommon, and you just kept on delivering. you were very involved since the absolute start of this adventure back in november and my god have you earned this trophy. it was an honor to be your manager.
marilli
thank you for the nice shoutouts post and pm you sent me. c: your record and performance wasn't what you had hoped for this tour, but you still contributed a ton to our team. i'm glad you were still able to enjoy the tour despite your personal struggles and multiple pairs or broken glasses. :x now that you're not scheduling games at ungodly o'clock anymore i can start working on my sleep schedule, too! after the nightmare ending of ssd i'm glad we got to win this one together, because you're a fantastic team mate regardless of what the spreadsheet might indicate. you were very talkative (again) and i'm happy you didn't feel too isolated as the dou player on our team (again). i don't regret getting you once more and i hope you won't beat yourself up too much over your record, because nobody else on the team is either!
Mana
:wesmart: i'm including you here because you were part of the chat from the start and i think everyone considers you as part of our group 100%. it's nice to have someone around that always catches, acknowledges and appreciates my jokes and i think that goes the other way around, too. you should really play the next spl though because you're way too talented to just jerk and suggest (admittedly fire) unsets, as much as i've enjoyed that (and i really have). i know you've already set your sights on wcop so let's make #semisatleast again and i don't doubt that you're winning grand slam either.
Nails
big dangerman nails. the self appointed
:goat: 
of benchriding himself.. i actually really valued having your experience in both tournaments in general and managing spl around. you helped out where you could and in between the "back in my day.." tourbannable statements and shaymin emojis you kept the team grounded and focused. :uds: you actually provided input and test games for multiple tiers as well and don't think i haven't noticed that either. i also appreciate your honesty and concern when something's on your mind and messaging me about it instead of just sitting on it. all in all i'm glad we picked you up and good luck in your upcoming vgc tournament! i also need you to know that
this made me laugh out loud.
PokeTCG gamer1288
robjr.. i'm not sure if i actually told you this already, but you were one of the first like 3 players we were set on from the start. you were on literally every single draft plan we made and you IMMEDIATELY proved why that was even before you started playing games for us. your value to our team cannot be overstated. you were such a hard worker, such a nice and friendly presence and then to top it all off started winning us a good amount of games, too! the way you listened to our feedback is something that really impressed me as well. after the loss to sacri you flipped a switch somewhere and it just propelled you to being one of the most successful uu players in the tournament, going 2-0 in playoffs being particularly fantastic! thank you for taking my ideas and teams seriously and working so well with cynde and myself to get the results we wanted and needed. you were a dream team mate and any team would be lucky to have you.
Rodriblutar
goo rodri! us trying to trade for you was an experience almost worthy of it's own low production value reality TV-show. however, it all worked out in the end. we wanted you from the start because our uu and nu slots were the least experienced ones of our line-up going into the season, but unfortunately the trade was overturned originally. :'( having said that, following the mid-season trade our line-up with you in nu and rotating in rob for uu helped us grow to become a complete team without any real holes. rozes being a team building machine and you being surprisingly clear about what you do and don't like despite the
slight language barrier ended up being a great tandem for us, and a huge part of the lower tiers sweep we were able to achieve in the final. you're a very good player rodri and i wouldn't be surprised if you made your third grand slam playoffs in a row this year either, since making slam playoffs is literally less of a challenge for you than
changing your discord avatar. easiest 2,5k i spent in my life. ^_^
shiloh
getting a name change for a fresh start and to make people forget about your controversial past: genius! your tourbanned ass is getting a shoutout here too because you're truly incredible. i'm not sure what we did to deserve your effort, passion and dedication for free, but holy shit is it appreciated. you did so much it's actually ridiculous. from test games in what actually might have been every single tier, to scouting reports, to the hottest nu teams on the block. wouldn't have won this tour without you, don't think i'm not aware of that. <3
soulgazer
SOULGAZER-SAMA. we shared a couple of chats already before the start of the season but we never really got to know each other too much. things i did know were that you
always win 7 games in spl, are a very passionate team mate and that i'd have to "claim" at least three times should i get you for this tournament. when you started attacking mounts for no reason whatsoever early on in the season i was admittedly getting a little nervous, but after that you were mostly ok (i think?). you could also go from linking sharkporn to starting a very serious conversation in a matter of seconds, while calling everyone and everything a pussy in call a few seconds after that. i also had to face the reality i don't have the clout for you to take my team building suggestions seriously, but using abr as a proxy for my ideas ended up working fine anyway. that and the 27 team builders helping you, obviously. all in all i'm very happy we ended up drafting you and as much as you might disagree yourself, i truly don't consider you an overpay. you get who you want in the auction and go from there. we wanted you big man, and i'm very happy that we did.
SoulWind
i was pretty sure teal was going to retain you given the way the bw pool was shaping up this year, but he actually announced his three retains quite early on, and none of them were you. at that point both abr and i were dead set on getting you, just not sure whether going to auction or grabbing you beforehand was the play. we awaited signups a bit and then decided to just trade, because the bw pool started to look like a minefield and we knew we wanted you and only you as soon as roro was retained. i expected you to be very good, but somehow you still shattered my expectations. to me you're the best player of the tournament and somehow you even raised your game during playoffs. having both you and abr for the tiebreakers was such a comforting luxury and looking back i'm so relieved we didn't risk you in the auction. good luck winning ost brother!
The Idiot Ninja
the tinman.. you really were far too kind in your shoutouts post, but we take those! as you touched on yourself already, you were mostly anti's pick but my main reason for backing him wasn't as much the games you two had, but the conversation you had afterwards. you were oozing confidence and motivation and we were willing to take a bit of a risk + grabbing nails in case things didn't work out, but they did. you put up results right away and on top of that supported a handful of other tiers too with tests and feedback, all for a 3k price tag. your confidence and winning streak slowed down a bit towards the end, but you know damn well we loved having you on the team and you contributed to our great spot in the regular season massively, which is pretty essential to even make playoffs! you were great and i want to thank you for that.
Trosko
following bill clinton's "i did not have sexual relations with that woman" i think you might have told the biggest lie of all time. "i'm not nervous at all to be honest." but wait not one minute later:
loses mind in spanish! seriously though, you were really great and exactly what abr and i were kind of lacking in ssd. you needed very little support in preparing your teams and some of our best sm teams have been yours (the ash-gren torn team vs obliviate and the kartana bulu vs kory being my favorites). you really upped your playing level too towards the end of the tournament and played two very good games in playoffs. games you can look back on without regrets! you made huge steps throughout the tournament mentality wise and i'd consider you a threat to anyone in sm ou. you very much earned this trophy my man.
Updated Kanto
the steal of the tournament.. after securing trosko in the auction, our next step was to get a cheap sm/oras player that could flourish with abr's and trosko's support. we had you on the top of our list and when we approached you about it you jumped on the opportunity, which sealed the deal for us as well. i don't think anyone ever expected a performance as good as this one, because good lord man you played a stupidly good tournament. your ice beam on the gliscor switch vs tdk and the switch to weavile to trap gliscor vs hiye were two of the hottest plays i've seen in my life, not to even mention the fact you had to endure some extremely tough stuff in your personal life on top of spl. you've impressed me both as a pokemon player and as a human being, and i would love to team up again sometime.
Void
him again. vetoing morning void has to be the single best decision i've made in 2018 so far, because morning void is to be avoided at all costs. you have been LONGING for pixels for quite a while now and i think it's only right we won our first together. you already know you're one of my favorite people on this website and i'm sorry for offending you by not retaining you lmao. it's ok though it all worked out in the end; hawaii 5-0. :obamawhew: to be honest it's a good thing you're retiring from dpp, because now i can finally get steve from blue's clues to start instead; that man has a dedicated thinking chair. :wesmart:
and i hope you become a lit as fuck break dancer someday (as long as you send me more vids ;o). Aldo I was super happy that everyone was okay with having you along for the ride, it's a great feeling to have a good friend like you around for something important like this. Always glad to have your company b. Rui I only started talking to you properly during the latter half of the season which makes me sad because you were a super fun guy to talk to between dominating the best tier of all time (USM ZU) to now your runescape riches. Dont give void freebies btw!! charge that lazy bum! I really hope you stick around <33
, big congrats to the wolfpack, it was well deserved and to win it in such an intense series made it much more enjoyable to watch.
