I thought it was over. When we were down 0-1 to Scooters in tiebreak after failing to close out a 5-0 lead, I thought it was over. I didn't believe in myself and lax to bring it back against two of the best players of modern Smogon. And especially when we went down 3-6 against Tyrants, after what I thought were some terribly played games on our part, I figured we were doomed. It was physically difficult to watch those matches. I remember feeling like I was going to throw up when I saw the team preview in Hiye vs Mana. Somehow we pulled it back, somehow I managed to keep my cool and win my tiebreak game despite my hands shaking through the first 100 turns, and somehow Mr. Laximus Prime took down the best OU player of the season to clinch our win. It still doesn't feel real, I'm waiting for it to sink in.
Back when I was still the Lavos Spawn I had some of the worst SPLs ever, didn't care one bit about my team and definitely hurt a lot of people's chances at a trophy. I wanted this SPL to be the polar opposite and for what it's worth I feel like I really gave my best effort in this tournament, especially during the later weeks and playoffs. I performed as well in my tier as anyone has ever done, I earned the title of most wins in a single SPL season which I will carry proudly until someone even better comes along, and even though it's not entirely my say, I think I redeemed myself for past failures. This is a team tournament and all, but I tend to place way too much stock in my personal performance, and finally, FINALLY it's a season that I can take pure pride in. I didn't play perfectly and I can remember all my misplay(s) in every game without even pulling up a replay, but I don't think I can realistically play at a level any higher than this, maybe others can but I can't maintain an iron focus on every single turn, my mind is just too prone to wandering. For too long I've obsessed over this game, I still think about my match against Malekith in Smogon Tour 13 quarterfinals where I went Keldeo when anything else would have won, or my tiebreak against ABR where if I played the Vap slightly more aggressively I'd have almost certainly carried my team to the trophy and it still came down to damage rolls but I could have done more, or my game against Fear this season where I should have HP Iced on the obvious Wak switch which would have prevented any potential for an Ancientpower sweep...this is gonna wipe the whole slate clean. I went into this season expecting with no hint of superiority to go 7-2, that's how confident I was, and yet to achieve 12-1 is absolutely beyond my wildest dreams, against a powerful field of opponents and with multiple tiebreaks on top of it. I'm content, until the next big tour at least. Might as well write some shoutouts in the meantime.
Before I get to my team, I have to mention the Tyrants. I'm sure that I wasn't the only one who thought during the middle of the season that you guys winning this tour was a foregone conclusion. With that dominating performance in the semifinals I knew we would have to fight our hardest for every single win because you wouldn't be giving us any donations and I was right about that. I've always thought that the mark of a great team (see East in WCOP) is that no one chokes a game and that held true for you guys up until the end, whereas on the Ruiners we had so many throws that I thought we were sponsored by a furniture store. Makes me feel twice as proud for beating you, then. You guys should be commended for an excellent season. In regards to the whole trash talking aspect, every good story needs a villain and I don't begrudge any of you for playing the part, it was funny as hell watching everyone's blood boil over while you ran your mouths each week and somehow kept stomping the competition. I hope you manage to assemble a more or less similar roster next year because I'd love to see the new and improved version of what can already safely be called one of the best SPL teams ever built, even though you didn't win. Can't lie though, it was fucking amazing when I beat sulcata and Empo beat blunder back to back, and we realized "oh yeah, they're only human." Not speaking for my teammates here but I was personally invested in taking you down in finals if only to show that no story is complete without a good twist.
Ok, onto the SPL X Alpha Ruiners, the fucking champs. I'll try to keep it brief.
Chill Shadow still don't know much about you as a person but I'd say you were everything a manager should be, and the weekly scouts were incredibly helpful. Working with you in the draft plan was extremely enjoyable, wouldn't mind playing for you again :third_place:
snaga you're a hilarious character and very easy to get along with, great assman even if you can't play Pokemon :third_place:
Hiye again I still don't feel like I know you as a person at all. It was quite stressful to see you drop less than 10 lines per week in prep and then roll up with a random pastebin or something we hadn't even discussed. Your games were all over the place too. However, you came through when we needed you most, and I can't thank you enough for that.
Empo dude you're such a nice and wholesome guy to team with, always taking it seriously but with an air of humor and an absolute beast on the battlefield when you aren't choking away 100% wins at least :hippo: I should have been a better teammate to you but my aversion to testing is too powerful. You won in finals!! Deserved trophy, that's it. I will play some ENZO DONG and MAMBOLOSCO in your honor.
Pearl you hard carried this team with your constant motivational talks and massive activity in every channel which in turn made everyone else try that little bit more, ultimately letting us get there in the end. I remember you told me after winning grand slam that our chat before I won classic was an inspiration to you and I have to say I was most excited to team up with you because of that, I knew we would be an unstoppable duo and it turns out it was true. Total pleasure being your teammate man, would do it again anytime even if you told me you'd 0-11 because what you bring to a team can't be measured in records alone.
passion I hope your first taste of a team tour left you wanting more, your performance was disappointing but your chat presence made up for it, completely genuine and surprisingly mature guy who always could bring a laugh no matter the situation. Work on your long term planning and great things will come of it.
lax you're the fucking man, and my MVP if there was one. We have very similar emotions when it comes to this game and I'm glad we were there for each other to stop the tilt. 4-0 in playoffs, lifetime 3-0 in tiebreaks, I don't care what it means to anyone else, to me you are the hero of this tournament and I'm so glad the biased ass TDs blocked us from managing because we both would have missed out on the best season of our lives. Nothing more to say, you know how I feel.
Croven for all the shit I give you, you are probably my favorite personality on this entire team, never taking the flame seriously and always turning up the gas for your teammates. Can't believe how much you've grown as a player in only one year, you were a sensation this season, and don't sweat the losses because like I said, I'll fucking carry you when it counts man. Hope we team up again. And I'm now sporting the Odium avatar as homage to our dominion over SPL. Journey before destination.
imsosorrylol I ended up disappointed in your results after placing a great amount of faith in you, your prep was just abysmal and you only seem to play the turn that's in front of you, which can lead to some amazing moments but also ones that leave me ready to throw my laptop across the room. From someone else who was once a horrible teammate, you need to take it more seriously in terms of putting the work in if you want to capitalize on your innate talent. All that said, I don't regret drafting you, you're fucking hysterical and kept talking the talk from week 1 through finals. I swear if you actually figure out how to make a long term gameplan and adapt it to changing circumstances you're going to be really good at this game, and if you don't care and just want to have fun and jerk with friends, that's your prerogative. Whatever comes next, I hope you enjoy it.
Rewer your shoutout post made me cry irl, and made me consider not even writing one of my own because you stated everything so eloquently and straight from the heart. I have to say your story is something I relate to as another former league burnout, I'm so glad for you that you could come back after years of crust and still find success at the highest level. I'm deeply apologetic for the weeks of feeding you cheese and underestimating your potential, turns out all you needed was a couple real good teams to show what you're made of, and that finals win was a thing of beauty. I'd like to see you stick around so we can win next SPL together too.
Jimmy Turtwig I was impressed every week at how you handled the real coinflip tier, most of your losses were just from awful matchups and you stunted on at least 3 people so hard as to redeem everything and then some. I wish I had gotten to know you better but you don't seem to enjoy talking about yourself and were quite busy some weeks, yet always managed to put in a great performance, and won in finals with the ice cold comeback to your raging opponent to cap it off. I should have put in more work to prep with you, your DPP was largely a solo project and you deserve all the credit for that nice record. Your help in GSC was also invaluable and I appreciate you being the go-to guy for a second opinion on my teams all year long. Deserved as fuck trophy. Can't wait to see what you make of Classic this year, it's all yours if you want it.
Hyogafodex when I told managers I wanted to draft you they had no idea who you were, now you're surely someone they will never forget. Your antics and stories were the chat highlights of the season, some of the stuff you posted in ungodly made me wish I was blind, and hey you actually played some nice games too. I'm pissed about your game vs. dekzeh, that was the best I've seen you play and to have it taken away by hax was unfortunate. Keep entering tournaments, you have so much room to grow and this trophy is just the start for you bro.
FriendOfMrGolem120 drafting you was the best decision, your presence is unlike any other. Everything about you from your mannerisms to gameplay and fresh new avatars makes you such a pleasant character to be around, and while signing up mainly for GSC and hoping to play with Sceptross, you didn't complain at the lack of both these things, and picked up RBY in the hardest tournament around and went positive with some downright awesome performances. I think your only downside as a player is falling into predictable patterns too easily, pretty soon you will surpass this stage and become well-rounded like a real Golem, then you'll be a total menace for the entire old gens community to respect. Enjoy the well earned trophy, don't spill any tea on it.
eden's embrace haven't seen you around in weeks, good luck in whatever you're up to.
qsns it's so easy to tell you make Croven's sun rise each morning, and half the time the plays you were screaming in game discussion channel were better than what he was clicking, I think you have more than enough of what it takes to be a starter next time around if you two can manage to separate somehow. You put in the work for 13 weeks and it paid off, best dedicated sub I've ever seen.
RedEmption you already know how I feel, it was a mistake to keep you closed off for those weeks. You really came alive in finals and your support was essential to reach the trophy. I know your games were a letdown, you'll play better in future tours. A red for Red is just fitting, wear the Ruiners with pride now!
Luigi you turned out being a good pick for the opposite reason that I expected, instead of a jack-of-all-trades substitute who could fill some slot weaknesses but was someone to keep blocked, you ended up having 2 shit games and then riding the bench to a free trophy, but contributing through your massive personality to compensate. You're seriously such a nice and funny guy which I didn't expect, it was great getting to know you a bit more and let bygones be bygones. Thanks for always keeping things cynical no matter the situation :goodjob: and for rigging managers picks because you knew I would carry you to a ring with your master plan, it all worked out.
undisputed I was sad you didn't have time to play this year, but so glad you stuck around to chat it up and give words of wisdom when needed, only wish you could have the trophy too. Let's get this blue to make up for it yeah?
Kory2600 Jytcampbell didn't talk to you guys much but I know you contributed a lot of time for no tangible payoff and it made a difference, so thanks and
mercredi vendredi JEUDI C TROPHY.
To everyone who chipped in to help during playoffs and especially near the end, I appreciate it. You know who you are, I'm not sure we could have done it without you, and each word of support made a difference. For my prep specifically, thanks to
choolio for the week 8 squad which I shamelessly stole and for the core that I modeled the finals tiebreak team after,
BKC for the semifinals team and help in tiebreaks,
ABR for the building help in finals tiebreak, and
z0mOG for always being willing to look at my teams and tell me they're good regardless of whether or not he has a clue what he's talking about because I need validation.
One for the road...
~ALPHA RUINED~