In a wild turn of events, both favorites got absolutely SMASHED in the semifinals. After what was probably the most anticlimactic playoff round in SPL history, we find ourselves with a rematch of SPL VI. Can Kratosmana, the heart and soul of the Classiest and the link between this squad and the SPL VI version, help the franchise claim its second title? Or will the Ruiners usurp the Sharks as the greatest franchise in SPL history? Let's find out!!
YAHALLO AND WELCOME BACK TO THE UNBIASED PREDICTIONS
Congregation of the Classiest (6) vs (6) Alpha Ruiners
SS OU: Insult vs mncmt | Wow. The fake jamvad put on quite a performance in his semifinals match against CTC. Everyone was ready to cast him aside and label him as an unviable goon (well, I was anyway) after CTC put himself in what was basically an auto-win position. However, the basedlord's costly Discharge changed everything, as mncmt's Hatterene swept CTC's team and miraculously gave the fake jamvad the win. Insult, meanwhile, didn't even have to play his match last round, as his team cruised to 7 wins before he could even step onto the battlefield. He has had a solid tour, though, rebounding after a rough stretch towards the middle of the season, and currently sports a 6-3 record. While I'm not as higih on him as many other people, he's still a fair bit more proven than mncmt, who really has done nothing of note on the site besides confuse everyone with his username's similarity to those of mencemeat and menci. Solid edge.
SS OU: suapah vs FLCL | This is a pretty interesting game. suapah ran through a murderer's row of opponents in the first half the season, and capitalized on a cupcake schedule later on to get to 7 wins in 10 weeks. He lost to Sacri' last round, but at least he lost to a good player I suppose. FLCL has exceeded my expectations this tour. He's managed to get amass 7 wins in 10 weeks as well, and took down TDK in a hard-fought match last round. His schedule hasn't been too difficult, though he does have some relatively impressive wins against Christo and the aforementioned TDK. suapah did take him down in their first match-up, which is slightly concerning. That being said, if you asked me before the tour who I would have bolded in this matchup, I would have taken FLCL without even a millisecond of thought. Considering how good both players have been, it's only fair that I take the player I thought was more talented all along.
SS OU: blarghlfarghl vs Empo | LOL THE EMPO KOOL-AID NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO What a matchup. The game between two players I end up bolding way too often will most certainly be interesting. blargh has managed to put together a cool 6-3 record, despite some rather forgettable performances against some less-than-stellar competition. Empo, meanwhile, currently sits at 6-4, with wins over bro fist and a 7-2 Christo. I'm still NOT DRINKING the Empo kool-aid by the way. I still think Empo's a bit overrated; I think some people fail to understand that I still think he's a solid player. I just have a lower opinion of him than the masses. blargh has been impressive over the past few tours, but Empo is a bit better in my eyes. I said earlier that I would buy Empo for around 13k; by those standards, I would say blargh is worth around 10k. That 3k difference is definitely enough to give Empo the edge here.
SS DOU: stax vs qsns | It's the finals, bros. Might as well bold Doubles. stax has been a monster this tour and is finally living up to his hype; he's like fraudmen if he ever had a good tour.
SS LC: Serene Grace vs jake | Serene has had a nice tour, but Zeb has been better for longer. Even before his LC exploits, Zeb was considered to be a pretty solid NU player. His sizable experience edge in tandem with his consistency over the past 2 few tours is enough to bold him in this matchup.
SM OU: Relous vs Gondra | Relous finally remembered that he wasn't a dogshit loser last round, miraculously taking down Eo and propelling the Classiest to a demolition of the Cryonicles. It seems rather likely that that will be the ONLY win he will get this SPL, though. Gondra is arguably the most in-form player in SPL right now, with only one hiccup in 10 weeks. I bolded him against blunder, someone who I bold almost every week, last round, and he washed the youtuber for the second time this season. Gondra, at this point, is going to be bolded against almost everyone in SM OU, and a 1-7 player certainly is no exception. Big edge.
ORAS OU: Persephone vs xImRaptor | Persephone managed to get the win last round, and currently sports a .500 record. Many of his games haven't been too impressive, though, and I'm still not really a big believer in his abilities. Raptor, meanwhile, has shown that his performance last Snake was no fluke, as he has managed to rack up 7 wins in 10 weeks. He's definitely been more impressive, and somehow has a better track record too. Solid edge.
BW OU: Raiza vs Caetano93 | Raiza's definitely better than his record suggests. After having been lucked to shreds the entire season, he picked up a crucial win against Finchinator in the previous round with some good fortune on his side for the first time this year. The Doctor has had a nice tour himself, though, and did take down Raiza in their first match-up. I think he's been a hair better from what I've seen. Miniscule edge.
DPP OU: Excal vs Emeral | This game is nonsense LOL Excal didn't have the greatest performance last round, but he still sits at a solid 4-2 record. Emeral, meanwhile, really hasn't been too hot, although he did luck Bab for a win after the week was over, I suppose. I'm just gonna take the player who's displayed at least a hint of viability in this tour. Miniscule edge in the variance madhouse.
ADV OU: Tamahome vs Alexander. | I've always been a big fan of both of these players. Prinz is somehow who I've been high on for a while, and he's really shown off his flexibility and talent across many games this tournament. He took down marcop last round, and has definitely done enough to earn the bold here...Except, he's facing off against Tamahome, who I consider to be the second best ADVer in the pool after BKC. Tama's so proficient in ADV that he even managed to make ME good at the tier for about a year after he tutored me circa 2012. He lives for the high-pressure moments, and there's no doubt in my mind that he'll rise to the challenge and win this match-up.
GSC OU: KratosMana vs FriendOfMrGolem120 | The FOMG stock has been rising pretty steadily this tour. I'll probably have to drink the FOMG kool-aid soon, honestly. As impressive as he's been, though, he hasn't been as good as Anti. Anti has been one of the best players in the entire tournament, and has taken down a host of notable names, including McMeghan and dice. He beat MrE last round despite having to fight through a myriad of unfortunate events. Considering how highly I thought of Anti as a player before this tournament, it only makes sense that I bold him against FOMG. The heart and soul of the Classiest is destined to win in the finals.
RBY OU: Amaranth vs Hyogafodex | TIN's proven that he's a relatively capable RBY player. Hyoga has proven that he's unviable. Solid edge in the meme tier.
Tiebreak:
Hmmm....this is a hard one to predict LOL The Classiest edged the Ruiners out in the standings by +2 BD, which means the Ruiners would have to reveal their tiebreak pick first. We can rule out pretty much every old gen because of the presence of Tama + Anti. I honestly think that, in this situation, there's no better play than just trusting your best player in his best tier. Which, in this case, would mean picking Gondra in SM OU. I would assume either Empo or FLCL would play SS OU. This leads us to the Classiest pick. qsns hasn't been bad enough to justify picking Doubles; I don't think any team would willingly pick that tier simply due to the lack of knowledge the majority of Smogon's playerbase has in the tier unless they simply had a MASSIVE edge in it. The Classiest could either put Tama or Anti in SM OU, and then let the other play the tier of their choice. At the end of the day, I have far too much respect for Prinz to pick ADV here; I would rather face FOMG. This leads us to the following tiebreak:
Congregation of the Classiest (1) vs (2) Alpha Ruiners
SS OU: suapah / Insult / blarghlfarghl vs. FLCL | The player choice here will be decided by the results. The team might even put Empo in over FLCL if Empo wins his match-up and FLCL loses his. There are honestly too many variables here to consider. All I'll say is, right now, I would pick FLCL to beat anyone that the Classiest throws out there.
SM OU: Tamahome vs. Gondra | As much respect as I have for Tamahome, the legend.......I just simply can't go against Gondra right now. If I bolded him against blunder, I'm definitely bolding him over Tamahome. I would even bold him against Anti, honestly. GOATDRA is unstoppable right now.
GSC OU: KratosMana vs. FriendOfMrGolem120 | Anti will wash him in the regular match-up and he'll wash him in the tiebreak LOL jk, FOMG's been pretty solid, but Anti's just on another level right now.
Rooting for my old franchise, the Classiest, in this one. The Sharks need to be the GOAT franchise forever, so I hope I'm wrong on these predictions. Either way, it should be a pretty memorable final.
can both of them win 
