Smogon Snake Draft I - Phase 3

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Luigi

spo.ink/shadowtag
is a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnusis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis the Smogon Tour Season 27 Championis a Past SPL Champion
playoffs are here, they are near, they are by our side

On... Sportsmanship

Note the sportsmanship infraction may be used liberally this Snake Draft, and any unsportsmanlike conduct on the forums, on Discord, any of the semiofficial tier channels, or in opposing Snake team channels (I won't infract for you being a dick in your own team channel unless the situation is so extreme I feel I absolutely have to make an exception (consider basically any masterclass interaction ever)), will be grounds for an infraction. We encourage you to play semi-aggressively, but don't be a masterclass.

~ Aldaron

On... Scheduling Matches

I'm sure plenty of you have come across coin flipping / who to activity drama while scheduling matches. I'm here to reduce the arbitrary element associated with some of these decisions. It is entirely your decision to adhere to these STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS, but note that if you choose not to, I'll most likely ignore any pleading from your end and default you to a coin flip, regardless of what you claim is your irc, discord or forum activity. By signing up for this tournament, you are agreeing to this condition, that adhering to what I outline will protect you from coinflips / activity and that not adhering to it will subject you to coinflips / activity regardless of your proposed justification.
YOU MUST ACTIVATE YOUR VM WALL IF YOU WISH TO PLAY IN THIS TOURNAMENT. THIS IS HOW ALL OFFICIAL SCHEDULING WILL BE HANDLED.

Once that round's thread is posted, you have up to 48 hours to contact your opponent ON HIS VM WALL and mention your timezone and exactly what dates, what time ranges you are available, and where you will battle. Note that the default accepted sim and server is the official server on Showdown. You must provide at least 3 different time ranges at least 48 hours from the timestamp of your message, with at least 2 that are 24-hours apart from each other. The minimum and maximum length for 1 time range is 30 minutes, and the minimum difference between the 3 required time ranges is 3 hours. If you give 3 time ranges that stick with this policy, you can give any additional time ranges at any time you please.

NOTE THAT THIS SCENARIO INVOLVES RESPONSE DYNAMICS; THERE IS SOMEONE WHO WILL CONTACT FIRST AND SOMEONE WHO RESPOND...THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT FOR BOTH OF YOU TO ASSUME TO YOU CAN BE FIRST CONTACTS...WHOEVER CONTACTS FIRST IS THE FIRST, AND THE OTHER DEFAULTS TO THE RESPONDER. THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS BUT SOME OF YOU ARE DUMB.

Once your opponent has contacted you, you now have up until 72 hours after the round's thread has been posted (NOT after your opponent's message) to respond with times that are good for you. What this means is that if both of you spend the maximum time contacting and responding, you should have back and forth collaboration at a maximum of 72 hours after the round has been posted, with both parties given an additional 24 hours to prepare for the battle should it be scheduled as soon as required. If none of the opponent's proposed time ranges are good for you, you must respond with alternative time ranges.

The first opponent now has X hours to prepare for the battle (if the second opponent agreed to some time) or 24 hours to contact a TD if, for whatever reason, this second set of time ranges does not suit the first opponent. Note this should be an absolute last measure and that more often than not, the TDs will likely force one (or both) sides to sub out.

Once a time is agreed upon, please make a message on your opponent's vm wall between 10 minutes and 1 second before the agreed upon time and say you are ready to battle and then get to agreed upon location (regardless of whether or not your opponent sends you a response vm). Please protect yourself by making this message, as it makes decisions much easier. You will be required to be wait for your opponent for the duration of the time range.

If neither of you contact each other before 48 hours after the thread has been posted, you're both opening yourself up to a potential coin flip. If I look at the situation, I might just determine I'm going to sub both of you out, coin flip you, or whatever based on however I'm feeling at that moment. Don't leave yourself and your team vulnerable to this.

Just because at anytime one of the responders does not respond within the given range does not give you automatic activity win credentials. If they don't contact at all on your vm wall up until 48 hours before the end of the round (note, I'm not going to take irc or sim messages as evidence due to how easily they can be doctored...so if you want to protect yourself, stick to the vm messages), then you obviously have activity win justification. Note to team captains, if one of your players does not contact all his opponents before 48 hours before the end of the round, I will FORCE a sub, no questions asked. You WILL contact your opponent in a timely manner. However, if they do contact you at all after the suggested response time and before 48 hours before the end of the round, you are required to respond before 24 hours before the end of the round with 2 1-hour time ranges at least 1 hour apart before the end of the round. The opponent, since he did not stick to the proposed response schedule, WILL BE REQUIRED TO PLAY AT ONE OF YOUR NEWLY SUGGESTED TIMES, so you have the advantage here. This obviously puts a bit of an emphasis on the last 48 hours of each round (as is standard operating procedure for most of our official team tournaments anyway), so I will try my best to keep the last 48 hours of the round as close to the majority of the weekend for as much of the world as I can.

If you follow all of these guidelines, you will a.) most likely get your match done with minimal issue or b.) protect yourself and your team from an undue coin flip or activity decision. Yes, I hate activity decisions in official tournaments. Yes, I will do my best to prevent activity decisions in the playoffs (the qualifying round is fair game however and I will have no problem issuing an activity call here), but don't push your luck.

Here is an example of how following this would work:

Round 1 thread is posted June 7, 2015 at 10:00PM. Its deadline is June 14, 2015 at 11:59PM. User A and User B are matched up. User A contacts User B on his vm wall on June 9, at 9:00 PM (47 hours after the thread was posted, so ok), and gives 4 time ranges: June 10, from 7:00-7:30 PM (22 hours after the timestamp of his message, which is only ok so long as at minimum 3 of the other proposed time ranges adhere to the requirements), June 11, from 9:00-9:30 PM (48 hours after the timestamp of his message, which is ok), June 12, from 6:00-6:30 PM (69 hours after timestamp of his message, so ok, but only 21 hours after the earliest time range that is 48 hours after the timestamp), and June 12, from 9:00-9:30 PM (72 hours after the timestamp, so ok, and 24 hours after a legal time range and 3 hours after another legal time range). The June 11 and both June 12 time ranges satisfy the requirements, so User A can propose his first June 10 time range as well. User B responds on June 10, at 8:00 PM (23 hours after User A contacted him, so ok), and picks June 11, at 9:00 PM to battle, which is ok because it is 24 hours after his own response.

You'll note I made most of my response ranges multiples of 24 hours, but also included 24 hours. This means I expect you to be able to check Smogon at least once a day. If that is not feasible, you put yourself at risk.

~ Aldaron

On... Disconnecting and timing out drama

Ah, the big beefcake. I'm going to go ahead and put this out there: we reserve the right to judge any individual match on a case by case basis, regardless of assumed precedence set. If you don't like that, you are welcome to not play. Be aware of this.

Also, to protect yourself as much as possible from DCs and timer issues, play on Showdown (because it has an at least semi reliable system of rejoining after a DC) and make a gentleman's agreement to not hit timer and not be hour a move dicks.

That said, here is the main way we will probably handle DCs / timing out:

To handle all DC cases...you're gonna submit your teams before the match. TeamSubmissions is an account made for the purpose of submitting teams to it. You don't have to submit, but if you do, you protect yourself from the opponent taking a win. If you do DC (and you can't rejoin the battle) and you haven't submitted your team, your opponent will have the right to take the win. Yes, I'll most likely make a judgment call if he is on his last turn with 1 pokemon at 5% and paralyzed and with you at 6 100% health pokemon, because the only way to lose this is to misclick multiple times. However, if you're at 6 100% pokemon and your opponent is at last pokemon 10% needing to crit flinch you 6 - 12 times for the win, I'll give him the win if you DC and haven't submitted your team.

I know people like philip7086 will beg me "to use common sense for a judgment call" for all cases and I would normally agree, but I am giving you all a 100% out by allowing you to submit your team. Basically, submit your team, and protect yourself and your team from any and all DCs. It's a simple procedure that removes almost all subjectivity from a decision regarding a DC. Unlike with the scheduling restrictions, all you have to do is submit the team your are using at anytime before the match takes place, and you'll have 100% protected yourself. Read this rule and understand this now before you join the tournament. Since I'm stating this now, I'm basically going to ignore you if you DC, didn't submit a team, and "had a guaranteed win." Expect it. Also note that I'm going to let the PLAYER (not the team), decide whether he is going to take the win or go another route (replay same moves, replay different teams, etc.).

To further ensure no funny business, if, in the case of a DC replay, there is any concern from either party about funny business, both parties have the right to request a screenshot of the current Pokemon's stats in battle. This is irrelevant for Showdown as you can simply rejoin a battle there, but PO allows you to see the currently out Pokemon's stats if you scroll over it with your mouse. Just hit PrntScrn (windows) while scrolling over it if requested by your opponent, preferably with proof that it is a screenshot of that actual battle (consider including the opponent's request in the battle screen in the screenshot).

Regarding time outs, they are a bit more complex, specifically because some timeouts are due to DCs. The best we can do for this scenario is say that there is some number between 1 minute and 2 minutes (which we will not publicize) that we will set as a limit for timing out, and if you timeout with more than that limit time remaining, we'll assume it is a DC, whereas the opposite is a true timeout. A true timeout defaults to a loss, while the DC timeout is prone to the DC rules (did you submit or not).

~ Aldaron




Use https://cryptobin.co/ to secure your team with a password.



---

Pacifidlog Pitvipers (8) vs. Terminus Taipans (2)
SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. iloveleague
SM OU: Femen vs. Bouff
SM OU: Eternal Spirit vs. poketcggamer1288
SM OU: London Beats vs. Gondra
SM Doubles: Level 51 vs. Biosci
SM Ubers: Lacus Clyne vs. Pohjis
SM UU: teal6 vs. Tesung
SM RU: Ajna vs. Miyoka
SM NU: meeps vs. Eternally
SM LC: Shrug vs. ZoroDark


Pacifidlog Pitvipers (7) vs. Ambrette Astrotias (3)
SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. Trosko
SM OU: Femen vs. R!cardo
SM OU: Eternal Spirit vs. Mob Barley
SM OU: London Beats vs. Sam
SM Doubles: Level 51 vs. Memoric
SM Ubers: Lacus Clyne vs. Thimo
SM UU: teal6 vs. McMeghan
SM RU: Ajna vs. mael
SM NU: meeps vs. imsosorrylol
SM LC: Shrug vs. OP


Pacifidlog Pitvipers (8) vs. Victory Road Rattlers (2)
SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. Bro Kappa
SM OU: Femen vs. John
SM OU: Eternal Spirit vs. Level 56
SM OU: Blackoblivion vs. reyscarface
SM Doubles: Level 51 vs. stax
SM Ubers: Lacus Clyne vs. Fireburn
SM UU: teal6 vs. Manipulative
SM RU: Ajna vs. Chill Shadow
SM NU: meeps vs. Rodriblutar
SM LC: Shrug vs. Bushtush


Lanakila Nagas (4) vs. Goldenrod Gliders (6)
SM OU: Alexander vs. Welli0u
SM OU: Zamrock vs. boudouche
SM OU: Void vs. z0mOG
SM OU: FlamingVictini vs. Tricking
SM Doubles: miltankmilk vs. MajorBowman
SM Ubers: Soulwind vs. Arii Stella
SM UU: Sacri' vs. pokeisfun
SM RU: Meru vs. SilentVerse
SM NU: Kushalos vs. elodin
SM LC: Blarajan vs. ggggd


Lanakila Nagas (6) vs. Lake of Rage Leviathans (4)
SM OU: Alexander vs. Genesis7
SM OU: Zamrock vs. Finchinator
SM OU: Void vs. Tamahome
SM OU: FlamingVictini vs. Eo Ut Mortus
SM Doubles: miltankmilk vs. Jhon
SM Ubers: Soulwind vs. Malekith
SM UU: Sacri' vs. HANTSUKI
SM RU: Meru vs. Lord Esche
SM NU: Kushalos vs. FLCL
SM LC: Blarajan vs. Dundies


Lanakila Nagas (5) vs. Sootopolis Sidewinders (5)
SM OU: Alexander vs. blunder
SM OU: Zamrock vs. ez
SM OU: Void vs. Posho
SM OU: FlamingVictini vs. Ojama
SM Doubles: miltankmilk vs. Kaori
SM Ubers: Soulwind vs. Evuelf
SM UU: Sacri' vs. Analytic
SM RU: Meru vs. col49
SM NU: Kushalos vs. Hootie
SM LC: Blarajan vs. Kingler12345


Berry Forest Bushmasters (5) vs. Goldenrod Gliders (5)
SM OU: ABR vs. Welli0u
SM OU: Kory2600 vs. boudouche
SM OU: Cdumas vs. z0mOG
SM OU: Omfuga vs. Tricking
SM Doubles: qsns vs. MajorBowman
SM Ubers: The Trap God vs. psychicmewtwo
SM UU: bugzinator vs. Pearl
SM RU: Natalie. vs. SilentVerse
SM NU: snaga vs. elodin
SM LC: Sken vs. ggggd


Berry Forest Bushmasters (7) vs. Lake of Rage Leviathans (3)
SM OU: ABR vs. Genesis7
SM OU: Kory2600 vs. Finchinator
SM OU: Cdumas vs. Tamahome
SM OU: Omfuga vs. Eo Ut Mortus
SM Doubles: marilli vs. Jhon
SM Ubers: The Trap God vs. Malekith
SM UU: bugzinator vs. HANTSUKI
SM RU: Natalie. vs. Lord Esche
SM NU: snaga vs. FLCL
SM LC: Sken vs. Dundies


Berry Forest Bushmasters (8) vs. Shinto Ruin Serpents (2)
SM OU: ABR vs. TheThorn
SM OU: Lednah vs. Znain
SM OU: Cdumas vs. Leftiez
SM OU: Omfuga vs. Kickasser
SM Doubles: marilli vs. Demantoid
SM Ubers: The Trap God vs. Garay Oak
SM UU: bugzinator vs. Lcans
SM RU: Natalie. vs. Lighthouses
SM NU: snaga vs. soulgazer
SM LC: Sken vs. Heysup


Terminus Taipans (4) vs. Lake of Rage Leviathans (6)
SM OU: iloveleague vs. Genesis7
SM OU: Bouff vs. Finchinator
SM OU: poketcggamer1288 vs. Tamahome
SM OU: Gondra vs. Eo Ut Mortus
SM Doubles: Biosci vs. Jhon
SM Ubers: Pohjis vs. Malekith
SM UU: Tesung vs. HANTSUKI
SM RU: Miyoka vs. Lord Esche
SM NU: Eternally vs. FLCL
SM LC: ZoroDark vs. Dundies


Terminus Taipans (3) vs. Shinto Ruin Serpents (7)
SM OU: iloveleague vs. TheThorn
SM OU: Bouff vs. Znain
SM OU: poketcggamer1288 vs. Leftiez
SM OU: Gondra vs. Sabella
SM Doubles: Matame vs. Demantoid
SM Ubers: Pohjis vs. M Dragon
SM UU: Tesung vs. Lcans
SM RU: Miyoka vs. Lighthouses
SM NU: p2 vs. Lax
SM LC: ZoroDark vs. Heysup


Goldenrod Gliders (6) vs. Sootopolis Sidewinders (4)
SM OU: Welli0u vs. blunder
SM OU: boudouche vs. ez
SM OU: z0mOG vs. Posho
SM OU: Tricking vs. Ojama
SM Doubles: MajorBowman vs. Kaori
SM Ubers: psychicmewtwo vs. Evuelf
SM UU: pokeisfun vs. Analytic
SM RU: SilentVerse vs. col49
SM NU: elodin vs. Hootie
SM LC: ggggd vs. Kingler12345


Ambrette Astrotias (3) vs. Shinto Ruin Serpents (7)
SM OU: Trosko vs. TheThorn
SM OU: R!cardo vs. Znain
SM OU: Mob Barley vs. Leftiez
SM OU: Sam vs. Sabella
SM Doubles: Memoric vs. Demantoid
SM Ubers: Thimo vs. M Dragon
SM UU: McMeghan vs. Lcans
SM RU: mael vs. Lighthouses
SM NU: imsosorrylol vs. Lax
SM LC: OP vs. Heysup


Ambrette Astrotias (4) vs. Victory Road Rattlers (5)
SM OU: Trosko vs. Bro Kappa
SM OU: R!cardo vs. John
SM OU: suapah vs. Level 56
SM OU: Sam vs. reyscarface
SM Doubles: Memoric vs. stax
SM Ubers: Thimo vs. Fireburn
SM UU: McMeghan vs. Manipulative
SM RU: mael vs. Chill Shadow
SM NU: imsosorrylol vs. Rodriblutar
SM LC: OP vs. Bushtush


Sootopolis Sidewinders (5) vs. Victory Road Rattlers (5)
SM OU: Giara vs. Liones
SM OU: ez vs. John
SM OU: Posho vs. Level 56
SM OU: Ojama vs. reyscarface
SM Doubles: Kaori vs. stax
SM Ubers: Evuelf vs. Fireburn
SM UU: Pak vs. Manipulative
SM RU: col49 vs. Chill Shadow
SM NU: Hootie vs. Rodriblutar
SM LC: Kingler12345 vs. Bushtush
---


Deadline is Sunday, October 22nd, at 11:59 PM EDT.

If I made a mistake with any matchups or names, please contact Isa or me.

147/150 matches completed.
 
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Aliss

is a defending SPL Championis a Past SPL Champion
World Defender
Apparently posting in the name change thread doesn't count towards total post count, so really just farming a post here lol.
'Proper' predictions later but for now have fun everyone, hopefully those will all be ggs ^_^
 

Posho

local gaymer weeb
is a Tiering Contributoris the Smogon Tour Season 23 Championis a Past SCL Champion
Playing zomog and void on the second weekend, I have yet to schedule with Level 56 but should not be difficult (I hope lol)

COME FUCKING ON SIDEWINDERS, LET'S BE LIKE



edit: playing l56 on the 2nd weekend as well, bop johns thele it is - fallen warrior shake
 
Last edited:

Finchinator

-OUTL
is a Tournament Directoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Championis the defending OU Circuit Championis a Two-Time Former Old Generation Tournament Circuit Champion
OU Leader
:toast: just for Posho
SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. iloveleague - Super excited to see BTB getting some games in. I feel like the sample size on him is way too small to invest much confidence in him from a prediction standpoint, but he has been on the grind for his teammates this whole tour and he handles his one WCOP game well whereas League is not typically too big on building/prep for himself, so I feel BTB will have an advantage on this front and I don't think either plays too much better than the other, so leaning BTB.
SM OU: Star vs. NJNP - Wild game that largely depends on what strategy NJNP decides to load up prior, but I think Star's ability to take control of games with aggressive reads gives him the edge over NJNP, who tends to fallback on his teams being solid for his opponent and more conservative gameplay.
SM OU: Axel vs. poketcggamer1288 - Really rough start for Axel, but he's clearly a good player and I reckon he will edge out Poketcg, who still is on the inexperienced side even if he might be a bit underrated.
SM OU: London Beats vs. Gondra - As long as the internet is stable, I feel that Gondra is able to maneuver through situations that are not too ideal much better than his opponent, who is even more of a newcomer than Gondra himself. Should be cool seeing more of London Beats this phase though.

SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. Trosko - I think Trosko has had a few off games this tournament so far, but he really is a unique builder and has the capability to play with some of the better players in the field. Given this, I think BTB's element of teambuilding advantage is neutered in this match-up and I feel the edge goes to the more experienced/proven of the two, in Trosko.
SM OU: Star vs. R!cardo - Just think Star's flat out the better of the two, in all honesty. R!cardo showed some potential vs FV in a match-up I really thought he would pull out and even had a chance going into the later stages, but couldn't quite win it and honestly his execution has just been a bit shaky, so I think Star will take this one unless R!cardo brings some NJNP cheese that Star simply isn't ready to take on.
SM OU: Axel vs. Mob Barley - Mob is a wild one, that's for sure, and sometimes it takes someone like that to beat an established player like Axel, but here I think Axel will play with a chip on his shoulder after a rough start to the tournament and he won't get upset.
SM OU: London Beats vs. Sweepage - Sweepage looked great during the first phase of the tournament and I feel his teams/play in general are at a pretty high level. You have to wonder where his head is at sometimes, especially after a bit of a tilting performance during phase 2, but I think he has enough gas left in the tank to outperform London Beats. Only thing that frightens me is Sweepage having tendencies to use balance/bulky-o with the same sorta stuff fairly often and London beats having the help of Poek to potentially put him in a favorable position for what Sweepage is likely to use.

SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. Bro Kappa - This pairing really intrigues me, tbh. Both players have potential to bring interesting teams that might turn some heads and I feel like Bro Kappa has recently established himself as a very competent SM OU player in the scene. I think that given his experience and positive results so far, I will favor him, but really BTB can win any of his games, it is just hard to project how well he will handle the games themselves given his lack of exposure to situations like this.
SM OU: Star vs. John - While John might have to play with a gas mask on, I think it's safe to say that he is the more proven of the two in SM OU. Star says it best when explaining how John handles situations in his games and I feel that neither really has a teambuilding advantage given how John is more than capable himself and Star has plenty of support. This game will probably be close and I am looking forward to it as both are humble, but have to give the edge to the actual OU main of the pair.
SM OU: Axel vs. Level 56 - Probably a bit of a surprising prediction here, but I think Level 56 has played his games quite well and while he has managed to come up short for various reasons a couple times, I think that he can play with anyone and he is starting to really get a feel for the metagame. I give him a slight edge as a player over Axel, but Axel can pull it out with his ability to build teams and prepare at a higher, more precise level than his opponent, so we will have to wait and see what happens in the game itself.
SM OU: London Beats vs. reyscarface - I feel like this is another unlikely pick in the eyes of most, but I think this is the perfect "upset" pick. Rey has always been fairly predictable in SM and he seems to have been tilting more often than not lately, even if he finished the last phase on a positive note. On the other hand, London Beats has a lot of team support and does not have much to actually go off of as a player, making him unpredictable. I think the field will be tilted in London Beats's favor because of this and I think that he will play with a chip on his shoulder, trying to net a big win in his first tournament, and ultimately pull through.

SM OU: Reiku vs. Welli0u - Pretty unsure of Reiku's situation, especially when it comes to his actual activity and ability to play, but I assume there is some degree of confidence in his ability to get things done if he is starting, so I will predict under the assumption that this gets done. Given that, Welli0u has beaten Axel and Trosko, two more experienced SMers from Spain, and I feel he has a lot of tools at his disposal for handling dudes who are generally regarded as solid players, so I will favor him against Reiku, but if Reiku brings a team with some good countermeasures to balance, I could easily see it going his way as he always tends to show up in big tours.
SM OU: Zamrock vs. boudouche - I feel like Boudouche is a really good player and if his form in SM is near where it was during SPL when he actively helped/tested, then he should be able to pull this out. Zamrock has had a pretty solid start to the tournament, so I suppose it can go either way, but Boudouche finds it easier to take important risks to put him ahead in games and his style is a big question mark, which might cause Zamrock some struggles considering how much he scouts his opponents.
SM OU: Void vs. z0mOG - Damn, what in the world -- z0mOG is winning Pokemon games? Crazy! He's actually impressed me so far with his performance if you disregard the Eo game and I expect him to keep it going on this solid track. Void has been a good player this year, but I am not sold on him in any SM tier due to lack of experience.
SM OU: FlamingVictini vs. Tricking - FV is a man on a mission as of late. He will likely have some late game hiccups, but if he keeps his composure and brings another solid team, then I expect him to come out on top against Tricking, who I always view as a bit of a wild card. I question Tricking's ability to build teams, but his play is almost always solid, so he can definitely compete with FV, but I think FV's tier knowledge and building abilities will give him an edge that simply cannot be made up assuming both play solid.

SM OU: Reiku vs. blunder - Feel like Blunder is bound to bounce back and I think he has a better grasp at SM than Reiku, who is pretty much a big question mark at this point as I alluded to above. These two have had a pretty cool match or two in the past, however, so I hope both play their best and bring cool teams so we can see a close one.
SM OU: Zamrock vs. ez - ez strikes me as very inconsistent whereas Zamrock has been doing well so far even if he has generally been a fireball throughout his time in big tournaments. I think Zamrock has the edge in terms of optimal playmaking, but if ez is able to take risks at the right time and does not bring something too predictable, then he can ezily pull it off.
SM OU: Void vs. Posho - Posho has been playing really well more often than not and his grasp on SM right now is as good as it has ever been. I think he can stroll up with one of his comfortable balances without worry too much as Void is not too competent in SM OU himself and doesn't have a huge building support network as far as I know and as long as Posho can play well like he normally does, he should take this one.
SM OU: FlamingVictini vs. Ojama - I feel like both are very good players, but FV has a better grasp on the tier and has had for a much longer time, so I will give him the edge here, but it should be a good one assuming both stay humble.

SM OU: ABR vs. Welli0u - Welli0u has a few strong wins under his belt this tour over Axel and Trosko, but I think that'll stop with ABR. ABR has been solid all tour and I think he will continue to dominant with solid play and really interesting team choices.
SM OU: Lednah vs. boudouche - Lednah is super underrated imo and I think in the environment he is in, surrounded by success and strong OU support, he will be able to mold himself into a successful tournament mainstay this phase. Hopefully not at my expense in our game haha, but I have high hopes for him overall. Doucher is a strong player, but I have a feeling he will not be too sure what to expect here from Lednah.
SM OU: Cdumas vs. z0mOG - z0mOG has had a neat run so far, but Cdumas is like 10-1 overall and it is pretty hard to predict against that, I'd say.
SM OU: Omfuga vs. Tricking - I think this will be really interesting because both are a bit weird and hard to exactly predict, but neither stands out in SM OU either. I think Omfuga is the better player by a small margin and I will favor him because of that and the support he has compared to Tricking, but really could see this going either way at the end of the day.

SM OU: ABR vs. TheThorn - As I said, ABR is really solid and I think his level of preparation and teambuilding is almost unmatched in this field. Thorn is a solid player, but he tends to have a hard-on for balance builds and I question his ability to match-up well with ABR, who always tends to have a mindset of manipulating the standard balance in forming teams. I think that the stylistic and playing advantage both favor ABR here.
SM OU: Lednah vs. Znain - Cool game between two newer players, really haven't seen a ton of Znain in SM sadly. If his SM game is on par with his ORAS game, then I'd actually favor him probably, but this is a question mark and I think Lednah will stand out among the newer players given his skill-set and the environment he is in, so predicting him to edge Znain out.
SM OU: Cdumas vs. Leftiez - This is a great pairing of two of the strongest French SM players. Leftiez has a knack for creative, unpredictable sets and even strategies that could potentially tilt the playing field in his favor, but Cdumas always loads up solidly built teams that give him a fair shot more often than not and then he just plays a strong game. I expect him to win in a close one because he has been playing slightly better so far, in my opinion, but both of these guys were going strong until yesterday when they had rough losses (Ojama and Rey respectively, so it's not like they were bad opponents even). I'm very excited for this game and I hope both keep using humble and we can see a great match.
SM OU: Omfuga vs. Kickasser - I think Kickasser is actually somewhat underrated, especially when it comes to team selection. I think that, even in some of the games where he has come up short, Kickasser has shown a really good grasp on what his opponents normally use and how to take advantage of this. I think that Omfuga is still not entirely seasoned in SM to the extent that he will be 100% building alone and Kickasser might be able to take advantage of this, swaying a very close game in his favor. With this said, there's always the wildcard, outplaying potential that comes with Omfuga in just about any tier, so him winning would not really surprise me.

SM OU: iloveleague vs. TheThorn - Close one, but I think Thorn pulls it out here. The main selling point on his behalf is the fact that I think he will be in a solid position falling back on pretty normal balance, which I believe he excels with moreso than other playstyles. League is not heavy on scouting and tends to just bring whatever he finds solid and interesting at the time given my knowledge. I do think the element of CBB being able to support League could have some impact seeing as Thorn worked with him in SPL and perhaps this will change the dynamic a bit, but from a pure player vs player perspective, I have to favor Thorn.
SM OU: NJNP vs. Znain - No justice is probably going to be a bit much for an unproven Znain in an SM tier full of exploits for njnp. I do not expect this to be the most enjoyable game from a spectator's point of view.
SM OU: poketcggamer1288 vs. Leftiez - Leftiez is just way more solid and proven here, but I think that this game is arguably a prime suspect for an upset if there is to be a big one with poketcg as his building is solid and Leftiez can sometimes bring questionable stuff or forget something in trying to integrate an idea or innovation into a team. With this said, the odds of that determining the game aren't too large and I have to side with the stronger player of the two here.
SM OU: Gondra vs. Kickasser - I'm pretty high on both of these guys as player, but I think Gondra plays an insanely solid game. Just a few weeks ago, he dominated against me in a SmogTour game and I feel that his grasp on the SM metagame is very underrated. Honestly, I see Gondra as a top 15 player in this field when you take everything into consideration and while that might seem like a stretch, he should be positive and he started off on the wrong foot during phase 1, but he played very well throughout phase 2 and even took some risks with teams that paid off. I think that it is all coming together for Gondra and while Kickasser is a solid opponent, he will struggle to handle the risky nature of Gondra's plays when he brings more offensively inclined builds, which I think he will end up going with here after stalling last phase.

SM OU: Welli0u vs. blunder - Blunder probably going to play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after a rough start and while Welli0u has had some signature wins so far, I think Blunder will stand his ground and pull this one out. I think that he can probably play more to his comfort zone given how Welli0u tends to bring balance more often than not and does not go too outside the box with team choices in general.
SM OU: boudouche vs. ez - Bit of a challenging game to predict as both are a oddballs, I feel, but just going by raw playing skill, I feel Boudouche is clearly the better overall player with more tournament experience. ez does have the teambuilding support edge by a long shot and more SM experience, but I tend to think this will be compensated for in some regard by Boudouche if he is active enough to prepare sufficiently, which I have to assume he is seeing that he is now starting.
SM OU: z0mOG vs. Posho - This might shape up to be interesting seeing how z0mOG has been doing well so far whereas Posho has been just doing alright, but I think Posho's outplaying potential will let him take control of the game against z0mOG who tends to stick to what he sees as optimal until he gets comfortable openings. Assuming Posho brings a team that matches up decently, I find it hard to see him not taking this one.
SM OU: Tricking vs. Ojama - Two SPL Scooters, I feel that Ojama is just kind of inherently favored here as he is the better player and has the better support, but Tricking is the type to pull techs and wins out of nowhere, so this game might have some surprises.

SM OU: Trosko vs. TheThorn - This is going to be really close, imo. I think that they're about even as players, so just going with Trosko because I feel he is the better builder and can prepare well for the balances Thorn tends to bring.
SM OU: R!cardo vs. Znain - I think Znain is the better player, but R!cardo has more SM experience, so could go either way here, just really not too sure about either of the two honestly.
SM OU: Mob Barley vs. Leftiez - This game could lead to just about anything considering how wild both of these two are. I'm very much looking forward to seeing team preview here. The match itself could get kinda ugly or weird, tbh, but I hope this is not the case. I have high hopes for both, but Leftiez is more consistent and proven.
SM OU: Sweepage vs. Kickasser - Close game, but given that Sweepage's motivation is up in the air, going to side with Kickasser. Normally, I'd be pretty conflicted here though. I think they both bring pretty generic balance/bulky-offense teams and play a pretty solid game. Kickasser has much less tournament experience himself, but has impressed me in his limited time playing and seems to be playing alright, so will side with him given circumstances.

SM OU: Trosko vs. Bro Kappa - Bro Kappa has really impressed me as I said above and while I do think Trosko's solid, I feel like he won't know what to expect from Bro Kappa and this will be challenging for him. Wilder players like Bro Kappa tend to cause trouble for tested tier mains that have a grasp on building, I feel.
SM OU: R!cardo vs. John - Already saw this happen once in WCOP finals and see no reason why it will end differently here.
SM OU: Mob Barley vs. Level 56 - Really like how Level has adapted to SM OU and how he is playing his games as of late, so siding with him, but Mob can probably mindfuck him with some sort of weird team he might bring, so there's a lot left to be seen here.
SM OU: Sweepage vs. reyscarface - Two unlucky oldies on tilt related life support, my main prediction is there to be salt after the game.

SM OU: blunder vs. Bro Kappa - One of my favorite match-ups of the round probably. I think Blunder will come out really strong this phase and live up to the hype behind him, so siding with him.
SM OU: ez vs. John - Would've really liked to see John vs any of the other three tbh, but this could be an interesting game. I feel like ez might try to cheese the humbleman and that could be quite lame, however.
SM OU: Posho vs. Level 56 - Bigs battle :D Posho seems to be the better of the two in SM OU even if Level is making strides every time I see him, should be a good one
SM OU: Ojama vs. reyscarface - lmao I hope they both hax each other to shit

meeps vs. Eternally - Probably the closest game in my eyes. I think both are a bit overrated, but still fall into the top 4-6 of the field. Meeps will always use a team that's pretty solid, but standard, with maybe 1-2 techs whereas Eternally has an interesting take on the tier. I think that Meeps's aggressive mid-game reads will probably get the better end of Eternally's conservative, optimal sorta playstyle, but a lot of this depends on what each brings.
meeps vs. Jayde - Rough phase 2 for Jayde, but he's still a pretty phenomenal player and will bounce back, imo. I think he will just bring some standard stuff and outplay, as I think he basically does what meeps does better in terms of making aggressive plays while still remaining optimal.
meeps vs. Rodriblutar - Another close one, but I think Rodri has some magical way of making the right play whenever needed and I also feel like some of his more questionable tendencies in terms of teams he has built in NU (or used? idk if he builds) actually match-up well with what meeps tends to bring himself, ironically enough. This game will 100% generate multiple "HOW" moments itc, too.
Kushalos vs. elodin - Close one, but I think Kush's advantage in terms of tier competency will compensate for his utilization of numerous unsets and I do not feel either is much better than the other when it comes to gameplay, so leaning Kush as he's basically an NU main at this point.
Kushalos vs. Hootie - Another interesting battle, but I really like how Hootie builds and I think his play has improved a bit since the first phase whereas Kush is kinda the same, so favoring Hootie to keep on winning.
snaga vs. elodin - If someone told people this was a Snake NU match ~3 months ago, nobody would believe it. If someone told me this was a Snake NU match ~3 weeks ago, I still wouldn't believe it. But hey, here we are! I think elodin is the better player, but snaga has the higher ceiling due to his ability to make ungodly predictions at the most random time, as seen in open. Either way, snaga will be under pressure in his first games and elodin did well last phase, so favoring him.
snaga vs. soulgazer - Well...yea
Eternally vs. soulgazer - Don't think too many people will agree with this one, but I feel like Eternally is established enough to beat SG when SG isn't exactly an NU main at this point in time. Don't get me wrong, I think SG is the better player and probably one of the top three in the field, but I have to wonder how up-to-date he is and if he can do what he did in the past after being in a different tier all tournament, so I'll take Eternally here as he's solid enough.
elodin vs. Hootie - As I said above, I'm really high on Hootie and because of this, I don't see him losing this or the Kush game this phase.
Jayde vs. soulgazer - Kinda the same hesitation to SG here as the above predict whereas I'm super high on Jayde, so I think he'll take this one.
Jayde vs. Rodriblutar - God PLEASE let Rodri expose Jayde like he did Fooly.
Hootie vs. Rodriblutar - Close one here, too, but I think that Hootie will be ready for everything Rodri has been bringing and be able to exploit some of his weird tendencies when it comes to team choice and once the field is stacked in his favor from the start, I think he will be able to win even if Rodri is probably the better player of the two.

sg's prob gonna 3-0 and make me look stupid TBH
 
:toast: just for Posho
SM OU: BHARATH_THEBEST vs. iloveleague - Super excited to see BTB getting some games in. I feel like the sample size on him is way too small to invest much confidence in him from a prediction standpoint, but he has been on the grind for his teammates this whole tour and he handles his one WCOP game well whereas League is not typically too big on building/prep for himself, so I feel BTB will have an advantage on this front and I don't think either plays too much better than the other, so leaning BTB.
SM OU: iloveleague vs. TheThorn - Close one, but I think Thorn pulls it out here. The main selling point on his behalf is the fact that I think he will be in a solid position falling back on pretty normal balance, which I believe he excels with moreso than other playstyles. League is not heavy on scouting and tends to just bring whatever he finds solid and interesting at the time given my knowledge. I do think the element of CBB being able to support League could have some impact seeing as Thorn worked with him in SPL and perhaps this will change the dynamic a bit, but from a pure player vs player perspective, I have to favor Thorn.
Hi,
I do prep for my games and I build my own teams too
See here

thanks!
 
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