Smogon Snake Draft III - Week 3

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Matchups:


Celadon City Cobras (7) vs (3) Lanakila Nagas

OU: Jytcampbell vs Jimmy Turtwig
OU: dice vs Kory2600
OU: Eo Ut Mortus vs Kebab mlml
OU: FMG vs Tricking
DOU: Tman vs Nails
UU: Accelgor vs Adaam
RU: UltraBallz vs Kink
NU: Finchinator vs Ren-chon
PU: Raiza vs Ktütverde
LC: Kingler12345 vs Osh


Lake of Rage Leviathans 6) vs (4) Black City Mambas

OU: Charmflash vs Empo
OU: Hayburner vs Eeveeto
OU: Insult vs Gilbert arenas
OU: Tace vs xray
DOU: emforbes vs Human
UU: Corazan vs Christo
RU: Welli0u vs Averardo
NU: Garay oak vs ict
PU: Xiri vs Rexus
LC: Luthier vs LilyAC


Berry Forest Bushmasters (4) vs 6) Sky Tower Lindworms

OU: HSA vs xImRaptor
OU: blarghlfarghl vs Indigo Plateau
OU: xtra$hine vs Relous
OU: z0mOG vs Lopunny Kicks
DOU: SMB vs Croven
UU: Amane Misa vs HT
RU: SPACE FORCE meeps vs Ajna
NU: Eternally vs col49
PU: Taskr vs tom holland
LC: tazz vs trash


Rumble Hall Rattlers (7) vs (3) Terminus Taipans

OU: teal6 vs ABR
OU: frisoeva vs ima
OU: TonyFlygon vs Chaitanya
OU: Gondra vs Mana
DOU: Spurrific vs Ezrael
UU: SoulWind vs robjr
RU: TDK vs Alpha Rabbit
NU: rozes vs Sjneider
PU: Kushalos vs Teddeh
LC: London13 vs jake


Shinto Ruin Serpents (6) vs (4) Ambrette Astrotias

OU: yjh971203 vs Santu
OU: Sacri' vs Cdumas
OU: BKC vs Tamahome
OU: Jardem vs Updated Kanto
DOU: Demantoid vs Mint16
UU: DurzaOffTopic vs Lycans
RU: Nat vs Feliburn
NU: 0NI vs Jrdn
PU: soulgazer vs false
LC: BurntZebra vs ZoroDark

Deadline will be September 15th, 10:00 PM EST.
 
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YAHALLO AND WELCOME BACK TO THE UNBIASED PREDICTIONS

Celadon City Cobras (5) vs (4) Lanakila Nagas

OU: Jytcampbell vs Jimmy Turtwig | still think Jyt is kind of a bum but he won Week 1 and I'm still pretty skeptical of this JTurt in OU experiment
OU: dice vs Kory2600 | I've never really been a Kory believer and dice is pretty talented. He's less experienced, but may be finding his groove here
OU: Eo Ut Mortus vs ramboss | Eo's been pretty solid and the skill discrepancy here is massive
OU: FMG vs Tricking | FMG's a talented newcomer, but Clicking usually manages to pick up some wins and is off to a strong start.
DOU: Tman vs Nails
UU: Accelgor vs Adaam | Still not really sold on Adaam, even though he upset sheet God Lycans last game. He's way more hyped than Accel, though, and I haven't seen enough to make me bold the TagPro main
RU: UltraBallz vs Kink | UB is relatively solid and I have no reason to believe Kink isn't still trash
NU: Finchinator vs Ren-chon | The FINCHINATOR BANDWAGON VROS OML After demolishing the top 2 ranked players in back to back weeks, Finch can rest a bit as he is gifted a creampuff matchup. Ren-chon is probably garbage so big edge.
PU: Raiza vs Ktutverde | bro LOL Raiza's looked good early, but his opponents have made some pretty questionable decisions. Ktut struggled Week 1 before lucking the fuck out of Taskr. He won last week, but it was against False so who really cares. Gonna trust the PRs on this one with little to go off of.
LC: Kingler12345 vs Osh | The loaf is definitely proving that his number 2 ranking was nonsense LOOL It doesn't get any easier here. I think Osh is slightly better and should be able to continue Kingler's spiral towards the bottom

Lake of Rage Leviathans (4) vs (4) Black City Mambas

OU: Charmflash vs Empo | Empo's one of the most hyped people in the tour. I haven't totally bought in, but I don't really believe in Charm that much either. He rose out of irrelevance with one SPL performance. Empo's more proven and is a better player.
OU: Hayburner vs Eeveeto | idk if Eeveeto is good, but he did win last week ig. Meanwhile, Hayburner is honestly pretty garbage LOL he threw tf out of Week 1 and his games are never impressive. small edge.
OU: Insult vs Gilbert arenas | Insult is off to a nice 2-0 start. Meanwhile, marcop CRASHED back into Earth past week, with a terrible performance in an almost unloseable matchup. This isn't ADV vros. Decent edge.
OU: Tace vs xray | This one's kind of a tossup. xray really struggles in SM and I really don't have that much confidence here. Tace suffered a set back last week, but he's usually decent ig. Minimal edge
DOU: emforbes vs Human
UU: Corazan vs Christo | Corazan upset robjr last week...BUT THIS IS GOD CHRISTO OML The best UUer rarely ever loses and should steamroll this random.
RU: Welli0u vs Averardo | The Well is really just farming against these losers LOOOL my god. Averardo is probably trash as evidenced by his 10th place ranking in a horrific player pool. Big edge.
NU: Garay oak vs ict | Garay's been struggling a bit and Leon is a bit more battle-tested. This is pretty much a coinflip, but I'll trust ict.
PU: Xiri vs Sam I Yam | Our first cross out of the week LOL low ranled PU players dude who gives a fuck. Both are definitely garbage
LC: Luthier vs LilyAC | Lily bounced back from a poor Week 1, but tko's plays and team were pretty suspect
Luthier's a bit more hyped and proven so.

Berry Forest Bushmasters (6) vs (3) Sky Tower Lindworms

OU: HSA vs xImRaptor | HSA is struggling but he still had a respectable World Cup and strong Stour showing not too long ago. Raptor's unproven as fuck, and almost choked a near autowin matchup vs Star in Week 1. I need more before I'm ready to say that he's not absolute trash
OU: blarghlfarghl vs Indigo Plateau | The time has FINALLY COME LOL BLARGH HAS BEEN BOLDED!!! He seemingly can't lose nowadays, and while I still don't completely believe in the turn around, I do trust the sheet. Not to mention, based on the 1st two games, IP might be the worst player in the tour LOOL oh my god THIS MAN WAS R5!? BRO HOW HE'S TERRIBLE oh my lord. I have no faith that he has the ability to pick up a win...mayb if you move him to PU?
OU: xtra$hine vs Relous | xtra's been surprising people, but Relous has also been performing admirably lately. He s a bit more results lately, so I'll trust him a bit more. minimal edge.
OU: z0mOG vs Lopunny Kicks | In a rare turn of events, I'll go against the sheet here. Lop Kicks is a spreadsheet warrior and is off to a solid start. There's a reason z0m was a viable R1 pick, though. I think he's a slightly better player. small edge.
DOU: SMB vs Croven
UU: Amane Misa vs HT | Both these players managed to farm a win against Dickscrew. Amane's a more unknown quantity, and managed to nab a surprising Week 1 win. Meanwhile, in the most obvious result ever, HT got curbstomped by Christo. I don't fault him for losing that, but I still think he's dogshit LOL Misa's more unknown and is off to a strong start so I'll trust her here.
RU: SPACE FORCE meeps vs Ajna | meeps definitely has the potential to do pretty well in RU, and I like his upside. This is Ajna, though...like LOL solid edge.
NU: Eternally vs col49 | I'll continue to short Eternally's playing abilities. I think 49 is a hair better and should be able to get team advantage with lax's help. Minimal edge.
PU: Taskr vs tom holland | the BKC of PU is off to a rough start, but this might be the best bounceback spot possible. Tom Holland seemed pretty confident in his playing abilities, but his hame Week 2 was an abject disaster LOOL He played like absolute dogshit against a clown player, managing to lose an absurdly good matchup. There's no reason for me to believe that he's not an awful player so solid edge to Taskr.
LC: tazz vs tko | tazz was almost assuredly overhyped, but he did get in the win column last week. tko, meanwhile, looks pretty lost. His team selection has been highly questionable and his play last week left much to be desired. It's pretty damn shocking that he was picked Round 6 like...solid edge.

Rumble Hall Rattlers (3) vs (6) Terminus Taipans

OU: teal6 vs ABR | only teal would be crazy enough to quit farming LC to take on one of the best players in recent memory....Yeah big edge for ABR.
OU: frisoeva vs ima | I have no idea who the fuck frisoeva is and ima's been solid enough in this tour.
OU: TonyFlygon vs Chaitanya | Chait has been relatively impressive lately, but I like Tony as a battler a bit more. Decent edge.
OU: Gondra vs Mana | These two are pretty similar in skill level, but I like Gondra slightly more. He choked on dick last week LOL but still.
DOU: Spurrific vs Ezrael
UU: SoulWind vs robjr | The juggling is real LOL SW's obv a really good player, but this is rob's home. There's no way rob with Pearl support goes 0-3 LOL that would be insane
RU: TDK vs Alpha Rabbit | If Rabbit wasn't an unproven 0-2 mainer, I might bold him here. TDK has struggled a lot lately, and RU isn't his strong suit. I just have no reason to believe Rabbit isn't dogshit so. Decent edge.
NU: rozes vs Sjneider | rozes back in his home LOL this shit is DIRE. Before this tour, I'd have bolded shiloh, but Sjneider has taken down ict and Garay. That's enough for a small edge.
PU: Kushalos vs Teddeh | Gary finally played himself out of the lineup LOL Despite claims that the Rumblers have solved PU, their games have been a disaster in the first 2 weeks. Kushalos is way better, but struggled last week as well. Teddeh is the 2nd best PUer in the tour imo, and should be able to continue his spreadsheet dominance.
LC: London13 vs jake | is this London Beats? LOL if not, I gave no idea who tf this is. Zeb's 2-0 and has made some nice moves. Decent edge.

Shinto Ruin Serpents (3) vs (5) Ambrette Astrotias

OU: YJH vs Santu | These players are like almost the same in my head. coinflip
OU: Sacri' vs Cdumas | Sacri is solid but SHEET GOD CDUMAS IS BACK BROS! make that 4-1 since his awful SPL. His team tour performances are nearly unmatched, and he looks to be finding his groove. Solid edge.
OU: BKC vs Tamahome | Can this game be in DPP LOL Both are way less impressive in SM. I think Tana has been slightly better in this tier, and BKC's been in poor form since World Cup. Minimal edge.
OU: Star vs Updated Kanto | Kanto's been surprisingly solid, but Star's the 2nd best OUer in the tour to me. Solid edge.
DOU: Demantoid vs Mint16
UU: DurzaOffTopic vs Lycans | LOOOL evil ass obii fed Durza to the wolves LMAO Lycans suffered a setback last week, but he's still in ridiculous form. This is a sad start to Durza's career. The Serpents have gone 0-2 against clown ass UU players and the struggle should continue here.
RU: Nat vs Feliburn | Nat is a way better player based on official tour showings. The Big 2 should dominate from here on out
NU: 0NI vs Jrdn | Who the living fuck is this LOOL Jrdn won last week at least, so I'll trust him against this random ass clown
PU: soulgazer vs false | To absolutely no one's surprise, false lost week after I bolded him for the first time ever. He's definitely not good, and now he gers to face off against the best PU player in the tournament, lower tier God sg. Expect a stomp.
LC: BurntZebra vs ZoroDark | Zoro's been trash this tour, but I still think he's a bit above average. Going against Star support is scary, but I'll take my chances .
 
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Finchinator

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OU Leader
w1: 11-7
w2: 12-8

OU: Charmflash (55) vs (45) Empo - Close one, but I think Charmflash is going to use something crazy that Empo does not anticipate. Empo is as good of a player, if not better, than Charmflash, but I think this is a match-up nightmare waiting to happen. Maybe my gut is wrong and Empo wins, but I will bold Charm here.
OU: Hayburner (45) vs (55) Eeveeto - Eeveeto is doing well so far whereas Hayburner's w1 showing is defined by a pretty unfortunate choke. I do not want to favor Eeveeto too heavily as his teams are usually pretty sketchy, which leads to inconsistency, but he is good enough to where I will at least favor him given recent performances.
OU: Insult (60) vs (40) Gilbert arenas - Another NE match-up for Insult, unfortunately. Insult is 2-0, but neither win has stood out to me as particularly impressive...I feel like his opponents mishandled things both times tbh. Marcop is a high ceiling player, but last week he did really poorly in a very favorable match-up, so I am not too confident in him. I expect Insult's string of wins to continue here.
OU: Tace (51) vs (49) xray - Neither is great, but Tace has played some strong games so far, including taking ABR to a tight 3 game set in OLT and beating FMG convincingly week 1. He is not a world-beater, but I suppose I can give him a slight edge against xray in a metagame that he is not at his best in, especially given that he is unfortunately 0-2 currently.
NU: Garay oak (55) vs (45) ict - 0-2 or not, Garay is still Garay. He is good enough to win against anyone in this pool and I would favor him against pretty much everyone. Last week he also faced off against a team that did very well against what he brought -- had he used something different that was still in his comfort zone, he could have easily won. His opponent outplayed him, but I just am not too worried about Garay and I think he will edge out ict, who is also a strong player, but I rank slightly below Garay.

OU: HSA (45) vs (55) xImRaptor - HSA has not looked too great so far. Raptor shows a lot of potential sometimes, even if there are occasional missteps. I favor Raptor slightly, but this one could easily go either way.
OU: blarghlfarghl (55) vs (45) Indigo Plateau - No real comment on the whole Indigo drama that ensued earlier today, but Blargh has been putting together some decent performances lately. His end game last week still hurt my head, but good team choices and solid early games can still go a long way. Indigo makes some nice plays, but sometimes loses sight of the end goal and that costs him. I expect Blargh to take it.
OU: xtra$hine vs Relous - Completely deadlocked here. Was not too high on either before the tournament started, but now both are off to impressive 2-0 starts. I rank them similarly at this point and want to see more until I am sure, so just not going to predict it.
OU: z0mOG (49) vs (51) Lopunny Kicks - Both are pretty quirky in their own ways, oftentimes leading to pretty interesting builds. I find Lopunny Kicks to be a bit more aggressive overall, but z0mOG to be a bit more practical in the risks he does take, which can go a longer way. I think that this game will probably come down to match-up. In team tours, Lop Kicks has had a little more success I believe, so I will lean his way, but this is another really close game tbh.
NU: Eternally (55) vs (45) col49 - Eternally has looked impressive so far. Col looked fine, using something quite cool, but he still has not won a game and I have seen a lot less out of him in NU. Going to go with Eternally here because of this.

OU: teal6 (35) vs (65) ABR - I mean teal is going to want to bring his absolute best against ABR in an important OU game. The main issue is that I have no reason to believe his absolute best is any better than Mega Sableye balance, Mega Kick Mega Medicham, or some ratchet team that may be lacking a crucial resist/check. I think teal is unironically good in game and could beat the best of players on any given day if presented with a level playing field. The issue is that ABR is not going to give him a level playing field and I think that ABR is going to win this convincingly because of that.
OU: frisoeva (45) vs (55) ima - Don't look now, but ima is very quietly 2-0 now and while they may not have been the flashiest or most domiannt wins, they still count and that goes a long way when he was not the most highly touted prospect coming into the tournament. frisoeva is a relatively unknown prospect to some, but he has a lot of cool teams in a lot of different tiers. He is a jack of all trades, master of none type to me. I do not think this bodes too well for him starting in any particular metagame though. I am a bit curious to see what he brings and if he has what it takes to make this transition to OU starter or not. This is one of the lower profile games I really want to see as both guys have some potential I feel, but neither has fully broken out, especially with Friso having very little experience on this stage in general. Favoring ima given his little recent run, but could go either way.
OU: TonyFlygon (55) vs (45) Chaitanya - Tony played a solid game against Jyt w2 and emerged victorious. I think that Recoverless Mega Alakazam is sooooo bad in some match-ups, but it turned out to be a godsend for him there. I think that week 1 was a rough position for him due to a number of factors, but week 2 was more indicative of where he is at and he will continue to win some games. Chait is a bit of a wildcard himself as he has a high ceiling, but a low floor. The latter was showcased during a good portion of his w2 game unfortunately and I need a little more convincing before I am sure of him winning more games in this field tbh. Could go either way, but I have more trust in Tony playing a consistent, mistake-free game at this point.
OU: Gondra (45) vs (55) Mana - Gondra did not look like himself last week. Mana played a close game against Charmflash and has unfortunately started 0-2, but I think he is the more likely of the two to break out and this could be a big step in the right direction. I do not even feel like Mana has misplayed a lot per se. I do think that he has not been at his best, but I think he is close to getting there and may start to break out here.
NU: rozes (45) vs (55) Sjneider - Not sure where rozes is at in NU right now. He could be the guy who was coming up with cool stuff like fast Blastoise and going positive like he did during late ORAS. On the other hand, he could be the guy who tries to make Gogoat viable, which is a not a particularly good look. On the other hand, Sjneider has been doing well so far, winning both of his first two games against players ranked well above him. I do not think Sjneider's streak will continue for too much longer as everyone comes down to reality eventually, but I do believe in him enough to favor him against a rozes that may not be in prime NU form. This game has a fair amount of uncertainty present for me as rozes is a question mark that could be a high ceiling/low floor type player here depending on his team choice.

OU: YJH (51) vs (49) Santu - Not really sure here either way, but YJH won last week and played ok in the game he lost even. He was a tad underwhelming during SPL I admit, but I like the dude and I think he is a smart player. Santu is inconsistent; sometimes he can upset the ABRs of the world and qualify for individual playoffs, but other times he can lose pretty winnable games. I will favor YJH slightly, but I am really unsure here.
OU: Sacri' (40) vs (60) Cdumas - Sacri' has looked uncharacteristically poor so far. I feel like he is a good player, but has played some off games thus far. He will bounce back, but Cdu is in decent form and pulled out an improbable victory last week, which always feels great. I like Cdu as a player rn and I will favor him.
OU: BKC (40) vs (60) Tamahome - BKC is not really in his element here. Tamahome is not 100% in his either, but he has more experience in SM and plays the tier as well as, if not better than, most people who 'main' it, so that goes a long way in my book. BKC needs to get back on track and I am not sure where his head is at. As much as I want to see him win, I cannot favor him against Tama, who plays the part of old generation player playing SM better than BKC as of right now.
OU: Star (60) vs (40) Updated Kanto - Star is the stronger player and is less likely to use complete nonsense.
NU: 0NI (35) vs (65) Jrdn - Not sure what to make of 0NI starting. I view rodri as the superior player and I think 0NI's main niche as a pick lies within his teambuilding, much like Tangelo last year. The thing is that sometimes fresh starting blood can go a long way, much like Tangelo did last year at first. I cannot really see 0NI having sustained success, but I can see him winning a game or two at the start, especially given how crafty he is. With that said, Jrdn has looked pretty good so far and I think he is posed to win yet another game, so going to side with him here.
 
OU: Jytcampbell vs Jimmy Turtwig
OU: dice vs Kory2600
OU: Eo Ut Mortus vs ramboss
OU: FMG vs Tricking

OU: HSA vs xImRaptor
OU: blarghlfarghl vs Indigo Plateau
OU: xtra$hine vs Relous
OU: z0mOG vs Lopunny Kicks - seems even to me

OU: Charmflash vs Empo
OU: Hayburner vs Eeveeto
OU: Insult vs Gilbert arenas
OU: Tace vs xray

OU: teal6 vs ABR
OU: frisoeva vs ima
OU: TonyFlygon vs Chaitanya
OU: Gondra vs Mana

OU: YJH vs Santu
OU: Sacri' vs Cdumas
OU: BKC vs Tamahome - bruh
OU: Star vs Updated Kanto
 

Leo

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MPL Champion
OU: Charmflash vs Empo - Highlight of the week in OU, Charm has a strong track record this year and is more or less proving his spl record wasn't a fluke with a solid showing in olt so far despite farming wins with unholy stalls in half of his games. Empo's been about as successful in olt and I'm more sold on his playing ability than I am on Charm's so I'd expect him to win with solid prep
OU: Hayburner vs Eeveeto - It seems Eeveeto has decided to stay away from bringing his usual dog teams and is off to a good start, granted he got donated last week if we're being honest. Hay choked hard w1 and had to sit the next week out but he's turned around his olt run since and has some momentum going for himself, I think he has a decent shot at ending Eeveetos streak with the right mentality given his higher ceiling, but Eeveetos unpredictability gives him an edge in the builder so this could go either way
OU: Insult vs Gilbert arenas - Insult is coming off 2 convincing wins and it's hard to see him lose to marcop after the disaster of a game he played last week
OU: Tace vs xray - Tace has a very high ceiling that usually involves clicking Ice Beam a couple times every game which has been working out for him lately whereas xray just doesn't seem to find his own footing in sm in recent performances. Can't give him too big of an edge after his game vs ima from last week but he should be favored here

OU: HSA vs xImRaptor - HSA hasn't been doing too hot and while he's a solid player, Raptor seems more dedicated to the tier and can probably pull this off.
OU: blarghlfarghl vs Indigo Plateau - blargh has to lose at some point, right?
OU: xtra$hine vs Relous - not too impressed with either's performance so far so I'm gonna go with xtra's experience and now it seems versatility as well, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Relous take it. Interested to see what team he brings this week.
OU: z0mOG vs Lopunny Kicks - Another solid matchup, Lop Kicks somehow made it out of his last game alive after facing marcop with a near unwinnable matchup. Hard to bold him in this matchup after that team choice, especially against someone like z0m, who is looking to carry his team's OU slots

OU: teal6 vs ABR - Teal strikes me as the type of player to perform better as the underdog in lopsided matchups but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's ABR who he's facing and it will take a lot more than that to stop him in his current form
OU: frisoeva vs ima - fris seems very average while ima has been around for a while and has adopted the z0m live narration method to his snake games. This has led to a good 2-0 start so I find it hard to predict him to lose here
OU: TonyFlygon vs Chaitanya - Chait hit rock bottom last week after a very questionable game against Insult. While I haven't bought into the SM Tony hype yet I reckon he's more consistent in his games and should have an edge here.
OU: Gondra vs Mana - Gondra didn't look too hot last week and is up against a pretty seasoned player this week so unless he can get back on his game I don't think he'll be able to put Mana at an 0-3 start

OU: YJH vs Santu - Wasn't too sold on yjh prior to snake but his games have been decent so far whereas Santu can go sicko one game then get smashed the next one. Slight edge to him
OU: Sacri' vs Cdumas - Sacri tends to always do decent but his past 2 games have been pretty underwhelming, with him nearly throwing a win against Indigo and then losing half his team to xtra's z rotom. It seems Cdumas has bounced back from his spl underperformance so he should win this
OU: BKC vs Tamahome - SM is definitely not BKC's tier and it's showing, I'm not the biggest SM Tama fan either but he's far more experienced and proven in the tier, it's still BKC so he could win if he finds his comfort zone in SM but I don't see that happening soon
OU: Star vs Updated Kanto - Star's results so far have been fairly underwhelming for the hype he has going for him whereas Kanto's underdog status has been doing him wonders since his olt run and he has the momentum in his favour, this could very well be the turning point for Kanto's recent success but I'll still give him a slight edge.
 

MANNAT

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Just doing OU predicts because it's late and I'm tired.

Jytcampbell vs Jimmy Turtwig - Jyt has been pretty solid in 2019, suffering his first real misstep last week when he refused to knock the helmet off of Tony's torn for whatever reason. However, I feel like he's been a lot more solid than Jimmy in SM OU as a whole and is definitely more in touch with the current metagame, so I'll give him a decent edge here.

dice vs Kory2600 - Kory's underperformed quite a bit this tour, albeit partially because of some unfortunate circumstances, and dice is coming in off of a pretty miraculous win last week in which Gondra didn't realize dice's Magnezone lacked Thunderbolt and ended up losing as a result. I'll give dice a slight edge in a game where we should see some cool techs like this that hopefully comes down to the wire.

Eo Ut Mortus vs ramboss - Eo has had a great tour and is coming off of an excellent win against SW whereas I've never really been impressed by ramboss, so he's definitely got a big edge here.

FMG vs Tricking - Both players have had solid performances this year, but Tricking is much more experienced and I think that FMG is gonna have a tough time dealing with his unorthodox playing style as well as his team choices. However, FMG is no slouch and could definitely steal a game from Tricking if he plays up to his ceiling and catches Tricking on some of his more risky predictions.

HSA vs xImRaptor - Neither player has been lighting the world on fire this snake, but I'm more confident in HSA's feel for the game as well as having a bit more experience between STour + WCOP, so I think he'll be able to take this game pretty comfortably provided he doesn't have to deal with this matchup.

blarghlfarghl vs Indigo Plateau - This prediction is pretty blasphemous considering that blargh hasn't lost a SM OU teamtour game in 2019 while Indigo has been struggling mightily in his debut. However, from my experience with him, Indigo is a solid player that has just been dealing with some bad nerves and I think he'll be able to overcome them here. The real reason why I'm predicting blargh to lose is because shake finally bolded him and we already know what happened there, wrap.

xtra$hine vs Relous - The power have textbooks have helped xtra put on a solid showing in snake thus far whereas Relous hasn't done anything in particular that's caught my eye as of late. I'm definitely interested to see whether or not xtra finally realizes that 0 spatk fleur tbolt magearna is dogshit or not this week, so I'll be tuning in. Regardless, I'll have to give xtra the benefit of the doubt because of his arguably more impressive wins and experience.

z0mOG vs Lopunny Kicks - This is probably the closest game of the week, both players have a pretty similar playstyle and are good enough to beat anyone in the pool on a good day for sure. I feel like punny is the more solid player whereas zom is better at preparing prior to the start of the game. I think that zom's gonna do a good job preparing before the game to get a strong matchup and ride it out to a closely contested win.

Charmflash vs Empo - This has definitely got to be the game of the week as these are definitely two of the hottest players on the block right now, with Empo coming off absolutely dismantling Ojama in OLT whereas za just completed his own OLT 3-0. Definitely excited to see the new variation of Ditto bullshit that za cooks up this week and whether or not Empo can break past it. There's sure to be some flashy plays and unique sets this game. Let's just hope that za doesn't make us sit through another 7 million turn block pp stalling sequence this time around.

Hayburner vs Eeveeto - Hay has been severely slumping as of late between losing his first game in snake and promptly getting benched after loing to sacri in OLT, but eeveeto isn't a worldbeater by any means himself and hay seemed to regain form a bit in his OLT series against typh last week. There's also the fact that eeveeto could go AWOL and randomly bring a rotom heat and get smashed, so I feel pretty good bolding Hayburner's name here in spite of his recent slump.

Insult vs Gilbert arenas - Insult's off to a strong 2-0 start this snake, with convincing wins against two of the more hyped players going into this tour, whereas marcop still really doesn't have that much experience in SM OU and it's tough to gauge where his head's at during some of his games. I expect insult to bring home a nice win here with another solid team and good play.

Tace vs xray - Tace has had a really solid year and xray doesn't look too hot in SM rn, but xray is still a solid player with good fundamentals and good team support should he choose to ask for it, so I think he'll be able to surprise my man tace and come up with an upset win, as odd as that is to say.

teal6 vs ABR - Ok I know that this prediction looks like absolute autism but hear me out LOL. Teal is a strong player that's executed well in both of his LC games thus far and obviously felt confident enough in his own abilities to ask ABR to slot against him this week. Not only that, but teal definitely seems like the kind of guy to embrace the underdog role and use that to motivate himself to come up with a big win.

frisoeva vs ima - I've always been pretty low on friso, and ima has quietly had a nice 2-0 start, so I'm definitely gonna take ima to come up with the upset here considering his great teammate support combined with his simply superior playing abilities.

TonyFlygon vs Chaitanya - Chait has shown the potential to have an obscene playing ceiling and turn some heads for sure, but Tony's just a solid player that's been around forever and he should be able to win this and keep up the momentum from last week.

Gondra vs Mana - Gondra's brain kind of went haywire last week, so I'm definitely hesitant to bold his name here, especially considering the fact that he's playing against someone as solid as Mana. Both guys are obviously solid players and this could definitely go either way, but I've always felt like Mana's a bit more solid and he has strong team support on top of that so I'm gonna favor him here.

YJH vs Santu - I'm not super high on either of these players, but Santu is relatively hyped by a lot of people for his overall playing prowess whereas yjh has been anything but consistent with regards to his play. Either guy could light it up and take home this game in dominating fashion, but I'm gonna favor Santu here because of his solid play around the board lately.

Sacri' vs Cdumas - Cdumas seems to have regained form since SPL following a pretty fortunate win against Kory whereas Sacri's snake games haven't been super impressive, so Cdu seems to be the natural favorite here. However, Sacri definitely has the aggressive type of playstyle that can abuse Cdu's tendencies and is coming off of a really convincing win against Star in OLT, so I'll take him to surprise some people and beat Cdu here.

BKC vs Tamahome - This would be an absolute dream matchup to see in DPP OU, but unfortunately its in SM. Both of the guys are definitely not as consistent here compared to DPP, but they're still obviously solid enough to win. It's tough to predict BKC to start any tour off 0-3, regardless of tier, but Tama's just got a lot more experience playing SM and seems to play the tier much more actively. I wouldn't put it past BKC to regain his form in dramatic fashion with a signature win against Tama though.

Star vs Updated Kanto - Kanto's actually been really solid lately and it wouldn't be all that blasphemous for him to win this game, but Star's been playing this game like a fiend lately and placed highly in the power rankings for a reason. While I don't necessarily agree with shake's evaluation that star's the second best player in this pool, he's still good as fuck and should be able to win against Kanto here.
 
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TTK

Narmaya. That's it.
is a Community Contributor
PU predicts only cuz that's the only tier that matters lol.

Celadon City Cobras vs Lanakila Nagas

PU: Raiza vs Ktütverde - This is a tough match can't lie. Both have been playing at good levels and i think ktoot has the better W/L iirc (it's been a bit of a struggle keeping up with this tour) but Raiza played well against gtg and ktoot has beaten taskr (that game was p sad) and false so perhaps I give him the W here.

Lake of Rage Leviathans vs Black City Mambas

PU: Xiri vs Sam I Yam - I think sam can definitely get a win here. Week 1 was unfortunate for him but last week he managed to beat tom despite having a worse matchup so I think his game should be on point to take the W from Xiri.

Berry Forest Bushmasters vs Sky Tower Lindworms

PU: Taskr vs tom holland - Both good users that I like and both can bring less than common stuff which can be an edge sometimes (haka was just unfortunate but alas) and banded floatzel but I'll have to give Taskr the win here because I've been around for a bit and Taskr is the more consistent player from just watching him play over time (and he's a brit). Tom could definitely pull a win though if he plays right and not like week 2 against Sam.

Rumble Hall Rattlers (0) vs (0) Terminus Taipans

PU: Kushalos vs Teddeh - Teddeh has definitely been having a better overall PU run than Kushalos atm that I am aware of (getting to PU open finals and getting a win from false) so on paper, he should win.

Shinto Ruin Serpents vs Ambrette Astrotias

PU: soulgazer vs false - A lot of people are saying this guy is pretty good and I agree. He got a good W against taskr and also won week 1 albeit his opp isn't a PU main so it's not that impressive when compared to beating Taskr and false is no slouch either but sg should keep his momentum going.
 

dibs

double iron bashes
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnus
Raiza vs Ktütverde - ktut's main strength is meant to be his janky building but screens 6-0'd by victreebel with his not-on-form playing isn't convincing me. raiza's builds have been solid and has been piloting them well enough to take the win imo.

Xiri vs Sam I Yam - a good set from 2 underrated players imo. both of xiri's games have ended in close last mon scenarios and sam has been doing usual sam things of playing well with good mons and good techs. giving xiri the edge because of tlenit support which i think can exploit sams predictability in building.

Taskr vs tom holland - 0-2 taskr makes me sad considering he's had strong showings in both games. tom has displayed his ability to prep correctly, but i still question his building since it feels like he gets lost half way through focusing on specifics and forgets about half the tier. as much as i wish tom the best and i'm glad he gets a 2nd chance i think taskr's got this.

Kushalos vs Teddeh - kinda sad to see garythegengar benched since i feel like he coulda done fine if someone got him good teams. a fresh face in this slot makes the match-up a lot more exciting, but i'm not gonna consider predicting against teddeh until he loses lol.

soulgazer vs false - hl match of the week. my only concern with soulgazer at the start of the tour was building, and although week 2 was a big improvement from week 1 it was reworked from an lst replay so that doesn't convince me for future weeks. false has the best building support in the tier hjad, and it feels like he's been holding his cards close to his chest with his prep in week 1 and 2. i put sg over false in playing, but i'm expecting sg to get janked by hjad cheese.
 
PU Predicts

Raiza vs ktutverde

I am still not convinced yet. I think ktut is a good player but week 1 he got lucky and week 2 he did fine but not good enough to make me say "wow ktut is goat" like a lot of the hype has been. On the other hand, Raiza is also 2-0 and has consistently shown strong play and teams, convincing me he has the edge here.

Xiri vs Sam I Yam

I think this one is close but Sam did rlly good last week despite having a pretty big matchup disadvantage, and week 1 was pretty close too. However, he NEEDS to build less linearly because it took me approximately 2 brain cells to predict what he was going to bring and that he would not have a water resist or fire resist. If he changes up his prep and plays like he normally does I think he will come out on top here.

Kushalos vs Teddeh

I think that if teddeh brings something solid/standard but with a twist to throw off the chef he will win, but if he brings a meme he will lose. I also think if he brings something painfully standard to where u can predict the sets at team preview, he will have a 50-50 matchup. Basically, I think if Teddeh preps like the goat he is he will win, but Kushalos is very capable of exploiting any errors Teddeh will make this week.

Soulgazer vs false

Soulgazer at this point I think is either the 1st or 2nd best player in this pool, and I think he will stay consistent this week. Very impressed with him.

--
Cheers to me having a chance to bounce back this week and prove I can play as well as I prep hopefully
 

sugar ovens

blood inside
is a Top Tiering Contributor
:wynaut:
PU: Raiza (45) vs (55) Ktütverde
Raiza's 2:0 is by far more convincing then Ktut's 2:0, comparing two solid wins to luck and screens.. on paper this should be in Raiza's favour. But Ktut got the wins and his week two game has shown a bit of our circuit champ King Ktut.. is he making a return?

PU: Xiri (60) vs (40) Sam I Yam
Both players should be quite even playing skill-wise, but Sam I Yam has been consistently showing how predictable his builds tend to be. Unless Sam with Jarii and Rexus put in more work to make something unusual, Xiri with tlenit1 will exploit this weakness.

PU: Taskr (75) vs (25) tom holland
This will be the perfect opportunity for Taskr to fix that unfortunate 0:2 record. Tom holland's debut was disastrous, managing to lose in a 100%-win matchup. Taskr is an even better player and much less predictable builder then Sam I Yam, so he definitely has the edge here.

PU: Kushalos (30) vs (70) Teddeh
Kushalos was put in over GaryTheGengar, and while he is more well-versed in the tier, this does not fix the issue with Rattlers not being able to build a PU team. If they finally got some external support (or at least if Kushalos uses an older team.. or like, a sample, anything would be good now), he might have a chance. However, Kushalos hasn't been that dominant and he is playing versus Teddeh, one of the best PU players. Right now, there is not a reason to think that Teddeh will not win this.

PU: soulgazer (60) vs (40) false
Soulgazer has already shown how skilled of a player he is. HJAD-EviGaro support will definitely brew up something that might give false advantage over his opponent's unimpressive teams, but beating soulgazer will be difficult. Difficult, but not impossible.
 
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Leni

formerly tlenit
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past SCL Champion
RUPL Champion
PU: Raiza (35) vs (65) Ktütverde
Ktut showed some flashes from the past and played after all pretty solid last week, nothing to complain there. The direction is correct and Ktut just happens to be overall better player here. Nothing away from Raiza after impressive 2-0 statistic ofc. THO on the other hand Raiza has a massive edge just because Italians happens to be Ktut's biggest bane in PS - Maybe this leads Raiza into third W?

PU: Xiri (-) vs (-) Sam I Yam
mono water - here we come!

PU: Taskr (85) vs (15) tom holland
This is perfect spot for Tom to prove his capability as a player from last week disaster. I seriously hope Tom can fight back against BKC of PU, especially after seeing him multiple times playing so well. Overall Taskr has showed very standard plays with a nice little twists in his teams which leaves him as a massive favorite.

PU: Kushalos (40) vs (60) Teddeh
I mean, ted is ted... BUT, I bet Kush knows more people from PU which means they might actually have a real squad this week. Kushalos absolutely is not a bad player and can follow the strat from t1 till the last one. Maybe the biggest surprise of the week happens here?

PU: soulgazer (50) vs (50) false
Two extremely solid players and the biggest highlight game of the week. For me I see this as an coinflip game and that said:
1568057625108.png

Which leaves no room for explanations, SG wins :bloblul:
 

sensei axew

i’m not a stop along the way, i’m a destination
is a Community Contributoris a Three-Time Former Smogon Metagame Tournament Circuit Champion
Just some noob RU player making some noob RU predictions

UltraBallz vs Kink - Not much to say about this one, I think Kink is a good player but I'm pretty sure UB has this one in the bag

Welli0u vs Averado - I'm going to be rooting for Ave throughout the tour and I think he can put up a good fight here but I think Welli0u will win in the long run

Space force meeps vs Ajna - As many others agree, Ajna's name will probably be bolded every week from here on out. Meeps did beat Nat last week but it was primarily due to hax, so I feel that as long as Ajna doesn't get haxed, it should be a semi-easy win

TDK vs Alpha Rabbit - While TDK is extremely solid, RU's not his main tier and with that being said I do believe that Rabbit can end his short slump in this one, although I do believe that the match will be quite close

Nat vs Feliburn - This game is going to be pretty interesting. At first, I was thinking about bolding Feli's name because I think he has the potential to upset here. However, at the very last second I decided that Nat will probably win this one. Feli has definitely brought some fire tech that could catch Nat off guard but also I feel that Nat is aware of this and is prepping for all scenarios. Because of this, I do think that Nat is the overall better player and if they're both on an even playing field, Nat should certainly win. I do believe that this will be the closest game of them all
 
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