To absolutely everyone's surprise, my beloved Lindworms who were forced into the precarious position of having to start an exiled player in a desperate attempt to save their season, are STILL ALIVE! We did have one casualty this week, though, as the Mambas met their demise at the hands of the Bakers, who are somehow tearing everyone to shreds this tour. Let's begin.
The Mambas hoped to have a strong showing this tour on the backs of their two star players, Empo and Christo. Empo had a massive amount of hype surrounding him coming into tournament. Anyone who has read my predictions knows that I find Empo a bit overrated, but taking him 3rd overall was justifiable in this weak player pool. He currently sports a 5-3 record, which is pretty solid. Christo was the team's next pick, and was in my mind, the best UUer without a doubt. This is saying quite a bit considering that UU was the home to a lot of threatening players such as robjr and TDK. He uncharacteristically struggled (for his standards), in this tournament, currently possessing a mediocre 4-4 record. After dominating the competition in past tours, this has to be considered a bit of a let down. Without their superstars lighting up the scene, the team needed their other weaker slots to come through. Unfortunately, they were unable to carry the load, leading to a Week 8 exit. After the draft, hopes were not particularly high for the Mambas. I saw them as a mediocre team at best, and they were ranked last in the Power Rankings. So, it's not like their early exit is that surprising.
The team's 3rd round pick was spent on xray, which was quite a confusing move to me and many others. As I'm sure you all know, ORAS OU is not actually in Snake 3, so that left xray to battle it out in SM OU. xray, in my opinion, is an amazing ORAS player who is markedly less skilled in SM. Although he's probably still decent enough, taking him Round 3 was quite a perplexing decision. He currently possesses a 4-4 record, which isn't terrible, but for a Round 3 selection, you would have expected a bit more. The rest of the OU core was even more...ambitious. They decided to take marcop in Round 8...which was very strange considering that he had hardly any SM results. It would be one thing if they selected him in Round 8 to be a benchwarmer, like other teams did with Bouff and Jarii, but starting him and expecting some good results was a bit insane. He did end up winning 2 games, but he also had a very laughable showing against Lopunny Kicks, where he caught Indigo Plateau-syndrome and choked away a 100/0 matchup. For his draft billing, though, his performance wasn't awful. To the start the season, the team inserted Eeveeto into their last OU slot. He actually managed to go positive with a 3-2 record, so he was worth the late flyer. Their middling OU performance was surprisingly given a boost by an unlikely source: resident crust PDC. PDC managed to Shell Smash and go 3-1, helping their team stay afloat in the later weeks of the season. By far the strangest thing about this draft was the selection of Rexus...in Round 4? People had hyped Rexus up as a PU godfather type figure before the draft, but it appears as thought the Mambas intended to utilize him in OU, according to the Power Rankings anyway. Now, I think we all know how insane it is to toss a random scrub PU mainer into OU, especially after drafting him in Round 4, and expecting good results. He qualified for OLT, so that must have had something to do with it. Now, we haven't even gotten to the craziest part of this selection. This man played a grand total of
2 GAMES LMAO WHAT ARE WE DOING PEOPLE!?!?!?! LOLOLOL HELLO bro what LMAO It's one thing to reach for some goon ass loser in Round 4 and have him play like a headless chicken and end like 0-6 or some shit but HOW DOES YOUR ROUND 4 PICK ONLY PLAY 2 GAMES LMAO WHAT IS HAPPENING NO SHIT THEY'RE OUT HKSHDKFHJDSF LOLOLOLO THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. I've participated in Smogon Tournaments for the past 7 years, but this is easily one of the strangest things I've seen. He must have died or something LOL jesus
The lower tiers failed to carry the team, but they did put forth some decent performances. ict predictably ended up with a relatively solid 5-3 record. Late flyer LilyAC lived up to some of her hype and currently sports a cool 5-3 record as well. Sam I Yam also managed to go positive with a 4-3 record. These performances helped keep the team alive; they lacked any real standout performers, but most of the team did relatively decently. Human was not one of these players LOL The long-time veteran fell flat on his face this tournament, crawling his way to a 1-7 record, including losing the game that eliminated the Mambas from contention. Bad looks. The last lower tier player was Averardo, who had almost no hype coming into the tour and predictably ended negative. 3-5 isn't that bad for a desperation pick, however. I say 'desperation pick' because Averardo was a completely unplanned buy. The team's draft had apparently hit quite a snag, as evidenced by the following PM I received in the middle of the 8th round:
Yeah...I think that log really foreshadowed the disaster that was to come for the Mambas.
Overall, the Mambas were a relatively unhyped team that basically lived up to their preseason expectations. They were not eliminated until the End of Week 8, which was about what I expected heading into the tournament. Their roster really lacked starpower, and the few big names that they did have failed to come through with phenomenal performances. Also, the Rexus situation was clearly a disaster LMAO I have no fucking idea what the hell happened there, but that surely screwed them over quite a bit.
Now, let's move on to the
UNBIASED PREDICTIONS
We start off with the most pivotal matchup of the week. If the Cobras win, they were locked into a playoff spot. Any other result opens the door for other teams to take over, though. Will Finchinator and his team crash into a "large retaining wall" yet again, or will US Midwest pull through for once.
Terminus Taipans (5) vs (4) Celadon City Cobras
OU: Twixtry vs
dice | dice has struggled a bit lately, but it's not like Twixtry is impressive lol. dice is way more talented.
OU:
ABR vs FMG | FMG's hyped, but come on bros it's ABR lol what else needs to be said
OU: le LLiolae vs
Eo Ut Mortus | LLL had a nice OLT run, but Eo's way more proven. He's been on a tear too jesus
OU:
ima vs Jytcampbell | Never been a big Jyt fan, as I'm sure you guys know by now LMAO ima's been solid enough, and while I'm not a real believer yet, he's good enough to be favored here.
DOU: Ezrael vs Tman
UU:
robjr vs Accelgor | rob finally got his mojo back after catching Indigo Plateau-syndrome for the first month of the tour LOL Accel's had some decent results, but I'm still pretty skeptical. He also got bodied by a DOUBLES MAIN last week so.
RU: Alpha Rabbit vs
UltraBallz | Still don't really trust Rabbit, and while UB has had his struggles, he's definitely more talented than this random ass mainer.
NU: Sjneider vs
Finchinator | Sjneider has magically managed to put together a decent season, but come on LOL Finch gets results even in BW OU against way more talented players. I've bolded him every week so not going to stop now.
PU:
Teddeh vs Raiza | Raia started off strong before proving that he probably is just another garbdicks mainer LMAO what's new bros? Teddeh's way better, obviously
LC:
jake vs Kingler12345 | LMFAO KINGLERS 1-7 LOOL HOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING BRO? YOU'RE IN LC!!! IT'S NOT EVEN LIKE YOU'RE PLAYING SOME WORLD BEATER EVERY WEEK LMAO MAN CAN'T BEAT RANDOMS LIKE SHRUG BRO jesus fuck I don't believe that Kingler is THIS bad...he's like a lifetime mediocre player on the sheet. He's definitely not good, though, as anyone with half a brain could have told you before the tournament. Zeb's somehow turned into jesus christ too so guess the 1-8 is a lock lol
Ambrette Astrotias (6) vs (3) Black City Mambas
OU:
Updated Kanto vs Empo | I've been shorting Empo the entire season and Kanto seems to have rediscovered his SPL 9 holy water. Man's 6-2 LOL jesus. Small edge
OU:
Cdumas vs Christo | You all know how much of a Christo fan I am, but lOL this is OU against Sheet God Cdumas. Yeah...
OU:
ZoroDark vs PDC | PDC is determined to prove that he isn't crust, and has rather magically gotten 3 wins so far this tournament. I rate ZoroClick a bit more highly right now, though.
OU:
Tamahome vs Rexus | ..a;lfkfldakldsk fldklakfl kLMAJFK JKJK LOOOOL SPEAK OF THE DEVIL WHAT R WE DOING? REXUS? LMFAO HELLO WHYS HE IN NOW AFTER THEY'RE OUT LMFAO ROUND 4 PICK PLAYING HIS 3RD GAME AFTER THE TEAM IS ELIMINATED LMAO YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP my god bro. As for the matchup itself...lifetime spreadsheet warrior against some garbdicks PU main. Yeah. Big edge.
DOU: Mint16 vs xray
UU:
Lycans vs Sam I Yam | Lycans has failed to reach the lofty expectations that come with smashing the sheet two tours in a row. I definitely don't believe in this random ass PU mainer, though.
RU: HarrisIsAwesome vs
Averardo | We're bolding Averardo LMAO what a disaster. He has 3 wins, though, and Harris looked like a complete aids sack in SPL LMAO jesus. Miniscule edge in the coinflip.
NU: Jrdn vs
ict jrdn is another goon who managed to magically put together some wins this year. ice tea is a way better player. Decent edge.
PU:
false vs Jarii | God this is one of the worst feeling bolds of all time LMFAO BOLDING FALSE IS A CARDINAL SIN OH MY GOD IM DYING!!! BRO...IT'S JARII THO LMAO HAVE WE WATCHED PAST SPLS? SPL 7 FOR EXAMPLE? jesus fuck I sure as hell am not going anywhere near Jarii. false sacrificed the same animals as HT or some shit what the fuck this man's POSITIVE?! LMAO that's enough for a miniscule edge in this battle of clown ass retards
LC: Shrug vs
LilyAC | Lily's been decent enough, I guess. Had more hype coming into the tour than someone who was drafted to be a sub. Small edge.
Rumble Hall Rattlers (4) vs (3) Shinto Ruin Serpents
OU: TPP vs
BKC | bro LMAO jesus 0-5 vs 1-7. what a fucking disaster. TPP has definitely gotten unlucky, but still man. Gonna trust the goat to at least get 2 wins LOL
OU:
frisoeva vs YJH | This random goon has been pretty good this tour. I don't think yjh is good so.
OU: rozes
vs yoppie | LOL rozes definitely isn't good at OU dude I don't even know if he's played it. yoppie is decently hyped I guess so whatever.
OU: GaryTheGengar vs
Sacri' | Did you guys watch Gary play PU? Did you? ok LMAO if you're losing to OU losers you definitely are not winning in OU
DOU: Spurrific vs Demantoid
UU:
SoulWind vs Corckscrew | LOOOL DICKSCREW IN AGAIN VROS LOLOLO What a fucking wash. jesus. giant edge
RU: Gondra
vs DurzaOffTopic | Gondra's been so fucking bad man LMAO jesus fuck he caught fucking aids this tour. Durza's had some moments, but he's still very unproven. This would have been an easy bold for Gondra before the tour, but now, it's a no predict.
NU:
Kushalos vs 0NI | The chef is fire. 0ni has surprised, btu he's still unproven.
PU: Reje vs
Star | I don't even know who the fuck this is LMAO big edge
LC:
august vs BurntZebra | yo fuck it. Zebra has struggled a bit. august and cbb gonna tryhard make some dumbass team and get matchup. easy wins
Lanakila Nagas (4) vs (5) Sky Tower Lindworms
OU:
Tricking vs -Tsunami- | ....LMAO ARE YOU SERIOUS I HAVE TO PLAY THE GOAT CLICKING? LMFAO bro. I'm in pretty bad form, although I did beat Tama a few weeks ago LOL I'm definitely crust, though, and Clicking is establishing himself as one of the best players on the site. Massive edge.
OU: Jimmy Turtwig vs
Lopunny Kicks | Not the biggest Jimmy beliver in new gens. Spreadsheet warrior Lop Kicks is better
OU: Kebab mlml vs
Relous | this random ass kebab clown is back LMAO whatever bros. Relous has been on a tear. Big edge
OU: ramboss vs
xImRaptor | raptor has been on fire this tournament jesus LOL ramboss has been fine, I guess, but gonna go with the hot hand
DOU: Nails vs Stratos
UU:
Adaam vs HT | HT is 6-2 dkslkfldskflds klkalSK L;K' S; lmfao aj HOW LOOOOL IMPOSSIBLE BRO NA what a fluke LOOL Adaam won Slam, so he's clearly talented. Just off that, gonna give him the edge here. No way HT beats a competent player 2 weeks in a row.
RU: Kink vs
Ajna | Kink's apparently salty that I keep bolding his opponent despite the fact that he's been on Smogon for like 6 years and was never drafted to start in a team tour until this one I believe? The ego you get after beating up on a bunch of clown ass losers in RU for 1 tour bro LMAO He's been surprisingly good, but Ajna's way more proven.
NU: Ren-chon vs
trash | trash smashed Rodri R1, and Ren-chon hasn't really accomplished anything. besides mean tleksj1 or some bullshit lMAO trash also beat snow, but we're not counting that game so. miniscule edge.
PU:
Ktütverde vs Croven | .... lDKSAJFK JLOL OH MY GOD THE DESPERATION LMAO MY BOY SPIDERMAN REALLY DIED BROS LMAO or maybe they just realized he was unviable. With the season on the line, there's a fucking DOUBLES MAIN in pu LOOOOL you can't make this up. my god. Big edge.
LC:
Osh vs tko | tko has struggled a lot this tour, and Osh has been bodybagging everyone. Big edge.
Berry Forest Bushmasters (1) vs
(6) Lake of Rage Leviathans
OU: SPACE FORCE meeps vs
Welli0u | the well has been surprisingly solid, and meeps has struggled. This is also OU so
OU: SMB vs
Tace | Doubles main in OU. next.
OU: HSA
vs Corazan | Corazan's done well, but he's also been very lucky. HSA had a solid campaign before this tour, but he's looked pretty lost. no read.
OU: Amane Misa vs
Insult | probably garbage UU mainer in OU. next.
DOU: z0mOG vs emforbes
UU: passion vs
Charmflash | oml PASSION is in. passion has potential, but Charm's been really good over his past 2 tours. Hard not to like his chances.
RU:
blarghlfarghl vs roman | LOOOOL I said I would bold blargh if he went in a lower tier and lo and behold LMAO roman's had some surprisingly nice results, but he's still very unproven. blargh is probably better? I guess?
NU: yeezyknows vs
Garay oak | yeezy's been a bit unlucky. Garay has really struggled, but he was hyped a lot coming into the tour, and has had some nice results in the past. Gonna trust him to end on a high note.
PU: Taskr vs Xiri | Xiri is 6-2 LOL idk how but sure bro. He can have his token edge off that.
LC: Serene Grace vs
Luthier | Luthier's done fairly well so.
