Playoffs Smogon Tour 26 Playoffs - Finals [Won by z0mOG]

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1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra
2. Finchinator vs 15. Zokuru
3. SoulWind vs 14. Bad Ass
4. FLCL vs 13. ABR
5. Empo vs 12. craing ;_;
6. Ojama vs 11. Welli0u
7. xray vs 10. FMG
8. z0mOG vs 9. Kickasser

Gl SoulWind,this Stour is yours.
 

Lavos

Banned deucer.


My 100% honest predictions if I were putting money on every match. Ojama's had an unbelievable year and this would be a great way to cap it off. Definitely hoping for some upsets though. GL to my boy z0m, he's gonna need it
 
1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra - Tricking is much better as a player, much more creative as a builder
Imagine thinking tricking has ever built once in his life :cwl:

1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra
2. Finchinator vs 15. Zokuru
3. SoulWind vs 14. Bad Ass
4. FLCL vs 13. ABR
5. Empo vs 12. craing ;_;
6. Ojama vs 11. Welli0u
7. xray vs 10. FMG
8. z0mOG vs 9. Kickasser

p solid top16 every match could go either way, gl everyone playing.
 

teal6

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very great player pool, similar to the last few STs. once again, the best tournament on smogon, always produces such incredible matchups. i miss blunder, but goddamn is it incredible to see how consistently great some of you are.

1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra - tricking's performance so far has been really good and the #1 seed makes sense for him. but i think that whenever he ends up near the finish line, he falters. i think there is a mental block there that he will need to get over, he seems too tense, and when its do or die time that shows up a lot more than in weeks when he can afford a misstep here or there.
2. Finchinator vs 15. Zokuru - finch is finally back! frankly i don't know zokuru terribly well. finch is fairly solid in all the tiers, but i think he will be subconciously sweating quite a bit. that said, i think it'd be 10x worse if he were playing a handful of other people on this list. i expect him to clear r1, but have to deal with mentality issues when he faces some of the more titanic players of the group.
3. SoulWind vs 14. Bad Ass - Bad Ass's BW record here is nothing short of absurd. absolutely amazing work on that, man. that said, SW was probably the absolute worst matchup for him to get r1. Nobody on Smogon is a surefire win against SW in BW, and SW is a league ahead in both ORAS and SM.
4. FLCL vs 13. ABR - i think that abr will want to make up for last time around. perhaps the strongest overall player and builder on smogon, but flcl is no slouch as proved by their last encounter.
5. Empo vs 12. craing ;_; - empo's really put himself in the top echelon of tournament players by consistent performance after consistent performance. he genuinely seems to enjoy the game a lot, which is in stark contrast to ben, who i feel has two completely different modes. if it were a low stakes match, ben would rate a lot higher in my opinion here - but when the spotlights on turned on him we see a completely different player time and time again. i hope he performs to his highest level because then he'll give empo a run for his money, but if history repeats, then empo will move on easily.
6. Ojama vs 11. Welli0u - ojama is the best outright player on smogon.
7. xray vs 10. FMG - this is actually a really sick matchup. xray back in form reminds me of a few years ago when he was super consistent in ORAS and ran as a top player everywhere. FMG's first ST season had a snafu that kicked him out of POs, but his mentality afterwards was so fucking good and resilient that i knew he'd be a really strong player going forward. i think, for SPL managers, FMG is someone to keep a good eye on - he has the personality and mental strength necessary to go far from what i have seen. that said, xray's peaks are really high as well - are we going to see 2015 xray brush aside the upstart?
8. z0mOG vs 9. Kickasser - zom's run leaves him in uncharted territory whereas kick's presence is more "business as usual". that said, z0ms got something to prove, after a frustrating season of team tournaments leading into the winter. in wcop, he helped elevate a team nobody gave much of a chance to, and in snake he managed and likely felt frustrated not being able to play. knowing full well the fire that comes with missing out on the battlefield and the big stage yourself, i think zom will use this opportunity to show what he's got.

good luck to everyone, in particular SW, ABR and Ojama!!!
 

Finchinator

-OUTL
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3pm EST on Saturday with Zokuru, gl man!

1. Tricking (55) vs 16. Gondra (45) - Close series here, especially for 1v16, but I reckon Tricking has a slight advantage. While Tricking is far from the most prolific teambuilding presence and he is nowhere near your modern day "metagamer" type, he is a steady pilot. Unfortunately for the Italian stallion, this leads to him relying upon the teambuilding prowess of others. This is not a "bad" thing per se, but it can be a limiting factor seeing as the longevity of his run is largely placed in the hands of others before the games even start. There are surely instances of WoF building some heat that turns the tide in Tricking's favor, but for each one of those there are admittedly some head-scratchers (yea, I'm still salty about that dumbass Hippowdon). Gondra, on the other hand, is a pretty established presence in SM and seems to have had pretty decent performances in ORAS/BW recently. For him, this match-up just does not pan out ideally as his best tier happens to be the same tier Tricking has the most success in, which is SM, so you have to wonder how he will manage to pick up two wins this series. A start would be a strong BW performance as Tricking has shown some vulnerability there, but that would require Gondra branching down to a generation that is before his time. Ultimately, Gondra's key to getting the upset would be performing in formats he simply is not as comfortable as he is in SM because Tricking is vulnerable there and the SM game is going to largely depend on what Italian flavor of the month WoF feels will get the job done.

3. SoulWind (55) vs (45) 14. Bad Ass - Bad Ass has shown that he can still play a tight game, making playoffs despite hardly playing during parts of the regular season. On a conventional, tier-by-tier basis you almost have to favor SoulWind; he has more experience across the three, especially in recent years. However, SW is far from automatic in ORAS and SM and I think that Bad Ass is one of the most quick-to-adapt players out there. I'm not sure if he is just going to be handed teams and hope to perform or if he will put his mind to it and invest himself, but I would say Bad Ass winning SM or ORAS would not surprise me at all. BW is probably his strongest tier, but the issue is that it is also SW's strongest tier and SW actually understands that metagame at a pretty high level, has not taken many breaks from the tier, and has just been outright dominant there for a while. I think that because of this and the fact that SW is competent enough to hang in the other two generations, even if he's not a top player, is convincing enough to side with him despite how scrappy and crafty I view Bad Ass to be.

4. FLCL (45) vs (55) 13. ABR - Rough draw for both here and a rematch of the past; overall, a gem of a r1 series that I am excited for as a spectator. I'd probably favor ABR vs anyone, barring maybe Ojama, if only because his teambuilding presence throughout the tiers is second to none. His gameplaying ability is actually matched in this field, I feel, but it is still not too shabby and oftentimes free of any misplays. FLCL has an advantage in terms of flashy, aggressive tendencies that can give him an upper hand with regards to positioning and early games, but I feel he's also a bit more likely to have predictable teams or slip up later in games, especially if he does not take his time, which can be another thing ABR can take advantage of. Overall, if FLCL branches out, then I think it's near even, but I am unsure if he can do that, let alone comfortably, and ABR is going to avoid his less experienced mistakes of last time, so I favor him in a close series.

5. Empo (51) vs (49) 12. craing ;_; - Honestly, I hope Empo wins this series 2-0 and caps GGs both games. But unfortunately for all that's good in this world, I foresee this being a closely contested series. craing has the wheel of cheese to spin and he occasionally can play half decent when he actually shows up, so you gotta expect him to have a chance in any series just given natural variance and the way the teams he pilots work. Empo, however, is a bit less of a nonsensical player and I feel like if he focuses on his preparation, then he will ultimately come up with the right balance in teambuilding between covering what he feels good using and what will ultimately do well vs most of what craing can potentially use. This and the fact that he's the better player outright, even if slightly, gives him the upper hand here.

6. Ojama (70) vs (30) 11. Welli0u - I feel like Ojama just kind of outclasses Welli0u throughout here, hence the more lopsided prediction. Well is a bit of a scrappy player, so perhaps he can use something more risky and it will pay off, but in terms of raw gameplay skill, I definitely favor Ojama in higher pressure situations. Not a ton else to say here, but Well is going to have to take SM and ORAS probably because I don't see him winning against Ojama in his most no-nonsense generation, especially when Well's take on BW has appeared to be Sableye Sand of all things recently.

7. xray (55) vs (45) 10. FMG - Tightly contested series here; you gotta favor xray in ORAS and FMG in SM. I take xray in BW because he has been around much longer and is just more experienced in the tier, but he has never truly stood-out there, so that one is the most up-in-the-air of the three. With that said, xray's SM is closer to FMG's SM than FMG's ORAS is to xray's ORAS, so you kinda inherently figure xray has an easier path to two wins one way or another here. Neither is really a top-end player in this field, but both have a great opportunity here and I think that if things start off strong, both are capable of playing at their ceilings and making some noise here.

8. z0mOG (40) vs (60) 9. Kickasser - Kickasser has been thoroughly impressive to me recently. In a field with a lot of top-end bigger names, I think he can be a surprising threat down the stretch. z0mOG is far from a pushover -- hell, I think he will take this very seriously and compete to the best of his abilities, which are not too shabby, but I just feel like Kickasser is approaching top player status and he will outmatch z0mOG here. The matchup is especially problematic for z0mOG as I feel like his SM/ORAS are simply a small step behind that of Kickasser, so he cannot really gain much traction and lacks a favorable tier, which is usually something people who are not favored at least have so that they can potentially take 1/2 to bring home the series. All things considered, close series, but gotta favor Kickasser.
 

Meru

ate them up
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1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra - It's funny because 16th seed Gondra actually has more points in both ORAS and BW, but Tricking just beasted through SM to top seed. Going by points, I'd say Gondra is more even across the board but I think his SM is the only one on equal footing. I've seen Tricking pull through well in BW and ORAS so I'm not sure what happened there, but I'm confident in his strength in the two older gens
2. Finchinator vs 15. Zokuru - Finchinator has been impressing me more than usual this Stour as evidenced by his 2nd seed. Zokuru won't be a slouch but I don't really have a whole lot to go off of about him as a player while Finch is top 3 BW in this pool and I know he's been paying close enough attention to SM to get the second win
3. SoulWind vs 14. Bad Ass - Bad Ass's record is hilarious to me. I think he had a better shot of slipping a second win past literally anybody else in the top 8 but SW poses too much of a challenge in BW and like teal said, is a league ahead in SM and ORAS. Bad Ass is always interesting to watch in these playoff scenarios though, looking forward to this one the most
4. FLCL vs 13. ABR - These match ups really are comedic. ABR ditches first seed and still ends up with the same match up. ABR's strength lies in his ORAS game but FLCL has been top notch in that this season, and he should come out ahead in BW too
5. Empo vs 12. craing ;_; - Empo will likely take SM but ben is a caliber ahead in ORAS and I think he will likely take BW too, having some very ancient roots in the tier. Interesting to see how either of them will deviate from their usual styles that they wield during the regular season
6. Ojama vs 11. Welli0u - Fodder. Ojama can't lose BW and Well will have difficulty taking even SM or ORAS
7. xray vs 10. FMG - FMG has been a cool player to watch throughout regular season. I think he's still somewhat novice when it comes to these playoff scenarios but he could've drawn a lot worse opponents than xray. That said, xray still has a good grip on SM and especially ORAS that should come through in this matchup
8. z0mOG vs 9. Kickasser - z0mbo coasted to playoffs with his usual proficient SM game while showing he's picked up a nifty skill in BW. Kick comes with the highest ORAS total in the pool alongside some uncharacteristically poor SM and decent BW. I wanna root for my boy z0m but I don't think this is the match up you were anticipating man. Kick has shown some versatile and potent ORAS game with unconventional mons like Mega Chomp and I think between SM and BW he poses too much of a threat

Can we get those player statistics that we usually get every season?
 
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Sacri'

the end is here
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1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra - Facing Tricking r1 seems almost nightmarish, his ability to use more or less anything at a high level makes him one of the toughest of the pools to defeat imo. While he might tend to go for slightly "safer" squads in playoffs, I still believe him to be one of the least predictable player in recent history

2. Finchinator vs 15. Zokuru - Fairly sure Finch is going to do his homework well enough to obtain decent match ups, from there I expect him to keep up his usually reliable playing style to take the set without much of a struggle

3. SoulWind vs 14. Bad Ass - Definitely interested in seeing what Bad Ass can bring to the scene after a few years of inactivity, that being said theres no questioning SW's ability to shine in all three tiers so expecting him to take it in a tight set

4. FLCL vs 13. ABR - Don't really know about this one. This is definitely going to be an exciting series as both have been known for not letting much room for misplays these past years. That being said, I feel like FLCLs ability to find the right balance between agressive and safe plays early on might be able to carry him again as long as he gets workable match ups, which is never easy against ABR.

5. Empo vs 12. craing ;_; - Most of these sets are quite tight but this one takes the cake. While Empo has been highly consistent for a while, bens seemingly limitless creativity coupled with an ability to pilot his builds super well makes him very threatening. This is going to come down to Empos ability to adapt to these factors and bring solid teams that differ from the stuff he likes to use, hopefully we get some nail-biters out of this.

6. Ojama vs 11. Welli0u - Unfortunate match up for welliou here, dont see much of a room for him to take it against an opponent currently peaking despite having been seen as one of the best for years.

7. xray vs 10. FMG - Don't know that much about either players honestly, going with FMG because he seems dedicated to make a name for himself and definitely seems skilled, he might very well crumble vs the far more experienced xray though.

8. z0mOG vs 9. Kickasser - Quite an interesting set as well, while I think Kick has a slight edge in SM and perhaps ORAS, I believe these two to be quite evenly matched. Both are competent builders who are not afraid to innovate in high level settings such as this one, and while Kick seems slightly more agressive which may very well benefit him here, zomog has also shown that he can play agressively when necessary so I wouldn't expect him to get straight up outplayed either.
 

WhiteQueen

the queen bee
is a Tiering Contributorwon the 11th Official Smogon Tournamentis a Past SPL Champion
1. Tricking vs 16. Gondra - Tricking’s impressive earning the #1 seed again (I think?). I still view him as an underdog though, regardless of what seed he is. Time to level up and fortitfy your reputation as a formidable player who can win against anyone. I like Gondra’s playstyle, but rooting for the underdog.
2. Finchinator vs 15. Zokuru - almost thought this was an April Fool’s joke seeing Finchinator with the number two seed. Gotta admire his resiliency.
3. SoulWind vs 14. Bad Ass - Bad Ass’ aggressive style and mindless double switches will get him the easy victory.

My phome battery is running low due to hentai streaming in the background, so gonna finish the rest later. Cute user xray to win it all!
 
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