Playoffs Smogon Tour Season 28 Playoffs - Finals [Won by ABR]

[egalvanc]

I wanted to do my own predictions since this is the last smogon tour where we see sm oras and bw together, and I haven't done any of this in the smogon forums yet but I guess there is always a first time :) so let's get into it!

1. Finchinator VS. 16. McMeghan So here, I basically see two super strong players facing each other, from what I have seen, both play really good in BW, I haven't seen McMeghan in Smogon Tours in recent times but he is quite strong tho, I enjoy a lot watching both of them when they are playing, honestly this can go either way. ?-?

2. ABR VS. 15. xray So here, anything could happen as well, I'll give ABR the edge in SM as he has done really well in this tier tournaments and I'll give xray the edge in ORAS, hoping to see some great games here. ?-?

3. Soulwind VS. 14. RedEmption Honestly though, Soulwind has been trying too many times and he has always been consistant throughout the years and he had never give up and he has qualified again and again for this tournament, I hope he wins this tournament to be honest, I think he is going to pick bw and he's going to win sm and bw as bw is one of his strongest tiers, in my opinion. 80-20

4. Quaze VS. 13. Malekith Here I bold Malekith basically beacuse of the fact that I've seen him playing since 2012 and he is pretty decent overall whereas Quaze, well he is good too, but I think he will get overwhelmed by Malekith's ability to play this game. 35-65

5. FMG VS. 12. Empo I think Empo is one of those kind of users you don't want to face anywhere in this game, he is really strong and it would astonish me if I see FMG winning this, based from what I have seen, although FMG has also been very consistant lately. 40-60

6. Pohjis VS. 11. ima Both users have improved a lot in the past two years, Pohjis has been really consistant but I think ima has an edge over him in sm and oras. 45-55

7. Lopunny Kicks VS. 10. Lusa I'll favour LK here beacuse of his consistancy throughout this generation putting results in the big tournaments he had played, I haven't seen much of Lusa lately, but he is also very strong, this is 60-40

8. John W VS. 9. Adri I like the fact that this guy qualified, he has been really consistant throughout the past smogon tour season and he has built himself the path to be in playoffs, really impressive, and I like how he plays, whereas Adri I have seen him play but I'll favour John W beacuse of his consistancy. 55-45

 

[Aurella]

Go Ima

 

[Slimmer]

Thank God I just watched the thread so I didn't waste time in working the spreadsheet prior to changes lol..

Anyway, congratulations to everyone who made it! And after long time, here we are again with the Smogon Tour Playoffs History Spreadsheet .
I'm not active anymore so TDs and Wigglytuff can edit the sheet whenever needed, though I'll try to update it by myself.

Let's start with some little stats:

• This is the first playoff phase for the following users: Adri, John W, Lopunny Kicks, Lusa, Quaze, RedEmption;
• This is the 11th playoff for SoulWind, who already held the record for most playoffs reached. He played playoff phase in ST13, ST15, ST18, ST19, ST21, ST22, ST23, ST25, ST26, ST27, ST28;
• This is the 6th consecutive playoff phase for ABR, out of all 6 he took part as now (ST23, ST24, ST25, ST26, ST27, ST28). The biggest consecutive playoffs reachment streak belongs to Bloo, with 7 consecutive phases played. 4th consecutive playoff phase for SoulWind, 3rd for Finchinator and xray, and second for ima and McMeghan;
• About remaining users, 2nd playoff phase for FMG (ST26, ST28), ima (ST27, ST28) and Pohjis (ST24, ST28), 5th for Empo (ST23, ST24, ST25, ST26, ST28), Finchinator (ST18, ST22, ST26, ST27, ST28) and xray (ST18, ST21, ST26, ST27, ST28), 6th for Malekith (ST13, ST14, ST16, ST21, ST22, ST28), 9th for McMeghan (ST12, ST13, ST14, ST15, ST17, ST18, ST20, ST27, ST28);
• McMeghan now is the player with the longest time span between first and last playoff phase in which he took part (ST12-ST28), together with Bad Ass (ST10-ST26);
• Luigi currently joined the club of "users that have stopped reaching playoffs after winning the last one they joined" (season 27 in this case);
• Malekith has to get past round 1 to break his downward trend (he reached finals in his first playoff phase in ST13, reached semifinals in ST14, then he lost at R2 in ST16 and ST21 and lost at R1 in ST22), while xray has to reach at least semifinals to keep his forward trend (he lost at R1 in ST18 and ST21, then he reached R2 in ST26 and semifinals in ST27);
• FMG and Pohjis never went past round 1, while ima and Empo never went past round 2. Will they make it this season?
• Finchinator vs McMeghan matchup already happened during round 1 of Season 18 playoffs: at that time, McMeghan won the series 2-1 with scoring in DPP OU and XY OU, leaving BW OU to Finchinator; what will happen this time?
• Following pairings could happen again: McMeghan vs Malekith (season 14 semifinals); SoulWind vs xray (season 27 semifinals); SoulWind vs McMeghan (season 27 round 1); xray vs FMG (season 26 round 1); Finchinator vs xray (season 26 round 2); ABR vs Empo (season 26 round 2); SoulWind vs Finchinator (season 22 round 1); Malekith vs SoulWind (season 13 round 2).

If you find any other statistic feel free to notice and I'll update.

 

[BMence]

What did Foggy do to be banned btw? Because he spent a lot of time into this ST to qualify, and he deserves his qualification at least :p.

Furthermore, people failed to point out he was an alt... resulting in «fucking up» very possibly even more, the outcome of qualifying round. Maybe one or a bunch of players would have qualified instead of others, if he had been banned w5 (or even, sooner).
In order words, I think it's fair for those who haven't qualified to be stuck with Nachiru «qualified». Then either his opponent of 1st round takes free win, or Finchinator (who deserves the most imo) takes free win against Nachiru seed 16. And there would still be a tiebreak. That seems more fair for the legitimity of tournament and for those who haven't qualified and could have possibly without him.
Nichiru participated in this tournament and was influent. I think it's wrong to make it as if he never existed. Quick and not complexe example, Bloody Alfa lost in 1/2 round 3 of last week. Winning final and nichiru out -» he would have been qualified.

Only my opinion, sorry for bad English ^^"

EDIT: everyone trashing Redemption when you know from his YT lives he is a nice guy + the fact he won 2 trophies and has already won a BO3 against SW, just because he doesn't fit with smogon's standards (sometimes troll teams or very risked plays), mainly b/c he doesn't take things as seriously as others sometimes... it's a bit rude ^^ nice guys should be a minimum respected, and Red has shown he has potential to win vs everyone. Pretty sure SW is aware of it and will do his very best. gl

 

[Alumn]

Let's gooooo. You know it's Alumn's predictions "bro's". (intro took from Dababy and changed a little bit)

1. Finchinator VS. 16. McMeghan : Match to hl. Finch is very good in gen5-7 so he has the advantage on McMeghan who is better at oldtiers like GSC-ADV, but it doesn't mean that he should take his oppo lightly. 60-40

2. ABR VS. 15. xray : Another match to hl. ABR is just smashing oppo's in SM + he improved in oldgens. xray is a very good player who can beat ABR if he prepare his teams and all that stuff. 55-45 (I wanted to put 50-50 but freeze can happen)

3. SoulWind VS. 14. RedEmption : IMAO just the executioner changed. Nothing to add. HL me when the execution begins. 99.9999999-0.00000001

4. Quaze VS. 13. Malekith : I'm rooting for Malekith because I have heard that name before. 45-55

5. FMG VS. 12. Empo : Another hl. Empo the Italian Stallion of SM and other tiers. FMG who shoved to be a great player. 40-60

6. Pohjis VS. 11. ima : The preparation will determine who will win. 50-50

7. Lopunny Kicks VS. 10. Lusa : Lopunny Kicks should win. 65-35
8. John W VS. 9. Adri : What to say. Adri's ORAS and SM is very strong. I have heard John W's name before so . We will see. But I'm rooting for my Belgian guy (LLLiolae will surely help Adri prepare the best ORAS team ever). 40-60

 

[Jaajgko]

Thank God I just watched the thread so I didn't waste time in working the spreadsheet prior to changes lol..

Anyway, congratulations to everyone who made it! And after long time, here we are again with the Smogon Tour Playoffs History Spreadsheet .
I'm not active anymore so TDs and Wigglytuff can edit the sheet whenever needed, though I'll try to update it by myself.

Let's start with some little stats:

• This is the first playoff phase for the following users: Adri, John W, Lopunny Kicks, Lusa, Quaze, RedEmption;
• This is the 11th playoff for SoulWind, who already held the record for most playoffs reached. He played playoff phase in ST13, ST15, ST18, ST19, ST21, ST22, ST23, ST25, ST26, ST27, ST28;
• This is the 6th consecutive playoff phase for ABR, out of all 6 he took part as now (ST23, ST24, ST25, ST26, ST27, ST28). The biggest consecutive playoffs reachment streak belongs to Bloo, with 7 consecutive phases played. 4th consecutive playoff phase for SoulWind, 3rd for Finchinator and xray, and second for ima and McMeghan;
• About remaining users, 2nd playoff phase for FMG (ST26, ST28), ima (ST27, ST28) and Pohjis (ST24, ST28), 5th for Empo (ST23, ST24, ST25, ST26, ST28), Finchinator (ST18, ST22, ST26, ST27, ST28) and xray (ST18, ST21, ST26, ST27, ST28), 6th for Malekith (ST13, ST14, ST16, ST21, ST22, ST28), 9th for McMeghan (ST12, ST13, ST14, ST15, ST17, ST18, ST20, ST27, ST28);
• McMeghan now is the player with the longest time span between first and last playoff phase in which he took part (ST12-ST28), together with Bad Ass (ST10-ST26);
• Luigi currently joined the club of "users that have stopped reaching playoffs after winning the last one they joined" (season 27 in this case);
• Malekith has to get past round 1 to break his downward trend (he reached finals in his first playoff phase in ST13, reached semifinals in ST14, then he lost at R2 in ST16 and ST21 and lost at R1 in ST22), while xray has to reach at least semifinals to keep his forward trend (he lost at R1 in ST18 and ST21, then he reached R2 in ST26 and semifinals in ST27);
• FMG and Pohjis never went past round 1, while ima and Empo never went past round 2. Will they make it this season?
• Finchinator vs McMeghan matchup already happened during round 1 of Season 18 playoffs: at that time, McMeghan won the series 2-1 with scoring in DPP OU and XY OU, leaving BW OU to Finchinator; what will happen this time?
• Following pairings could happen again: McMeghan vs Malekith (season 14 semifinals); SoulWind vs xray (season 27 semifinals); SoulWind vs McMeghan (season 27 round 1); xray vs FMG (season 26 round 1); Finchinator vs xray (season 26 round 2); ABR vs Empo (season 26 round 2); SoulWind vs Finchinator (season 22 round 1); Malekith vs SoulWind (season 13 round 2).

If you find any other statistic feel free to notice and I'll update.

McMeghan qualified for ST 27 so bad ass keeps the record

 

[ludicrousman]

McMeghan qualified for ST 27 so bad ass keeps the record

If you read the message carefully, he also noted McM qualified in 7 other PO for ST. The record is about the time between the first ever and the current last qualifications, not about the "time without qualifications".

 

[Jaajgko]

ah mb

 

[zS]

FINALLY QUALIFIED LGI ADRI!!

 

[Rubyblood]

Rooting for Adri,McMeghan,RedEmption,Lopkicks and Empo , gl all anyway
( i would like Empo take this , i bet on your victory here lgi ! )

 

[Heika]

Roro vs Biba in final.
Hope Europe players and Redemption have good showing too.

 

[teal6]

gooooo adam

 

[watashi]

1. Finchinator VS. 16. McMeghan - can't see roro winning sm but i'm bolding him anyways since we're in the same jerk
2. ABR VS. 15. xray - although abr infracted my friend shake, i'm trying to get on team china next year in wcop
3. SoulWind VS. 14. RedEmption - same jerk
4. Quaze VS. 13. Malekith - malekith didn't take the win in spl4 when i had to leave for dinner in the middle of the game. i'll always remember that bro
5. FMG VS. 12. Empo - always been a big fan of empo, ever since he beat me in smogon championship finals
6. Pohjis VS. 11. ima - we're groupwatching da capo right now
7. Lopunny Kicks VS. 10. Lusa - not sure
8. John W VS. 9. Adri - could go either way

 

[Updated Kanto]

1. (BW / SM) Finchinator VS. 16. McMeghan (ORAS) : I can see Finch taking BW and SM, ORAS is a bit more of a toss up but I think I'd give McMeghan an edge there since I wouldn't expect him to bring typical stuff you'd see utilized in ORAS by the masses. Even if mcmeghan were to through creative curveballs at Finch I don't think it would be enough in BW and in SM(unless the team is made by an italian) I think Finch's typically solid teams and play will come out on top.

2. (ORAS / SM) ABR VS. 15. xray (BW) : Personally don't see someones BW giving them an edge over the other, I feel like ABR has an advantage in SM and in ORAS xray is probably gonna come with some super cool concept team and run into a new stall ABR has been working on.

3. (ORAS / SM) SoulWind VS. 14. RedEmption : I've seen RedEmption around but I don't think I've seen any game that made me go wow that was cool. In fact the only thing that I really remember is that one Metagross team he spammed late ORAS. Favor SoulWind here.

4. Quaze VS. 13. Malekith (BW / SM) : I think Quaze is gonna bring fat and Malekith is gonna bring some nasty teams in ORAS and SM that'll just be too much for Quaze.

5. FMG VS. 12. Empo (BW / SM) : I think Empo is way better at ORAS and better in SM (slightly). BW might be a tossup although Empo did win a BW tour towards the end of the season and has Bro Kakka to rely on if he wanted nasty teams.

6. (ORAS) Pohjis VS. 11. ima (BW / SM) : There are 2 ways I can see this going. Pohjis beats Ima in ORAS pretty convicingly and then gets cheesed in BW and outplayed in SM OR ima cheeses Pohjis in ORAS and BW, Either way I see Ima coming out on top.

7. (BW / SM) Lopunny Kicks VS. 10. Lusa (ORAS) : The only games I've watched of Lusa were his game vs Prajpran that one wcop that was super terrible and his game vs poek where poek couldn't break his team. Therefore I don't have much to work with but Kicks is pretty good at SM and once again like Empo has kakka as a BW resource and probably many other resources for ORAS as well.

8. John W VS. 9. Adri (ORAS / SM): I remember seeing John W's name somewhere but I forgot where, but I've seen Adri around for a decent time and if he really was 17th 2 seasons in a row and then finally made it, he must at least be consistent. As far as what teams he uses I'm not sure but I'd favor the slightly more experienced Adri here. Probably taking ORAS and SM.

Did which gen I think the person is winning while trying to predict picks, If both ppl have a tier next to their name its cuz I think the series will go to 3 games.

 

[Breezy]

ima play malekith on sunday the 24th between 7 and 8pm gmt+2

 

[Souw]

RedEmption to win it all easily

 

[INSULT]

firemonkeygamer, finch or abr to take it all. Gl to tss dudes aswell.

 

[Slimmer]

1. Finchinator VS. 16. McMeghan - hardest pairing to predict. Finch got first seed and not randomly, he definitely is one of the strongest player in whole playoff phase. He seems also more suitable in "new gens". McMeghan is never to underestimate tho. I believe he has a stronger point in creativity and team building, which make me think he has more chances to win. 45-55, ORAS - BW/SM
2. ABR VS. 15. xray - second highlight game of this round. ABR looks like the new Bloo in terms of consistency and influence, he's a complete player, his team building skill are strengthened by his player skill and his ability to take the pressure and still be amazing in high stakes games. ORAS looks the gen in which xray has more chances to get a win, and SM game will be amazing as well. 60-40, BW/SM - ORAS
3. SoulWind VS. 14. RedEmption - I wouldn't say this is an easy game bc RedEmption shown to deserve to be here, but here we talking about one of the most "veteran" players in the pool, and sure one of the hungriest. SW still has to take an individual trophy and I'm sure he will do anything to not miss the chance this time, so he will take advantage of his skills and experience to not fail. 70-30, BW/ORAS - maybe SM?
4. Quaze VS. 13. Malekith - I'm really happy my Swiss kid friend alias "bimboricola" made it to playoffs but I believe this will be a really hard predict. Malekith is a really skilled player, just I'm not so sure if Malekith is as good at SM as in other gens. BW is surely more his thing, ORAS seems to be the deciding game. 50-50, SM - BW (oras could really go either way)
5. FMG VS. 12. Empo - two amazing new gen players, although Empo definitely seems more solid and more comfortable in BW. 35-65, SM could go either way, ORAS and BW are more likely to be Empo's wins
6. Pohjis VS. 11. ima - I don't really know how this could go. Pohjis should get BW while ima should get SM, I don't really know how ORAS could go.. altho the infamous WCoP record doesn't really help ima... 50-50, BW - SM - ORAS could go either way
7. Lopunny Kicks VS. 10. Lusa - though I hoped Lusa was MONNA LUSA I realized I was wrong, and he's the former user Vai Lusa, who's still a valid player. Lop seems to be just more solid, he went amazing lately, so giving him the edge seems easy job. 70-30 SM/ORAS - dunno about BW
8. John W VS. 9. Adri - idk who John W is and I've heard about Adri (maybe during WCoP french revolution but not sure), maybe I'm wrong but should go this way. ?-? Just think adri will win dunno in which gens lol.

 

[frontloader13]

As someone who also enjoys reading candid prediction posts, I understand Roro’s request to see more prediction posts for r1. I’m not a fan of any of these tiers but since this is the last bw tour, I thought it might be interesting to provide some unbiased takes but at the same time avoid badmouthing someone.

1. Finchinator (SM) VS. 16. McMeghan (BW, ORAS)
This is probably the best 1 vs 16 seed matchup anyone could ever see in Stour. Finch has had an incredible regular season allowing him to comfortably secure the number 1 seed. Whether this turns out to be a blessing or a curse will be determined at the end of this round. On the other hand, Mcmeghan barely managed to get into the playoffs and if Nichiru wasn’t banned then there was a chance he wouldn’t have made top 16 at all, but enough said. Over the past couple of playoffs, Finchinator has shown that even after being spoon-fed so many opportunities he can still crumble under the pressure of winning a stour. Not to mention that considering that this is the last bw tour ever, the stakes are the highest for finch considering how much he prides himself on his bw gameplay and notable advantage over most of the current new gen playerbase. Roro has already won a stour so he is really free to play and have fun however he wants which, to me is the greatest advantage anyone can have in a tour. Overall, I think that McMeghan will pull an “upset” in round 1 purely from his experience in bw tour games and his ability to make plays down the stretch of the game.
BW: Both finch and roro are known for being the polar opposite in the team builder. Mcm is notably known for bringing “wacky”/creative teams which mostly stem from the fact that they were built in 2012/2013. The very fact that he can pilot these teams to good success in the current meta is a testament to his skill and experience in this tier. On the contrary, finch is famous for spamming the most standard teams with little variation. He claims he can vary up his play style after he brought dragmag in wcop playoffs against Oristeros. If finch cannot figure out a way to not be the most predictable player in the playoffs then he will not stand a chance in this round, let alone the rest of the playoffs. From the team builder and playing skill perspective, Mcmeghan has a clear edge in this game; however this is Pokemon so it would not be shocking to see Finch crit/get a lucky roll to steal the game from him.
ORAS: This match should be a delight to watch since both of them are very even to me in their Oras team selection/playing skill. There isn’t much to breakdown here considering neither of them see this as their “main” tier. Roro gets the edge here mainly because I think he’s less likely to choke a lead but realistically finch could win this game as well.
SM: This game should be a one-sided affair considering that not only does mcmeghan not like this tier but also finch is very solid in sm ou. Finch will hopefully bring something other than his fabled stall team, and catch roro off guard with some z move.

2. ABR (BW, ORAS, SM) VS. 15. xray
This series should be another fun one to watch assuming there is fair RNG throughout the 2-3 games. Even though I am picking ABR in all 3 tiers, I want it to be known that they will close games and I will not be surprised if Xray shows up and knocks ABR out in round 1.
BW: I have no reason to actually think that Xray knows what he’s doing in BW. It’s not rocket science to pilot a standard team abusing latios in this tier. Fortunately for him, his opponent isn’t a BW savant who could take advantage of this. Abr, himself, is still trying to expand his knowledge on the tier and expand his game beyond his magic guard + spikes spam. This game could go either way but for the purposes of predictions I will give the nod to ABR.
ORAS: Highlight of this series, both of them are the best oras’ers in the playoffs. Abr has a made a name for himself as the best oras player of all time so it is hard to predict against him in this tier. However, xray is one of the few people with the potential to do so, but he did lose his Oras game in the series against anti, who is unpredictable and similar to Abr in that sense, in the last stour playoffs so take that how you will. ABR could easily pull up with a creative stall team that just gives him an impossible mu to loose but ignoring that, this game is going to be very close. Everyone knows Abr literally never loses cm clef wars and the fact that he is a very lucky player could end up separating the two battlers in this bout.
SM: ABR should take this game with ease considering he is probably the best SM player out there. Xray has demonstrated that he is pretty competent in SM but the knowledge gap between them is just a little too big and whatever Toxapex balance Abr brings will give xray a lot of trouble.

3. SoulWind (BW, ORAS) VS. 14. RedEmption (SM)
Every time I try and watch a Redemption game, it always feels like he tends to make mistakes or just isn’t as good as some people make him out to be. Regardless, Soulwind should definitely win this series since the skill gap between these two players are too much. That being said, RNG can compensate for that gap (see: Soulwind vs Luigi) and allow redemption a chance of beating sw.
Bw: Soulwind has shown that he’s the best bw player throughout this year by dominating the player field and so this should be an easy win for him
ORAS: SW is a competent pilot of most common Oras teams and that will allow him to win this game. Really haven’t seen much from red in this tier so have to lean towards the wind user.
SM: I feel like red is somewhat underrated in sm and I think this is the only tier he can beat soulwind in a fair game.


4. Quaze (Oras) VS. 13. Malekith (Bw, sm)
I honestly have no clue who Quaze is, so I can’t pick him over kith who is a veteran still going strong. If kith takes the time to prep and show up then this should be relatively easy for him. I’m only picking Oras as the tier for quaze to possibly win since he did win an Oras tour during the regular season. Sm is kinda 50/50 for these guys since neither plays this tier that much, but kith will probably bring a more solid team and pilot it to victory.

5. FMG (SM) VS. 12. Empo (BW, ORAS)
If this matchup was a bo3 in SM OU then it would be much more interesting since both of them have made cases for being a top 5 sm player now that the generation is coming to a close. However, BW and Oras add another dimension to this series which makes it more difficult for FMG to dominate. Empo is definitely more comfortable in BW than fmg and that should allow him to net a win in this tier. In Oras, I haven’t seen much success from FMG so I think Empo can just outplay FMG here. In SM, I am a fan of the ‘fire Manraj gamer’ in both team selection and playing skill so I think he will beat empo in this game.

6. Pohjis (bw, oras) VS. 11. ima (sm)
Pohjis is most notably known for being a jack of all tiers on smogon. If he can overcome ima’s cheese in bw/oras then he should win convincingly. I think ima is the better sm player right now and he is coming off a very impressive snake performance which should give him the confidence to play well. Overall, this series is difficult to predict and I will give the edge to pohjis assuming he can bring solid teams but it is not out of the question for ima to beat him.

7. Lopunny Kicks (SM, BW) VS. 10. Lusa (Oras)
Lop kicks has had a solid showing in sm ou over the past year and I expect him to win the sm game with few issues. Lusa is a solid oras player and he has team support from Nintendi so that should be enough to give him the advantage. Neither of these players have shown any mastery over bw which makes me want to refrain from predicting... fuck it, I'll pick Lopunny Kicks to win this game.

8. John W VS. 9. Adri
Again, I don’t know either of these players and I don’t think either of them are poised to make a deep run in these playoffs. I would love to be proved wrong but as of right now I will refrain from making a prediction after seeing 0 games from either of them this season.

 

[Croo]

is it possible to make a sheet with the times of the matches? would be helpful

 

[Alumn]

is it possible to make a sheet with the times of the matches? would be helpful

http://spo.ink/stour28standings (playoff schedules)

 

[Hiro']

1. Finchinator VS. 16. McMeghan - Finch has had very good results in ST for a while now and would probably deserve this one more than McM, especially this season where he's #1 seed with a pretty high amount of points. I'd probably give him the edge in ORAS/SM and be a bit less categorical about the BW game, which should happen no matter what in g1 or g2 I would say. But y'know, Roro can always be very surprising in tournaments. Sick series for sure, I'm really excited to watch this one.
2. ABR VS. 15. xray - Another close series here. ABR has been consistent for a long time now and showed it by his appearances in individual tournaments such as Classic and OLT. Maybe it's time for him to get this trophy and finish 2019 in the best possible way. I think I definitely give him the edge in SM, whereas ORAS and BW might be closer. But xray is a really good ORAS player and actually I wouldn't be surprised to see him win the BW game either, so who knows?
3. SoulWind VS. 14. RedEmption - Very cool series right here. Red has been quite good in ORAS and BW during qualifications, whereas SM is probably his strongest tier as he has built a lot more than during ORAS. I'm definitely giving SW the edge in BW because he's the best in this tier. Even if I could give Red an edge in SM, or even in ORAS, we should remember how strong SW is in every tier. Besides, he's been waiting for his trophy for so long, I'd be really glad to see him finally get it this season because he's the most deserving in these playoffs for sure. Both these players have their own style and for that particular reason, this should be a pretty exciting series to watch.
4. Quaze VS. 13. Malekith - I'm glad to see Malekith in these playoffs and I really hope he'll go as far as he can. Definitely giving him the edge in BW, while I would probably give Quaze the edge in ORAS since he's done very well during qualifications in this tier. SM is probably the closest game between these two but I'd see Malekith win thanks to his experience both in Pokemon and in official tournaments. I'm very hyped to watch them play.
5. FMG VS. 12. Empo - Empo is just so good man, what can I say? He's great in the three tiers and I wouldn't be surprised if he brings nasty stuff. I'm really excited to watch him play this one.
6. Pohjis VS. 11. ima - Probably a much closer series than what we think. Both are very good players, Pohjis especially in BW/ORAS and ima in ORAS/SM. If I had to chose, I'd say I'd see ima winning SM and ORAS. Definitely a cool series to watch.
7. Lopunny Kicks VS. 10. Lusa - I don't have much to say for this one as I don't know sh*t about Lusa, and I know how strong LK is. In addition, he's been great in SM for a while now. I definitely see LK bringing very cool stuff too so yeah.
8. John W VS. 9. Adri - I'm not that sure about this one but Adri has done really well this season in ORAS, while John W has great BW results. I'd give Adri an edge in SM to decide between them.

 

[blarghlfarghl]

6. Pohjis VS. 11. ima - you might not guess it from watching him play but ima actually went 8-3 in the smogon snake draft

 

[Kingler]

Rooting for my friends finch, abr, pohjis and fmg. Seems like an interesting field for the last BW tour, definitely wanna tune in for these games. Finch spamming sand balance and winning the trophy would be the perfect send off for BW too LMAO

 

[hellpowna]

give what soul wind deserves since a while