1. Empo (51) VS. (49) 8. Pohjis - Pohjis is a very smart player and he is scrappy enough to make any series under any formats close vs even the best of players. I think you have to favor Empo given his amazing streak of success recently, but he barely squeaked past R1 and his opponent here is even stronger and less mistake prone. I think Empo will rise to the occasion, but this is the closest set of the four in my eyes and I am very excited to see these games. Good luck guys, really curious to see how both of you pick teams for this set.
2. ABR (55) VS. (45) 10. Eeveeto - Eeveeto feels like a classic ABR upsetter honestly. He has enough versatility within his arsenal in order for ABR to not get much of an edge in the builder, he is unhinged enough to make the right risks in the face of pressure in order to get a leg up on ABR, and he lacks a connection to the standards enough to pull off even the most seemingly random techs that could easily sway a game in his favor. Of course, it still takes a lot of precise preparation and execution in order to pull this all off, but I actually think that, aside from Empo, Eeveeto has the best chance of winning against ABR. I still favor ABR as he is the superior player in all 3 formats, but this is a very dangerous series for him and he has to be careful in how he prepares if he wishes to advance.
6. Sayuze (55) VS. 14. Corazan - I like Corazan as a player, but I'm a bit salty and honestly he lacked a lot of long-term considerations in his games against me. I cannot help but think that this and his very raw end-game management will come to hurt him in the long haul. Corazan will need to return to SSD3 form, which I do not know he is currently at after yesterday. Sayuze is not someone that I believe is good enough to be a conventional top 4 of SmogonTour player quite yet, but his trajectory is not something to laugh at either as he shows a lot of motivation and a good understanding of at least SM and SS. Close series, but I think Sayuze takes it in 3 given what I saw during qualifiers and the first round of playoffs.
12. Bloody alfa (35) VS.
(65) 13. McMeghan - McMeghan seems to be motivated and playing well as per normal, so I expect him to make quick work of Bloody alfa, who probably is still a step or two away from being a solidified contender in my eyes. There's a lot of potential and flashes of brilliance in his games, but I think a lot of the talent is raw and he is not super proven in the spotlight quite yet. I also don't know how well he builds or prepares whereas McMeghan is a much more proven entity in this regard.