SPL X DOU Discussion

MajorBowman

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shoutouts Eternally for the OP


With SPL X underway, this thread will be used to discuss DOU-related topics, whether it's about the players, general metagame trends, matches, predictions and so on. This thread will be updated frequently with each new week. Discussion of all kinds is encouraged!

SPL Schedule

Teams and Replays Thread

Usage Stats



Potential DOUers:
Wi-Fi Wolfpack:
Human
Team Raiders:
Biosci
Dragonspiral Tyrants: emforbes
Alpha Ruiners: Croven, qsns
Ever Grande BIGS: Lunar., Ezrael
Circus Maximus Tigers: MajorBowman, Tman
Stark Sharks: fespy
Congregation of the Classiest: EmbCPT, Mint16
Cryonicles: SMB
Indie Scooters: miltankmilk, talkingtree​
 
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talkingtree

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Really excited for my first official SPL after tinkering with Bowman last year, and the draft mostly looks like I'd expect it to. Just a couple observations:

There's more Doubles support than there used to be, and I think that's a fantastic thing. Doubles can be fairly isolating with singles players rarely having much experience, so having someone to test / build / keep you from going crazy is something super nice that I'm glad managers have caught on to. There were a couple supporters / starters that could've been bought and that I'm a little surprised weren't, like AuraRayquaza and Nido-Rus, but the fact that 5 teams have multiple DOUers and another has a DOUer as a manager is awesome.

We have fair number of new faces to SPL too, though lots are fresh (ish) off Snake Draft. I'm looking forward to seeing the entirely new faces like fespy and Human take on the tour; it's a bit of a risk that the two players who are complete rookies to official team tournaments have no official support, but plenty have overcome the odds in the past and gone on to be quite successful. Human is this year's VGC vet and DOU newbie (unless I'm mistaken), which have historically done fairly well so long as they have enough time or support to get a grasp of the meta. He should have a bit less of a disadvantage now with a somewhat-newer Gengarless meta that we're all still adapting to.

None of the DOU players were particularly expensive, we had a few (Biosci, emforbes, MajorBowman, EmbCPT) in the 8k - 11k range but nothing higher. I think that's completely fine, and it gives teams the ability to pick up more support, so it's nice to see that the prices reflect what I believe is a fairly competitive and broad talent pool.
 

PikachuVincent

Banned deucer.
Really excited for my first official SPL after tinkering with Bowman last year, and the draft mostly looks like I'd expect it to. Just a couple observations:

There's more Doubles support than there used to be, and I think that's a fantastic thing. Doubles can be fairly isolating with singles players rarely having much experience, so having someone to test / build / keep you from going crazy is something super nice that I'm glad managers have caught on to. There were a couple supporters / starters that could've been bought and that I'm a little surprised weren't, like AuraRayquaza and Nido-Rus, but the fact that 5 teams have multiple DOUers and another has a DOUer as a manager is awesome.

We have fair number of new faces to SPL too, though lots are fresh (ish) off Snake Draft. I'm looking forward to seeing the entirely new faces like fespy and Human take on the tour; it's a bit of a risk that the two players who are complete rookies to official team tournaments have no official support, but plenty have overcome the odds in the past and gone on to be quite successful. Human is this year's VGC vet and DOU newbie (unless I'm mistaken), which have historically done fairly well so long as they have enough time or support to get a grasp of the meta. He should have a bit less of a disadvantage now with a somewhat-newer Gengarless meta that we're all still adapting to.

None of the DOU players were particularly expensive, we had a few (Biosci, emforbes, MajorBowman, EmbCPT) in the 8k - 11k range but nothing higher. I think that's completely fine, and it gives teams the ability to pick up more support, so it's nice to see that the prices reflect what I believe is a fairly competitive and broad talent pool.
How do I become one of these teams?

Edit: Now how did this become my most liked comment? Maybe people that liked my comment and myself want to know how to join one of these teams and join the tournament.
 
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Pocket

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Is it just me or is this year the DOU roster not as deep as last year SPL roster? no stax or demantoid :psycry:

I am psyched that another VGC veteran is playing our beloved format, though! Welcome, Human! I hope you enjoy this metagame and stick around!

I am always super-excited for these... will be following it closely!
 
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MajorBowman

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Everyone in call was going wild over Demantoid not being drafted until we realized he didn't sign up lol. It does seem less deep than past team tours on a very surface level but everyone drafted this year is very capable of doing well and I'm definitely excited to see how our two newcomers fare
 

Checkmater

It’s just us kittens left, and the rain is coming
is a Tiering Contributor
Really excited to watch these games!

Hyped that Fespy got drafted! He was really fun to play with on the Storms and iirc did really well record-wise. Hopefully he has an amazing showing in SPL. Also rooting for the Croven/Qsns duo n_n

Hopefully after this SPL we won't do another ban so I can finally have usable teams for frameworks...
 

Biosci

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Power rankings are out!

In general, about what I'd expected to see this time around for the order. Surprised a little that Croven wasn't a little higher after his finals appearance in invites, but I think rankings were gathered before that happened. A lot of this will come down to how supported and invested in prep these players are.

I'd definitely say this is one of our best player pools in a long time, so I don't really think where someone is ranked is gonna be very indicative of how everyone will perform. See y'all next week
 

Platinum God n1n1

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The Real n1n1 Power Rankings for SPL

(1) SMB - Clearly the top player drafted based on tour performance in 2018. I cant see how anyone could be placed over him. And as someone else who appreciates the Hippodon+Cradily core, he has my blessing.

(2) EmbCPT - He was recently first place on the Room Tour leader board by a large margin and in dominating fashion for an extended and impressive period of time. Plus his great 2018 tour results easily place him in the top tier players for SPL.

(3) Croven - Has the most momentum going into SPL after his impressive run in Invitationals. Considering that and the fact that he brings more experience than most players, I believe he was under appreciated in Smogon Power Rankings at 6th.

(4) emiforbes - Still not sure who he is as I've never seen him post anywhere but the tour results don't lie. His tour results extremely impressive but after being knocked out of invitationals by Croven, he lands one spot below.

(5) MajorBowman - Although his recent tour results were not up to the standards of some, he did solidly in circuit tour by finishing 8th overall. The experience he brings and previous SPL performance should have him in the upper half of DOU players.

(6) Ezrael - With no seasonals experiences and a barely positive snake record you maybe surprised he was even drafted. But if you paid attention to room tours you'd know he should be taken seriously in SPL. For a brief time he even surpassed EmbCPT on the Room Tour rankings.

(7) Biosci - Hes been consistently good in this tour but being less active than most always leaves me with concern. Still the experience and past results cannot be denied, I do not expect bad results from him in this SPL.

(8) fespy - With top 6 finish in the most recent Seasonal and strong Room Tour results, its disrespectful he was placed in last place by Smogon power rankings. He had a strong record in DPL which shows he can build good teams every week, but with no DOU teammates in SPL its going to be a different challenge he has not experienced before.

(9) miltankmilk - I expected the Scooters to have started Talkingtree as he has better 2018 tour results and has been more active. Milk's 2018 circuit tour performance was mediocre so if he doesn't start out strong in the first two weeks he could be benched.

(10) Human - nothing really to say
 
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GenOne

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[CONG] EmbCPT vs Biosci [RAID]

Both solid players but EmbCPT has been more active recently and has a really solid grasp of the current meta. Could go either way but my gut says EmbCPT wins this one.

E: rewrote earlier explanation that made 0 sense (welcome back biosci)

[CRYO] SMB vs Human [WOLF]

I have no idea who Human is other than his past VGC background. It would be cool to see Human win W1 to make a strong debut onto the DOU stage, but we'll see.

[RUIN] Croven vs fespy [SHRK]

Checked my notes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TYRN] emforbes vs MajorBowman [TGRS]

Could go either way. Emilio made Top 8 of invitationals last year and has a good shot at this round, but I think MajorBowman wants this win more, describing his Snake performance as "easily my most disappointing performance in any team tournament to date" after doing very well in last year's SPL.

[BIGS] Ezrael vs miltankmilk [SCTR]

This also could go either way, but miltankmilk + talkingtree's support could be deadly. As n1n1 said, I'm actually surprised they didn't start talkingtree > miltankmilk, but milk is a player who's both good at playing and building (two completely different skillsets for a lot of DOU talent) and, with talkingtree in the back to help build, I expect miltankmilk to debut with a really solid team and pilot it well.
 
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Kenpwnchi

formerly Pwndkthnx
EmbCPT vs. Biosci
To this day, I’m still not sure what EmbCPT means (except for maybe embassy), but regardless of what his name means, dude is extremely impressive. If I’m not mistaken, Biosci has more experience and has been around longer, but EmbCPT has proven more than once that he’s capable of holding himself.

SMB vs Human
Having fought this dude myself, I can say from personal experience that he has what it takes you win his match. What’s even more impressive is him coming out of nowhere, and taking two seasonals in the row. I simply wouldn’t sleep on SMB. And nothing against Human, but does he even play this tier? Even if he did, he doesn’t have any showings, so that’s that.

Croven vs Fespy
While I do think Croven is very adept and hungry to prove he should of been the champion of the 2018 DOU Circuit, I feel like it may be too much for him to handle. Playing in tournaments isn’t what one would call easy. Especially not in the finals. Meanwhile, Fespy, the new guy, has shown, in Room Tours so far, that he’s not to be underestimated. And I wouldn’t underestimate him. With him having nothing, I feel like he’s even hungrier than Croven to win.

Emforbes vs MajorBowman
I always get Emforbes confused with EmbCT, but Emforbes is a dope player. However, MajorBowman is like an oldhead when it comes to this Pokémon shit. That, and the fact he wants to make up for last years results, should be more than enough to secure him the win.

Ezrael vs MiltankMilk
I’m aware that MiltankMilk is good, but you don’t see him around a lot (unless it’s just me). Ezrael is completely new to the official competitive scene, but dude is capable of putting in work. He also got selected to take part in the SPL tournament despite never participating in it before. If that doesn’t say something, maybe his skill will.
 

n10siT

Hoopa can do anything!
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its late, but here are the official n10sit power rankings tm. these rankings will be unique and formed using a multitude of extremely complex mathematical equations and the newest technology and research available to me as a pokemon psychologist. i will not explain the details here, as it would be lost on those of you without :cosmic: brains, but trust that me and my team of scientists, professors and experts in the psychology field have formed the most comprehensive list of the best dou players in this spl.

1. SMB - he·ro /ˈhirō/ noun
  1. 1.
    a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

2. miltankmilk - supported by a mastermind in talkingtree, the only thing in the way of these two having a dominant season is milk having a bad start and pushing talkingtree into the starting slot, where he would actually have to use the teams he built himself - a concept i think so unapproachable for tree that he loses his sentience and lives out the rest of his days as a normal non-speaking birch tree planted in a church parking lot that 13 year olds have their first cigarette under

3. Biosci - ive recently learned the cryosleep firm that biosci used to rest between SPLs has gone out of business, forcing biosci to be conscious for more than 3 months out of the year. an absolute nightmare for some, im sure biosci will enjoy the extra time and spend it, i dont know, trying to talk to girls for the first time in years with a still partially frozen tongue, causing them to scream and run away in fear. fueled by this rejection, biosci will be forced to spend hours perfecting teams and practicing pokemon. never underestimate the power of an angry and horny man

4. EmbCPT - i had originally planned to rank edu lower, but then i saw it... a glimmering light on a team roster surrounded by lesser beings... a HERO!!!!!!! goat16 indirectly wills edu to a 9-0 record bc mint doesnt lose in team tours

5. emforbes - will kick all his opponents in the nuts, forcing them into this position:

6. fespy - fespy is like the mom you see in those action or crime movies who presents as harmless but is then put in a dangerous stressful situation and like roundhouse kicks the head off of a ninja or something. in front of her kids. who don't understand why mommy killed someone but they know killing is bad, yet how can they not continue to love and rely on their mother? forever, they will be forced to deal with the horrors their own mother committed in front of their very eyes. these poor children.

7. Croven - has qsns, doesnt let mom dress him anymore, hasnt figured out that dabbing hasnt been cool in like two years. 4-5 record

8. Ezrael - committed the atrocity of flipping off a bunch of first graders at a pokemon tournament, has since evolved into the kind of person who *checks notes* isnt friends with blarajan anymore

9. Human - u gotta be more than human to succeed at pokemon. everyone knows u need to have jimmy neutron brain blast level intelligence to succeed at this game where u click buttons hoping u predicted what the other person clicking buttons does. whats this guy even do, walk/talk/be the most intelligent species on his planet? BORING!

10. MajorBowman - never in my years have i seen someone so undeserving, "i mean i know jakes good but come on", this is ridiculous. (i love u bowman heheheh i will forever be sorry for bein mean to u)
 

DaWoblefet

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More predictions!

[CONG] EmbCPT vs Biosci [RAID]

While there's a certain degree of freshness that comes to your play after taking a break and updating yourself on the status of a metagame, EmbC's consistency will be tough for Biosci to crack straightaway. EmbC's teambuilding skills are often what seems to provide him the edge in pushing his success, and I'll be excited what he brings now that the post-Gengarite metagame has had a bit more time to develop. My understanding is Biosci has been more active in the VGC 19 scene in the meantime but came short of his expectations, but EmbC seems to be tearing it up in both tiers; we'll have to see how Biosci's impressive end-season VGC 18 can transition to SPL instead.

[CRYO] SMB vs Human [WOLF]

SMB is the safe pick here, simply because he's played the tier and Enosh hasn't, but I think this could very easily turn into a win for Human if SMB writes off Human as one of the easier players to beat compared to the rest of the lot. Human is historically a phenomenal VGC player, and time has shown again and again that VGC players can dominate the DOU scene given the opportunity. However, to do so against a min top 3 DOU player straight out of the gate will be a task and a half on its own. I expect a lot of influence from Ezrael in early rounds given the friendship between the two, so SMB would be wise to consider that in his preparation. It's difficult to prepare for someone with no public games in your tier though, so while SMB probably should take the win, I think he'll have to put in the work to do it.

[RUIN] Croven vs fespy [SHRK]

I have no strong opinions on this one, but apparently it's the thing right now to predict against fespy so there we go.

[TYRN] emforbes vs MajorBowman [TGRS]

MajorBowman is really, really good, but every time I've watched emforbes play, I've been consistently impressed by his newfound mastery of the tier. While I do think one of his strengths was pressing the limits of Gengar's potential, emforbes's fundamentals are probably better than MajorBowman and if combined with good teambuilding practices, I think the two will mesh together to be a strong win. That's not to sleep on MajorBowman by any means, and I think the attitudes of both players regarding how they prepare for this game will be indicative of who actually wins.

[BIGS] Ezrael vs miltankmilk [SCTR]

I simply think Ezrael is the better player between these two from personal experience, and I'm not saying that because I don't like miltankmilk. I'm saying that based off years of research.
 

MajorBowman

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Some week 1 highlights for me:
  • Salamence Bulu beating Ezrael is poetic justice
  • SMB putting on a clinic with a cool team
  • Human finally whipping out the fabled Toxic Spikes :up:
  • CM Cress is back baby

Week 2 matchups:

[RUIN] Croven vs emforbes [TYRN]
[SCTR] Miltankmilk vs EmbCPT [CONG]
[BIGS] Ezrael vs fespy [SHRK]
[WOLF] Human vs Biosci [RAID]
[TGRS] MajorBowman vs SMB [CRYO]

Which games are you looking forward to the most?
 

talkingtree

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EmbCPT vs Biosci was a real shame, the game was super close and well-played by both, would have been nice to see it through. Edu continues to bring the solid yet slightly unorthodox teams that he thrives on, and Biosci seems to have found a solid niche in updating VGC sets for 6v6.

Human had a pretty tough matchup against a very well-crafted team by SMB, but he's the real deal. Some fascinating sets throughout and after watching Human's ssnl set, I'm really excited to see what he brings for the rest of the tour. It's nice that our token VGC convert newbie is diving into the meta thoroughly and enjoying it. SMB seems to have picked up from his very solid second phase of Snake instead of starting over, so he's clearly going to be a tough opponent for pretty much anyone in the field.

Croven and qsns continue to show off their UR mons; I'm honestly more surprised that Terrakion did well than I am about the Victreebel. I hope they don't go too much farther down the rabbit hole, the team this week worked and was fairly solid, but it's easy to go from treading the line between innovation and insanity to falling on your face. It's tough for fespy to have his first game against what looks like sort of a joke team, but that team was no joke and he seems to be learning from the mistakes. We'll see if he can apply it next week, with the anticipation of the tour worn off.

emforbes vs MajorBowman was another case of a fairly unwinnable matchup, but I was still quite impressed with Bowman's play, he definitely didn't just let the team carry him. emforbes, to his credit, gave himself as many chances as possible at getting the crit he'd need without focusing too much on the Cress and losing to the teammates.

Not gonna comment on the last but I'll just say I love miltankmilk

This week 1 showed a lot of promise, I think this is a super strong and tight field with no real breakouts and only fespy seeming somewhat shaky, but this was to be expected and with such strong competition, it's going to be tough for him to really excel. I do hope he finds a bit of a groove though. Looking forward to all these W2 games, they should all be close so this is a bit of a crapshoot but here's predicts without reasonings because I'm tired:

[RUIN] Croven vs emforbes [TYRN]
[SCTR] miltankmilk
vs EmbCPT [CONG]
[BIGS] Ezrael vs fespy [SHRK]
[WOLF] Human vs Biosci [RAID]
[TGRS] MajorBowman vs SMB [CRYO] - highlight of the week for me, closely followed by Croven v emforbes
 
Generally this week i was really surprised by the creativity in many of the teams, whether it was victreebel, toxic spikes, heatran in any capacity. Jake's CM cress showed it can still be a super scary mon in the right environments as can regular Diancie. Some cool looking matchups this week too, looking forward to seeing them!


[RUIN] Croven vs emforbes [TYRN] - If I had to guess this will be the "hey croven, i've got a crazy team idea" week where it goes too far, I also think emforbes played really well in the game last week even if he couldn't dig out of a rough cm cress matchup.

[SCTR] miltankmilk vs EmbCPT [CONG] - Saturday noon est

[BIGS] Ezrael vs fespy [SHRK] - I hope fespy gets on the right track this week, last week was a pretty rough game so maybe this is more of a hope than prediction.
[WOLF] Human vs Biosci [RAID] - another player who I think played well in a loss was Biosci, I love what he can come up with year after year, while human brought tspikes before I could :/
[TGRS] MajorBowman vs SMB [CRYO] - bow bow
 
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Croven

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[RUIN] Croven vs emforbes [TYRN] - do I get the “got predicted against so they have to win” superpower if I do it myself? :thinking:

[SCTR] miltankmilk vs EmbCPT [CONG] - THE DUEL OF THE ANTAGONISTS!! liked milks week 1 performance and think he’s bein a bit underrated even given a weaker 2018 circuit run. with tree’s support he’ll probably come out on top but honestly this is gonna be a good match so we’ll just have to see

[BIGS] Ezrael vs fespy [SHRK] - ezrael got kinda spanked by mence bulu which is objectively hilarious but becomes less so when I remember this dude spanks me in every test game we’ve had which makes me sad. still haven’t forgotten when I got destroyed by him in the smog vgc tour :( haven’t seen too much from fespy yet but looking forward to how he adapts throughout the season, I know from experience that being thrown in the fire like this can be hard lol

[WOLF] Human vs Biosci [RAID] - bio probably should’ve won his week 1 game anyways and human had a lackluster start. while that’ll hopefully turn around I can’t really predict against bio given what I’ve seen, so I’ll stick w mr biology

[TGRS] MajorBowman vs SMB [CRYO] - highlight of the week for me as well, both players had great matchups followed by solid playing to cement the win. going for SMB partly bc I want to see him do well, partly bc he impressed me slightly more week 1, and partly bc not predicting and bolding the “vs” is lame and bad and a cheap copout
 

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