SPL XI - Commencement Thread

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YAHALLO AMIGOS! Welcome back to the much-requested ShakeItUp POWER RANKINGS. I wasn’t going to do these, but I had about 16 hours-worth of flights today, so I really had nothing else to do. I’m not planning on doing predictions, but we’ll see I guess. I’ll be ranking every starting player, and some of the more relevant substitutes. I won’t be talking about Doubles, because I really have nothing to say. It will be factored into the final ranking (based on what I know about their preseason hype and the sheet, etc.). ANYWAY, let’s begin.



The Alpha Ruiners:

SS OU: Empo / FLCL / Twixtry
SS LC: jake
SS Doubles: qsns
SM OU: Gondra
ORAS OU: xImRaptor
BW OU: caetano93
DPP OU: Hyogafodex
ADV OU: Alexander
GSC OU: FOMG
RBY OU: ErPeris

The Ruiners return after defeating one of the best teams of all time last year. This year’s edition looks like a complete joke, though, as SPL heroes lax and Chlorinedrinker1 are nowhere to be seen. Don’t expect a repeat performance.

This seems to be another tour where everyone’s on Empo’s nuts. He is coming off a solid 6-3 performance in Snake, and has generally been pretty solid ever since he made the ascent into being a tournament staple. He will probably do pretty well regardless of what tier he plays, although I am still underweight on his skill level compared to the masses, I suppose.

As for FLCL, he will probably finish positive in whatever meme ass lower tier the managers put him in…wait NVM there are no lower tiers here bros. I mean, people are apparently on his nuts because I saw some people give him honorable mentions in my top 10 players of all time thread,..which seems absolutely absurd honestly LMAO What the fuck are people smoking? Apparently, Rewer drank the kool-aid too, since FLCL SOMEHOW ended up being more money than TAMAHOME LOOOL WHAT ARE WE DOING WHY IS HE 19.5K IN A TOUR WITH NO LOWER TIERS? Nice 22.5k retain value for next year vros he can farm nu or some shit again. ALL THAT BEING SAID, he’s obviously a solid player and will most likely finish positive in whatever tier they put him in, which currently happens to be the new gen. He was just like 7.5k overpriced. Twixty had a solid World Cup, albeit with a fair bit of luck in his favor. His season could go either way.

The team picked up Zebraiken for LC, who, after many years of relative mediocrity, had the tour of his life on the ABRs last Snake. He is a veteran player with loads of experience, so perhaps he can stay hot and perform well. Expectations were pretty low for him going into last tour, though, so it would not be too surprising if he faltered. The Ruiners need him to perform admirably in order to contend for a playoff spot.

Last time we saw Gondra, he was scrambling his password after having one of the worst performances in tour history. To no one’s surprise, he returned for SPL. He has generally been a slightly above average player, I suppose, but after the complete disaster that was Snake 3, it would come as no surprise to see him fall flat on his face and ragequit once again. Raptor was part of the “crazy-tilt reach trio” on the Lindworms last Snake. He actually had a pretty solid tour, but considering his poor pedigree and lack of any real results prior to that, it would not be surprising to see him return to the depths of irrelevance.

Caetano or whoever the hell that is finds himself in BW. He’s unproven and I don’t know anything about him other than that he’s a Mannat goon. He’ll probably get annihilated. I suppose that leaves Hyogafodex for DPP OU. He’s honestly pretty trash, but luckily for him, anyone can win in the variance madhouse, so maybe he’ll luck into 4 or 5 wins. Prinz finds himself in ADV, where he should pretty easily be one of the better players. The ADV pool is a disgrace compared to the stacked ones of years past, and in a tier where the best players are marcop and a slumping BKC, he could easily end up with 6 or 7 wins. FOMG has been coming on strong in recent tours. While I need to see more from him in GSC before declaring him as a good player, he has some upside and should be able to have a decent season. ErPeris finds himself in RBY. I have no idea who the hell that is, but it’s RBY so who cares. He’ll probably be trash or luck into a few wins. The team could also flex Prinz on RBY if they want to tank the season for the lolz.

Overall, this team’s honestly pretty trash. The OU is nothing to write home about, and they really don’t have that many strengths besides Prinz in ADV. Empo in OU, and MAYBE jake in LC and FLCL in whatever he plays. It would be quite surprising to see them make the playoffs.

The Circus Maximus Tigers:

SS OU: LLL / 1 True Lycan / tace
SS LC: Osh
SS Doubles: MajorBowman
SM OU: Eternal Spirit
ORAS OU: robjr
BW OU: Luigi
DPP OU: Vay
ADV OU: Dekzeh
GSC OU: McMeghan
RBY OU: kaz

The meme franchise returns for yet another season. The Tigers usually end up missing the playoffs, but generally put forth some decent performances and are usually in the competition by the final week, so I guess there’s that.

The OU core of the team features some real variance players. Tace had a solid debut, albeit with a solid amount of luck on his side. 1TL and LLL are also relatively unproven; LLL did put forth an impressive showing in the latest OLT, so perhaps he is ready to become a noteworthy threat in team tours. The Baron received a massive amount of hype from multiple jerks, but that hype seems to have died down quite a bit after some less-than-stellar showings. Overall, this core’s pretty mediocre and they’ll probably need some things to break their way if they’re going to do well. However, there is some upside here.

Osh has received a fair amount of hype in LC, and had a solid Snake showing combined with some nice performances in Grand Slam in the past. He will probably do pretty well here. I said I wasn’t going to talk about Doubles, but I’ll briefly mention this one. A lot of people seem pretty shocked that MajorBowman was retained, since it is a widely held belief among several jerks that he would have been far less expensive. Considering that this is in fact tennisace we are talking about, this retain being a potential overpay honestly does not shock me in the slightest.

Gama had a spreadsheet warrior run for the ages, but recently fell back to earth. If he returns to the form he displayed recently, where he won at every turn through his clicking expertise, he could definitely live up to his hefty price tag. robjr is a bit more questionable of a slot than that, even. He is known for being a pretty good UU player, but struggled a fair amount in Snake. Now, he finds himself in ORAS OU; the last time he had venture out into the wilderness against non-lower tier players, he was unable to really meet the challenge. He struggled in World Cup, and it would not be surprising to see him do poorly yet again. The ORAS pool is an absolute joke, though, so I guess he has that going for him.

Luigi became the first player ever to win an individual tournament and subsequently not get drafted for a team tour that was only a month or so after his win. Kind of inconceivable, honestly, People aren’t really buying the hype, considering that he went for pennies in this tour. He clearly has upside, since he did beat SoulWind in a Smogon Tour final; his BW OU final showing in that was honestly a complete disaster, though, and really does nothing to reassure me of his skills. I don’t really believe in this dumbass weak era meme, though, so I’ll give him some benefit of the doubt as a recent individual trophy winner. He might be able to put together a decent campaign.

Vay is a decently hyped DPP player, but is pretty unproven on Smogon. It is the variance madhouse, so maybe he can do decently. It would not be surprising if he floundered, though. Dekzeh…LOL? Bro is this 2015? LOL what are we doing??? Well, luckily for him, the ADV pool is an absolute disaster this year, and if he returns anywhere close to his peak level, he could easily put up 7 or 8 wins here. He was a very strong player in the past, and with the level of competition drastically poor compared to past SPLs, he clearly has some upside if he can escape the clutches of the crust rule. The Tigers somehow managed to snag Roro for 27k, which is a major steal considering that he may the best player both all-time and on Smogon currently. His motivation is a massive factor in the team’s success this season; if he puts forth a vintage performance and helps the team in other areas, they may be able to thrive. He finds himself in GSC, which he has recently exhibited some talent in. He’ll probably end up with around 7 wins. The last player in the lineup is Kaz, who is regarded as a pretty solid RBY player. He’ll probably be fine in this joke slot.

The team also has notable names like valentine and Steve Angello to sub in if things get dire. So I guess there’s that. Overall, this team isn’t awful, but definitely isn’t good either.

The Congregation of the Classiest

SS OU: Insult / blargh / Relous
SS LC: Serene Grace
SS Doubles: stax
SM OU: Suapah
ORAS OU: Persephone
BW OU: Raiza
DPP OU: Tamahome
ADV OU: Teclis
GSC OU: KratosMana
RBY OU: amaranth

The Classiest return for yet another SPL, hoping to find the success that has eluded them ever since the great Omfuga-Ojama feud of SPL 8. This lineup honestly looks like a joke, so they’ll probably continue to wallow in mediocrity for yet another season.

The OU core features some decently hyped players. A lot of people seem to be pretty high on Insult. I don’t really think he’s that great, but he has had some decent performances on the sheet. He’ll probably be decent enough. Blargh is someone who went from being an absolute joke of a player to a somewhat-respectable one. While I’m still not completely sold on him, he has displayed some battling prowess in his recent games. He’ll probably do decently as well. The core is rounded out by Relous, who had back-to-back impressive runs in World cup and Snake. He’ll probably do decent as well. The keyword with this core is pretty clearly “decent.” They don’t really have any world-beaters, but the group consists of a bunch of perhaps slightly above average talents who can maybe rattle off 15 or so wins combined.

Serene Grace is someone who many say should have been starting in Snake. The fact that he wasn’t chosen to be a starter in Snake is a clear red flag for me, though, so I’m a bit skeptical of his potential to succeed here. Suapah is someone who has never really impressed me, but I guess he could do fine. Not really sold on him, though. Persephone’s decently hyped ORAS player from Germany, a country that seemingly has a knack of producing strong players in that tier. He’s still really unproven, even though he did have some nice games in World Cup. The pool is ripe for farming, so perhaps he can do something impressive. It would not be surprising to see him struggle, though.

For some reason, half the managers became convinced that it was a wise idea to spend over 10k on a PU main to play BW OU LMAO I have no idea what kind of disease infected the managers in this tour, but there’s absolutely no evidence that Raiza is worth anything more than 3k for BW OU; the man couldn’t even go positive against a bunch of PU scrubs in snake LOL This buy seems a bit ridiculous. The Classiest did manage to snag Tamahome for pretty cheap, as he was somehow less than lower tier players like FLCL and Pearl. He’s one of the best DPPers ever; however, I am a strong advocate of not spending too much on DPP, so it may be wise to flex him to another tier later on. Still, it’s hard to hate on his 18.5k price tag. I have no idea who the hell Teclis is, so I’m just gonna assume he’s dogshit and move on. Anti is obviously a good player, but he went for an absolute joke of an amount for GSC OU LOL like, he’s really not proven in that tier at all. This is the man who wanted to flex into a different tier every week, and given the rather shoddy state of the lineup, it may be wise to move him around later on. He’ll probably finish positive in GSC just because the pool isn’t that amazing, so I guess there’s that. TIN is decent enough at RBY I guess.

Overall, this team has some star power in the form of Tamahome and Anti, but both are currently in tiers that are really unsuitable for them to carry a lineup in. They have some decent, but the lineup as a whole really isn’t that impressive.

The Cryonicles:

SS OU: Sacri / Eo Ut Mortus / Garay Oak
SS LC: ggggd
SS Doubles: Tman
SM OU: Leftiez
ORAS OU: Updated Kanto
BW OU: Finchinator
DPP OU: Jirachee
ADV OU: z0mOG
GSC OU: Mr. E
RBY OU: HML am

The worst franchise in SPL returns yet again, this time under new management. Can Finchinator, PDC, and Triangles be the ones to turn this franchise around?

The OU core is pretty highly regarded, Sacri and Eo are both very solid players, and should be able to do pretty well in this tour. I’ve heard many people rank both inside the top 5 of OU players in the tournament, so that bodes well for them. The last slot is a bit more questionable. Garay struggled mightily in Snake, and that really hurts my perception of him coming into this tour. I’m not sure how well he will be able to adapt to SS OU, but he does have a very solid support structure surrounding him. Even if Garay falters, Eo and Sacri should be able to carry the load.

Pablo has had some solid results in LC in the past, and there are rumors that he is going to be ranked pretty highly in the Power Rankings. He is known for being a pretty capable LC player, and I think he’ll do fine in this tour. Leftiez finds himself in SM OU after a pretty long hiatus. He is obviously a capable player, so there’s definitely a shot that he does pretty well. However, it is important to note that he is below .500 on the sheet in a large sample size, and that hiatus certainly does not bode well for his ability to improve on that record. For some reason, I still have faith in his abilities, though.

Kanto rebounded after some pretty dismal performances with a great showing in snake. He’s shown his upside in the past during SPL 9, and I’m a believer in his abilities. In a terrible ORAS poo, I think he can smash most of the competition. Resident tryhard Finchinator is back in his BW home, where he’ll probably cap off another season with a 6-3 record, or something like that. Finch is generally pretty solid here, so it would be a surprise to see him finish negative. Jirachee used to go for absolutely ludicrous prices in SPL, so it’s good to see that people finally accepted his true skill level. He’s been very unimpressive in the past, but there are worst things than taking a flier on him for cheap in the variance madhouse I suppose. I would be pretty surprised to see him finish positive, but maybe he can get 3 or 4 wins. z0mog ended up going for 3k after signing up for only ADV. The pool is way worse than it was in the past, and he clearly has some Pokemon skills. While I’m not a real believer in the “mons is mons” mentality, I think he could definitely finish positive in this tour, especially with the team support provided by Triangles.

I was vouching for MrE to get bought in every SPL since he won me SPL 6, so it’s good to see him get a chance to shine again. I don’t know how the fuck he suddenly went from being a scrub no one wanted to being more than EARTHWORM LOL but here we are. I don’t think he’s an amazing player, but he’s definitely good enough to get 4 or 5 wins here. I have no idea who the hell hml am is either, so just gonna assume he’s a loser.

Overall, this roster is SURPRISINGLY competent LOOL I was expecting a disaster, but this team is actually the best one so far. They should definitely challenge for a playoff spot.

The Dragonspiral Tyrants

SS OU: TDK / Christo / Nat
SS LC: Luthier
SS Doubles: marilli
SM OU: blunder
ORAS OU: CrashinBoomBang
BW OU: John W
DPP OU: Heist
ADV OU: marcop
GSC OU: gorgie
RBY OU: Troller

The Tyrants fell short of expectations last year; they dominated the regular season in historic fashion, only to be vanquished by lax and Lavos. I’m always a big fan of reyscarface’s SPL drafts, and this year is no exception, as he has once again amanged to put together one of the best teams in the tournament. Will this finally be the year he gets a trophy?

The SS OU core of the team is one of the lineup’s shakiest parts. TDK was somehow the most expensive player of the draft. It’s like everyone just forgot that he’s been trash for the past 4 tours or something LOL TDK is 9-18 since the start of Snake 2, a far cry from his dominating peak prior to that. He’s clearly a talented player, and many individuals such as ABR have high hopes for him coming into this tour; the start of a new generation perhaps favors builders like TDK who can abuse the flaws in the metagame and cheese their opponents. There is definitely a shot he returns to his former glory in this tour, but he needs to prove himself before I say he’s a lock for 6 wins or more. The other two spots are even shakier. Everyone knows how big of a Christo fan I am. I think he’s the best UU player; I’m really not sure how he will fare in OU, though. There is really no evidence that he can succeed there, but with TDK’s building support, perhaps he can cheese a few people himself. Nat is an even shakier bet to succeed. I find it hard to believe an RU main is going to succeed in the main gen OU, but I suppose there’s worse things than taking a flier on her. She is obviously very tilt-prone, though, so a good start is key to her success. If the OU core performs, the Tyrants will be unstoppable. There is a good chance of them faltering, though, which could lower the team’s ceiling.

Luthier won the most recent LC Open and had a solid Snake performance; he should definitely be one of the better LCers in this tour. blunder’s pretty easily the best SM OU player in the tournament, and should be able to farm a solid amount of wins here. He can als o flex around if need be, obviously. CBB has never been a spreadsheet warrior, but if there’s ever a chance for him to finally have a standout team tour performance, now is his opportunity. The ORAS pool is an absolute joke, and if he plays up to his talent level, he should be able to put together a very strong campaign. John W is far less proven than these two behemoths; he made his name in the most recent Smogon Tour, putting together a nice run and impressing against amazing battlers like Roro. The BW pool is pretty top-heavy, so perhaps he can farm some wins against some sub-par opposition. It wouldn’t surprise me if he fell flat on his face, but I think he’ll do pretty decently, especially with the team support he has.

Heist finds himself in DPP, hoping to return to the “Heist” phase of his career, and not the meme babidi one. He’s one of the best DPPers ever, and definitely has the skill to succeed in the variance madhouse. He might be crust, but I suppose that’s less worrisome in this joke of a tier. He’ll probably do solid enough. People are penciling in marcop as the best ADVer in the tour; while I’m not THAT high on him, I think he’s pretty easily a top 3 player in the pool and has had some nice showings recently. In GSC, we have…Floppy? Sa;l;fasf;l;klk LOOOOOOOOOOOL oh my god WHAT YEAR IS THIS? FLOPPY? LMAO The first thing MoP told me when I joined the sharks in SPL 4 was that Floppy was trash, and I have seen nothing in my tenure on this site to make me think otherwise. The guy is perpetually mediocre, and his recent sheetery is pretty bad. People have been hyping up his abilities lately, but the last time that happened, he proved he was unable to live up to expectations. Please don’t make me read the sentence “Gorgie has it all,” again…PLEASE. I’d be shocked if he got more than 2 or 3 wins, honestly. The team is rounded out by Troller, who has been hailed as the best RBYer on the site. He should naturally do pretty well.

After writing up this description, I’m honestly a bit less impressed with their roster than I was originally. Nonetheless, this is pretty easily one of the best teams in the tournament. I don’t think they’re as good as last year’s edition, and definitely think there’s a chance they miss playoffs. They have a pretty good chance of getting there, though; TDK’s success will be one of the most important things to watch for. If he returns to his peak form, this team has “championship” written all over them.

The Ever Grande Bigs

SS OU: ima / aim / soulgazer
SS LC: trash
SS Doubles: Ezrael
SM OU: Sabella
ORAS OU: Santu
BW OU: Fakes
DPP OU: GaryTheGengar
ADV OU: Eden’s Embrace
GSC OU: IFM
RBY OU: Nails

The Bigs managed to somehow screw the entire tournament up before it even began. The Ojama fiasco coupled with the TDK trade sent shockwaves throughout the community, leaving many people very skeptical about this team. There are some who think they can succeed, though. At the very least, they definitely have flexibility, since they are currently the only team capable of fielding 2 entirely different SPL rosters. So…there’s that.

The OU core of the team could be pretty interesting. ima is a recent breakout star who many people have high hopes for. I’m not too sold on him yet, but he could definitely do pretty decently. I’ve always thought Joey was good, and he was a nice value pickup for the Bigs. I think he could definitely go positive, and his flexibility may come in handy as well. Soulgazer is a complete wildcard. Like LOL He could go positive or just get absolutely washed. I really have no idea. This core has some upside, and the floor is decently high, I suppose. Decent start for the Bigs.

Trash had a decent LC performance in Snake. I’m not sure how much I believe in him in this spot, but he could make some waves, I suppose. Sabella usually puts up a relatively solid performance, so I’d expect similar things here. I’ve never really been sold on Santu and he’s never really impressed me outside of that one random playoff win over ABR. I don’t think he’ll do very well, although the pool is ripe for farming, I suppose. I’ve always liked Fakes as a player, and I think he should be able to smash the competition. The same can’t be said for GaryTheGengar…why the hell are we still starting him in 2020? LOL Then again, it’s the meme ass thinking gen and he’s not AWFUL, so he’ll probably do decently enough I guess. Eden is absolute dogshit like did NO ONE watch last spl? LOL IFM is one of the original spreadsheet warriors, putting together ridiculous records through a combination of luck and other factors. He’s definitely crust right now, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he got absolutely slammed. He might be able to go positive I guess with his trademark Zapdos luck, but it will be an uphill climb. Nails is decent enough at RBY and should do well.

Overall, this team’s obviously not that good. They’re honestly not terrible, though, so if things break their way, maybe they can make some noise. They also have an entire second lineup full of clowns they could put in at any time, so I guess there’s that. Maybe Mannat can carry.

The Indie Scooters

SS OU: Lopunny Kicks / ZoroDark / Jayde
SS LC: tazz
SS Doubles: TalkingTree
SM OU: adri
ORAS OU: quaze
BW OU: zf
DPP OU: Honor
ADV OU: CyberOdin
GSC OU: Fear
RBY OU: Bedschibaer

The Scooters have gone through many iterations over the years. They have never really found success after their SPL I victory, and have changed hands between the foursome of CBB / bro fist / Jirachee / BKC. They then went through the disastrous obii era, before ending up here.

The OU core is a promising one. Lopunny Kicks has become a pretty solid player over the past few tournaments, and many people are buying into the hype. I don’t think he’s amazing or anything, but he should be able to do pretty well. I’ve always thought ZoroClick was a bit underrated, and he’ll probably finish positive too. Jayde is very talented; I don’t really know how much he has been playing SS OU, but if he puts his mind to it, he’ll probably do pretty well. If the OU core reaches its ceiling, the Scooters could make some noise in this tour.

Tazz was hyped a lot by the LC mainers, and ended up with an average 4-4 record in the tour. I still find it very hard to believe people who have been mediocre for many years can suddenly flip a switch and become top tier tour players, so I’m kind of skeptical about how good this guy can be. I guess he’ll probably do decently. I have no idea who the hell adri is, so I’m just gonna assume he’s trash. Quaze did well in the most recent Smogon Tour, but he’s very unproven, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get obliterated. zf has put forth some solid performances in the past, especially in ADV. I’m not entirely sure ow good he is at BW, but people seem to have relatively high expectations so that bodes well for him I suppose.

Honor finds himself playing DPP for yet another tour. He’s pretty average in the variance madhouse, and will probably end up being a decent value buy here as per usual. Odin had a very impressive run in ADV in World Cup, and will be looking for an encore performance here. The ADV pool is far less threatening than in years past, so perhaps he can find success. I think he’ll finish positive. I’ve never been to big of a Fear fan, and I think he’s definitely overrated. That being said, I’d say he’s the second best player in the pool behind Roro, and will probably luck his way to 7 or 8 wins again. We finish the lineup with the memer himself, who has proven over the years to be a respectable RBY player. He’ll probably finish positive.

This team will be relying heavily on its OU core to pull through. It’s not a terrible team, and they could be in position to challenge for a playoff spot if their SS OU players have really good seasons.

The GOAT Franchise

SS OU: bro fist / xray / teal6
SS LC: EviGaro
SS Doubles: Mr. GX
SM OU: Frisoeva
ORAS OU: Erzangel
BW OU: SoulWind
DPP OU: DeepBlueC
ADV OU: Blightbringer
GSC OU: Conflict
RBY OU: Genesis7

The goat franchise took a turn for the worse after SPL 7. They have had very limited success, and this year, they hope to return to former glory. They have decided to embrace the jerk, drafting John, SW, and teal6. Will that be enough to get them another ring?

The OU core is pretty interesting. John is the best player in the pool, and should annihilate the competition. xray’s a very good ORAS player, but I think he’s a bit less impressive in SM. I’m not sure how he’ll do in SS, but they can always flex him to ORAS at worst, I guess. teal has somehow gone from being ridiculously undervalued in every Snake Draft to being relatively hyped up here. I have confidence in his ability to farm lower tiers, but I’m a bit less sure of his ability in OU. He did carry the Rumblers in Snake; if he plays like he did in that tour, big things await him. It wouldn’t surprise me to see both he and xray struggle, though.

The Sharks picked up a solid RU retain for next year in EviGaro, who performed admirably in SPL 10. I’m unsure how good EviGaro is in LC, but I’d guess that she would be among the lower ranked players in the pool; she’s also not too experienced on the big stage yet. The team also went with the trademark makiri strat of buying a random ass VGCer for Doubles, so I guess there’s that. Frisoeva is another unproven player who could easily disappoint. He had some decent showings in Snake, but I’ll need to see a lot more. I have no idea who the hell Erzangel is, so just gonna cross him off tbh. SoulWind is probably the best BWer in the pool, and should put up a very strong showing with 7 wins or so.

DeepBlueC has received a great deal of hype in the past few tournaments. I still don’t really understand what’s so impressive about him, but whatever. I mean, he’s a fine pick for the variance madhouse, but expecting him to dazzle may be asking a bit too much of him. Blightbringer is a solid 3k value pick who could perhaps do well in a weak ADV pool…WAIT LMFAO WHAT HE WAS 18K LOOL WHAT ARE WE DOING Man I have no idea what people are smoking this tour. This guy was like a fringe player for the past 30489893 tournaments, and now he’s suddenly 18k. It wouldn’t shock me at all if he got washed, honestly. He does have M Dragon to help him, which will be key if he is going to succeed. I’m assuming Blight is going to ADV after 2 weeks are up, anyway, since it would be insane to waste Conflict there. Speaking of Conflict, I’ve always thought he was fire, and the GSC pool isn’t very impressive to me. I think he could easily smash a bunch of clowns and end up with 6 or 7 wins if things break his way. The team is rounded out by Genesis7, creator of the infamous “bro fist getting thrown in a trash can” meme. He’s been decent enough in RBY, I guess, so there’s that.

This team’s draft started out really strong, but it got a bit insane by the end like LOL They have playoff upside and have a ridiculously strong tiebreak. The team is very top heavy, though, and they definitely have bust potential. It will be interesting to see how high they can soar.

The Team Raiders

SS OU: Trosko / reiku / Lusa
SS LC: LilyAC
SS Doubles: Kaori
SM OU: Posho
ORAS OU: Lycans
BW OU: dice
DPP OU: ToF
ADV OU: Pasy_G
GSC OU: Earthworm
RBY OU: MetalGro$$

After squandering a season where they got SoulWind + Trosko for under 25k, roscoe and Pak as retains, and had the GOAT in the chat for free, the Raiders try to crawl out of the abyss in SPL 11. The loaf is at the helm this time, and he managed to put together an interesting team. The Raiders have been dogshit most years, besides the TDK + BKC era, so it will be interesting to see if the team can return to at least some success this year.

The OU core of the team is honestly a joke LOOL You know who’s not a joke, though? GODSKO OML Trosko’s a fucking monster and I think he’ll absolutely wash everyone. Sheet god bros OML All that being said, it’s unclear how well the transition to SS will suit him. Worst case, though, I guess they can flex him to SM or ORAS. The Raiders apparently didn’t get the memo that this was 2020, so they have reiku starting in SS as well…yeah, he was washed ages ago LMAO jesus. Lusa is also probably absolute trash, so there’s that. Trosko’s gonna need to go superhuman to salvage this abomination of an OU core.

LilyAC had a solid Snake, and has quite a bit of buzz surrounding her now. She’ll probably finish positive. Posho finds himself in SM, where he could easily just get smashed LOL I think the only tier he even has a chance of doing well in right now is BW, like…he’s washed bros LOL Kingler also apparently forgot that UU wasn’t in this tour, as he paid a ridiculous 17k for him to play ORAS LOOOL WHAT ARE WE DOING???????????? Oh my god. It wouldn’t surprise me if he got smashed, honestly. He should have been like 6k dude LOL dice went for an insane amount too, but at least he’s fire. He should challenge SoulWind for the top record in BW, and I think he’ll perform really well here.

ToF is back for yet another tour in the thinking gen. He’s probably crust too, but then again, everyone in this tier basically is LOL He could end up positive or nab a few wins at the very least, I guess. Pasy_G was also a ridiculous overpay LMAO how the hell was this man 16k? WHAT ARE WE DOING? AND SOMEHOW BLIGHT WAS MORE LOOOL jesus fuck man. I don’t have that much confidence in him…like, he could easily finish negative. Let’s just hope he doesn’t struggle, since the idea of UD playing in a team tour again is honestly a bit hard to stomach…like, did you watch SPL X and the most recent World Cup LOL just ask tdk man my GOD Earthworm was one of the steals of the draft. I know I’ve been bashing him for a while, but 10k in this player pool is kind of ridiculous. How the hell is MrE suddenly worth more than Earthworm? LOL like wtf. The last player in the lineup is MetalGro$$, a perpetually mediocre RBYer who will probably amass around 4 wins.

Overall, this team definitely had some egregious overpays. They’re definitely not good, and it would be kind of surprising if they made the playoffs, honestly.

The Wi-Fi Wolfpack

SS OU: Charmflash / The Hallows / Star
SS LC: HT
SS Doubles: SMB
SM OU: Welli0u
ORAS OU: Sjneider
BW OU: Pearl
DPP OU: BIHI
ADV OU: BKC
GSC OU: Sulcata
RBY OU: Sceptross

Tony and ABR reunite on the Wolfpack, hoping to achieve great things together yet again. They have put together an interesting cast of characters, and have reunited the NE trio of ABR / Star / BKC, that should serve them well going forward.

Charmflash has gone from being a meme in the monotype community to a household name almost overnight. I’m still not on his nuts as much as some people…like people were giving him honorable mentions as a top 10 player ever LMAO oh my god. Regardless, he’s displayed some solid ability in the past two tours, and it would be unwise to expect him to struggle here. He’ll probably finish with around 6 wins. The Hallow, on the other hand, is very unproven, and could easily get smashed. I’m very high on Star still, and I think he should definitely be able to get to 6 wins. These players are also all boosted by the godlike team support of ABR, so that should help them all thrive as well.

……….LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL oh my god HT IS BACK LMAO man. I don’t even know what to say at this point. Color me shocked if he gets more than 3 wins. I know he has Star, but nah bros I’m not falling for it. The Well had a crazy run in Snake, and raised my opinion of him a fair amount, much like the aforementioned Charmflash. I think he should go positive. Sjneider goes from the lower tiers to ORAS. I really have no faith in his ability to succeed here, since there’s really no evidence at all that he can survive on the big stage against actual players. Pearl’s obviously a solid player, but he was a crazy overpay. I don’t think he should have been more than like 12k, pretty much the same as like FLCL. It’s absolutely ludicrous that he was basically as much as Ojama LOL He should finish with around 5 wins, probably.

Man, DPP is really a complete joke LOL BIHI??? WHAT YEAR ARE WE IN MAN? This man’s last team tour was in 2013 LOL my god. Anyone with half a brain can succeed in the thinking gen I guess, so maybe he’ll be fine. He also has BKC’s help, so that should make his life easy. Speaking of BKC, his price was depressed this year following a pretty tumultuous run in World Cup and Snake. Luckily for him, he finds himself in absolute joke of a player pool. If there’s ever a tour for the goat to get right, it’s this one. I don’t think BKC is as good at ADV as he is in other old gens, but I’d be insane to bet against him finding success here. There’s clearly some red flags, though, and unlike TDK, it’s not like he has a brand new generation to innovate. The milkman is back in GSC. He had some solid showings in previous tours, and has a decent shot of going positive. The team is rounded out by sceptross, the man who managed to COUNTERTEAM in RBY…and then choke on balls LOOOL I guess he’s fine, but like…that game was a fucking atrocity.

I’m not going to lie. This team was a lot better in my mind than on paper LOL wtf Maybe I just imagined ABR was playing or something. Then again, none of the teams look anywhere near as good as the SPL 9 Wolfpack or last year’s Tyrants. The Wolfpack should easily contend for the playoffs and have championship upside.

Final Ranking:

This was honestly harder than I thought. I don’t really think any of these teams are like AMAZING but some are pretty clearly better than others.

1. The Dragonspiral Tyrants

I really wasn’t planning to put the Tyrants first, but after doing the rankings, it became easier. Ultimately, it came down to my gut instinct on how well I think TDK will perform. While there are quite a bit of red flags, I think his teambuilding prowess in a new generation will really help out his team. I think he’s tired of being a punching bag for all the dumbass clowns on the site…like LOOL WHY WAS VALENTINE MEMING HIM WHAT ARE WE DOING? Anyway, I’m not overly confident on this, but that feeling is enough to push the Tyrants to the top spot.

2. The Cryonicles

Bros, I’ve lost my fucking mind LOOOL Earlier today, I told Finch he was delusional if he thought his team was better than the Sharks LMAO but my lord, the Power Rankings have really opened my eyes bros. I think the Cryos are pretty heat, somehow. It ultimately comes down to how I feel about Charmflash and Welli0u, and I really don’t know, I’m just not there yet with them. ABR and Tony looming over the Wolfpack organization is a bit scary, but fuck it man hot take city let’s get it. Maybe the Wolfpack deserve the 2nd spot for having a better tiebreak and better managers, and maybe I’m just way too high on Kanto LOOL Whatever bros, I think the Cryos are better on paper by a hair, and I might as well get the hot take in while I can.

3. The Wi-Fi Wolfpack

Now…this gets hard. Man, shit got dire really quick LOL wow

4. The Stark Sharks

I guess they’re 4th by default just off of the star power. Their roster is honestly kind of a mess, though.

5. The Indie Scooters
6.The Circus Maximus Tigers
7, The Congregation of the Classiest
8. The Ever Grande Bigs
9. The Team Raiders
10. The Alpha Ruiners
 
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Finchinator

-OUTL
is a Tournament Directoris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Smogon Media Contributoris a Top Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Championis the defending OU Circuit Championis a Two-Time Former Old Generation Tournament Circuit Champion
OU Leader
The SPL XI Power Rankings are now up!

A special thank you to Zracknel for his continuously superb artwork, deetah, Estronic, The Dutch Plumberjack, martha, and Rabia for clutch GPing, Quite Quiet for HTML and oversight, and The Dutch Plumberjack for various other efforts that made this possible in the first place. A lot of these jobs take hours of time and are essentially thankless, so it means a lot to me that they get the recognition they deserve.

I hope everyone has a fun SPL. LGI Cryos!
 

Conflict

is the 9th Smogon Classic Winneris a Three-Time Past SPL Championis the defending GSC Circuit Champion
World Defender
The SPL XI Power Rankings are now up!

A special thank you to Zracknel for his continuously superb artwork, deetah, Estronic, The Dutch Plumberjack, martha, and Rabia for clutch GPing, Quite Quiet for HTML and oversight, and The Dutch Plumberjack for various other efforts that made this possible in the first place. A lot of these jobs take hours of time and are essentially thankless, so it means a lot to me that they get the recognition they deserve.

I hope everyone has a fun SPL. LGI Cryos!
Thank you Smogon PR team! :blobthumbsup: Always fun to read this! Lets honour the creators with a round of applause! :psysly::mad::jynx::mad::psysly:
 
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