Semifinals
Tricking vs John W - Shockingly...being a top player doesn’t entitle you to be an asshole to everyone around you, even if you’re “joking”. What we say matters. Tricking winning is a dark timeline for me because he’s just going to set an example that this type of demoralizing behavior is acceptable. It’s not. Of course, Tricking is a good player. He uses creative strategies and makes plays most people don’t even think of to make the chat go LOL for a solid 20-30 minutes every week. There’s a certain level of undeniable skill there, but I can’t say I support the guy anymore. On the flip side, John takes his craft really seriously from building to playing and would be a splendid winner. He has had a rocky run, with a devastating cycle 1 collapse and loss to Chait — man seemed cursed, but when he has not been held back by Lady Luck, he has manned up and won his games impressively. It’s obviously a close series and it’s even more obvious at this point that I’m quite bias, but it’s just a prediction and it’s my prediction and I really hope John wins.
beatiful vs Separation - Amazing series between two promising players. Both have creative ideas, are not afraid to pull the trigger, and may be a big part of the future of SS OU tournaments. Bea has stormed onto the scene with so much confidence. Huge props to him for overcoming some tough opponents to thrive in Snake and here. I feel like he is not worried about the pressure and can rise to the occasion. On the flip side, we have separation. I was low on this guy for a while because his teams didn’t really make a ton of sense to me, but I feel like he has always been a great player and honestly either I’m a bandwagoner or he has began to round into form because it feels like he’s taking more calculated risks than ever before. This series is going to offer a lot to spectators: likely some techs, a ton of fast-paced play, and ultimately a finalist that would’ve shocked just about everyone going into it. Both are super deserving and will likely be back to this stage in tournaments moving forward. I feel like Sepearion defeating Empo and some other trendy players represents a really high level of consistency and I will side with that, but this one’s as close as it gets.