LETS FUCKING GO CUNOS
This is my first time managing and I'm so fucking happy I got to manage with Frrf and that we took it all the way to the end. I'm also thrilled I got to team with so many cool people and overall the energy this tour was just incredible. I admit things got a little salty, and I'll own that I have a temper, but ggs to most of the Vics and thanks to those of you that buried the hatchet instead of launching into personal attacks. I was incredibly invested in this tour, and passion means high emotions, and I think without that why even play the game? Those who know me also know I was going through a lot of rough IRL shit and that definitely did not help. Still, I'll reel it in a little more and keep it more private in the future, I want everyone to have a good time with these tours and clearly I misread the room at some points. Anywho, incredibly fun tour, thank you to the hosts for running it so smoothly and for the shot at managing!
Shoutouts time!
Cunos
Frrf - I adore you, girl, I'm so fucking happy you asked me to manage with you. I wouldn't want it any other way and I think we worked really well together, from draft planning to lineups to supporting our players. Thank you for putting up with me at my best and worst and thank you so much for being on top of things even when my IRL became a complete rollercoaster multiple times during this tour. I know you had a rough tour individually but I feel like the level of trust and support we have for each other helped us carry it through to the end and keep our players ready. I truly don't think I could have pushed to the end alongside anyone else. Ily <3
nicole7735 - my fucking GOAT holy shit. You won every time it mattered, beating Narwhal back to back to get us the tour was some of the best shit I've ever seen in my life. Beyond that you provided such immense support for every single tier and I knew it was worth every penny to get you. I also made it a mission to finally get to team with you and I'm so fucking happy it worked out. This whole tour was a lot of fun and a big part of that was finally getting to team after how long we've been put against each other. <3
Isza - what a treat it was to team with you, man. 10k to retain you was an absolute steal after seeing the work you put in to derust in this tier in SPL of all settings, and your relentless energy and positivity were wonderful to have. There were a few times I was starting to get a bit down and you just never once lost faith and that helped me so much in keeping my energy up. I would be thrilled to team again in any setting and I'm happy we could have such a lovely team atmosphere. RED BLUE YELLOW!
TehTayTeh - when we started this I recall you were super nervous for your first start and so worried that you'd do badly... and then you got off to a 3-0 start and started finding your confidence. I had faith in you from the start and you were always our #1 PU pick by a mile, and god damn did you show up for us. Truly, dude, you deserve the confidence you started to build this tour, and also you said so much genuinely hilarious shit (whether serious or trolling) and it was a joy to watch. Thanks for playing for us, GOAT, I'll see you in many a future tour.
Tree69420 - dunno how the fuck we got you and people didn't fight harder for you but you showed up exactly as well as I hoped. You really have come a long way from when you'd just say shit you couldn't back up and I'm so here for it. That said, reel in the shit talk a bit! You're more than capable of just proving shit in the game, let your opponents embarrass themselves instead of getting into it. You're easily one of the best UUers and you're very good at analyzing and growing from your mistakes - keep going and branch out a bit!
Tuthur - your work ethic this tour was amazing and I really appreciated how fast I saw you grow and improve as the weeks passed. There's a reason Narwhal got so salty when we snagged you, and it's because you put the work in to be more than worth the price tag. Thanks for always being in there when we needed you and for taking the time to drill down on lines and teams - I'll be happy to team again whenever there's a chance to!
avarice - thank you for being so ready to just go in at random times. You're a person of relatively few words but we never had to worry that you'd show up, hold it down, and bring a good energy to the team chat when it was RED BLUE YELLOW time. Thanks for putting the work in and being so ready with how much shuffling we had to do.
Medeia - I'm sorry you got burned out during this tour. Thank you for the work you put into that week 1 win and for staying in for so long even when the overall mons burnout started to set in. Ultimately, we got there in the end, and I hope you can recover.
shiloh - the record may say one thing, but fuck it, you won the most important week in the tour. Thanks for showing up for us and thank you for going out of your way to make the teamcord more comfortable, and for showing up for so many taxing BO5s.
Mashing - holy fucking shit Mashing you are my GOAT. Your willingness to jump into a tier you'd never played and just play dozens of practice games with me, learn all these difficult lines, and play against one of the best NUers of all time was fucking inspirational, and I cannot believe how well you executed at game time, in your first real matches in the tier, in a 4-5 finals situation. I honestly would have choked that, and you didn't just win, you made almost every single correct move. Truly you single handedly saved the season after I choked and I appreciate you so much for it. Mashoat <3
Lady Writer - holy FUCK dude. If you told me at the start of the season I would have trusted the fate of our entire tournament to a Rands Bo5, I would have told you you're off your rocker. I remember when you joined during tryouts, I was immediately really impressed and you were our #1 pick. I cannot believe we were allowed to snag you so cheap - your thought process for the game, analysis in the post-game, and mentality are just all so good, and it seemed clear to me that you were absolutely the pick from the start. Not only did you put up a good tour, when I put out the call for who felt comfortable going into tiebreaks, you had the confidence to bet the season on your rands skills, and
holy fuck do I feel smug about making the call to send you in now. It would have been so easy to choke in a g5 decider and you held it together and took us home. Thanks for playing for us, you are fucking cracked and you are only gonna continue to dominate rands, I guarantee it.
Support
Sceptross - holy shit, the moment you joined its like our OU instantly leveled up. Thank you so much for all the work you put in to help our players learn and grow - I learned a lot and I wasn't even OUing. I'm super happy you're back to RBY, our conversations and our tour match have been an absolute treat and I'm happy to have made a new friend <3
Gastlies - I wanted to get you so bad but the Poopoo Primeapes wouldn't let us team :( I hope we can team soon, you are a genuinely wonderful person and I enjoy all of our interactions, and I'm so glad you could come hang out and support us on the road to finals <3
juoean - truly it mystifies me how such a wonderful human just wandered into my life but you're one of my best friends and it means the world to me how much effort you put into supporting me and teams I'm on. You made our lower tiers so much better with all your work and I appreciate you so much <3
NotVeryCake - you put an immense amount of work into RBY, even if I lament that you never read the chat ;_; Still, thank you for your support and your incessant willingness to practice, you are a massive resource to any team for that alone.
Wanted in 49 States - GOAT PU support, your work was immense in keeping Teh on a good track and good mindset as well as keeping him playing good shit. It's a crime you weren't drafted, but thank you so much for immediately hopping in with us and helping us take it home.
spellcaster - greatest emotional support OAT, thank you for holding my hand through some absolutely grueling tiebreaks. <3
To all our other supports, cheerleaders, and so on -
BeeOrSomething,
Ctown6,
fade,
Melanie goes boating,
Paulluxx,
royzin,
corvere,
Acetylaldehyde - thank you so much. We really put together a coalition of all the teams by the end and it meant a lot to have so many people in our corner. <3 you all
Other Players/Teams
Wartortles - I really wish y'all had gone further. Kaz and Scep, you two are my GOATs and I hope you give it another shot because you truly could have gone all the way. If not, please know you'll always have a home with Cunos, I would love to team with either of you (again, in Kaz's case).
Primeapes - I really wanted a huge tour-spanning rivalry after week 1! I think we had the exact right balance of banter to gaming and it ending in a tie was absolutely poetic. <3 all of you and I really hope we get to clash again in the future.
Hypnos - I was hoping to see y'all in the finals after the Week 5 cuts. Sorry it didn't work out, I think a clash between 2 teams still looking for their first trophy would have been hype. See you all next time and thanks for being my first RBYPL home <3
CollectorEly - you are fucking cracked. I hope you keep playing Ubers because genuinely I think you are the absolute best at playing the traditional Ubers lines and you force people to get weird to get you out of your comfort zone. Our games were a treat each time and I got away with robbery vs you the second time but truly it was a lot of fun to play you both times!
Eledyr - sorry I couldn't give you a good game the second time around, but you played it super cleanly. I have a hard time with taking games seriously without stakes so I apologize for not giving you a good one.
King Billu - you've leveled up a ton from when we used to play in random Ubers tours. Your unorthodox plays work well in this tier and I think our set was a banger even if I'm upset that I choked under pressure. I hope you keep playing it and show up in more tours!
Rage - thanks for the maturity even when things got heated. I appreciate you helping stabilize things when your team got really upset over the act.
I had a shoutout written for Narwhal cause I enjoyed our BO5, but he asked me not to, so I'll just say that I'm happy to bury the hatchet whenever he wants to stop holding a grudge about an ultimately meaningless act call :)
Last Thoughts
All in all, this was a wild tournament, and I'm still having a hard time believing we did it. Last year I choked in finals in my debut teamtour after struggling to a 2-4 record in NU, and I'm way happier with my performance this year as well as finally committing to managing. I know I can be a handful as a teammate, co-manager, player, and human being, and I appreciate the people who can handle all of that. I'm looking forward to doing even better next year, getting to team with even more people I've wanted to play with, and continuing to improve at RBY! I'm also looking forward to an absolutely FIRE custom when we get it done - Articuno has always been one of my favorite Pokemon!
Also, shoutout to the PokePride people for watching me freak the fuck out and supporting Cunos in the finals, ily all <3 You're all lovely humans and I'm so glad to have such an amazing and supportive community. Also shoutout to all the newly interested future RBY players there! Poke me anytime for infodumps and games!
RED BLUE YELLOW!