Dragonspiral Tyrants (5) vs (5) Stark Sharks
SS OU: Sage vs mind gaming
The 3K Tyrants players continue to surprise, as Sage achieved an impressive victory against Nat last week with a smart pick in Aerial Ace Kartana to take advantage of Nat's high Buzzwole usage. However, mind gaming has proven himself to be no slouch either. Unless Sage cooks up another smart tech in the prepping process, I predict mind gaming to win this game with his signature aggressive gameplay.
SS OU: HSA vs suapah
After a flashy 2021, HSA has seemingly mellowed out a bit this SPL. On the opposite side, while RBY draftee suapah doesn't have a ton of games on his resume in recent times, his showings so far have been quite solid. This one is tough to predict, but I'll give the edge to suapah.
SS OU: Leo vs bro fist
If you asked me to predict this matchup before the season started, I would have went with the vro fist without a second thought. And while the punisher has been strong, Leo has subverted expectations by achieving one of the best SS records with 6-1, causing me to give him the slightest of edges here. Definitely a highlight game that you don't want to miss.
SM OU: frisoeva vs Welli0u
It was surprising to see the Well go on an uncharacteristic 0-5 losestreak this season. He has historically been outstanding, however, garnering an impressive record of 8-1 last year, and he has managed to bounce back in the last two weeks with two wins. On the other side, while friso started out well, he hast lost his last three games. With friso also duking it out in the BW ZU finals with the grand prize of $601 on the line, I predict the tribal chief to take this one in a close game.
ORAS OU: Santu vs CrashinBoomBang
Santu and CBB had very similar trajectories this season, with both players starting off rather poorly but then turning it around to achieve the same 5-4 record in the end. Both ended the regular season with a convincing victory last week as well. I'll give it to CBB for his historical prowess in this tier and his creativity in the builder.
BW OU: ABR vs crucify
We finally see the rumored ABR swap from ADV to BW come true, resulting in the two Classic finalists squaring off once again. That time, ABR emerged victorious in both the BW game and the series overall, and while crucify has been very impressive in this tier, I'll predict another W for ABR. It's just tough to predict against him in any classic gen. I look forward to seeing what both players will bring.
DPP OU: Christo vs DeepBlueC
Christo is another 3K Tyrants player that has been doing well, as he does every season with the Tyrants. I still scratch my head at the fact that he never seems to get upbid. DBC is certainly no slouch either, but I predict Christo take it in a close game.
ADV OU: Gilbert arenas vs robjr
With The Clock moving to BW, we see The Cock returning to his home tier. Marcop has historically been very strong in this tier, shown by him making finals in the CALLOUS Invitational, before getting defeated by his swapee. On the other side, we have robjr, who has been not great, but not bad either. This is his first ADV game this tournament though, so it's gonna be tough to take down a strong opponent like marcop.
GSC OU: TC vs Jirachee
The greatest among great 3K Tyrants, TC managed to achieve the best GSC record this season so far. ABR's builds and his plays have proven to be an effective combination. Meanwhile, Jirachee, a fellow 3K player, hasn't looked too hot, so I predict TC to win this one.
RBY OU: FriendOfMrGolem120 vs Heroic Troller
We have two of the three RBY players with the best records squaring off here. Both have been very strong, both this SPL and past SPLs. While I haven't watched all of the RBY games, I do believe FOMG has been a bit luckier than Troller though, which leads to me giving the latter the edge here. Certainly a highlight series either way, this is the RBY series to watch.
Tiebreak:
Dragonspiral Tyrants (2) vs (1) Stark Sharks
SS OU: Leo vs bro fist (the punisher in tiebreak is a proven commodity)
GSC OU (Tyrants pick): TC vs Jirachee/choolio
SS OU (Sharks pick): ABR vs mind gaming (could go either way though)
Alpha Ruiners (7) vs (3) Team Raiders
SS OU: MAX UND MAX vs TJ
Expectations were high for Max at the start of the season, coming in with an exorbitant 26.5K pricetag. The start of the season didn't go too well for him, possibly in part due to nerves due to the aforementioned pricetag, but he managed to turn it around, ending the season with a neutral record. TJ, on the other hand, was 3K in the auction. He has looked decent, but I'll go with the more proven player in Max here.
SS OU: Ox the Fox vs Gtcha
Ox has become a hallmark player in the upper echelons of the SS OU tournament scene in the past year, winning three trophies and making yet another tournament playoffs here. However, while Gtcha was only 3.5K in the auction, he, like Leo, subverted expectations by achieving one of the best SS records with 6-1. This is another tough one to predict, but I'll give the slighest of edges to the more proven player in Ox here. Definitely a highlight game either game.
SS OU: xavgb vs 100percentpureheat
This matchup is another very tough one to predict for me. Xavier Great Britain is a 3K sub that went Super Saiyan and ended up achieving one of the best SS records with 5-0. I've lost count of how many very cheap players have performed outstandingly well this season. On the other side, we have Craig, who actually achieved the best SS OU record last season and has looked solid this season. Once again with the slighest of edges, I'll predict Stresh to continue his undefeated streak in yet another highlight game.
SM OU: Skypenguin vs Punny
Skypenguin has turned heads with a great 6-2 campaign this season. He faces off against Punny, who put up a respectable 5-4 record. While I've been impressed with Skypenguin, I'll go against what the records suggest and predict Punny, thanks to his greater experience and well-roundedness as a player. It feels like I've been calling every game a highlight, but this is another highlight game.
ORAS OU: MANNAT vs xray
With many writing MANNAT off as just building support at the start of the season, he's actually managed to put up an impressive 3-1 record so far after subbing in. However, his one loss was against his current opponent, xray, who historically has been one of the best ORAS players around and has looked good this season as well. Unless MANNAT finds a nice tech in the builder (or some effective cheese), I predict xray to win again.
BW OU: dice vs elodin
Both dice and elodin have been some of the best BW players around both in prior seasons and this season, where they've put up similar records in 6-3 and 6-2 respectively. Another difficult game to predict, but because dice seems to have a had a slightly lower strength of schedule and one more loss while elodin has many teammates that are knowledgable in BW along with ABR support, I'll give a slight edge to elodin.
DPP OU: Malekith vs BIHI
I'm repeating myself, but yet again both players have had a strong season. Malekith quietly achieved the best DPP record so far, while BIHI has looked solid in DPP as well. Yup, it's another highlight, where I'll give the edge to the daddy.
ADV OU: M Dragon vs Hclat
After a long stint as a manager, Mario Draghi returned to the ADV playing field with a decent season. He faces off against Hclat, who, after being bought at midseason, has had a similarly decent SPL run, during which he managed to beat Mariano. While that may be the case, I'll still give it to Maestro Dragon due to being more proven and having a greater historical presence in the tier.
GSC OU: Kenix vs Jimmy Turtwig
Before the season started, I would have predicted Jimmy to win this matchup, but now I'm not so sure. Kenix has been impressive and managed to beat Jimmy earlier in the season, which is why I'll give him the edge.
RBY OU: chuva de perereca vs Aliss
Chuva is yet another cheap player that turned heads. He's the third player with the best RBY record currently, along with the aforementioned Troller and FOMG. On the other side, Aliss has been decent but not great, as she lost four series in a row in the middle of the season, one of which against chuva. She did beat Amaranth last week, however, so things may be looking up. Chuva has proven himself to be one of the best RBY players around right now though, so I'll give it to him.