CAP Premier League XI Power Rankings

By spoo, SHSP, Lasen, Mada, dex, Brigtel, and Cow. Released: 2025/07/13.
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Logo by Spammernoob.

Welcome to the eleventh edition of CAPPL, and the very first OFFICIAL Power Rankings! I hope we haven't kept you waiting for too long. As a reminder, these Power Rankings are purely for fun; they come with plenty of biases attached and can hardly be called objective. If you're ranked low, just take comfort in the fact that the PRs are never correct and use your ranking as fuel to dominate the season. And if you're ranked high, well, don't let it get to your head.

An immense thank you goes out to the managers of each team who anonymously sent in rankings, and to all of the writers who made this production possible: spoo, SHSP, Lasen, Mada, dex, Brigtel, and Cow. Additionally, this article wouldn't be possible without Lumari and spammernoob for their involvement in GPing, HTMLing, and creating incredible art. And thank you, the reader, for your patience and continued interest in reading this article!

Now let's get into the team overviews!

Breezin' Breezis

Breezin' Breezis

Well, what else can be said about the Breezin' Breezis' lineup than “here we go again…”—with an 18-man star-studded lineup boasting household names such as voltorblover483762, pfizer lord ozai, big tony 2014, and THE_CHUNGLER, CAP's favorite 1v1er zoomer power couple exited the auction leaving some managers confused, some laughing, and perhaps even some frightened. The Breezin' Breezis' managerial duo of Potatochan789 and zioziotrip picked up a small army of eclectic and ostensibly random names from a myriad of different backgrounds. However, to the attentive onlooker, this wasn't entirely unexpected—the Breezis employed a similar strategy last year, drafting a massive team of mostly 1v1 mains for dirt-cheap. This unique approach paid off, too, carrying them all the way to playoffs before their third-place exit in semifinals. Which raises the question: is there a method to the madness? Did any critical thought actually go into assembling this, uh… unorthodox group of players? As ridiculous as this draft may look on paper, upon closer inspection, perhaps there's something interesting going on here—while these 18 names hail from all over the site, they come most prominently from the 1v1 and Draft communities, two extremely prep-heavy formats where one's activity, motivation, and innovation in the builder are profoundly important. Drafting a lineup that prioritizes social cohesion and willingness to engage seriously in prep should no doubt lead to a highly active and collaborative team environment—something that's oftentimes the secret ingredient to winning these smaller subforum PLs. And, despite the earlier tongue-in-cheek comment regarding the Breezis' star-studded lineup, there is actually some star power to be found in Potatochan, zioziotrip, and Kaif, their three pre-auction purchases who fill the slots of SM, SS, and SV, respectively. Potatochan comes in at third place in a weaker-than-normal SM pool, despite never playing the format in a CAP teamtour before; zio weighs in at second place in what's probably his strongest format, SS; and Kaif comes in at ninth in the SV pool—not eye-popping, but still top ten. Their most expensive player, Chomp29, comes in at second place in BW after a solid season in the tier last CAPPL; while few people were likely expecting him to hit such a high sum in the auction, it barely made a dent in the Breezis' budget considering that they went on to buy fourteen more players at an average price of less than 4.5k apiece. In ORAS, they actually started the guy named voltorblover, a draft player who has… a 2025 joindate and 28 messages on Smogon… and whose unshakable love for Voltorb is matched only by the rest of the managers' unmitigated lack of faith in his abilities, resulting in a dead-last ranking. (One fifth-place vote, though!). Nuxl, the DPP slot on this team, joins voltorblover in the dishonorable distinction of being ranked eighth in their pool despite Nuxl actually having some prior experience in the tier during last CAPPL. And we'd be remiss not to mention their final two SV slots, RTM and TKC, sitting at 22nd and 24th in the pool. Not much else to say there, I'm afraid. While the Wu-Tang Clants employed a similar draft philosophy—creating a lineup with a powerhouse top half and questionable bottom half—the Breezis took this approach and turned it up to an 11. What sets the Breezis apart from the Clants and the rest of the teams, though, is a razor-sharp weapon that only they have: true and total unpredictability. If the rest of the managers underestimate what the Breezis are capable of this season, they might just be staring down a defeat by one of the oddest CAPPL teams of all time.

Golden Time Equilibras

Golden Time Equilibras

MOMAZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS! disculpe, se despertó sintiendose enzonana. The Golden Time Equilibras are making their return to the big stage in the hands of the Latin American duo of One Last Kiss and Tempo di Anguria, the former of whom was the team's manager last year. OLK is also returning as a player, putting the faith of his team in his own hands by self-buying for 15k. They also elected to retain the hottest player this side of the CAP process, Spammernoob, for a ludicrously cheap 10k. The two of them will be holding down the fort in SV as the baseline of the team, placing in the upper third of the SV power rankings in 6th and 8th place, respectively. While both of these players like to bring some abnormal Pokémon to their games from time to time, they're actually the most traditional builders on their team; a team Discord composed of LBN, DJ Breloominati, JayHeaven, velvet, and poopidoopi is bound to cook with mystery ingredients such as Adrenaline Orb Rhyperior, Absorb Bulb Mollux, and defensive Infernape. Despite this, all of the above players have continuously found success throwing everything AND the kitchen sink in the builder during prep for a do-or-die series, so perhaps we should all be a bit less skeptical... until their sets implode in their faces, of course. Dunoks is seemingly the player who is rounding out the third SV slot, a player who should need no introduction if one has spectated anything in ORAS or UU in the past half a decade or so. The aforementioned DJ Breloominati aka Spitfire Arcanine is coming in to slot into SS, a generation that he was very dominant in when it was current gen but has not always preferred since the switch to Generation 9. LBN's wacky adventures often leave a lump in his managers' throats as his sets are more targeted than one would find in a Draft set, but his managers must certainly believe in him. After all, he was the second most expensive player in the draft, costing his team 23.5k. Their ORAS slot is entrusted with HeavenJay, a veteran face who once was a star shining the way into play-offs for his teams. After a sabbatical and with some strong support, he aims to recreate his past successes, especially after commanding a price higher than his manager's. The Equilibra draft plan was not, however, perfect, as their BW and DPP slots leave something to be desired in the eyes of the public. Their DPP player, velvet, is stepping into the den of lions that is DPP, a generation she is not the most familiar with in OU, let alone in CAP. While their support network on the bench is certainly deep enough to provide quality tests and support, there's certainly some gaps that cannot be filled, such as in BW and/or DPP. The star power is enough on this team to be able to make it into playoffs, but it will definitely not be easy. No one on this team is a clear weakness, however, so definitely be on the lookout for them!

Heartbreaker Hemogoblins

Heartbreaker Hemogoblins

Long-established manager duo D2 and spoo set out in CAPPL XI to finally get over the playoff hump and bring home a trophy after being the bridesmaid several times in past years. The Power Rankings have been generous to them this tour, bolstered in large part by a very strong retain core. ORAS retain Foolycl ranks second in the tier after a strong CAPPL X and a stronger run elsewhere on the site, and the Midwest connection between him and his manager sets him up for an even stronger season. DPP starter Sheik had a phenomenal CAPPL X and was a backbone of the Hemogoblin's playoff roster, and his second-place DPP ranking suggests that the community thinks that he'll repeat in an arguably stronger pool. Their last retain, sealoo, ranks middle of the pack in SV despite being ranked fifth overall by at least one voter. The Pokerich Clique's leader has been on a tear across other tours, and his last dip into CAP—a near-undefeated ND CAP season in last CAPCL—point to a potential sleeper ace for the Goblins. Rounding out their SV core of starters are top-ranked LpZ and 17th ranked kDCA. Backed by the braintrust of spoo and D2, both of these high-price, mixed-capital names are ones to watch and should absolutely have strong seasons. A surprising strength to some would be evident in the team's only first-place rated player: TGA, starting in BW. Though a former CAPPL champion, everyone's favorite Syclant spammer had a difficult time in CAPPL X. Clearly, though, the expectation is that he returns to that former championship caliber. Rounding out this squad are their two fifth-ranked players, Seth in SM and QWILY in SS. QWILY might be better known in CAP for an extremely strong season in SM a few years ago, and Seth is coming off a middling CAPCL and much stronger CAPPL X. Despite these two ranking comparatively lower than most of the rest of the roster, both the SM and SS pools are among the strongest in the tour, and both players have extremely high ceilings. With a strong roster assembled, this is arguably the best chance for the Hemogoblins to break their recent curse and make—and win—a finals before D2 retires (for real this time. We promise).

Keep Calm and Chuggalong

Keep Calm and Chuggalong

Keep Calm and Chuggalong is a true meeting of the minds: Fragments, whose less-than-stellar past managerial runs in CAP belie his myriad success managing basically every other format on the site, and dex, the SS CAP aficionado whose impressive consistency in taking his CAPPL teams to finals is only paralleled by the trophy's consistency in slipping through his grasp. While they come from somewhat disparate backgrounds, there's one thing they should have in common: their hunger for that elusive win. Both are complete workhorses, able to cover most all tiers with their complementary support—on paper, it's an incredible managerial union. Kicking things off with a bang is the number-two SV player in the tour, Kate, known for her frequent mono-CAP loads and winning pretty much every game she plays. Two things you'd think would be mutually exclusive but apparently are not. And this high-performing SV slot is certainly needed, because it's quite a ways down the ranking until we reach our next Chuggalong in SV—all the way down to sixteenth, in fact. Taka finds himself under new management this year after his two-season stint with the Hemogoblins, though for whatever reason, the public's confidence in him leaves a little to be desired. Perhaps it's his penchant for unviable Fighting-type CAPs (not even the fully evolved ones…). Well, who's to say. We can only hope that one out of their three SV players will load normal-looking teams, but judging by Horii's second-to-last placement all the way down at 23, the jury is still out on this one. Moving on, at third place in SS we have the Chuggalong's manager himself, dex—the face of SS CAP and perhaps the single biggest enjoyer of the tier on Smogon. Known for his targeted, often innovative, yet practical (usually) team choices, a motivated dex is one of the most dangerous players to face in this format. At fourth place in BW and DPP are Accel and Laurel, respectively, the latter a veteran DPP OU player whose debut season in CAP last year ended at a respectable 5-3 and the former presumably being bought because dex wanted someone on his team to play Valorant with. In ORAS is avarice, the young hope of US Midwest and someone who can hold his own against the best of the best in ORAS OU. Despite his inarguable strengths as a pilot, though, he only scored an average ranking of fifth place in this pool—maybe his unknown activity levels or reliance on building support every week had tempered the expectations of those who ranked him. Last and unfortunately least is evakiyama!, a fresh-faced zoomer who plays their games on either the best or worst alt on PS! depending on who you ask. While eva's known more for their BW than their SM in OU circles, SM CAP is a tier that many debut pilots have picked up to great success across the years—and backed by the support of Jordy (in 2025 LOL), eva's eighth-place ranking may not capture the full picture here. The Chuggalongs are an ecclectic, strange-looking team on the surface, bringing together all sorts of different big personalities and approaches to the game; nonetheless, they're a team with the potential to ride for miles. And one thing's for certain: with dex and Fragments in the conductor's seats, there would be no surprise if they outperformed the rankings that the Power Rankings have predicted. It's full steam ahead for the Keep Calm and Chuggalong this season—but whether this rowdy bunch of passengers will deliver the payload or simply get derailed along the way is something we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves.

Shoenice Skwovets

Shoenice Skwovets

Last CAPPL, the Shoenice Skwovets landed at seventh place out of eight—technically not last, but close enough to sting. This time around, the draft actually looks... kind of good? It's a weird feeling to say that about a Skwovets team, but here we are. Whether the managers finally figured it out or just got lucky, there's real potential here, though potential alone doesn't win games. The SV core is formed by Quinn, Baddy, and Irene. This trio is easily one of the more solid ones in the pool. Quinn and Baddy both had good showings in CAPCL, and Baddy in particular has been leveling up across multiple tours recently, while Irene finishes the core after a strong CAPPL last year. These three together could end up being the backbone of the team if things go right, and even if they don't, it's hard to imagine them just folding. In SS, entrocefalo takes the reins, a pretty safe pick for the slot in a pool that became quite weaker this year. He is an SPL-entry level at minimum and one of the more consistent names you could've put here. He might not bring the most innovative teams, but he knows the tier and how to click. For a format that often hinges on prep and accurate plays, having someone like entro is a luxury most teams would love. pannu holds down SM, and while they might spend half the week rolling on mudae and the other half dodging test games, they still know the tier inside and out. A decent mainer who's capable of pulling off creative stuff when they're actually motivated, which, hopefully, is more often than not. The Strap fills the ORAS slot, and for 4k, this could be a steal. He hasn't played CAP in a while, but the skill is still there. If he gets back into form of when he used to be a solid BO3 starter for CAPPL, this could easily become one of the best value picks of the entire draft. And if not, well, at least it only cost 4k. Then there's seraphz in BW, a bit of a wild card. This is probably the weakest link in the starting eight, but who knows—sometimes a surprise BW run is what turns a good draft into a playoff team. It's not impossible, just not the most likely outcome either, but in CAPPL we often had cheap BW picks have good runs. In DPP, the Skwovets have handed the slot to crying, one of the best players in the entire tournament. She's never played DPP CAP before and she isn't the most known for her DPP performances despite a strong season in DPPPL, but that probably doesn't matter much. Her building is always thoughtful and creative, her games are enjoyable to watch, and she's the type of player who can go undefeated in any slot if she gets even a little momentum. This might be a bit of a gamble, but one with a very high ceiling. The bench is made up of Gekokeso, Ineros, Ainzcrad, RADU, and reachzero. a mix of support pieces, teamchat guys, and possibly serviceable backups. If disaster strikes, at least there's a variety of names to throw in and hope for a miracle. All in all, this is a solid draft, especially when compared to last year's attempt. It's not flashy, but it's balanced. There are some strong top-end players, a few proven slots, and no completely hopeless ones. If the SV core does their job and crying adapts quickly to DPP, this team could easily be the one that surprises everyone.

Solaceon Shoxes

Solaceon Shoxes

The Solaceon Shoxes are the only team in the tournament to be led by two completely new managers to the CAP scene, with those being kenn and Elvira. It's an interesting combination in some ways—kenn, a thirty-plus SmogDad, golden retriever personified, and top-five busiest users Smogon—and Elvira, five years his junior, a PopCrave main who probably has more reaction GIFs saved of female celebrities than she does teams on Showdown. Both inexperienced in managing this format, but both relentlessly positive. This pair was one to watch from the start and drew even more attention during the days leading up to the auction—specifically, their decision to retain Steam Buns and metagross does architectu (MDA) for 23k and 10k, respectively. Last year, Steam Buns went for 20k in the auction, was ranked first in the ORAS Power Rankings, and ultimately didn't quite live up to the hype with a 2-5 final record; their stocks seem to have fallen as a result, evidenced by their third-place ranking in ORAS this go-around, making a 23k retain seem rather exorbitant. However, it isn't completely unjustifable. Their undeniably great capabilities as a pilot, combined with their extensive knowledge support in DPP and BW—especially important given kenn and Elvira's lack of experience in those formats—makes them a compelling pre-auction purchase (price aside). MDA's retain on the other hand turned even more heads; last CAPPL, he went for 3k and finished at 1-2 in DPP. This year he finds himself in SV, where he is ranked 21st out of 24. If MDA pops off and wildly exceeds the Power Ranking's expectations (as is known to happen on occasion!), it would be one of the most prescient retains of all time, but if not, the Shoxes may end up sorely missing that 10k. The Shoxes' other SV players sit at 18th and 19th in haxlolo and jackuzzler. Each of them had decent(ish) winter campaigns in CAPCL, their first time starting in CAP teamtours, in which they went 3-3 and 2-3 in SV, respectively. Whether their relative inexperience will get the best of them in this more competitive pool, or whether CAPCL was only our first glimpse at two long and successful careers, is yet to be seen. In SS, the Shoxes have the seventh-ranked player Slowpoke fan. Someone more passionate about SS OU than just about anyone on the site, his ceaseless enthusiasm, deep OU metagame knowledge, and eagerness to soak up new information should all prove valuable tools in adapting to CAP's different landscape. While the SS field is slightly weaker than years prior, it's nonetheless difficult to see him outperforming the veteran pilots ranked above him. (That is, until he goes and proves us wrong himself.) In SM is EatFoods, another player who debuted last CAPCL, where he went 4-2 in ND CAP. This is probably the most analagous tier to where he finds himself now, SM, but his seventh-place ranking still indicates that the broader public is not yet confident in what we've seen from him. In BW is Dusk, a Gen 5 mainer and a completely fresh face among CAP tournaments, and in DPP Lazui, a pastgens player with solid runs across multiple sections of the site currently. Both ranked at fifth in their pools, and there's potential for them to go either way here. Not unlike the Breezin' Breezis, the Shoxes gambled on a large roster of fresh, comparatively inexperienced, and cheap players to carry them to the trophy; unlike the Breezis, however, the Shoxes are notably lacking in any real “star power” outside of Steam Buns, who is still only ranked at third place. The Shoxes are an easy team to root for, and it's not hard to see why. Not only are they underdogs, but it's a team comprising of some of the nicest dudes on Smogon ever assembled under one roof. With that said: they're going to need more than fresh perspectives and positive vibes if they want to win. Whether or not they have the raw merit to compete with the teams at the top of these Power Rankings is something they'll have to find out themselves.

Storming Saharajas

Storming Saharajas

CAPPL's only real current dynasty storms the stage for their fourth year as a franchise, though this time, something's different about them—something just not quite right, an intangible thing, ineffable, almost inexpressible… something… British. Joeshh has replaced CAP's most winningest manager in modern history, Wulfanator, to join forces with SHSP as they lead the Saharajas into a new era. After the Saharajas' campaign last year in which they failed to make playoffs, ultimately tying for fifth place, this shift in leadership could be exactly the injection the Rajas need in order to return to their glory days of back-to-back CAPPL trophies. But two great managers alone can't carry a whole team to victory—so, how does the rest of the roster stack up? Well, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Taking first place in his pool is SM CAP mainstay Clem; though, the real question on everyone's minds this season isn't anything to do with his skills, but how many times he'll load Mega Pinsir again and somehow win with it. Over-under is set to two. (I'm taking the over.) Lialiabeast weighs in at third place in a strong-looking DPP pool, hoping to build upon his all-time 10-1 record that led the Saharajas to retain him this year. The Rajas' BWer Cow joins him in third place as well, and for 9.5k in a rather uninspiring BW pool, this could easily turn out to be one of the better mid-value pickups of the tour. This is where the Power Rankings's compliments end, though; the rest of the Saharajas roster drops off from here, most notably with their last-place SS pickup Ikaishi. While Ikaishi's been around SS CAP a time or two, the SS pool is almost always the most competitive pastgen in CAPPL, and this year looks to be no different—he'll have to fight tooth and nail to dig out victories against the top half of this sharkpit. At sixth in the ORAS pool is feen—a strong pilot with as high of a ceiling as anyone ranked above him, but also not someone who was on many people's pre-auction lists for likely ORAS starters. And this brings us to the SV slots of seventh-place Axzel, twelfth-place Brigtel, and twentieth-place Nashrock. Axzel, a strong OU pilot with enough cachet to crack the top ten SV rankings, leads the charge in SV1, the slot with the single most concentration of talent across every team. Brigtel, one of the pool's few bonafide CAP mains, finds himself surprisingly in SV2; while he's had some solid individual circuit performances as of late, many people likely see him as more of a pastgen player than anything. Granted with the opportunity to surpass his reputation and cement himself as a reliable winner no matter the context, this season should be an interesting one for him to be sure. Finally we have Nashrock, the last bastion of decency in the SV pool before the dropoff of the four bottom players. While his prospects aren't quite as dire as that of the individuals ranked below him, this ranking doesn't exactly inspire confidence, either. All in all, the Saharajas are a well-rounded team, almost reminiscent of the CAPPL XIII Storming Saharajas: an honest, balanced draft where hopes aren't only shouldered by one player, but by the team in its entirety. And just as the CAPPL XIII Saharajas—who barely squeezed into playoffs after an up-and-down regular season, intense third-place tiebreaker, and then proceeded to sweep the competition from there—won the tour, history repeating itself for SHSP and co. is far from out of the equation.

Wu-Tang Clants

Wu-Tang Clants

With Mada and Micaiah taking up the mantle of the Wu-Tang Clants once again, the esteemed winners of CAPPL X no doubt aim for a repeat of last year's dominating season. Naturally, expectations of the Wu-Tang Clants are high following their championship run—but with a draft as strong as this one, there shouldn't be any doubts about their ability to rise to the occasion. This is, in large part, due to their three amazing pre-auction pickups: Mada, the fourth-ranked SV player; Micaiah, the top ORAS prospect; and Fogbound Lake, the top-ranked SS pick and one of the most reliably winning CAPPL players of all time. But despite being down a ridiculous sum of 55.5k before the auction had even begun, the Clants somehow still managed to afford the first-place SV player, JJ09LIE. Following his two strong prior seasons on the Hemogoblins—the latter of which resulted in a whopping 8-1 record, the best of the tour, and what no doubt resulted in his top SV ranking this year—the heroic former Heartbreaker finds a new home among the Wu-Tang Clants upon being sold for a measly 20k in auction, not even among the five most expensive players. This insane top half of the Clants' roster is the driving force behind their first-place combined SV score, their third-place combined oldgens score, and of course their top-dog status on the overall PRs (by no small margin, mind you). Filling the SV3 slot is none other than Galarian Blades, a somewhat new CAP mainer who's recently made a name for himself by going 5-1 in our winter teamtour, CAPCL, by basically loading the same damn team and winning every week. This, in addition to some good individual circuit performances, earned him a respectable 14th ranking in the SV pool. However, no team, not even the Clants, can afford the best player in every pool; concessions must be made. These concessions have panned out in the form of sixth-place hex in SM, seventh-place BW neomon, and sixth-place DPPer Plague. This isn't hex's or neomon's first rodeo—they've been around the CAP tournament scene for a while—but they have rarely had the sorts of outstanding recent performances that would justify high, or even average, rankings. Now, if the top half of this roster can net three or four wins each week, and the bottom half can scrounge up even just one or two, the Wu-Tang Clants should be in for a comfortable ride to playoffs. However, for the 2025 Clants, it's all about the follow-through. They clearly have strong players; they have the managerial know-how; they've proven their ability to win once already. But can they translate these on-paper qualities into tangible results? Can they successfully recreate the magic from last season? Will Galarian Blades figure out how to build without Gliscor? Does CAP Rule Everything Around Mada? For these questions and more, only time will tell.

SV Pool

  1. JJ09LIE
  2. Kate
  3. LpZ
  4. Mada
  5. Baddy
  6. One Last Kiss
  7. Axzel
  8. Spammernoob
  9. Kaif
  10. Quinn
  11. Irene
  12. Brigtel
  13. dunoks
  14. Galarian Blades
  15. sealoo
  16. Taka
  17. kDCA
  18. haxlolo
  19. jackuzzler
  20. Nashrock
  21. metagross does architectu
  22. RTM
  23. Horii
  24. TKC

The SV CAP pool for this iteration of CAPPL looks roughly like what you’d expect—an eclectic mix of fresh faces to the scene, mainstay CAP veterans, cheap pilots that managers are betting hard on, and some of the strongest and most expensive players in the entire tournament. The pool for CAPPL XI is perhaps more polarized than in recent years, though; there’s a dropoff in rankings after the four highest-ranked players, and an even steeper cliff right before the bottom four. JJ09LIE comes in hot at the top spot, racking up six first-place rankings and one odd vote for eighth, a near-unanimous show of confidence. Kate, LpZ, and Mada round out the top end of the pool, giving the Wu-Tang Clants the notable distinction of possessing half of the top four highest-ranked SV players in JJ and Mada. Filling out the middle of the rankings is a slew of players from fifth place to 20th: some entirely new to CAP tournaments, like Axzel and kDCA; some whose participation is mostly limited to team tours, such as Kaif, Taka, and sealoo; and then our bonafide CAP mainers, like Spammernoob, Galarian Blades, and Brigtel, with Spammernoob even scoring a stray first-place vote, presumably due to his strong individual circuit performances. It’s anyone’s guess as to how these different sorts of players will perform relative to one another—in SV, a generation where prep, innovation, and metagame knowledge have rarely been so important, it’s impossible to count anyone out as long as they have the motivation to grind and the drive to win. This goes for the four lowest-ranked players, too, who are huddled together at the bottom of the overall rankings. Metagross does architectu (MDA), RTM, Horii, and TKC round out the pool from 21st to 24th, respectively, down a nearly three-point gap in average rankings from 20th-place Nashrock. In an inverse sort of situation to that of the Wu-Tang Clants, who have two of the top four players, the Breezin’ Breezis lay claim to half of the bottom four in RTM and TKC. With the exception of MDA, a CAP main, these bottom-end players are largely unknown quantities in CAP metagames. Only time will tell whether their managers’ calculated(?) bets will pay off, or whether they’ll only ever amount to the low expectations on display in these rankings.

SS Pool

  1. Fogbound Lake
  2. zioziotrip
  3. dex
  4. entrocefalo
  5. QWILY
  6. Dj Breloominati
  7. Slowpoke Fan
  8. Ikaishi

Fogbound Lake has a history of excellence in SS CAP. As a former CAPPL champion when SS was still current gen, Fogbound Lake knows what it means to win in this tier. He has plenty of experience in high-stakes tournaments like World Cup and SPL, with great success in both. Similarly, Fogbound's SS CAP foray has been nothing short of brilliant, with dominant winning records in all the CAP team tours he has joined. Fogbound has a predilection for bringing seldom-used CAPs, so be on the lookout for his matches, which always excite. zioziotrip is another former CAPPL champion when SS was still current gen. zioziotrip has been away from the SS CAP scene for a while, trying his hand at many other generations in team support. Make no mistake, however; he is still a force to be reckoned with in the tier. zio has a wealth of experience in official tournaments like SPL and World Cup, and with a World Cup win under his belt, zioziotrip has the CAP experience and knowhow to be a force this CAPPL. dex has been one of the biggest drivers of SS CAP metagame development since its transition into pastgen status, and looks to be gearing up one more time to continue his string of great performances. With a 16-6 SS record in teamtours over the past two and a half years, he's one of the most reliable players that you could hope to have in this slot, and his decision to selfbuy should tell you all you need to know about his confidence in putting up yet another strong season. entrocefalo has been a regular in the SS CAP tier for a while, putting up consistent results in the tier. He has plenty of SS OU success; however, entrocefalo has yet to dominate SS CAP as he has in SS OU, and is likely looking to change that. You can expect solid, no-nonsense builds and sterling play from him as he seeks to improve on his career 5-5 records in the tier. entro is always a hard out and always has a chance to win no matter the matchup. QWILY comes in at fifth in the rankings, and it is a welcome surprise to see him in this tier. QWILY's usual CAP haunt is SM, but don't let that fool you; he has plenty of success in SS CAP on his resume, namely an excellent result in the SS CAP Money Tour. The German buff is strong, especially in SS CAP, where German builds have generally flourished. However, QWILY has a good bit left to prove in SS CAP and should be locked in for this tournament. Dj Breloominati, also known as Spitfire, has been around the block with CAP; he has been playing in CAP team tours longer than any of the other starters. For many tours, Breloominati has been siloed into SV, SM, or just managing; this tour marks his return to the starting spotlight. While he has a good deal of experience in the tier, he doesn't have the recent tournament success to back it up. SS was a particularly active generation for Spitfire's involvement in the CAP metagame scene, so it is exciting to see him back in action in the tier. Slowpoke Fan is the lone newcomer to SS CAP, an SS OU main and moderator dragged into the craziness that is this tier. An SS OU tour regular, Slowpoke Fan's quick ascent to being an SS OU household name has been a marvel to watch, but it remains to be seen how he will perform in SS CAP, especially with all the extra Kingler checks in the tier. Slowpoke Fan is known for his unorthodox builds in SS OU, but it remains to be seen how that will translate to CAP this tour. Ikaishi comes in last in the SS CAP rankings, which should really demonstrate the high level of the tier this CAPPL. Ikaishi has plenty of experience in the tier dating back to CAPPL 8, but this is his first appearance as a full-fledged starter. Outside of CAP, Ikaishi has been improving in SS, with a notable SS OU Smogon Tour week win on his resume. However, given that this is his first time as a main SS CAP player for a team, he comes in last, with much to prove.

SM Pool

  1. Clem
  2. LBN
  3. Potatochan
  4. pannu
  5. seth
  6. hex
  7. EatFoods
  8. evakiyama!

The SM pool for CAPPL XI is a mix of old faces and relative newcomers to the tier compared to past years. Two of those SM CAP elder statesmen—Clem and LBN—are in a tight race for the top overall spot in these Power Rankings, and both have strong arguments for their high ranking. Clem, the proud founder of Mega Pinsir's Aerilate Anonymous, comes in just slightly ahead after a dominant CAPPL X and is looking to be a backbone of the Saharajas' attempt at reclaiming their championship title. Coming in just behind is LBN, the mad scientist of SM CAP. Though not playing in CAPPL X, LBN had a very solid season in the latest CAPCL and is playing fantastic Pokémon across multiple tiers as of late. The biggest threat to his success might be whatever random RU or under starter he convinces himself is secretly amazing. Following our top two is a clear third and fourth in the rankings, then a surprisingly close logjam at the bottom of the rankings. Potatochan may have leaned more towards SV in the last iteration of CAPPL, but the voters are expecting his past success to translate well back in time to SV. If it doesn't, the Breezis do have a few thousand substitutes ready to go. Sitting at the middle of the pack is pannu, another stalwart of the SM CAP scene. pannu's seasons in CAP are notable for all-caps, ever so slightly edgy nicknames and up-and-down results, which makes for an incredibly entertaining watch either way. The remaining four players are all closely ranked, pointing to a lot of potential inconsistency and a chance for any of them to surprise with an excellent season. Seth and hex have prior experience with the format from past PLs, strong support from their managers and teams, and success elsewhere on Smogon to point to as reasons for their success. EatFoods put in a strong CL record in NatDex CAP, which gives her familiarity with a similar SM. Evakiyama! is the freshest face to the pool, but don't let her low ranking here fool you. She's had excellent success across past gens and can absolutely make waves in SM this tournament.

ORAS Pool

  1. Micaiah
  2. Foolycl
  3. Steam Buns
  4. JayHeaven
  5. avarice
  6. feen
  7. The Strap
  8. voltorblover483762

The ORAS pool for this iteration of CAPPL has a lot of familiar faces mingling with some newer blood when it comes to the CAP tournament scene. No one should be surprised that Micaiah comes in as a comfortable #1 in these Power Rankings, coming into this tour both as a fantastic pilot and also the reigning champion, with his lowest placement being a still extremely respectable third place. While his support is not very strong, he's won with a much worse bench in the past and aims to replicate that success. Foolycl comes in as second best, a face anyone who has been watching ORAS is familiar with and a very exciting pilot. With spoo teams and D2theW's fiery speeches, anything less than a playoff run would be a letdown for watashi's cousin. The higher end of the pool is rounded out by Steam Buns, with their unorthodox approach to building and radically different metagame takes raising a lot of eyebrows but also bringing in the desired results. Unfortunately, Buns suffers from a nuclear weapon of a timezone and as such may not get many test games so as to strike while the iron is hot. HeavenJay or JayHeaven or HayJeaven comes out of retirement to throw some punches with all these new bloods, but he still needs to de-rust in the eyes of the naysayers who are placing him a middling fourth. Solid support surrounds Jay, but they are all twisted individuals who will load Rhyperior with no regards for scout or matchup, so the kitchen may very well end up on fire. avarice comes in as probably the tournament's most decorated tournament player who always performs when his team needs him, but he is strictly a pilot; this does tank his face value and lands him smack dab in the middle of these PRs. The support he gets seems to be from his manager dex and perhaps Taka's wacky adventures, which in conjunction with his unfamiliarity with the CAPs present may end up with a nigh-unplayable matchup. feen comes in as the connecting link between the middle and lower end of the pack as another established tournament player. While he seems to have some very solid support, he's yet another player who is reliant on what he is passed to be able to succeed. The Strap comes in extremely low as our 7th place finish, with extremely high highs and Mariana Trench lows, none of which took place in ORAS. While he is undoubtedly a very talented player, he's not known for his gameplay in the sixth generation, and no one on his team is exactly an ORAS main in any way, either. The last place finisher comes to us from the kingdom of Draft: VoltorbLoverNumbers. The Breezis ORAS player, much like most of his teammates, is heavy on the prep and Drafts The Best Team Each Matchup™. This, however, does not impress our judges enough to net him a singular vote above fifth place, thus leaving him to end up at the bottom of the barrel. However! He's still a formidable opponent who simply has to prove himself when the lights shine bright.

BW Pool

  1. TGA
  2. Chomp29
  3. Cow
  4. Accel
  5. Dusk
  6. seraphz
  7. neomon

TGA kicks us off at our number one slot as the player to beat, boasting a 5-2 CAPPL IX and the most experience and consistent results by a long stretch in this pool. Don't be fooled by their lackluster 1-4 record in the previous edition, as TGA's knowledge and ability in this tier is unmatched and will surely drive them to success this time around. Let's hope their motivation is in the right place for this tournament, because if it is, we could see some real innovation and domination from him. At second we have Chomp29, who this time last year was a nobody in the CAP community, now seen as a staple in the BW slot. Coming in with a 3-2 record from the edition as well as a mirage of BW results in OverUsed, Chomp is positioning himself for another strong display this time around. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however; Chomp's tendencies to get too wacky in the builder can often backfire if not careful, and could be the deciding factor in if we see another powerful display from him here. Will he solve the metagame once and for all, or will he send it back to the stone ages? This is easily one of the more exciting seasons we get to watch unfold. Next up is the most recent BW OU Seasonal winner, Cow. If you see BW in a tournament, you'll most likely see Cow in that slot, and this time is no different. According to some sources, Cow went 0-4 in the last season of CAPPL, but that was actually a player called Triple Axel Blaze, so don't get them mixed up. With a myriad of BW results under his belt, it will be interesting to see if he can translate some of those OU results into CAP this time around. In fourth is Accel, who went for the quite high price of 20k despite not having much BW OU or CAP experience on his resume compared to others in this pool. While he primarily plays lower tiers like UU, "mons is mons" at the end of the day—a strong pilot should be able to leverage their skills wherever they find themselves playing, especially with support from others like dex and evakiyama! on his team. Dusk finds himself at fifth place, a bonafide Gen 5 main who has dabbled in most every non-OM BW format on the site. Whether in OU, LC, Mono, or ZU, Dusk seems to fare just fine; let's hope the same holds true about CAP, for the Shoxes' sake. Seraphz sits below him in sixth, a tours player with experience in a laundry list of formats, current gen and pastgen alike. A jack of all trades up against seasoned specialists like TGA and Cow should make for some highly anticipated games, no doubt. For only 3k, seraphz is a low-risk option that the Skwovets stand to benefit greatly from if he punches above his weight class. Next is neomon, who took a couple years off from playing CAP tournaments but makes a triumphant return in a brand-new tier. Whether he spent this time accumulating rust or sharpening his blade is one of the biggest questions in the pool; though, at seventh place, it's clear what side the Power Rankings have chosen.

DPP Pool

  1. crying
  2. Sheik :
  3. Lialiabeast
  4. Laurel
  5. Lazuli
  6. Plague
  7. velvet
  8. Nuxl

After a very strong debut last CAPPL that propelled the young tier into a CAP staple, DPP is back once again with a pool featuring a mix of returning players from last PL, and new players who have little to no experience in the tier. Interestingly, this year will be lacking in more veteran DPP CAP players, who are either not playing this year or slotted in a different tier. Shining at the top of the ranking we find crying; coming off a blazing hot 10-0 record in DPPPL, it is no wonder she is the most hyped player in the pool both in terms of ranking and price despite never having played the tier. Crying is no stranger to CAP, having notably played during SS, and definitely has her share of DPP OU games, but the question remains: will she be able to translate this experience into a performance worth the hype in a new tier? Will her support in Concept Everything and a busy Ainzcrad be enough for her to step up to the challenge and adapt? Or will it leave the Skwovets crying for their mommy? You’ll have to watch and see for yourself. Next is Sheik, who returns once more after a very strong performance last year and a shorter appearance in CAPCL. Coming back to the Hemogoblins, who wisely chose to retain him, Sheik will be able to apply his DPP skills in a comfortable environment, but his lack of dedicated support compared to last year may make it difficult to pull out surprises. That is, unless the young Shock3600 has something to say about that! Regardless, his presence ought to terrify any opponent who would underestimate him. Sharing the third and fourth place are Laurel and Lialiabeast, who also learned the tier last PL on the job in their first recorded experience with it, though each in a very different environment. The even matching of these two despite Laurel's SPL experience and very strong showing last year demonstrates considerable growth in Lialiabeast’s perceived skill. Laurel, just like Sheik, has shown that it is very possible to translate DPP OU experience into DPP CAP success, a success that even brought him last year’s crown. Lazuli may technically be the oldest DPP CAP player in the pool, but his total experience is not that high. Having learned with Micaiah at his side similarly to Laurel, Lazuli is sure to take some of that knowledge with him and may combine it with what he learns from his teammate Steam Buns for the ultimate DPP cook off. Finally, the three who have the least experience predictably share the bottom three. Interestingly, despite actually having one game of DPP CAP under his belt, Nuxl sits comfortably at the bottom of the rankings. Him and velvet find themselves rather stranded in teams where the DPP support is uncertain, while Plague is guided by Micaiah’s Radiant light. The rank differences between these three are most likely not that significant, but they do reflect who is perceived to be a better pilot, which could make all the difference. If they learn quickly enough, these underdogs may force us to read the PRs upside down!

Overall Team Rankings

Wu-Tang Clants 79
Shoenice Skwovets 71
Heartbreaker Hemogoblins 70
Golden Time Equilibras 66
Storming Saharajas 60
Keep Calm and Chuggalong 55
Breezin' Breezis 42
Solaceon Shoxes 34
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