NU Premier League XIII Power Rankings

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Welcome to the thirteenth instalment of the NeverUsed Premier League! With a huge number of quality signups, many stacked pools of players, and impressive managers, we've ended up with one of the strongest sets of teams ever. There's very little to separate between the teams, so we asked all players in the tournament to rank the pool of players for their tier, then averaged the scores across all votes to get an aggregate ranking. This is all to create hype and entertainment for the tournament—if your team or yourself was ranked too low, prove the haters wrong and achieve victory!

A big thanks to the people who helped with the writing, HTML, GP and QC checks, and much more: Django, Stories, Ampha, Tuthur, be13costa, pokeslice, goldmason, and Lumari.

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1. Elias PSY
2. Danny
3. zS
4. Shengineer
5. DugZa
6. Stories
7. S1nn0hC0nfirm3d
8. mind gaming
9. Diamonds_realm
10. Dr. Phd. Bj
11. Django
12. Esteb4n
13. Piyu
14. fish anemometer
15. Larry
16. 3d
17. Metallica126
18. Tuthur
19. Don Eduardo
20. big tony 2014
21. Fogbound Lake
22. sufys
23. Wadley
24. Dangerous
25. Vulpix03
26. Sabella
27. Lilo
28. Ac1D
29. feen
30. Bouff
31. Icemaster
32. tko

Last year, Vivillons’ SV core got the best results, with an overall 21-14 record, which was tied with the Foxes; if it’s not broke don’t fix it, so etern and shiloh picked two of their former SV starters in zS and Django to lead the core. zS should need no introduction; he’s a council member who sits at the fourth place of the NU Hall of Fame, went 6-2 last SCL in NU, and has been successful in other official tournaments, such as SPL, WCoP, and OST, for over a year now. Seconding him, Seasonal runner-up Django was retained for cheap price exiting his years-long hiatus, going 4-4 for his returning tournament, being the only player to defeat GXE, and actively participating to NU individual tournaments and joining NU council since then. He hasn’t played much SV NU in team tournaments, that said, with only two games in NUCL and one in SCL, which may explain why he can’t be ranked higher than that. Another former Vivillon, Dangerous rounds up the mainer core; coming off an promising 3-2 NUCL campaign in SV and a fifth place in seasonal, rik definitely has potential to do well in NUPL unlike what his rankings let believe, but he is still unproven compared to most players ranked above him. Last but not least, 3d is the final SV starter. The Canadian player is most well known for his OU success, with an OLT qualification and earning a spot as a tiebreaker player in SPL finals; however, 3d went 2-2 in SV NU during SCL, substituting for freezai. Between his natural skills and a supportive team environment, Riley has the tools to have a successful season.

The Talonflames tie for first place with a very scary-looking SV lineup. S1nn0hC0nf1rm3d, mind gaming, and fogbound lake are all mainstays of official tournaments, playing in all of SPL, SCL, and WCoP. S1nn0hC0nf1rm3d is an outstanding player who very recently won the finals tiebreak game to claim SPL for his team. He had a great 9-4 record playing SV OU in that tournament and also won the most recent World Cup with Midwest. In NU team tours, his 22-14 record is strong, and when you add all of this together his ranking makes a lot of sense. mind gaming comes in just behind him, but he has no history in NU team tours. His high ranking here reflects the general respect everyone has for him as a player. He is also no stranger to SV lower tiers, playing PU in the most recent SCL with a great 7-2 record. Known for his creative builds and interesting take on the tier, this new entrant into the competition is an exciting prospect. Following close behind mind gaming, as always, is fogbound lake. The German managers have reunited the powerhouse German twins, making all other teams consider whether SV removing Pursuit was a mistake. Fogbound Lake played RU in SCL going 5-3 and has played the last two NUPLs going 5-8 combined. Rounding out the team is NU mainstay Tuthur, who will perhaps be disappointed in his low ranking. While he won NUPL last year with a great 6-3 record, his history since then has been poor, with no notable individual runs and a 2-6 record in NUCL. A notable team builder, he will be an asset to his teammates with less knowledge in the tier and will also be looking to prove the doubters wrong in his own slot. This SV core has a very high ceiling, and while some might expect them to start slow, the sky's the limit for them.

The Ducks’ SV core is led by their team manager, seasonal winner and NU council member, Shengineer. Shengineer is extremely active and eager to develop the metagame always more, always going for new innovative strategies; his involvement within the NU scene has been rewarded with solid records with 5-2 last NUPL and 4-4 in NUCL, as well as a spot in Machines’ roster in SCL, although he ended up not playing a single game. He’s joined by DugZa, who despite not actively playing NU anymore, brought home the final win to his NUCL team, defeating Elias PSY in a tiebreak, and comes out of an excellent first season in SPL, going 7-4 in SV OU, and overall great showings in the official circuit in 2024 across many tournaments. Metallica126, a Chinese new talent who displayed great ability across Fairygens OU and SV lower tiers, letting him get into both SPL and SCL, is making his debut in NUPL. It has to be noted, however, that Metallica has struggled to translate his skills to NU so far, with an overall 1-6 in NU team tournaments and his best showing in the tier being a 4-5 record in PTPL, a Portuguese room team tournament. Finally, RU Tier Leader feen completes the core. Despite what his rankings would let you believe, feen is a confirmed SV NU player who made playoffs of 2024 circuit and top 7 of the latest seasonal. However, feen has no team tournament history in SV NU, comes from a negative 2-4 record in NUCL, playing ORAS and GSC, and lacks the results in the official scene that other non-mainers ranked above him have.

The Arcanines secure a very high SV ranking led by their star player, Elias PSY. This is no surprise, as he was the most recent winner of the NU Circuit, won the second Seasonal of 2024, and had a dominant 7-3 season in SCL. Elias is held in such high regard that only 3 of the 32 rankers did not rank him as the number one player. The expectations are clearly very high for Elias. After that very big start, the Arcanines secured Dr. Phd. Bj. and Piyu for their next two slots. The DR took a big break from NU following SCL, which could be either a blessing or a curse. Will he be fresh and look at the metagame in a new way, bringing home results? Or will he be rusty and unable to catch up with new trends? His high price tag in SCL resulted in an underwhelming 3-6 season, but in this environment with less pressure on could lead to a better outcome. Piyu meanwhile is a notable tournament player, going 10-0 in SCL playing SV OU. His first NU team tour, NUCL, did not go quite as spectacularly with a 2-4 record. He is obviously a very strong player, and with team building support from Elias and BJ, this could be his breakout year in NU. Rounding out the team is Icemaster, sometimes also known as shiestmaster. While he doesn’t have any history in NU team tours, he is better known for Ubers, going 7-3 in a strong pool in SCL. If he can learn the metagame and translate those clicking skills, he could very well defy that low ranking. Overall the Arcanines have a mix of strong NU and tournament players, and while a few doubts exist, they are ranked high for a reason.

The Diancies, led by Meri Berry, have taken a slightly different approach for them this year. Normally Meri would lean very heavily into supporting multiple slots. This year, the draft includes players like Danny and Diamonds_realm, who are very self sufficient and will also build for the other slots. This strategy to avoid burnout in SV is one that could very well pay dividends across the rest of the team. Danny leads the SV core with a very high number 2 ranking. While he has not played much since SCL, the rankers clearly believe Danny to be very strong player still. His 6-2 season in SCL was excellent, and he is capable of churning out many teams for teammates as well. If he can lock in and not second guess team choices too much, this could be another great season for Danny. Diamonds_realm also secures a top 10 ranking, coming back for his second NUPL after the breakout year last year. Having been secured for just 3k last year, the 10k retain is definitely a money saver, with Meri being rewarded for good drafting last year. 4-2 last NUPL and 5-3 in NUCL are good records, as well as 1-1 in SCL, but Diamonds will be hoping to go further and secure a very dominant record this year. sufys is ranked in the middle of the pack despite making it to the semifinals of circuit playoffs last year. He inexplicably was not starting during NUCL, only going 1-0, so this tournament is a real opportunity for him to shine and show everyone what he can do. Lilo rounds out the team and has an unremarkable 10-12 record across NU team tours. With good support from the rest of the team, with Danny in particular being someone who always makes sure their teammates are performing, this could be a year that sees Lilo make big strides. The Diancies team has star quality and a lot of NU knowledge, so expect big things from them this season.

Stories is back in SV after a successful season in NUCL across many old generations. While she has no recent tournament success in the tier, she’s constantly proved her ability to play at the highest level of NU, with several SCL seasons in the tier. To her side, we can find two official team tournament players in Larry and Don Eduardo. Larry has got many great records across lower tier subforum team tournaments and is overall a respected clicker who can easily pilot teams in any tier if he puts the motivation into it. On the other hand, Kenix has been killing it in official team tournaments, with excellent records across SPL and SCL. Those two players are surely able to do great things, but one can question their motivations and how much they will be involved in preparation. Finally, the SV core is rounded up by big tony 2014, who was one of Starabias’ NUCL victory main actors with his 5-2 record in SV. That said, his tournament’s career is smaller than most of the remainder of the pool, so with only one good record to his belt, it’s hard to trust Tony to repeat his NUCL success.

Drudds with a Grudge picked Esteb4n as their SV star player; however, Oathkeeper’s expectations for Esteb4n have not been matched by rankers, and it is hard to tell if he’ll live up to his team’s expectations to lead this SV core. Esteb4n won NULT almost a year ago and played SV NU in a couple team tournaments, with a 3-3 record in NUCL and 4-2 in PTPL. He is an active NU tournament player, but he lacks the results of the other teams’ star players, who’ve been competing in official team tournaments or had excellent records in previous NUPL iterations. His fellow SV NU teammates are, however, all ranked around the bottom of the pool, starting with former NU Circuit champion Wadley, who’s only had bad showings since going undrafted in SCL, with a 1-5 record in PTPL, a 1-3 record in NUCL, and no deep run in any NU individual tournaments. He’s joined by another NU mainer in Ac1D, who’s had average records so far in NU team tournaments so far with an overall 7-9 record and hasn’t made any splashes in individual tournaments either. Eventually, Sabella rounds up the team and is, funnily enough, the highest-standing player of the core in the NU record sheet with an overall 16-15 record. This doesn’t mean much, as none of these games were in SV, and Sabella despite some solid showings in UU seems past his OLT finals shape from almost a decade ago, in contrary to other non-mainers who have been more involved in the tournament scenes recently.

The Haripablos, perhaps understandably due to their lack of notable NU names, are ranked last in the pool. Fish anemometer secures the highest ranking on this team, coming off the back of his excellent 6-2 season in the last NUPL. A PU main at heart, he went 5-5 in SCL in one of the most stacked PU pools of all time, so has the skills to mix it with the very best. Vulpix03 has no NU results to speak of, but he has played in several official team tournaments with an 11-15 overall record. He is definitely no slouch, but doubts remain about his motivation and whether he can compete with the rest of the pool. Bouff is ranked in the bottom 3, with an average 22-23 record across NU team tours. With him probably the one with the most NU teambuilding experience in this core, the others will be looking to Bouff to provide teams, but the rankers are unconvinced. Coming in dead last is tko. His NU team tour record of 14-21 is certainly underwhelming, and with no notable SV NU results it’s no surprise really they ended up bottom of the pool. Anyone ranked last inevitably is motivated to prove the doubters wrong, however, so other teams may have just unintentionally buffed the Haripablos. It should be noted that the managers, lax and watashi, are both NU veterans and notable builders. watashi played SV NU in SCL, and while a 3-6 record isn’t great, they had strong teams are competed very well. lax meanwhile went 6-1 playing SV NU in NUCL, building many strong and creative teams in the process. If support from this duo comes through, many of the doubts about this SV score could disappear.

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Very few people have been as vocal about the tier as Pokeslice over the past few years, so it’s no surprise to see him voted to the top of this list. Coming off of a 5-3 campaign last NUPL and a monster 6-1 performance in SSPL, a positive record is expected from the Vivillons retain so long as even a portion of that momentum keeps up. This might seem difficult with this being one of the more competitive SS NU pools in recent memory, but if anyone can do it, it’s Pokeslice.

OranBerryBlissey10 had the honor of being voted the SS NU Player of the Year in the latest NU Awards, and for good reason. Over the past few years, OBB has been consistently at the top of the SS NU pool thanks to his patent-pending Vaporeon balances and his eye for innovation. The only question mark will be if he can beat his demons and finally KO Pokeslice’s Alolan Exeggutor after all these years of it dodging his Stone Edges.

It’s been a long time since pdt has played SS NU in a team tournament, but there’s no reason to expect him to go anything less than neutral. His reputation as a pilot is known across all of Smogon, especially on his home turf of UU, and when paired with one of the strongest SS NU builders out there in stories, pdt should be placed in a prime position to win every week. As long as stories’s awful luck doesn’t rub off on him, he’ll do wonderfully.

If you had told someone a few years ago that Luck O’ The Irish would be near the bottom of the SS NU NUPL power rankings at any point, they’d probably think you were crazy, and yet here we are. The concerns with Irish have nothing to do with his historical dominance, but instead are about if he has the ability to dominate now after only playing two games of NU across the most recent NUPL and NUCL. Self-proclaiming himself washed in his signup post, only time will tell how good Irish will be in this tournament, but expect the effort level of Irish to be what defines his final placement.

Damien the genius has been a mainstay in the SS NU pool for a long time now, but with a 1-3 record in NUCL, it’s clear that he’s struggled slightly as of late. Despite this, there’s good reason to expect a solid run from him. He’s a more than competent pilot with a stronger grasp on the current meta than many of the other players in this pool, creating a combo that can never be counted out.

Stareal is coming into this NUPL off a blazing-hot 6-1 SS NU debut last NUCL, and yet there are genuine concerns about if he can keep it up. Despite his high quality performances and play, a lot of the credit went to Meri Berry for the builder support she provided for him that tournament, support that Stareal’s newest team is severely lacking, and questions are popping up about just how much that will matter in a more competitive pool. Even with this lower ranking, Stareal is still one of the best SS players on the site, regardless of the tier, so don’t be shocked if he upsets everyone he faces.

Prime Turtledoggo1 was a force to be reckoned with, sporting a dominant 7-1 record on the sheet, but it’s been a while since anyone’s seen him play SS NU, especially in a tournament setting, so there’s some skepticism about how he might perform this time around. Thankfully, Turt has manager Meri Berry to help him jump back into the tier after all these years, so he’ll have a stronger opportunity than he would have had on just about any other team to recapture some of his SS NU magic. In short, the ceiling is high, but the floor is low in this highly competitive pool.

Rounding out the list this NUPL is NU boomer Realistic Waters, a player primarily known for some other oldgen metagames like ORAS NU. Although this might seem like a weird tier for RW to play when viewed through that lens, the Snake IV winner has had some success in the tier in the past when SS NU was the current gen, though he hasn’t had a lick of exposure to it since. There’s no doubt that the skill level is there, but with the lack of experience and support in a metagame that’s shifted a lot post gen, there’s good reason to expect a down season from Realistic Waters.

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Topping the SM rankings alongside Garay oak is tier leader etern, who comes with a lot of history in this tier and NU in general. A 50-26 overall record is fantastic, and in the last few NUPLs his SM record has been 7-5. This isn’t outstanding, but his overall skill level and respect amongst fellow players leads to a very high ranking. etern will be motivated to put up a good record in a very strong pool, and the expectation is high with this ranking.

Coming in joint 1st place, we have professor Oak's grandson, Garay oak. With a frankly absurd 50-16 overall NU team tour record, it's no surprise he finds himself very highly ranked. With his most recent NU team tours being 6-2 and 7-0, and him bolstering some incredible knowledge of the metagame, it would be a surprise to not see him succeeding this NUPL. He’s also got great support from watashi, so expect to see some exciting teams and plays this season.

Fc is someone with a burgeoning reputation in NU, bolstered by a great 5-2 SM season in the most recent NUCL. At 16-11 on the NU sheet and 31-24 on the official team tour sheet, Fc is someone who seems to put up positive records wherever they go. Reunited with the same manager from NUCL, it seems that all the elements are in place for Fc to have another strong season. This is a very strong SM pool, and Fc being ranked this high is a solid indication of the expectation placed upon him following that NUCL season—it remains to be seen if he can maintain that level.

Serial replay unlister, SCL NU player, and our beloved PAPAGAIO appreciator, Thiago Nunes is here for another season of NUPL. After playing SV and ADV last season, he finds himself in SM this time, and with an overall record of 31-25, Nunes has good odds of ending this NUPL with a positive record. While he has some SM NU experience playing Bo3 in NUPL XI and a few games in NUCL, Thiago will be relying on his general clicking abilities rather than deep metagame knowledge to succeed here, and his manager Oathkeeper should be able to provide support and teams.

Little Cup leader, Draft leader, and now SM NU star, in fifth we have Hacker. Hacker had a great 4-0 record playing SM on the most recent NUCL, so it's no surprise that he has a decent ranking in a strong SM pool. Reunited with the same manager pair from that NUCL season, Hacker is well placed to continue his good run and hack his way to a great record in this NUPL.

SM NU mainstay Xiri is once again back for another NUPL season. After a great 5-2 last season, and with a good 38-32 overall record, Xiri is someone you can be quietly confident will go positive. Despite the 6th placement, he is still a force to be reckoned with. That being said, his unorthodox teambuilding ideas are either hit or miss, which raises some concerns in a more stacked pool, so his season will depend if those techs are going to be hitting the success he desires or will be missing for a flop season.

Our favorite former PU tier leader and fish enthusiast, ishtar unfortunately finds herself in the 7th position. With a 7-7 SM NU record in the last two NUPLs and decent experience in the tier, this ranking more reflects the strength of the pool rather than ishtar as an individual player. A self-sufficient builder, ishtar should be able to get some advantages before the game starts but will have to click well to keep up with the players around her. A potentially tough season awaits, but all the games will be close, and ishtar could very well come out on top.

Last but certainly not least we have avarice, who despite his lower placement is still a good player. avarice seemingly plays every tier in existence, and his overall NU record of 16-26 probably reflects this breadth of experience rather than depth. He never performs terribly, but don’t expect a big positive record in this pool. LpZ can provide good SM support, but this could very well be a long season for avarice.

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Topping the ORAS rankings is NU GOAT and all-around top-tier player watashi. He’s got the most wins in NU team tours by far, 16 wins in front of anyone else with a ridiculous 69% winrate, and is also in the top 10 for all-time wins in official Smogon team tournaments. This resume alone makes him a threat in any tier. We haven’t seen watashi play ORAS too often in team tours recently, usually preferring SM, but it’s a tier he is very familiar with, and big things are expected this season.

Next up LpZ, someone who is becoming more and more prominent on the tournament scene. He won the Grand Slam last year, had a good SPL season ending in a win, and returns to NUPL to play ORAS. Last year he was in SM, putting up a great 6-2 record, adding to his growing NU team tour record of 21-11. His flexibility in different tiers was valued enough by his managers to retain him for a very good price, and while he may not have lots of recent ORAS results to lean on, the rankers still rate him highly based on his pedigree.

Veteran Kiyo returns for another season of ORAS NU, hoping to overtake Finchinator for third place on the overall NU sheet. He sits just two wins behind, so this race between the two will be very exciting to watch. A mainstay in ORAS, the last two NUPLs have seen Kiyo go 5-5, which isn’t the best record but his history and reliability are enough to secure a high rank in the ORAS pool.

Jack of all trades Oathkeeper self-purchased to put himself into the ORAS slot. While his 9-17 record on the overall sheet is underwhelming, recent results have shown somewhat of a turnaround—4-2 across a variety of tiers was a strong showing in NUCL, and Oathkeeper also qualified for the most recent ORAS Slam playoffs and made the semifinals of the SM Slam. This steady improvement in tournament results could mean a breakout year for Oathkeeper, and the good ranking reflects that.

Abejas returns following a decent 3-1 season playing ORAS in NUCL to try his hand for a full season in NUPL. A 14-9 record across NU team tours reflects a player with a good track record looking to break into a slightly higher tier of competition, and the 5th place ranking seems like this pool of players agrees. Respectfully, Abejas, have a great season.

After a long hiatus from NU team tours, MZ returned for NUCL and is back again in NUPL. While he mostly played ADV in NUCL, he did win his single ORAS match there and has an overall NU team tour record of 14-15. He’s been around for a while and knows ancient low tiers well, being the runner-up of the most recent SM slam, so while the low ranking might sting, MZ certainly has the capabilities to produce a good record this season.

devin is a new face to the NU tournament scene, with only one outing so far in the last NUCL. He went 3-3 but played an incredible six different tiers, which makes that record all the more impressive. Word on the street is he’s an incredibly hard worker and grinds in whatever tier you throw him in. So, while a new face and with no notable ORAS history, he’s got the motivation and ability to cause upsets. A dark horse in this pool.

Coming in last place is relative unknown mclagno. Picked up buy the Vivs following a run to the ORAS NU Grand Slam semifinals and a top 12 placement in the SV NU seasonal, mclagno has shown promise on the individual stage. He’s got great support from etern, so the stage is set for him to step up to team tournament play. The last-place ranking is understandable, but doesn’t mean that anyone should rule out this potential new star.

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Finchinator and BW in the same sentence? Let’s start glazing. This isn’t OU, but Finch is no stranger to NU either; as a former tier leader of NU and also just an amazing BW NU mainer, it’s no surprise Finch is at the top of the PR even after mentioning his lack of commitment to this tournament prior to its start. He has the third most wins in both NU team tours and official Smogon team tournaments, and his last two NU tournaments in BW resulted in a combined record of 13-3. Expect another x-1 or x-2 season from Finch.

ninjadog is synonymous with BW lower tiers, so he secures a high ranking despite a lack of notable BW NU results. ninjadog will need to translate his BW RU experience into NU, but in a pool featuring some more inexperienced players this may not be a problem. He lacks NU team tour experience, only playing one season of NUPL with a 3-4 record in NUPL X. ninjadog will need to knuckle down to teambuilding, but once he gets into the game, expect him to compete with anyone in the pool.

While not exactly familiar with BW NU, sensei axew is a formerly retired expert at both BW, playing it in SPL before taking a break from the game, and low tiers of all kinds as a three-time Smogon metagame circuit winner. sensei’s prowess as a fundamentally great player and his experience in various metagames will give him the ability to outplay any opponent despite being in unfamiliar territory. He holds a heavily positive 17-7 NU team tour record and a 30-21 official team tour record, so expect similarly strong results here. stories support will ensure there are no concerns on the teambuilding front as well.

Hellom returns after a fantastic 5-2 debut season, including winning the final game that won the Vivs the whole tournament. That season was heavily influenced by shiloh in a supporting manager role, so now it’s Feaniix’s turn to pass teams for hellom to click with. This is an unknown combination, but if they get it right there will be another strong season from hellom. 20-6 on the official team tour sheet indicates a player now well established with huge potential to continue to dominate tournaments.

Baddy is here for his NUPL debut, off the back of his first NU team tour in NUCL, where he secured a good 4-3 record. Known for playing many BW lower tiers, and many other untiers like 2v2, Baddy is clearly both adaptable and talented. He is not a known teambuilder—stories passed him teams in NUCL, so he will be relying on his team in this regard. Kaboom is probably the most notable BW support on the team, so Baddy might have to open the teambuilder for once. A middling ranking is fair for someone who definitely can click well but might lack the prep skills needed in a long season here.

Despite only joining Smogon relatively recently, Cow has had a meteoric rise in the BW scene, becoming one of the top OU players and dabbling in many different lower tiers. His 2-4 record in NUCL doesn’t reflect reality given he was brutally haxed in multiple games, and Cow will be hoping to reverse that record with more even luck this time around. He also has great support from watashi, so Cow may be a dark horse in this pool. A talented player dipping his toes in BW NU, it will be exciting to see where he lands this year.

A surprisingly low ranking for someone who has been around the block in NU team tours with a decent 23-18 record. Perhaps the explanation lies in the fact Real FV has recently been playing more of ADV and DPP than BW, while the other players in this pool seem motivated to grind in BW. Bughouse offers fantastic support in the tier, so strong builds will not be a problem, and it’s up to FV to click well and secure a better record than the rankers expect.

Another NU old generations specialist, neomon unfortunately comes in last place in the BW pool. His 10-18 overall record is certainly underwhelming, most of which came in non-NUPL tournaments as well. A starting spot this year represents a step up for neomon, who definitely has the motivation to do well. While some may not expect him to compete at this level, there is powerful plot armor generated by being ranked last, so neomon will look to harness that energy. In a pool with few superstars, almost anything can happen.

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Our PR's number one is viv, who is very experienced with his first team tour in NU dating back to 2020 and is an extremely likeable person; that combined with his self-sufficient building and positive presence makes him the ultimate teammate. His last record NUCL does not reflect his clicking well with a 3-7 performance, and in last NUPL he had a good showing, going positive. That alone is kind of hard to justify first place until we touch in very relevant stats. He is 2-0 in the last tours, for title wins. Recently his presence has been synonymous with success. That, and his synergy with the vivs poises him to be in contention for top dog in DPP again.

Drud is the reigning 2025 king of NU coming from NUCL. With a 7-0 record in extremely dominant fashion, Drud's run was amazing, and as his manager I could see and enjoy it closely. From the start, Drud was clear about his approach and even helped with the double slot when needed. He even gave us a W in the week he was sick. All that said I think he is aiming to reassert his place as the best in the tier that is very top heavy.

BB's first ever NU team tour NUCL, with a solid 5-4 and good builds. He is playing well in DPPPL that is happening now and has some other good showings. His high rank is a sign of recognition from his peers for his well-felt presence in the tier. BeatsBlack is expected to go positive once again, being a positive force for the Druds in their quest for playoffs.

A mainstay of DPP tours, Hot Skitty on Wailord Action also boasts some impressive NU results. With a 24-14 record in NUPL historically, it is no surprise HSOWA finds himself 4th on the PRs. It should be noted HSOWA put up an impressive 5-2 regular season last year for the Diancies, the team he finds himself on again this year. If the HSOWA / Meri combo gels as well as it did last year, HSOWA will be a formidable foe for the rest of this pool. Perhaps we even see the Wailord come out? Only time will tell.

It's never too late to be an up-and-comer, and the 2009 joindate for Ninja certainly proves that! Ninja is a somewhat newer face to NU, with few results until the last year. However, despite a rocky start in NUPL, Ninja put up a nice 3-0 record in NUWC into an absolutely phenomenal 6-0 in DPP NU for NUCL. This result alone was enough to make him a hot commodity, going to the Dubious Ducks in an unsurprising 12k retain move. Eyes will be on Ninja to see if he can repeat the success he found in NUCL, especially since the rest of the team does not have notable DPP NU results, but if he does, he's sure to cement himself as an NU mainstay.

When you think of DPP these days, it is not unlikely that you think of Void. Void's incredible 9-0 run in SPL XV was truly something to behold, and there should be no doubts about his ability to translate that to a strong DPP run in NUPL. The only real question mark will be where Void gets his teams from. There are a few very peripheral players on Void's team that he might get his stuff from; considering the team is mostly known tournament players, they might have just the stuff to get Void going. If the question of team support is solved, there is no doubt in this writer's mind that Void will be a nearly unstoppable force. Perhaps another 9-0 is in order?

Hubriz one more German playing for the Talonflames, who made his debut last NUPL in amazing 3-0 and didnt have a terrible NUCL. He is the cheapest of all DPP players. Considering his value he was a great grab for the team. You will have a player that will put wins on the board for 3k. Having him at 7th is one more showing how close the pool is Hubriz is a competent player that can be a starter in any given team and you would be fine with it. He has an opportunity to be a difference maker in his squad, as he can win versus anyone; even his team prioritized other slots when being constructed. Getting wins in DPP will be super valuable for the Talonflames.

Coming in at an unfortunate 8th place in the PRs, there is still a lot to be excited about for elodin. The lode is a prolific tournament player, coming off a respectable SPL showing. He's also been drafted by maybe the perfect team for him, surrounded by some incredibly strong friends. His support is equally strong; there should be no doubts in anyone's mind about the quality of support from watashi at this point, and some peripheral players on the team might also provide some help getting elodin up to speed. It is for sure not unreasonable to rank a player who has never played the tier (self-professed) last in the PRs, but underestimating this accomplished tournament player too much might be the exact stage elodin needs to exceed expectations.

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First in the ADV rankings we have veteran Bughouse, who has been around long enough to have a 44-42 record across all NU team tours. His high ranking here reflects deep metagame knowledge and consistent results across many years. While Bughouse doesn’t always play ADV in team tours, recent showings (5-3 in ADVPL IV, 2-3 currently in ADVPL V, 2-1 in NUCL) have been solid in arguably stronger pools. With some key big names missing this year, it’s Bughouse’s opportunity to put a marker down and claim the tier for himself.

To the surprise of some who thought goldmason was simply a “hosting main”, he comes in at number 2 in the rankings. Anyone paying attention shouldn’t be surprised though—mold gayson went 4-1 last NUPL and 3-2 in ADVPL IV, and he also proclaims NUPL to be his favorite tournament of all time. With those solid results and motivation clearly high, this is a key tournament for old gamyson to cement his place as a mainstay of the ADV NU scene.

Having won the last NUPL with a solid 5-4 record, including notable wins vs Heysup in the regular season and Xrn in the finals, Parpar finally gets the respect he deserves with a top 2 ranking. While not competing in many tournaments since then, and apparently mostly preferring ADV UU to NU when he does play, it’s clear that Parpar has the ability to put up a good record regardless. With a bigger price tag and potentially lacking as much support as last time around, there are certainly questions to be answered, but if anyone can answer them Parpar can.

YouTube sensation and sometimes NU tier leader Rabia is starting in NUPL! This is not a drill. Known for building a lot of ADV NU teams, his middling ranking perhaps reflects concerns about his clicking ability in game and ability to keep a clear head under pressure. However, boasting an undefeated record (1-0) at the time of writing in ADVPL, and with many other notable ADV players on his team, the stage is set for Rabia to make his name as a tournament star, or at the very least generate some new content. Time will tell which way this goes, but either way Rabia will be the winner.

A somewhat newer face to ADV NU, Kaboom’s most notable result is getting to the finals of the ADV NU Cup, where he went 1-1 in a round robin final. After this, he was somehow not picked up during the NUCL draft, a mistake which was later rectified following a sellback. 2-2 in that tournament was a decent showing, and enough to make the same manager pick him up again. Now getting the chance to start a full season, and with a low price tag taking the pressure off, Kaboom is one to watch as he attempts to translate his individual success into the higher pressure team tournament environment.

Better known for playing ADV OU at an SPL level, violet river joins the ranks of NU mains to show them how it’s done. Rumors have been circulating that river only wants to play this tournament in order to secure voting requirements on a potential Glalie suspect, which at least means their motivation will be exceedingly high. With an underwhelming 2-3 record in NUCL, violet river will have to show some improvement in order to compete, but their connections with other ADV mainstays should mean they have strong builds and test partners. This is enhanced further by the presence of stories as manager, who is currently 5-0 in ADVPL. Maybe this combination will lead to a change of direction for river, and they will finally enter their flow.

Without many ADV NU tournament results to show, plague comes in at a low ranking in this year's pool. He played DPP in last year's NUPL for a 3-4 record, his only NU team tour to date. With no notable ADV NU individual success either, it remains to be seen how Plague will perform. The Ducks do at least have neomon on their team, who has been known to dabble in ADV NU, so Plague is not completely at sea support wise.

Coming in last place is unknown quantity Fantos13. With no NU team tours to date, no individual wins posted in ADV NU, and only three teams showing up in the scouter, all of which were losses, it’s understandable how they ended up in last place. However, Fantos13 did get one or two high rankings from players in the pool, so there may be more than meets the eye to this player. Better known for playing DPP LC, they will need to rely on support from LpZ, who won the most recent ADV Cup. Fantos13 will be aiming to cause a few upsets this season and prove the doubters wrong.

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Overall Team Rankings

Vibrant Vivillons	60
Act Fishing Arcanines	52
Diancies Are Forever	46
Let Flygons be Flygons	45
Drudds with a Grudge	45
Taunting Talonflames	44
Haripablos	37
Dubious Ducks	36

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