Premier League Spotlights: OMPL

By iVid. Art by Tikitik.
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OMPL Logo

Introduction to OMPL

The Other Metagames Premier League is one of, if not, the biggest tournaments in the Other Metagames community. The tournament was hosted by imas, one of the Other Metagames moderators. The managers of the teams also had assistant managers ranging from moderators, drivers, and voices of the Other Metagames room. The auction took place on the 18th of June. Each team was required to purchase a minimum of eight players to cover the six metagames. The six metagames were Almost Any Ability, Anything Goes, Balanced Hackmons, Monotype, STABmons, and Tier Shift.

The Auction

Once the auction was complete, the managers had their finalized rosters, since no trades or pickups were done.

Bedroom Blisseys

Managed by The Immortal and Peef Rimgar

  • E4 Flint
  • Confide
  • Gunner Rohan
  • DoW
  • aesf
  • morogrim
  • Paleo
  • Deathly The King
  • The Reptile
  • Akashi
  • Scyther NO Swiping

Beta Bagons

Managed by baconbagon and BetaHousing

  • Entei
  • Kris
  • Omfuga
  • MAMP
  • Mambo
  • Kiyo
  • InfernapeTropius11
  • DTC
  • Josh
  • sugarhigh
  • Peli
  • AWailOfATail

Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion

Managed by Uselesscrab and Zangooser

  • Kl4ng
  • Knight of Cydonia
  • Eien
  • Transcendent God Champion
  • ellipse
  • Jordn
  • Wanka
  • ihhca
  • 1 True Lycan
  • shartruce
  • DontStealMyPenguin
  • Ranger Mike
  • FLCL
  • Illusio

King Kois

Managed by Eevee General and nv

  • Pearl
  • Megazard
  • apateonas
  • rozes
  • Arifeen
  • White Lion18
  • Level 56
  • miltankmilk
  • Confluxx
  • HeadsILoseTailsYouWin
  • qsns
  • Anty

Legendary Pikachus

Managed by Ransei and pikachuun

  • LaxLapras
  • thelinearcurve
  • Lcass4919
  • Dr. Phd. BJ
  • Official Fissure
  • terrors
  • draegn
  • Betathunder
  • p2
  • DonnotheFirst
  • iVid

Majestic Mantykes

Managed by Dream Eater Gengar and scpinion

  • all falls down
  • HunterStorm
  • nyan kat
  • Sabella
  • Lax
  • rnbs
  • Shiba
  • -Tsunami-
  • Ridley.

The managers made some interesting decisions during the draft. Let's see the draft from some of the managers' perspectives.

Dream Eater Gengar

I had previously discussed with scpinion about who to pick, and we both decided that we wanted to have fun while we were there, so most of our picks were Monotype people who had great knowledge in OMs in general such as Lax and all falls down. Additionally, some Monotype people didn't show interest in some metagames, so our next picks were based on the lack of players that are invested in a specific metagame. We ended being short in Balanced Hackmons and Anything Goes so I decided to go for nyan kat and a user who has experience in the tournaments scene, -Tsunami-.

The Immortal

Before the auction, I had come with a list of players who were worth buying. You can't really plan how the auction is going to go, as it's dependent on the other managers as well; you just have to go with it and adjust your plan as things progress. The first thing I went for was a strong Balanced Hackmons player. E4 Flint was my number one choice, and I decided to spend as much as it took. I stood silent for a couple of rounds, as I wasn't willing to spend. Confide was nominated by another manager, and I had to get him. Peef Rimgar had battled him prior to the auction and advised me that he's a worthwhile buy because he is a lesser-known player who's pretty good. He was meant to play STABmons, but later in the tournament I had him play Tier Shift, and he did better there. Next up: Anything Goes. My targets were either Gunner Rohan or HunterStorm, two of the best AG players. I managed to get Gunner for just 7k. My next buy was DoW. The reason for him was solely to be used as a Monotype and AG sub if the starters were not able to play. I then needed an Almost Any Ability player. I had my eye on aesf prior to the auction. He was away for a couple months and returned for the OMPL. He was still doing great in AAA, so I thought I could get him cheaper than other AAA players because the other managers wouldn't risk buying him due to his leave or weren't aware that he returned and is actively playing AAA again. He did great for the majority of the tournament and is a great presence to have in the team. The next player I added to my team was morogrim. I needed a backup BH player, and I had scouted moro prior to the auction. My next buy is interesting. My preferred choice for Monotype was not Paleo. I had two main choices on my list but didn't get them, as the bids were too high for my liking. Paleo was an on-the-spot decision. Similar situation with Deathly The King. I needed a TS player, and my main choices were taken. Then we have The Reptile, Akashi, and Scyther NO Swiping. Akashi plays 4/6 of the metas so he was a good person to have on the team for players to practice with or when I want to move players around. The Reptile and Scyther NO Swiping were basically subs if I ever needed them. Looking back at it now, I regret not purchasing Kl4ng. I should have splurged on him instead of playing it safe.

Ransei

In the beginning of May, I was suggested to join OMPL IV as a manager, so I agreed, wondering how it would be like to manage a team. During the practice draft, I was taught how to draft in certain players, and my first ideas were LaxLapras and Mamp, so I nominated and spent the most on them. I thought I spent the most out of all for one player in the practice draft until I noticed that someone spent 5/8ths of their money on xJownage and the others were fighting for Kl4ng. Nothing too exciting happened afterwards until the real draft began. My main goal in the real draft was to pick out mostly star OM players to perform quite a balance of skill between the six metagames we have. I also picked linearcurve (knowing that he was the best AG player), Lcass4919 (knowing how good he was at BH), draegn (because I got recommendations from his past tutors to draft him, and he is pretty good still despite all his matches being a loss), and Betathunder (because he asked and I wanted to fill up another good STABmons/TS slot). DonnoTheFirst also asked, so I chose him too, except I didn't know it was him who asked because he was on an alt... I found that he was decent in BH and AG and during half of the draft, I was really searching for good Monotype and Balanced Hackmons players. This is where terrors and iVid come in. I actually got a PM from somebody from one of the opposing OMPL teams that terrors was going to be the absolute biggest disappointment of this entire OMPL. This was definitely false, as he was one of the users who got us in the lead in the first place. I was suggested to pick iVid by him, and by another person I talked to after he PMed me. In that case, I chose him too. I picked p2 to fill up a final slot assuming that p2 was fairly good as well. I wasn't sure what metagames p2 was good at, so I wasn't sure exactly where to place him. (After three weeks, I figured it was Monotype.)

Zangooser

Prior to the auction, Uselesscrab and I had discussed a few potential buys for our team; however, the majority of our lineup was decided on the auction day. DontStealMyPenguin seemed like an obvious pick, since he was such a great Anything Goes player without being listed in Josh's "AG Player Buying Guide", so I assumed everyone would forget about him until the very end. We also had decided players such as nyan kat, LaxLapras, and Level 56 would be nice to have, even though we ended up not buying any of them. On the day of the auction, we were trying to leave all of these players until other managers had run out of money; hence, we attempted to make the other managers pay unrealistically high prices for whomever they were attempting to buy. This was usually quite effective and made the latter stages of the auction so much easier so that we could have a free pick of whoever remained without competition. One of the players part of this scheme was Kl4ng, who was nominated early on. We had seen how threatening The Bedroom Blisseys had already appeared to be and tried to prevent them from obtaining the most competent AAA player for a low price. We weren't initially planning on getting Kl4ng; however, The Immortal stopped bidding earlier than we had expected. Kl4ng was a great addition to our team regardless, so we were actually quite content with the result. Knight of Cydonia was definitely one of the outstanding players we aimed to acquire, and fortunately we got him for a low enough price. We seemed to have a great BH/AAA player and a great Tier Shift player, so we weren't too concerned, especially thanks to our large remaining budget. One of the remaining metagames was Monotype, and Eien had been nominated, so we bid on him and got him at a decent price. Anything Goes and STABmons remained, but we had the plan to bid on DontStealMyPenguin later, so that was pretty much covered. We nominated Transcendent God Champion when it became our turn to bid, because we were taking too long and decided he'd be a great way to make other managers spend money. I placed the starting bid of 3000, and no one bid; which we didn't mind at all. The only remaining metagame that was totally uncovered was STABmons, so we bid on ellipse, and sure enough we got him. We needed a good BH or AAA player, since Kl4ng unfortunately couldn't play two metagames at once. Jordn was perfect at this point, as to my knowledge he was a great AAA player. The remainder of the budget was spent on buying substitutes for each metagame, Wanka and 1 True Lycan for Monotype, ihhca for STABmons, shartruce for AAA, and DontStealMyPenguin for AG. All of which were obtained incredibly cheap, thanks to our strategy paying off. Near the end we were quite worried that we lacked a BH player when we wanted to play Kl4ng in AAA, so we bought a few extra substitutes such as Ranger Mike, Illusio, and FLCL just to patch this weakness if needed. Overall, we were content with the result of the auction; although, having spent a bit more money on some players early on could've been nice, as many of the substitutes unfortunately didn't even get the chance to play.

Eevee General

My co-manager nv and I decided to buy strong tour players who had a good showing in the Other Metas Grand Slam to build the backbone of our team. rozes and Level 56 made it to the playoffs, while White Lion and HeadsILoseTailsYouWin made it to the finals of STABmons and BH, respectively. We also sought out players such as Lax and Peli but lost them near the end of the auction when we were low on funds. Though HeadsILose finished second in the BH open, my first choice for BH was actually apateonas, who has topped the ladder multiple times but still doesn't have the recognition that E4 Flint, Kl4ng, and Lcass4919 have, even though I think he's just as good a player. rozes was my first AAA choice (he won the OMGS AAA Open), and I planned to play him every week in that slot. For Monotype I'd scouted Confluxx and Arifeen on PS and had them play matches versus well-known Mono players (iVid!) at a disadvantage. I think it was Confluxx who I sent out to play versus Steel with Fairy, and after watching him win I decided to buy him. Megazard was on my list for Anything Goes and ended being my only player who mained that format, but even then that wasn't our weakest slot. I had high hopes for my STABmons picks, as I created the format and was excited to teambuild and test with the players, so when I scooped up White Lion, Level 56, and miltankmilk I assumed we had that one in the bag. Alas, we went 0-5 in STABmons. With the extra credits on hand I picked up qsns and Anty to fill in as needed. Anty is actually the only returning player I had on the Kois last year, and we reached the finals then. Unfortunately we were unable to recapture that magic, but overall the team had a lot of fun playing and testing together.

Early Weeks

The early weeks of OMPL were hectic and filled with multiple ties.

During the early weeks of OMPL, two teams were above the rest. The Legendary Pikachus were the most dominant with a 2-0-1 record and were the most consistent team. The other powerhouse in the early weeks were the Bedroom Blisseys, which had a respectable 1-0-2 record in the first three weeks.

The Legendary Pikachus started the season against the King Kois, narrowly winning 4-2. The next week, they played the Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion, managing to tie the series. The Legendary Pikachus then played the then-undefeated Majestic Mantykes and managed to barely win the series 4-2. LaxLapras was a major contributor to the Pikachus' success, going 3-0 in AAA. With his wins, he prevented two ties and one loss for the Pikachus. Another major factor in the Pikachus' success was Monotype, with terrors going 2-0 in the first three weeks also preventing two ties. The success of the Pikachus' was based on the consistency of the team's key players.

The other successful team in the early weeks of OMPL were the Bedroom Blisseys. The Bedroom Blisseys started OMPL by barely edging out the Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion 4-2. However, the next two weeks didn't go as smoothly for the Blisseys. They then played the Majestic Mantykes and the series resulted in a tie, meaning that the Blisseys did not gain or lose a point. The Blisseys also played against the winless Beta Bagons, and the series ended in a tie. aesf was a key player for the Blissey's, going 3-0 in AAA and contributing to the only win and the two ties. Another prominent player was E4 Flint, going 2-0 playing Balanced Hackmons in weeks 2 and 3. The Blisseys on paper looked like an amazing team, but they failed to win key games.

Some players went for a significant amount but fell short in the early weeks.

Akashi was picked up by the Bedroom Blisseys for 9k, a significant amount. This was mainly due to his proficiency in four out of the six metagames. Akashi went 0-2 in the early weeks playing Tier Shift and STABmons in the first three weeks, dealing with hax and bad matchups in both these metagames. Akashi did not play after week 3.

Arifeen was picked up by the King Kois for 8K. Arifeen was mainly drafted for his success in last OMPL in Monotype. Arifeen went 0-2 in the first three weeks. Week 1 Arifeen faced terrors in an unfortunate mirror matchup. Week 3 he lost to 1 True Lycan in a close match. Arifeen had a bad matchup and struggled during the early weeks of OMPL.

Highlight Match

1 True Lycan won against Arifeen in close match.

Lycan brought a standard Normal team with Mega Lopunny, while Arifeen brought a bulkier balanced Water team without Stealth Rock. At Team Preview it looked as if Arifeen had the upper hand, as Lycan lacked a reliable Keldeo switch-in. However, Arifeen lacked switch-ins for Choice Specs Meloetta. Lycan ended up winning the match by getting Meloetta in on double switches and preserving its health to take a Secret Sword from Choice Specs Keldeo.

Later Weeks

As Week 3 came to an end, four teams were close to picking up one of the two playoff spots. The Legendary Pikachus were the number one team with a 2-0-1 record after Week 3. The Bedroom Blisseys were a close second with a 1-0-2 record and had high hopes for the end of the season. The Majestic Mantykes and the Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion had hopes to reach the playoffs with a 1-1-1 record. The King Kois and the Beta Bagons had very little hope of making the playoffs after week three unless some unlikely circumstances were to occur. With four teams fighting for two playoff spots, the intensity of OMPL increased.

Week 4

As the finals were two weeks away, week 4 was a crucial week to win for the teams in the playoff hunt. The Legendary Pikachus won 4-2 against the Beta Bagons, increasing The Pikachus' chances of making the playoffs. The Bedroom Blisseys then demolished the King Kois 5-1, eliminating their chances to reach the playoffs. The most important match of week 4 was definitely the match between the Majestic Mantykes and The Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion. The Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion won the series 4-2, making it impossible the Mantykes to reach the playoffs.

Standings After Week 4
TeamPoints+/–
The Legendary Pikachus7+6
The Bedroom Blisseys6+6
The Five-Bidoof Fighting Battlion5+2
The Majestic Mantykes3-2
The King Kois2-6
The Beta Bagons1-6

Week 5

The last week of OMPL was a fight for the playoffs between the Legendary Pikachus, the Bedroom Blisseys, and the Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion. The King Kois beat the Majestic Mantykes 4-2 in a more relaxed series. The Legendary Pikachus and the Bedroom Blisseys both were in the race for the playoffs. The Legendary Pikachus ended up winning the series against the Bedroom Blisseys 4-2. With the Blisseys' loss, the Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion had a chance to make it to the finals if they could beat the still winless Beta Bagons. The Five Bidoof Battalion ended up winning the series 4-2 and advancing to the playoffs to face the Legendary Pikachus.

Finals

The Legendary Pikachus and the Five-Bidoof Battalion both had reached the finals. The Legendary Pikachus, with a record of 4-0-1, were definitely the favorites to win OMPL. The Five-Bidoof Fighting Battalion came with a solid record of 3-1-1 and were the underdogs. However, during week 2 these teams played and it resulted in a tie, so the Bidoofs were not complete had some chances to win. Without further ado, here is the lineup for the final:

The first match of the series was an Anything Goes match between DontStealMyPenguin and thelinearcurve. At first, it seemed like DontStealMyPenguin had an edge at the start of the battle, but the combination of Regenerator Ho-Oh, Mega Sableye, and Ferrothorn allowed thelinearcurve to win the match. The next match was an Almost Any Ability battle between jrdn and LaxLapras. The match was relatively even until LaxLapras set up with Curse Snorlax and KOed two members of jrdn's team. The game ended in a Curse Snorlax war to determine the winner. LaxLapras won it by winning a Speed tie against jrdn's Snorlax. The Bidoofs were not in good shape, trailing the Pikachus 2-0 going into the third match. The next match was a Monotype battle between 1 True Lycan and terrors, two undefeated players. Lycan brought a balanced Psychic team with Shadow Tag Gothitelle, while terrors brought balanced Water with Mega Sharpedo. A misplay made in the match was when terrors sacked Mega Sharpedo instead of sacking Rotom-W, which led to a scenario where luck was the deciding factor of the match. Lycan ended up winning the match, giving his team their first win. The next match was a Tier Shift battle between Knight of Cydonia and Dr. Phd. BJ. The matchup was balance against balance, and it seemed even until Dr Phd. BJ. got a couple lucky critical hits with Mega Heracross's Rock Blast on Landorus-T and Victini's Glaciate on Mega Latias. The critical hits didn't necessarily matter, but they definitely increased Dr. Phd. BJ.'s chances of winning the match. Dr. Phd. BJ. won giving his team a 3-1 advantage in the series. The next match was a long and grueling Balanced Hackmons battle between Kl4ng and Lcass4919. The battle was long, lasting 214 turns. Kl4ng ended up winning the long and tedious fight, giving the Bidoofs the opportunity to tie the series and force a tiebreaker. The pressure was on for last match of the series, a STABmons match. The battle was between ellipse and Official Fissure. Looking at the match, at first neither player had an edge over the other. That was until ellipse's Keldeo scored a critical hit and a burn with Steam Eruption on Mega Gallade. The critical hit and the burn drastically changed the outcome of the match, as Official Fissure lost his Mega Gallade, which was his only reliable way of breaking Porygon2. The finals series ended in 3-3 tie, meaning a tiebreaker was needed.

For the tiebreaker, three metagames were played: Anything Goes, Monotype, and Almost Any Ability.

Tiebreaker

The first tiebreaker match was LaxLapras vs Kl4ng. This match was hyped because both players are respected players in the Almost Any Ability community. The match was not played on the main server because Snorlax and Suicune were banned due to a suspect test during the finals of OMPL. LaxLapras had control for the majority of the match and eventually won, givind the Legendary Pikachus an early advantage in the tiebreaker. The next match was a Monotype battle between terrors, and 1 True Lycan, a rematch from the finals series. Lycan brought a Poison team with Mega Beedrill, while terrors brought Swift Swim-based Water. The match was intense, with Lycan being able to win by preserving the appropriate wincons and stalling out turns of rain with Protect on his Mega Beedril. After two competitive and intense matches, the Anything Goes battle between DontStealMyPenguin and thelinearcurve was the one that decided the winner of OMPL. DontStealMyPenguin ran a more bulky offense kind of build with a Quagsire to stop setup sweepers, whereas thelinearcurve ran a more offensive team with a lead Smeargle to set up Sticky Webs. DontStealMyPenguin ended up barely edging out thelinearcurve in a well-played battle on both sides. In the end, The Five Bidoof Fighting Battalion won OMPL in a 2-1 series of good games.

Closing thoughts

The fourth installment of OMPL was very competitive and interesting. OMPL consisted of interesting matches, with a few upsets with a little bit of hax. The addition of Anything Goes was definitely a good one, incorporating the possibility of ties in OMPL. The amount of hard work, dedication, skill, and preparation made OMPL a high-skilled tournament. With the closing of the fourth installment of the Other Metagames Premier League, the Other Metagames community came together, both old and new players, to participate in the tournament.

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