Other Metagames World Cup Recap

Semifinals

Matchup Recap

The first week of playoffs featured two great matchups between US Northeast and France and Europe and US South. US Northeast and France have a really close series, with US Northeast winning the penultimate two games, AG and Godly Gift, to win 5-3. Europe continued to show how good of a team they were with a strong 5-2 win over US South off the backs of two great performances in AG and STABmons.

Highlight Games

Fissure vs LBDC - STABmons

Fissure brings a rain team with the uncommon Poliwrath, while LBDC brings a more standard team featuring Transform Chansey. Fissure is able to get momentum early, claiming two Pokemon with Belly Drum Poliwrath, but then it reveals that it is not running Aqua Jet, so it is not able to win. After that, LBDC's Chansey is able to prevent Fissure's Thundurus and Ferrothorn from making progress, winning LBDC this game.

Jordy vs Kabilapok - NFE

Both teams bring a balance team with a strong pivot, with Jordy's team relying on a hazard stack core with Roselia + Piloswine, while Kabilapok brings the rarer Torracat with Gabite + Roselia for entry hazards and Duosion for applying pressure with Future Sight. Both teams apply pressure early with their hazards, but with Jordy wearing down Machoke early, progress becomes much more difficult to attain for Kabilapok. After Kabilapok sacks Duosion to get the Toxic on Vullaby, the game is reliant on Roselia getting Poison Point off on Torracat, which it does, so the game goes to Jordy.

Finals

STABmons: Dr. Phd. BJ vs pannuracotta

A game many were excited for, Dr. Phd. BJ brings a balance team featuring three uncommon Pokemon in Latias, Grimmsnarl, and Steelix, while pannuracotta brings a pretty standard sand team featuring the up-and-coming Choice Band Buzzwole. pannuracotta's Excadrill goes down to a Heat Wave from Tornadus-T on turn 26, making it quite hard for them to make progress. After that, Dr. Phd. BJ is able to play around the opposing Buzzwole and Thundurus-T before eventually setting up with Calm Mind Latias to close out the game.

SS 2v2 Doubles (Best of 5): Chris32156 vs STABLE

Game 1: STABLE's Kyurem-B has a very strong matchup into Chris's team, so bringing it is practically required, but the choice between the other three is less clear cut. Ultimately, Regieleki discourages STABLE from bringing Cinderace or Tapu Fini, which both match up better into Heatran than Metagross. This calculation by STABLE backfires, as Chris brings Heatran, which OHKOes Metagross and heavily damages Kyurem-B turn 1, securing Chris the game.

Game 2: Chris's Arctovish matches up well into STABLE's team, as it outspeeds every Pokemon under hail or after Electroweb. Chris is discouraged from bringing Alolan Ninetales due to its poor matchup into Politoed, which can underspeed it and override its hail, and Genesect. STABLE has few answers to Zeraora as well, and we see his poor matchup materialize with a swift victory for Chris.

Game 3: In game three, we see STABLE with a relatively strong matchup, with his Porygon2 and Incineroar both boasting possible strong matchups. Chris's hail core is less effective here, with STABLE bringing both Follow Me Blastoise and Kyurem-B. In the game, Chris brings his two Fake Out users into STABLE's Incineroar and Porygon2. Chris's Pokemon are unable to break Porygon2 fast enough as STABLE wins.

Game 4: Chris's team matchups well into STABLE's, having a strong answer for Kyurem-B and Incineroar with Galarian Zapdos and Tapu Fini, respectively. STABLE is able to get around this some with his Follow Me Blastoise and Porygon2; however, he lacks ways to directly threaten Chris's Pokemon outside of redirecting their attacks with Blastoise. In the game, STABLE clicks Fusion Bolt into Galarian Zapdos's Protect, while Chris gets a fortunate burn on Kyurem-B with Flare Blitz and wins.

SS Balanced Hackmons: TTTech vs Ivar57

Both players load fairly standard balance teams, with Ivar opting for a Doom Desire + Steely Spirit Kartana combo and TTTech using a RegenVest Heatran + offensive Eternatus structure. An early Final Gambit removes Dialga and Eternatus from the equation, causing problems for Ivar, as Kartana now lacks a key supportive piece for breaking past Heatran. Ultimately Ivar is unable to stop Xerneas from breaking through after his Ho-Oh goes down.

SS NFE: S1nn0hC0nfirm3d vs Jordy

S1nn0h brings a team with lesser-used Pokemon such as Gabite, Slowpoke, and Machoke, while Jordy brings a standard Piloswine + Galarian Corsola balance anchored by a Thwackey + Gurdurr offensive core. Jordy's team is able to consistently make progress throughout the game with his Calm Mind Galarian Corsola pressuring Ho3n's team heavily, and with a couple fortunate paralyses, the game quickly swings his way, with little for Ho3n to do about it.

SS Godly Gift: Instruct vs Lily

Instruct's team seems to be a pretty basic Zamazenta-C team, though it features Flygon and Galarian Slowbro instead of Zygarde-10% and Tangrowth. Lily, on the other hand, brings a pretty standard Mewtwo team. The game starts out with both players playing around each other's wallbreaking and trading a few KOs. However, on turn 24, Lily is able to get Galarian Moltres in and claim 3 KOs with it, leaving Instruct unable to deal with her Mewtwo and Tangrowth.

SS Anything Goes: Will vs Ballfire

Will's team is a threatening hyper offense, while Ballfire brings dual Xerneas. After playing around Ballfire's Geomancy Xerneas and Yveltal, Will positions Dragon Dance Necrozma-DM and ends the game with a sweep.

SS Almost Any Ability: Heracross2.0 vs Ainzcrad

The game that ended up deciding the series, Heracross2.0 brings a very standard team with Choice Specs Azelf, while Ainzcrad loads a bulky offense team. It is quickly realized that Azelf has a great matchup, and it is only a matter of time before Heracross2.0 positions himself for a sweep.

SS Mix and Mega: Andyboy vs Axzel

Andyboy brings an HO team, while Axzel loads a team with the rare Lucarionite Golisopod. While Axzel does his best, Andyboy's offensive threats prove to be too much to handle, and Lucarionite Tapu Koko ends the game.

In Closing

US Northeast ultimately had another strong 6-2 win vs Europe, winning the tour and redeeming themselves after a disappointing run last year. They finished the tournament with great performances in AG, Mix and Mega, and 2v2, going 5-0, 4-1, and 4-1, respectively, along with solid performances in STABmons, BH, and NFE. Their win marked the end of SS team tours, with next year's tournaments featuring SV metagames. While it is sad to leave SS behind, everyone is excited to play the new SV metagames, and OMWC V was a fitting way to usher in the new generation.