SPL XIII Power Rankings

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Welcome to the Power Rankings for the thirteenth installment of the Smogon Premier League. This will be the ninth edition of the Power Rankings, which is intended to boost excitement for the upcoming tournament and give a representation of where each team is believed to stand in relation to other teams. To obtain an overview, we have asked knowledgeable players of each respective tier and to rate the expected players for it, averaged the rankings while removing outliers, and ended up with an attempt at a mostly unbiased list. We asked twenty players in SS OU and ten players per each other tier, including one from each team, in order to further combat biases that may arise with a smaller sample size. From there, we gathered all of the rankings and assigned points accordingly: first place in each tier gets ten points, second place in each tier gets nine points, and so on until you reach the BIGs player in tenth. Finally, we will also be including player statistics like the last few editions of Power Rankings have done, which can help show off the achievements of some players and inflate ABR's already enormous ego.

Despite all of these efforts, it is impossible to have perfect rankings, even if the writer of them has fifty Smogon tabs open the entire time he is writing them. At the end of the day, there are far too many variables that can lead to certain individuals and teams doing better or worse than initially projected, which makes Power Rankings more of a fun practice than a serious one. If the rankings can at least beat the infamous ape, add another line to CALLOUS's manager signup resume, and be a fun read for the community, then I will personally be content. The surprising nature of the tournament is ultimately a good thing; it makes the tournament itself worth following closely, so buckle up as we have a lot of questions to answer as 2021 rolls over into 2022! Will the TonyFlygon-led Wolfpack cement themselves as an SPL dynasty? Will the Tyrants finally get over the hump with one-time Wolfpack great ABR now as the face of their franchise? Will a dark horse franchise find themselves hoisting the esteemed red pixelated trophy such as the cursed Tigers or the magma BIGS? Will Finchinator stop creating narratives and tell me who is ranked first already? Find out about these questions and so much more as the season plays out!

Before we proceed to the rankings, it may be best to provide some context as to how we reached this point. The auction happened on the 19th of December, where nine managerial duos and the betrayers of JabbaTheGriffin set out on a mission to draft the best team possible. We are not sure that everyone understood this assignment after taking a peek at these rankings, unfortunately. For everyone else, the auction was the annual spectacle that it is hyped up to be each time, though!

To go over some of the highlights, the record for highest paid player of all time was shattered with ABR costing 42.5k on auction day and reyscarface's sanity by the end of January. Along the way, we saw the ORAS field pick up multiple 30k players, with xray (31k) and CrashinBoomBang (30k) both fitting the bill. This draft was filled with so much top-end talent in general, as a whopping fourteen players cost over 20k, which is the most in the long history of SPL. Of course for every few veterans making their ways to the top of the pricelist, we also welcome a new faces to SPL! The following people will be participating in their first SPLs and we wish them a great experience: Crihon, Rubyblood, Confide, IPF, Kristyl, Spl4sh, Stareal, Splash, MichaelderBeste2, johnnyg2, Siglut, 64 Squares, RaiZen1704, TJ, Dizno, emma, crucify, mind gaming, Pheo', 100%GXE, LNumbers, peng, ACR1, SFG, Goblin, lza, Maya Chansey, SuperEpicEmpharos, ez, Skypenguin, BluBirD252, chuva de perereca, and xavgb. Congratulations to each and every one of you making it; I hope you all have a memorable experience and this is the start of a long tenure competing in tournaments!

We saw the historical hesitance to spend big money on RBY put to rest this SPL as the ten RBY starters combined to 129.5k, which averages at roughly 13k per starter and included Heroic Troller topping the 20k mark! Comparatively speaking, GSC has cost far more than RBY over the years, but this time around the ten GSC players combined to 124.5k, which averages at roughly 12.5k per starter, with 4 of the 10 starters costing under 4k. Going through the other old generations, the ten ADV starters combined to 165k, which averages at 16.5k per starter and would still be over 13.5k per starter without the massive outlier known as ABR, while the ten DPP starters bottomed out at a combined total of a mere 68.5k. This means that the average DPP player cost less than 7k, which is under half of the total for the average ADV total; moreover, the combined total price of the top two ranked ADV players was greater than that of the entire DPP starting field. The BW starters combined to go for 127k, averaging between 12.5k and 13k per starter, while ORAS starters combined to cost 139k, averaging just shy of 14k thanks to xray, CrashinBoomBang, and Raptor combining to cost 84.5k. Rounding out the old generations is SM, which had ten starters go for 99.5k, falling just short of an average of 10k and falling squarely into sixth place out of seven. Ultimately, ADV being the most expensive is a continuation of historic trends, but seeing both ORAS and RBY shoot up to the next most expensive tiers while GSC fell down the ladder a bit is surprising. We will be sure to track how these trends develop and what strategies pay off as this SPL transpires!

Now that you guys are all caught up, we can finally get into the rankings. I just want to extend a special thanks to the following people for contributing in the creation of this article: -Tsunami-, ABR, ACR1, Aliss, Amaranth, august, BIHI, CALLOUS, choolio, CrashinBoomBang, d0nut, dice, Emeral, Eo Ut Mortus, erz, Excal, Fear, Finchinator, FMG, GaryTheGengar, Gefährlicher Random, Gilbert arenas, Gingy, Hayburner, Heroic Troller, INSULT, IPF, jonfilch, Jytcampbell, Kenix, Kristyl, Leo, Luigi, M Dragon, Mako, MANNAT, MAX UND MAX, McMeghan, Nails, Niko, obii, Ox the Fox, PDC, peng, Pohjis, Punny, Raichy, raiza, Relous, robjr, Ruft, Sabella, Sadlysius, Serpi, SFG, shiloh, snaga, spies, Splash, Star, Stareal, starry, Stone_Cold, suapah, Tace, talah, TDK, TonyFlygon, TPP, Triangles, Vileman, Vulpix03, xray, z0mOG, and Zokuru.

And a double thank you to the following people for helping with art, grammar/prose, HTML, and plenty more: antemortem, dex, Estronic, Kalalokki, Kris, Lumari, Quite Quiet, Rabia, and Zracknel.

1. beatiful
2. Gefährlicher Random
3. Ox the Fox
4. INSULT
5. MAX UND MAX
6. MichaelderBeste2
7. bro fist
8. Trosko
9. Niko
10. talah
11. mncmt
12. BIHI
13. HSA
14. Eternal Spirit
15. Luthier
16. 1 True Lycan
17. Storm Zone
18. Ajna
19. mind gaming
20. Separation
21. LNumbers
22. devin
23. robjr
24. Tace
25. Ruft
26. Rubyblood
27. Corazan
28. Vaboh
29. Samqian
30. Confide

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• Team: 11-9 all-time SPL, 4-1 SPL SS, and 43-25 overall
• Individual: N/A

After one of the worst regular seasons in SPL history, the Ruiners changed management and drafting philosophies. Instead of focusing on the core that led them to some prior SPL victories in SPL X and SPL XI, they rebuilt around a new group of standout players, which led to them retaining one and purchasing another top 5 SS OU player. The duo of Ox the Fox, ranked third, and MAX UND MAX, ranked fifth, leaves the Ruiners' SS OU with just about everything they could ask for besides from a rogue lower tier-playing protagonist that wants to prove their continued worth in the OU arena. Enter Ajna, who is there to fill that void and complete what may be one of the strongest OU starting trios in recent SPL history. With the support of OU councilman and longtime star player FlamingVictini, who is known for his uncanny ability to make something out of seemingly nothing in the teambuilder, as a manager and undercover SS OU bosses MANNAT and xavgb, this trio is poised to dominate the SPL field. Ox is already coming off of one of the most successful years in Smogon history after he added a whopping three trophies in a matter of months during the second half of the year. US South winning WCoP and the Islanders winning SCL were both largely thanks to Ox's strong play, but if this was not enough to convince you of his prowess, the pride of the OU room took it one step gigantic leap further and won OLT as well! MAX UND MAX does not have the same pedigree that Ox has, but in a similarly short span of time, he has risen the ranks as a top competitor. MAX's metagame-bending strategies coupled with steady gameplay have led to great team tournament success in SS OU over the second half of 2021 as well. Finally, Ajna is more known for being the best RU player of all time, and while this title will forever be associated with Smogon's favorite musical artist, that does not mean he cannot rake in the wins in SS OU. Last year, Ajna managed to go 4-1 in Smogon's flagship metagame, and there is little reason to believe he cannot replicate these results so long as he works well with his experienced teammates in the teambuilding department. Overall, the Ruiners have three fantastic players in SS OU with a respectable support network; they should have the utmost confidence in the performance of their core here, which clearly earns the first place ranking.

• Team: 10-4 overall
• Individual: N/A

The Scooters came into the draft already knowing they possessed one of the strongest SS OU foundations; with the retains of Gefährlicher Random and Niko, the Scooters complemented their old generation-focused management core with two of the top 10 SS OU players in this year's field. To add on to this duo, they also picked up LNumbers, who has a history with Gefährlicher Random and is coming off of a very dominant SCL down in UU himself. In case these three are not enough to convince you of their strength in the flagship metagame, which they absolutely should be, then there is even more, as the Scooters picked up capable substitutes blarghlfarghl, Joya, and Roseybear, who all have experience in the format in official capacities as well. While the Scooters fall short of the Ruiners due to only having one top five player, they are still a potentially dominant group here with plenty of depth and a lot of momentum coming off of 2021, which can absolutely lead to them being the most successful team here! Gefährlicher Random, ranked second, comes into this SPL looking to improve upon his 4-4 mark last year. All signs point to improvement, too, as he has dominated every single tournament he has played since then with some standout teambuilding and exceptional piloting. Niko, ranked ninth, is a similarly dynamic player, exhausting all possibilities in the teambuilder in order to come up with novel solutions to the problems he faces in the metagame. While his window of play was briefly shut during SCL, the fiery Italian had similarly strong results to his German teammate when playing this year in team tournaments, too. LNumbers, ranked twenty-first, rounds out the trio, but he could honestly be the strongest of the bunch if given a larger sample size. LNumbers was focusing on UU recently, where he had an insane win streak and dominated an entire tournament in a tough field. If this translates to OU, the Scooters will get superb value here. If not, he still put up respectable numbers in WCoP and is paired with two strong teambuilders, so he should still be able to live up to his ranking given the environment the Scooters have here. Overall, there is plenty of room for confidence in SS OU for the Scooters and they should be excited for the upcoming campaign!

• Team: 3-5 all-time SPL (all SS) and 5-7 overall
• Individual: OLT VII finalist, 2020 OU circuit semifinalist

Coming in third among SS OU cores we have the Tigers, which we truly hope is a high enough ranking to qualify for CALLOUS's Poké-resume for his 2023 SPL signup. In classic Tigers fashion, one-time franchise player Eternal Spirit was picked up alongside retain beatiful to form the first two-thirds of this SS OU core. Midseason trade acquisition Separation was picked up once more by his former team, too, to round out an OU core that just screams Tigers. Truth be told, the "feel" behind this core is certainty a bit less dynamic than the top two ranked teams, and the aura of the Tigers certainly does not help that, but if you look at the on-paper results, then there is a lot to be confident about. beatiful has been on a dominant run like no other, winning his first 9 games in SCL and having a great deal of individual success to accompany this. beatiful's aggressive teambuilding complements his spot-on predictions and willingness to take risks, leading to a slew of uneven victories against opponents who are consistently steps behind. Eternal Spirit had a rough SPL last season, but it was away from his home on the Tigers and largely away from SS OU, so there is reason to be hopeful, especially with him making Smogon Tour finals and holding his own in SCL despite facing five of the top ranked players throughout the span of the tournament. On the other hand, Separaton has been on the quiet side since his OLT finals run in 2020, putting up mediocre results last SPL, but he has been active recently trying to regain his peak form. With tier leader Finchinator, Chinese standout lza, and veteran Sabella serving as potential helpers, this trio should have plenty of room to be comfortable and make the most of their campaign if they are not cursed by the Tigers name, hopefully living up to their top 3 ranking.

• Team: 5-4 all-time SPL (all SS) and 11-14 overall
• Individual: OLT VIII quarterfinals

After two consecutive seasons making the playoffs, but falling short of their ultimate goal, the Cryonicles underwent a roster overhaul and came out with an SS OU core filled with new faces. mncmt will be the leader of this group; while he has been more quiet in OU circles as of late, playing UU in SCL, the Brazilian phenom of 2020 is still regarded highly in tournament circles. With a couple of individual playoff runs under his belt in SS, including an OST finals appearance, it is no surprise that he is still highly touted. A mediocre SPL track record could be cause for some concern, but the upside is clearly present for mncmt. 1 True Lycan will provide a veteran presence with a more consistent SPL and team tournament track record in general, going an impressive 11-5 in SS over the last two campaigns. These two will also benefit from the support of the Splash-Spl4sh core and BW starter Stareal, who all have some exposure to the metagame. However, the Cryonicles' third SS player, Storm zone, is on his own plane and may be beyond help as he continues to pilot his own unique creations. Storm Zone is a ladder hero turned tournament regular who has put up a mixed bag of results, going positive in his debut SPL, but otherwise struggling throughout other tournaments. If he can untap some of his prior success and gives preparation his best effort, you can expect good things from Storm Zone, as his ceiling is very high. If not, you have to be worried about his low floor and a repeat of his lackluster SCL performance, where he struggled to bring home a win. Overall, this group shows a lot of potential, but we will need to see mncmt return to peak form and Storm Zone avoid a repeat of SCL to join 1 True Lycan as consistent options in order for the Cryonicles to truly flourish in SS OU.

• Team: 0-5 all-time SPL and 11-10 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 29 semifinalist

After the Wolfpack's SS OU overperformance helped lead them to a trophy last SPL, they are back with a bit more firepower after spending the big bucks on Trosko! While certain managers regard Trosko as being worth 13-14k and were in utter disbelief over his inflated price, a couple of teams were in on the Trosko sweepstakes, and ultimately the Wolfpack got him. The standout Spaniard has been away from the game more recently, but he has a great track record with multiple strong SPL showings. While we want to see a bit more from him in SS specifically before we crown him as a top player, he is still regarded as one of the stronger options in the field. Pairing him with retain talah, who is coming off of a magnificent 2021 SPL of their own, and you get one of the more formidable one-two punches in SS. talah's teambuilding prowess and ability to keep up with the metagame are some of their strenghts, and hopefully this can help put Trosko and Corazan in a better position to win themselves, too. Speaking of Corazan, he will start the season as the third SS player for the Wolfpack. The Frenchman is a few seasons removed from a Smogon Tour semifinals run and has not built up the best track record in the mean time, but there have been flashes of brilliance in the past that could inspire confidence in the modern day. With Nat in the back, it would not be surprising to see her get some work despite saying she did not want to start initially, so we will have to see what comes of that. If she is given the opportunity, Nat had a superb stretch in the metagame between an impressive individual run and a solid WCoP stint, so she would help bolster the group as well. Overall, the Wolfpack have a strong group of players without a true standout SS#1 and with some potential for flexibility at the backend. We mostly expect middle-of-the-pack performances with the knowledge that they can overperform if they follow the footsteps of the 2021 Pack.

• Team: 1-1 SPL all-time (all SS) and 6-6 overall
• Individual: N/A

After LC superstar Luthier decided it was time for a change of scenery, he sold off his lifetime supply of Berry Juice, retired a wealthy businessman, and began his conquest of SS OU with his newly found spare time. While there have been some ups and downs along the way, it is clear that Luthier is a reliable starter, especially after his 6-4 showing last season. Given this, the Classiest elected to retain Luthier and pair him up with MichaelderBeste2 to form a strong duo atop their lineup. MichaelderBeste2 is coming off of a breakout 2021, joining a superb group of German up-and-comers that are dominating these power rankings. Michael in particular went 6-3 in his most recent showing in the Smogon Champions League, which included losses to two recent individual trophy winners and a dominant five-game win streak. Michael's consistency is unprecedented for a newer player, and it is largely possible because of his strong teambuilding, which can help carry the Classiest as a whole in SS OU. Slated to join these two is currently Ruft, but there are other options such as WCoP standout 64 Squares or fellow German prospect RaiZen1704. If it is Ruft, then he will look to build off of a decent start to his time in official tournaments, going roughly even over the big three tournaments last year in limited starting time. He is seen as an active metagame presence who is improving over time, but there is still a long way to go. 64 Squares may be the closest to a complete product of the three, which showed during his strong showing in OU during WCoP, but he is more known for Ubers and his knowledge of the current metagame is less of a sure thing. RaiZen is the least known of the three, but it seems like most newer German players turn out to be amazing, so the hopes are high for him. This group will be joined by manager FMG, who should be helpful with his veteran experience as well. Overall, the Classiest have an assortment of newer players who have made a strong impact already and hope to continue this moving forward!

• Team: 15-17 all-time SPL and 39-50 overall
• Individual: N/A

The Stark Sharks recently underwent a massive rebrand with longtime manager M Dragon returning to the player pool alongside the cultural trends he set for his franchise. TDK and obii took over, hoping to bring success back to the team after years of struggles. One old piece of a semi-recent Sharks team seems to have stuck, however, as bro fist returned to his old stomping grounds as the standout of their SS core. While bro fist had a relatively quiet 2021, especially for his standards, he is one of the best players of all time. bro fist is synonymous with clutch and dominance in the team tournament arena, having unprecedented success in tiebreak scenarios and one of the best records on the sheet of all time. He is not quite as active in the modern day as his peak and we cannot be too sure about his metagame knowledge, but this is a good environment for bro fist, so we imagine he will do what is needed to bring in some wins. Joining him will be mind gaming and robjr for the start of the season, but there is a strong chance suapah will join the lineup when eligible after week four. Until then, mind gaming and robjr are capable alternatives. mind gaming in particular has experienced success when called upon recently, but has yet to do so in an SPL setting. Much like other Germans, you can expect a strong showing and unique perspective in this metagame. As for robjr, his success has been more sporadic as of late, with him struggling mightily throughout 2021 across the official team tournaments. He has had success in SS OU before, dating back to his Nuzlocke run through WCoP as he convincingly 3-0d his group, but since then things have been a lot less convincing on his behalf. Hopefully the team support of suapah can help make a difference for rob, as we know what he is capable of. Overall, the Sharks show a lot of potential in SS OU, but a great deal of their success hinges on finding consistency in players who are less active currently or not quite proven in this setting, so we will have to see how things pan out.

• Team: 1-5 all-time SPL, 1-4 SPL SS, and 10-15 overall
• Individual: N/A

After winning both WCoP and SCL last year, it seems manager Stone_Cold wanted to play on hard mode, drafting Samqian to start in SS OU. Despite these attempts to level the playing field for other teams, there is still hope for the BIGs in SS, as they also retained SS superstar INSULT. Despite only being around for a few years at the highest level, he is already +14 on the sheet, with his best tier clearly being SS. The expectations are high for the fourth-ranked SS player so long as he is given some support in the teambuilding department, where he does not necessarily excel as much as the games themselves. Thankfully manager TPP is a capable teambuilder and should be able to provide support to all three slots alongside longtime OU player pj, who is also a worthy substitute. The next two slots will likely require this support, too, due to not being particularly teambuilding centric and struggling in recent tournaments. Tace in particular had a strong start to 2021 ruined with a couple of duds in WCoP and SCL, while Samqian has yet to truly establish himself as a staple in OU circles, going negative consistently. Samqian has been plagued with some untimely bad luck and there were lots of ramblings about him turning it around earlier last year, but this has yet to happen and we are going to need to see more to rate him much higher, as his sample is growing larger and his results are simply not there yet. Overall, the BIGs have a pretty middling OU core on paper, but INSULT has potential to dominate the entire tournament, and if the other two slots can play closer to their ceiling, then there is plenty of reason to believe in some magma magic from this group.

• Team: 7-7 overall
• Individual: N/A

The Raiders are in an interesting spot, as they drafted 100percentpureheat, who is regarded as one of the strongest SS players after a standout debut in SPL last year, but he is restricted to DPP for the first four weeks. Because of this, they shifted retain BIHI, who is known as one of the best DPP players, to SS, where he also has a good deal of recent success, to start the season. If BIHI can use the support of 100percentpureheat and his own recent experience to become a genuine SS1, then the Raiders are in business. They will need some consistent wins out of this slot, too, as devin and Vaboh round out their lineup and provide less certainty. devin has a very high ceiling, which was showcased in his recent OLT run, and a dynamic playstyle that keeps opponents on the back foot frequently, but he has yet to string together much SPL success as a newer face. Vaboh is in a similar boat, as he does not even have an SPL game to his name yet, but unfortunately he does not even have much success outside of SPL, with a scattered assortment of ultimately average showings elsewhere. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but will need more consistency to prove his worth. If either of these slots fall short, TJ or gtcha could come in for early relief before 100percentpureheat is eligible to return to SS if that is in the plans. In addition, Tricking is among the best historic SS players while raiza is experienced here as well, so they can provide ample support for their starters at the very least. Overall, there are a few question marks here, and we will need to see a lot more than we have in the past from this group in order to be confident in them doing well, but there is a chance they can overachieve with the support they have in house or with some mid-tournament personnel changes.

• Team: 8-5 overall
• Individual: N/A

Last, but certainly not least, will be the Tyrants. While they may be ranked tenth after some pre-season shake-ups, do not let the team that drafted the one and only ShakeItUp be defined by their SS OU ranking. The Tyrants are consistently a force in the playoffs, overperforming one ranking after another in order to make ends meet. They may not have drawn it up precisely like this, and there is a chance that with additions or lineup shifts, their SS lineup could look different as the tournament progresses, but the Tyrants group still warrants a good deal of respect regardless of being tenth here. HSA leads things off; the seemingly washed-up old generation player revitalized his tournament standing with a WCoP win and dominant SCL campaign over the second half of 2021. This string of success made his retention a no-brainer for the Tyrants, who already had a good rapport with HSA after their finals run last season. The next two slots can go a number of ways, as the Tyrants have a great deal of depth with options like Leo and IPF, who both have a good deal of experience in the metagame and are eager for more official exposure. However, Rubyblood and Confide seem likely to get the nod for week 1. Rubyblood had a nice run to make OLT playoffs earlier this year while using some impressive teams that stood out, but he has yet to do much of anything in team tournaments, so the jury is still out to see how he will do here. Confide has had great success in lower tiers between a strong Grand Slam run and a dominant NU stint, but he also is largely unproven in official OU settings. Overall, the Tyrants are going to have to make the most out of some less proven options, but if they can land a hit on even one of those two slots while HSA continues his winning ways, they will be in pretty respectable shape.

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• Team: 23-11 all-time SPL, 18-6 SPL SM, and 44-28 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 26 semifinalist

The Well is back for another campaign in SM after being retained by the Sharks, which is a superb value pick on their behalf. Welli0u has been among the best SM players for a number of years now, stringing together dominant SPL runs while remaining relatively quiet. Perhaps his dominance is downplayed by the general public due to his soft-spoken nature, but do not let this confuse you for him being indifferent or not standing out, as this is not the case. Welli0u's success is no coincidence, and his ranking is entirely justified. With a good variety of teams and some very consistent playing, Welli0u has managed to go 7-2 and 8-1 in the last two SPLs, respectively, while playing his favorite generation—SM. We should expect similar results this year as he looks to keep up his historic pace with the Sharks in 2022!

• Team: 7-10 all-time SPL, 4-3 SPL SM, and 38-31 overall
• Individual: OLT VI playoffs, OST XV finals

Punny has diversified as a player with a great deal of individual success in both SS OU and SS RU in recent years, but let's not forget his roots in SM OU, where he blossomed into the top player we regard him as today. Punny is bound to be one of the favorites in virtually any pool he competes in given his reputation as a player. While we do not recognize him as an SM OU-focused player as much nowadays, we should remain just as confident with him in this generation, especially since it is where he wants to play and where he began his time in official team tournaments. Punny's unique teambuilding and great long-term game planning should be showcased well as he looks to make his mark on this SPL as a player after managing last year.

• Team: 10-11 all-time SPL, 9-7 SPL SM, and 27-23 overall
• Individual: OLT VI playoffs

Relous comes in third in SM OU after being retained by the Wolfpack. Like fellow European SM players Welli0u and Punny that start off the field, Relous has dabbled in a couple of OU generations but easily had the most success in SM OU, where he really solidified himself after a 7-2 run last season. Ultimately, his clutch play helped contribute to the Wolfpack winning the trophy and both sides seemed keen on remaining together for this season. Relous was on the quiet side for the rest of the year, but we know he is active behind the scenes when it comes to keeping himself ready to dominate SPL once again. He may appreciate some support in terms of refining the teambuilding and preparation process, but with a slew of helpful options such as Star, Trosko, and Corazan on board with SM experience, there should be no lack of support on the Wolfpack. Expect more of the same dominance we saw last year from Relous if he sticks in good form.

• Team: 20-15 all-time SPL, 13-11 SPL SM, and 44-41 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 26 champion, Smogon Tour 32 playoffs

After a strong 6-3 showing last year in SM, z0mOG finds himself ranked fourth in his home tier of SM OU for the second consecutive year. You can say what you want about the US West star's antics or history, but z0mOG seems to consistently go positive in SPL, bringing his all-time mark in the tournament to +5 and his sheet to be positive after years of being negative due to a slower start years back. z0mOG has been able to bring a good variety of teams that played mostly well into his opponents and stayed in good form in the metagame throughout the season as he qualified for Smogon Tour playoffs during the fall. z0mOG may not have the sheer dominance that Welli0u has had over the last few seasons, and he may not have the name value of someone like Punny as a player at this point, but he is very capable of going positive and even living up to his 18k price. Expect BIG things in SM from z0mOG if he is as invested as he was in prior seasons.

• Team: 7-8 all-time SPL, 7-3 SPL SM, and 22-22 overall
• Individual: OLT VI playoffs, OST XIV semifinals

One of Smogon's most enigmatic presences is back in the SPL arena to duke it out in the metagame he first broke out in. If the charming flasher is a protagonist or antagonist this SPL is to be determined, but for a mere 3.5k, Charmflash is likely worth his price given his ceiling as a potential top player. We have seen Charmflash dominate multiple tournaments across a couple of formats, including SM OU. His current form in the metagame and how quirky his team construction process will be are major variables in the equation that we simply cannot know before we see games, but Charmflash's play has been solid when called upon far more often than not, which justifies the middle-of-the-pack ranking for Charmflash despite his recent absence from SM OU in official capacities. Hopefully he can prove his worth for the Tigers this season, but Charmflash may be the least predictable slot in the SM field, so only time will tell.

• Team: 7-8 SPL all-time, 3-2 SPL SM, and 27-22 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 27 quarterfinalist

The man once known as Pork Chop Man is hoping to strike fear into his SM opponents this SPL—ironic, I know. Thankfully upon his evolution to ima, the US West player also got decent at Pokémon. In recent years, ima has evolved from average to superb, finding success in both SM and SS OU across a number of tournaments. While ima has been more quiet in recent months, he is returning to the official team tournament arena for this SPL. His form may be in question and his main supporter seems to be blarghlfarghl, as most newer players on the Scooters are SS-focused, but if ima is active and well-practiced in SM, then he can easily be a dark horse to take this field by storm like he did in various tournaments across 2019 and 2020. Overall, there is some risk about ima heading into 2022 because we have not seen him too much recently, but we also know his ceiling is high and the Scooters should be capable of putting him in a position to win games, so there are high hopes for ima despite a middling ranking.

• Team: 9-8 all-time SPL (all SM) and 21-22 overall
• Individual: OLT VI playoffs

With a couple of average SPLs under his belt strictly in SM, frisoeva is unsurprisingly back for a third consecutive campaign in SM OU, which is also his second straight season ranked seventh. frisoeva is a capable player with the ability to keep up with the metagame and cycle through strong teams, but frisoeva's individualism does not always show in preparation, and his records have yet to inspire much confidence in his ability to perform any better than average. This could all change here with a spot on the Tyrants, a successful franchise, and the assistance of long-time SM players like ABR and Will of Fire. With this assistance, there is always a chance that frisoeva gets better with preparation and refining his play to where he can outperform his previously average records, finally standing out. However, we are yet to see this be the case. Until we do, expectations are scattered for this slot.

• Team: 2-4 all-time SPL, 0-2 SPL SM, and 18-21 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 31 semifinalist

Despite being the subject of some hatred from a certain allegedly unbiased Tyrants player, Jytcampbell is getting the nod from the Cryonicles to be the SM OU starter this SPL. Jytcampbell has been pretty mediocre up to this point, but when given the chance to play against high-level opponents consistently, he has put up slightly better results, including a Smogon Tour semifinals run. Perhaps a full season with the support of a veteran cast of teammates on the Cryonicles is just what Jytcampbell needs to continue his evolution as a player. When it comes to preparation, Jytcampbell is on the quiet side, but he is capable of formulating his own ideas and knows the metagame well enough to get by without an abundance of support. Ojama, who has a long resume filled with SM success, and Lusa, who is coming off of a Smogon Tour win, are likely to provide help for Jytcambell as well, which could help bolster this slot. While the low ranking on Jytcampbell is absolutely justified until he proves himself further, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful of Jytcampbell as a budget SM option for the Cryonicles.

• Team: 5-4 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 31 quarterfinalist

Skypenguin is one of the newest players to any SPL starting field, making his SPL debut in SM for the Alpha Ruiners. He had some scattered success in SS later in 2021, but Skypenguin's mainly known for making it to the top 8 of Smogon Tour 31 earlier in the year, which included him flexing his SM competency with a strong showing during the qualifying tournaments in the tier. Truth be told, there is not a ton else we can say on Skypenguin as of yet due to his limited exposure to official tournaments, but we are told that his work ethic is sufficient and he is motivated to make his mark on SPL. The Ruiners have a handful of veteran presences and potential SM supporters such as manager FlamingVictini, Luigi, and MANNAT, who may be able to provide assistance and mold Skypenguin into a winner. Overall, we are not too sure what to expect from Skypenguin yet, but do not let this low ranking discourage you from giving him a chance to win you over this SPL, as the potential is absolutely there.

• Team: 5-8 all-time SPL and 11-18 overall
• Individual: N/A

London Beats has served as a plug-and-play type of option for a couple of years now, oftentimes preparing plans with his close friend Garay oak, who happens to be his teammate here once again. London is not necessarily an outspoken builder or strategist, but with the right support, he can bring home some victories in a number of formats. Last year, he was able to fit the bill in ORAS with a strong run when it came to crunch time, and this year, the Classiest are hoping he rises to the occasion in SM. With the assistance of manager FMG and a couple of teammates familiar with SM, including the aforementioned Garay oak, he should be in sufficient hands this season. Beyond that, it is just up to London Beats and how he is able to pilot the teams he brings. We are not too sure due to the lack of SM experience in officials from London, so only time will tell how this plan works out for the Classiest!

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• Team: 34-19 all-time SPL, 26-13 SPL ORAS, and 62-50 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 27 semifinalist, Smogon Tour quarterfinalist x2, Smogon Tour playoffs overall x7, 2019 ORAS Circuit semifinalist

The god scanner is back where he belongs in his favorite generation. Unsurprisingly, xray has been one of the most dominant ORAS players of all time, easily coming into the tournament with the best SPL track record in the sixth generation. Back when xray began his time as an official tournament player during Smogon Tour 18, nobody could have guessed that he would end up becoming one of the faces of a whole generation of OU. Much like many other German players over the last handful of years, xray's unique playstyle and strong metagame reads have helped him showcase consistent gameplay en route to succeeding against the best of the best. While xray's price was quite high, topping at 30k, there are few slots in the entire tournament that are as close to being a surefire positive record as xray. Expect great teams and play from the Raiders ORAS superstar!

• Team: 31-27 all-time SPL, 25-20 SPL ORAS, and 43-35 overall
• Individual: N/A

Coming in second place in ORAS is CrashinBoomBang, who finds himself in the same exact spot as last year. Perhaps this is unsurprising, seeing as he consistently puts up respectable records in this metagame each SPL, peaking last year with a 7-4 mark after going even the year prior. He was able to grab the best record in the ORAS field last year while being one of the faces of an evolving ORAS metagame, featuring many revitalized strategies that CBB himself assisted in the revival of. While 30k is an inflated price for someone who is not necessarily a lock to have a top record in an ORAS pool that is deeper than prior years, CBB is a great fit on his team, joining a number of long-time friends who can help him prepare and test, such as manager TDK, and would be worthwhile if he continues on his upward trajectory that began last season. With CBB, the Sharks get at worst a reliable starter and at best a dominant force in a surprisingly impressive ORAS field.

• Team: 7-4 all-time SPL, 6-4 SPL ORAS, and 21-16 overall
• Individual: 2019 ORAS Circuit champion

Raptor is back in business in what may be his best generation this SPL, coming in third among all ORAS starters after his strong stint in the tier a few years back. Be it due to his behind the scenes maneuvers or his own strong gameplay, Raptor has established himself as one of the stronger players across Fairygens in recent years. He is an active teambuilder who constantly has novel ideas, he is a strong teammate and chat presence, and, above all else, Raptor is a very capable battler, even in a field with more threats than normal. Raptor's lack of SPL sample relative to some of his prospective opponents could deter some people, but he has been at a consistently high level and has to be eager to live up to his lofty price after being forced to take a year away from SPL. Expect big things from Raptor if he can maintain his past form.

• Team: 2-3 all-time SPL (all ORAS) and 2-3 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 32 semifinalist, 2020 ORAS Circuit finalist

jonfilch coming in fourth may be surprising after he was ranked ninth last year and went negative with limited playing time, but many believe jonfilch has soared to new highs as a player after his impressive run to semifinals of Smogon Tour 32, defeating two highly touted opponents along the way. Once regarded as an ORAS prodigy that came from the same ideological background as xray, jonfilch has since continued to grow into his own identity as a presence in tournaments, which could be why he experienced more success recently. With the support of a number of ORAS capable teammates and substitutes, jonfilch should have plenty of support in his attempt to go positive for the first time ever in an official tournament!

• Team: 7-9 all-time SPL and 20-22 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 31 champion

While 2021 had some downs for Lusa earlier on with a 2-5 SPL, he soon turned it up a few notches and turned it into his best year yet by far. Not only did Lusa achieve his first ever 7 win regular season in SCL, but he also won Smogon Tour 31 earlier on in the year, putting him among rare company filled with top players. Lusa may not be up there with the best of the best yet, as his track record prior to his Smogon Tour victory was lackluster, but his current trajectory is fantastic and it seems likely he can outperform his middling ranking. To make matters even better, the Cryonicles got Lusa for a cheap 10k as a retain and have the support of Splash, and Lusa has always maintained that ORAS is his best metagame, which means the frosty bunch should be quite confident here.

• Team: 13-13 all-time SPL, 10-6 SPL ORAS, and 18-26 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 27 champion, Smogon Tour 19 quarterfinalist, and Smogon Tour playoffs x2

Speaking of Smogon Tour champions ranked in the middle of the ORAS pool, Luigi finds himself sixth, trailing fellow Brazilian and Smogon Tour winner Lusa. Coincidentally, Luigi was ranked sixth last year, too, and proceeded to go 5-2 in ORAS. If the Ruiners end up getting more of the same for a mere 7.5k, then they are going to be in great shape, and regardless, Luigi appears to be one of the better value buys of the entire draft. While he may need some assistance with team construction, Luigi's in-game play is on par with some of those ranked above him, if not better, historically, and there is little reason to believe his form has decreased over the last year as he has been active. The main worry is just adapting to any metagame shifts and trying to hold his own in an ORAS field that is admittedly deeper than last. If Luigi can stay comfortable with everything considered, then he should put up similarly impressive results to last season!

• Team: 10-9 all-time SPL (all ORAS) and 15-20 overall
• Individual: N/A

When the best 3k buy of all time goes for 8k, ruining a meme ingrained in tournament culture, you know the world is headed in the wrong direction. Any team that upbids erz is automatically out of contention to win SPL this season because of this, of course. Jokes aside, erz, formerly known as Dragon Claw, was on the SPL XII winning Wolfpack last year as their ORAS player. His season was not one to write home about, as he went even but for a cheap price that was all the Wolfpack needed in that particular slot. One may wonder what his peak truly is as a player with mostly mediocre results so far, especially when he had the ideal team environment last season, and this season could go a long way towards helping answer that question. erz is decently experienced now with multiple seasons under his belt, and this is the strongest ORAS field he has been a part of, so he is going to have to really prove his worth to overachieve his ranking and even go positive. Anything beyond that would be a plus for the Classiest here.

• Team: 11-11 all-time SPL, 10-10 SPL ORAS, and 27-28 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 27 quarterfinalist and Smogon Tour 29 playoffs

It says a lot about this ORAS field when the individual ranked first last year with a large body of work in the tier is all the way down to eighth this year. Sure, Santu has struggled across a couple of tournaments, going -8 on the sheet for 2021, but he has enough of a positive track record predating his worst year to warrant a lot of positivity towards his future bounce back. The rankings seemed to think otherwise, however. With a 3-6 showing last year, the Tyrants will look to get their ORAS starter back into good shape after moving on from CrashinBoomBang due to him not fitting their budget. With the support of ABR and Will of Fire, a certain Power Rankings writer personally thinks this ranking is a crime and Santu will be a major comeback candidate for this season. In order for this to happen, Santu will need to be more active, motivated, and careful throughout the tournament as he was on the sloppier side of things later in 2021, but the Tyrants have a winning environment that could easily right these wrongs. If they can fix Santu up, expect a dark horse run. If not, things could be headed in the wrong direction as a continuation of last year.

• Team: 5-4 all-time SPL (all ORAS) and 7-5 overall
• Individual: N/A

Persephone is back from hiatus to play his favorite generation, joining a trio of Germans ranked above him in the field. While Persephone went positive overall in his prior SPL play, there were concerns about his ability to prepare sufficiently alone and compete consistently. Enter the Wolfpack, who are notorious for making the most of the players in need of a regroup. The thing is that despite these sentiments being shared, Persephone still went positive, so perhaps we can see a big breakthrough this season if Persephone is not intimidated by this deep ORAS field. With the support of BKC and Trosko, there are certainly hopes for another positive run from Persephone, but his ranking starts off quite low due to his time off and lack of sample size in official tournaments. For a mere 4.5k, the Wolfpack made a solid choice here knowing the possibly high ceiling that can come with Persephone, but worries about the floor being uncomfortably low are fair as well.

• Team: 0-3 all-time SPL and 4-10 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 31 semifinalist and 2021 ORAS Circuit champion

After years of flirting with mediocrity in older generations and as a substitute, Vileman came out of seemingly nowhere to dominate ORAS across both Smogon Tour and the metagame's circuit. While he did not quite win the trophy that fellow ORAS player Lusa ultimately claimed, Vileman's run was still impressive and proved he deserved a shot at being a full-time SPL starter. Without this opportunity in the past, Vileman was left with uneven playing time and no true tier to focus on, which could have compromised his results. With this said, the results we have seen have been ugly, and we are going to need to see a stark shift in this department in order to be confident Vileman can overachieve his current ranking at the bottom of this pool. If Vileman continues to display his strong mid-late 2021 form, which he will have to do while working around a supposed absence for a week or two in the middle of the tournament, then he could very well do that. If not, it could be an abbreviated appearance for Vileman as the Bigs can potentially shuffle some OU slots.

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• Team: 54-35 all-time SPL, 54-33 SPL BW, and 106-75 overall
• Individual: BW Cup III champion, BW Cup I finalist, Smogon Classic VI champion, Smogon Classic V finalist, Smogon Classic III playoffs, x4, Smogon Tour finalist, x3 Smogon Tour semifinalist, x3 Smogon Tour quarterfinalist, and Smogon Tour 19 playoffs

In an age where BW and competitive Pokémon as a whole have grown increasingly chaotic, SoulWind winning games has been one of the lone constants. While his 2021 in BW was a little quieter than prior years, a lot of this was due to misfortune and SoulWind's historic BW track record is still easily the best of all-time. With a flawless 9-0 SPL under his belt, unprecedented BW Cup success in hand, and a Smogon Classic win in his trophy case, the only true surprise here is that SoulWind's first place ranking was not unanimous. The Spanish superstar has been the single strongest player on Smogon over the last few years with BW being his strongest generation. His teambuilding is strong, too, as he continues to keep opponents guessing and bring strategies that allow for him to put up such strong results, even pushing the metagame in novel directions with things like Lead Aerodactyl on offense or Colbur Berry Latios on balance. Overall, SoulWind has already established himself as an all-time great and his success here seems close to a lock; BW enthusiasts should take notes when he comes to bat.

• Team: 31-24 all-time SPL, 24-13 SPL BW, and 70-60 overall
• Individual: 3x BW Circuit champion, BW Cup VI semifinalist, Smogon Classic VI quarterfinalist, Smogon Tour 26 finalist, Smogon Tour 27 quarterfinalist, and x3 Smogon Tour playoffs

For better or worse, Finchinator has grown into one of the faces of Smogon over the years. The main issue for the Tigers is that the "or worse" bit of this dynamic seems prevalent. Finch's desperate attempts to win SPL enter yet another chapter after the last two concluded with him putting up impressive six-win records, but ultimately falling short in the playoffs. With a change of scenery and another strong year of BW play under his belt, Finch's second place ranking seems plenty justified and we do not doubt that he will do well, but everyone knows that his mind is much more on the trophy than his own individual results. In terms of his BW slot alone, Finch maintains a steady hand with some of the strongest, most standard builds in the tier for the most part, but recently we have seen him successfully adapt to the metagame and branch out. Be it through helping set the tone for the wave of hyper offense with sets like Air Balloon Starmie and Swords Dance Pursuit Scizor or helping give himself a leg up in balance match-ups with sets like Colbur Berry Roar Latios with Spikes, it is clear that a dialed-in Finch has a good mixture of reliable team compositions with practical adaptations to keep himself in commanding positions. As always, he is going to have a large target on his back for less predictable strategies and a lot of his record will be determined by how well he prepares and continues to adapt, especially with dice and SoulWind as his first two opponents. If the past is any indicator of this, then the Tigers will be in good shape in BW with Finch.

• Team: 33-28 all-time SPL, 21-17 SPL BW, and 62-55 overall
• Individual: BW Cup V champion, BW Cup III semifinalist, Smogon Classic III finalist, Smogon Classic IV playoffs, and Smogon Tour 17 quarterfinalist

The Ruiners rolled the dice on one of the most creative and high-ceiling BW players this season and I just rolled the dice on one of the stupidest puns in Power Rankings history. For a mere 15k, dice is ranked third in this BW field once again, finishing behind the same two people he did last year. Unfortunately for the Ruiners, they bottomed out last season and dice arguably bottomed out in BW last SPL himself, going 2-4 in the tier, although he encountered some misfortune earlier in the tournament. Despite this lackluster showing, dice still has a positive track record in BW over a fairly large number of players and his strategies have helped shape the tier at numerous points. Be it through reshaping how we use seemingly common Pokémon like Excadrill and Breloom, opening up entirely novel teambuilding possibilities, or simply through trying out less expected combinations altogether, dice's fresh perspective and refusal to conform to metagame norms makes him a pesky opponent. Couple this with his strong in-game execution and you get a clear-cut top tier BW option. It is fair to say dice may take some unnecessary risks against lower-ranked opponents, which has plagued him in the past, but if he can focus on balancing this tendency out with his flashy strategizing, then he can be consistent like he was a couple of years back and challenge those ranked above him for title of “best in the field.” It is worth noting that dice is a strong option in a variety of other generations, too, and has sometimes been put elsewhere in recent years, but expect him to wrack up a good amount of victories if he is given a full campaign in BW.

• Team: 35-25 all-time SPL, 7-4 SPL BW, and 61-60 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour 17, 22, 24, 25 & 26 playoffs; 2nd Smogon Tour 24 & Top-4 Smogon Tour 25, 2nd Smogon Championship I, Smogon Classic VII semifinalist

watashi is back for his second season as a week 1 BW starter after spending a couple of seasons largely in SS OU. While he did touch BW briefly last season, going 1-1, overall watashi is more of a versatile player than a BW mainstay, playing everything from various OUs to NU to CALLOUS' 2021 draft plans. That should not be held against him, though, as watashi is a reserved, but friendly presence and strong player across the board. The pride of Canada has familiarity with this generation that dates back many years, including a deep Smogon Classic run recently and a number of strong Smogon Tour campaigns further back. With a gritty ability to integrate more experimental strategies into his teams and a knack for taking the aggressive route, watashi's strengths will likely be highlighted in this more proactive and evolving state of the BW metagame, which could parlay into success for the Bigs in this slot. For a relatively cheap price, watashi finds himself comfortably in the top half of a BW field that is regarded as quite top-heavy, so the BIGs should be confident about the value they are getting out of this slot so long as watashi avoids going too far into fringe strategies, which humble BW playing teammate INSULT could prove helpful in ensuring.

• Team: 18-20 all-time SPL, 7-6 SPL BW, and 22-29 overall
• Individual: N/A

GaryTheGengar is back for another campaign in BW OU on the Wolfpack. While Gary was seen as less of a sure thing going into last year, he has taken some great steps to solidify himself as a serious BW option and a respectable team presence in recent times with his 2021 campaign on the Wolfpack, becoming a lively member of the BW community following SPL. After the aforementioned 5-3 run last year, which culminated in a trophy win, it is no surprise that he is back with his good friend BKC in what seems to be his best generation with what may be one of the best supporters. Prior to his stint in BW last year, Gary was seen as more of a utility across a couple of older generations, bouncing between ADV and DPP over a few years on the Tyrants and BIGs with greater success in DPP. Getting a real week 1 opportunity to be a full-season starter in BW is very deserved for the Wolfpack hopeful and is actually his first chance of this nature since 2013, where he played BW for five weeks in his debut SPL season. With an assortment of consistent and carefully constructed teams, Gary played very well and scored upset victories over strong opponents like dice and Jimmy Turtwig last season. By the end of the season, he even began to adapt with the curve of more proactive teams, sticking close to the metagame by frequenting the BW subforum. Given his middling price, the Wolfpack should expect to get a good deal of wins and great value from GaryTheGengar in BW this season!

• Team: 20-19 all-time SPL, 12-10 SPL BW, and 43-45 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic I & V semifinalist, BW Cup V quarterfinalist, Smogon Tour 25 playoffs

elodin is back for yet another season in BW after having a pretty average showing last time around. He got off to a strong start for the Tyrants, but cooled down as the rest of his teammates began to heat up. Despite his 5-6 record last year, there is still plenty of reason to be positive about elodin here, as his price was under 6k and he has a positive overall record in the tier against some strong player bases. With some new scenery and the support of BW playing manager Raiza as well as BW substitute Shoka, elodin should be well-equipped to win plenty of games this season. Of course, if he falls short, he risks being replaced by Shoka, who is a formidable BW alternative with a good deal of recent activity, too. Assuming elodin does a sufficient enough job to stay in the line-up, hopes should be high for the Raiders to get good value here, as elodin seems to always find a way to string together enough wins and he does not mind mixing up the team choices in order to do so. The main worries about elodin are likely his execution and being able to bounce back from a pretty middling 2021 in order to show his full potential as a player. If he can put that behind him and focus on the positives and work with his great support network, you can expect elodin to be one of the dark horses of this BW field.

• Team: N/A
• Individual: Smogon Classic VII finalist, BW Cup VII semifinalist

Crucify burst onto the BW OU scene in 2021 with a phenomenal assortment of showings, dominating every single time he was given the opportunity to do so. Within a single year, which he went into as a seemingly unknown entity in BW circles, he managed to make it all the way to the top four of BW Cup, losing to the eventual winner, and claw his way to the finals of Smogon Classic, with BW easily being his strongest format. On top of this, he did well in smaller settings such as entering the BW Circuit playoffs as the #1 seed. There are absolutely some doubts about how Crucify may construct teams and if he can use things that are more consistent than some things he showcased later on in Smogon Classic, most of which likely factored into his lower ranking, but with the support of managers TDK and obii, who both have SPL BW experience, Crucify should be in some of the best hands possible. Given how strong Crucify has been as a pilot in BW thus far and the aforementioned support, it is now just a matter of replicating the past against stronger, more consistent opposition. If Crucify is capable of doing this, he will be a great value pick and outperform his ranking. If not, it could be a learning curve for Crucify in his debut SPL.

• Team: 20-13 all-time SPL, 27-18 overall
• Individual: N/A

Gilbert arenas aka Marcop aka "The Cop" aka Daniel rackedcliffe has stepped away from his long-time home in ADV to take a crack at BW this SPL. While he is still on the Tyrants, a team he has grown accustomed to, Marco will face a whole new slew of challenges in this generation. With the support and assistance of long-time BW players like ABR and experienced managers reyscarface and PDC, they should be able to collectively figure out sufficient teams for Marco. Historically, Marco has been a very strong player and he took up ADV quickly years back, so perhaps the transition will be strong here, too, with the aforementioned support. However, as there is a strong and experienced top end to this BW field, we have no indication of what Marco in SPL BW will truly look like, and support can only go so far as the metagame continues to push forward at a pace more rapid than previous years. Marco will have to adapt on the fly and maintain his high level of play along the way in order to justify his placement in BW and outperform his ranking. Is this possible? Absolutely, and his positive records across the board are a testament to this, but it is still going to be a big ask from the Tyrant's BW player.

• Team: 1-3 overall
• Individual: N/A

Long-time BW aficionado peng is finally getting a crack at the tier's most prestigious field. peng is known throughout Smogon as one of the most intelligent tournament policy posters. Unsurprisingly, his ideas are similarly brilliant in the BW arena, as he has already managed to prove himself as an elite builder with plenty of novel spreads. peng lacks one thing and, unfortunately for him, it is one of the biggest things many rankers factor in: official tournament experience. He has yet to play an SPL until now and while he does have the support of managers McMeghan and Excal, who both have a great deal to offer in BW, they can only do so much when peng has to play the games himself. While peng has some smaller-scale success in tournaments like Ruins of Alph Premier League, that is about all he can claim currently and that is well below that of virtually everyone else in this competitive field. In order for peng to have a successful SPL and compete with the top players, he is going to have to keep up his strong teambuilding practice by preparing for specific opponents and adjusting to the high pressure setting of SPL on the fly. This is a gigantic ask for any player without much experience and going against SoulWind in week 1 will not make matters much easier. For peng, this is about as hard a debut to walk into as humanly possible, but if he can get everything together in time, he can showcase a respectable run. There is always hope for him to pull off some upsets, too, so we will have to wait and see what comes of the Scooters’ hopeful!

• Team: 2-3 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic VII quarterfinalist, BW Cup VII finalist

Stareal has made a name for himself in BW as a consistent competitor in later stages of circuit tournaments and someone who did very well in BW Cup this past year. Unfortunately, he falls into the same boat as peng when it comes to lacking BW experience in official tournaments, but Stareal did at least get his feet wet in the most recent Smogon Champions League. Thanks to the brief glance that we have of him from Classic, it seems like Stareal picks solid enough teams to get by, but his sequencing is on the more awkward side and his metagame knowledge could certainly use a bit more experience, which his opponents are likely to all have. Given all of this, his ranking at the bottom of the pool should not be any surprise, as BW is not a tier many zoomers find themselves competing in at the SPL level. But there is hope; Stareal is a gutsy performer with a lot of unofficial tournament success and this can translate to SPL if he continues to follow the metagame and improve upon his tendencies. Teambuilding-wise, he is going to be limited and this will cost him against more perceptive opponents, especially with Ojama likely being more focused elsewhere and there not being much other help on board, which is what leaves many of us worried about the floor of this slot. However, if the Cryonicles can help out their BW prospect, then perhaps he can string together some wins and overachieve his ranking.

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• Team: 62-41 all-time SPL, 42-19 SPL DPP, 112-79 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic VI playoffs, Smogon Classic V quarterfinalist, Smogon Tour playoffs x4

This may be the single most pointless description in the entire article. It's Tamahome in DPP. He is the greatest player in the history of the tier, he has more experience than most of the remaining players in the field combined, and he always finds ways to carry his weight in team tournaments, wracking up the most wins of anyone ever. For a mere 15.5k, Tamahome will continue to anchor this field if he puts in the effort he needs to.

• Team: 13-14 all-time SPL (all DPP) and 17-19 overall
• Individual: N/A

Coming in second is surprising for DeepBlueC. After being ranked sixth last year, the soft-spoken generation four mainstay did manage to go positive, but just barely. In a field that retains a few top players such as Malekith and Christo and gains Void, seeing DeepBlueC jump them all was not what many DPPers expected. However, DeepBlueC should be part of a lively, supportive group on the new-look Sharks, which could help improve his already solid teambuilding. From there, he can at least keep a steady hand in the battle, but he has never been exceptional, so we will need to see him take a leap forward to justify his placement.

• Team: 16-15 all-time SPL, 15-14 SPL DPP, and 32-35 overall
• Individual: DPP Cup III finalist

A TonyFlygon managed Void is a hot commodity in DPP circles. In the first leg of his regrouping efforts, Void managed to go positive last season after hitting a low point from seasons prior, but this year he aspires to do even better, soaring up from rank eight to rank three. While Void's DPP success can be seen as synonymous with cheese and whatever mood Osgoode wakes up in on any given day, Void does offer a premium as an experienced player in this field. Embracing the variance madhouse and doubling down on proven winning strategies will go a long way for Void, but he may also find a second dimension added to his game as humble BKC is his manager. Perhaps this duo can bring out the best of Void and strike a good mix, leading Void to a dominant campaign now that he is back home with the Wolfpack.

• Team: 33-29 all-time SPL, 13-14 SPL DPP, and 56-59 overall
• Individual: Smogon Tour finalist, Smogon Tour semifinalist, Smogon Tour quarterfinalist x2, and Classic quarterfinalist x2

Malekith had a superb early season compromised by a lackluster finish to last SPL. With this campaign in the rearview, Malekith finds himself back in the fourth spot in the DPP power ranking for the second straight year. Given this consistency, Malekith has been a staple in the middle of DPP fields while wielding his own brand of teams, integrating a surplus of creativity that keeps even the most experienced opponents on their toes. Sometimes they hit, and the chat erupts into a flood of LOLs, but sometimes they miss or do not come into play, and Malekith has to play an uphill battle. The crafty veteran will ultimately have his moments but likely will have a few tough games scattered in. All in all, he is good for at least a decent record in this DPP pool, even if he may not live up to a certain Torterra fanatic's ranking.

• Team: 27-14 all-time SPL, 6-6 SPL DPP, and 33-19 overall
• Individual: N/A

Christo the great is back in DPP for the Tyrants, unsurprisingly. For 3k, the reyscarface bunch got an amazing value pick. Christo boasts a 33-19 all-time SPL record, with his most recent success being in DPP. His rapport with manager PDC helped lead the way to a successful campaign last season, and this time that duo also has the input of ABR and Gilbert arenas to help get the job done. Given his strong track record and equally impressive network of supporters, there is no doubting Christo's ability to live up to his middling record. The real question is if he will overperform again despite not being a true longstanding DPP player or not. Many believe he is a dark horse candidate to land the best DPP record, but only time will tell if this theory is based on fantasy or reality.

• Team: 6-3 all-time SPL (all DPP) and 6-3 overall
• Individual: N/A

After being considered a controversial buy in RoAPL not too long ago, Snøfall decided to shut up any and all haters, going 6-3 in his debut SPL, which was good for the best DPP record in the entire tournament. A 4-0 start against top-end talents like BIHI and Malekith was seen as a major shock at the time, but now it is clear that Snøfall is here to stay. With DPP prices being deflated, the Classiest were able to nab Snøfall for a mere 3.5k, too, which makes him a superb budget option. Even if he regresses towards his ranking and finishes with an average record rather than a dominant one, Snøfall is a good pick in context. Hopefully, for the Classiest, he overachieves once again, however.

• Team: 13-14 all-time SPL, 6-9 SPL DPP, and 19-23 overall
• Individual: N/A

Mael has been seen as a jack of many trades but master of none over the years, as he has floated between a number of old generations. While he claims competency in just about all of them, he has not been able to stand out in official circles no matter which format he has been slotted in. DPP has been the tier he has played the highest volume of and where he ends up once again after a middling 4-6 campaign last season. A finals victory over Christo salvaged his season on the championship-winning Wolfpack, but there were definitely some low points for mael along the way, which likely led to him moving down a couple of slots in the rankings this year. With this said, he still is reliable enough to bring in some wins, and perhaps the support of manager Stone_Cold can help flip the script.

• Team: 1-1 all-time SPL (all DPP) and 1-1 overall
• Individual: N/A

Sakito is getting his first chance to be a week 1 starter this SPL. He was able to go 1-1 last year in his true debut, but that was too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions. With the support of DPP mastermind Excal, Sakito is bound to be equipped with some cabal-certified squads, perhaps including the hottest of camels if we are fortunate enough. What this means for Sakito's season is largely up in the air until we get a better idea of his comfort piloting different teams and ability to play in this setting, but many people familiar with DPP think Sakito knows the tier very well and plays at a high level, so perhaps this will be his breakthrough tournament if he can handle the pressure!

• Team: N/A
• Individual: DPP Circuit semifinalist

Speaking of debuts, Kristyl will be making her debut this SPL on the Cryonicles. She has dabbled in DPP for a while now, having some recent success at the circuit level, including a best of three victory against McMeghan for playoffs. She ultimately was able to make the semifinals before her strong run came to a conclusion. Unfortunately, this is a small sample size, and the circuit as a whole is at a level decidedly below that of the SPL field, making most of her other success good but less conclusive than the official tournament results of those ranked above her. Kristyl will have the support of DPP veteran Ojama, perhaps, but ultimately her own competency in the modern metagame is going to have to carry a vast majority of the weight here. We are yet to be convinced she can make it work consistently in an official capacity, so the ranking reflects that until she can establish herself further.

• Team: 8-3 all-time SPL and 8-3 overall
• Individual: N/A

Does anyone really want to read a paragraph about an SS player who signed up for DPP and got ranked tenth? Like honestly, is there a single person out here eager to say what a BW main writer has to say about an SS main player in the DPP SPL field? Well, in case such a person exists, I have bad news: I have no clue how 100percentpureheat will do in DPP. The current prevailing theory is that BIHI will provide the bulk of the team support and 100percentpureheat will grind out games with his managers, which makes sense given his close rapport with Tricking in particular. What results that will lead to we are currently unsure of, but only time will tell. Until then, someone who has hardly touched DPP is going to have to settle for being ranked last, especially if they may not last more than the minimum four weeks in the tier until a swap to SS is allowed.

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• Team: 34-19 all-time SPL and 68-34 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic VII champion, CALLOUS Invitational V champion, Smogon Classic VI finalist, Smogon Classic V semifinalist, CALLOUS Invitational III 3rd place

ABR is ranked first after collecting a 42.5k bag, winning Smogon Classic, winning CALLOUS Invitational, and winning the most recent SPL. Sure, he got carried hard last SPL during the playoffs, but aside from that brief stint of weakness, ABR has been the best player on Smogon over a long stretch of time. He has proven ridiculous levels of understanding across a number of generations ranging from fairygens to much older tiers like GSC. ADV is his most recent passion project, and seeing as he won the most prestigious ADV tournament of the year alongside Smogon Classic, one would guess that this project is going pretty well for ABR. In case this much is not convincing, be sure to take notes this SPL, as ABR looks to continue his dominant ways in the biggest team tournament of them all in a field filled with strong and knowledgeable ADV players!

• Team: 27-14 all-time SPL, 9-2 SPL ADV, and 45-34 overall
• Individual: 2021 ADV OU Circuit champion, ADV Cup VII semifinalist, Smogon Classic VII playoffs, ADV Cup III semifinalist and Smogon Classic quarterfinalist, CALLOUS Invitational V 5th place, CALLOUS Invitational II 3rd place

After being hyped up as the next best player throughout the course of his lengthy tourban, Star has lived up to the praise and then some. Last year he was arguably the best player on all of Smogon, dominating each tournament he played. Star's next step is to have this success translate to deeper Smogon Classic runs, but in the meantime a second dominant SPL in ADV will surely help the cause. Going 9-2 in ADV during his SPLXII campaign with the victorious Wolfpack and 10-3 overall lead to a no-brainer retain. Star has a great grasp on teambuilding and the metagame, he plays at a very high level across virtually every format with ADV being his single best generation, and this environment was the same as the one he thrived in last season. There is little, if any, reason to believe Star will start to do poorly. This slot is as close to a sure thing as they come and the Wolfpack should be very confident in ADV, especially with BKC helping with support when needed.

• Team: 44-35 all-time SPL, 20-18 SPL ADV, and 76-57 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic I champion, Smogon Classic IV finalist, Smogon Classic V quarterfinalist, ADV Cup V finalist, ADV Cup IV semifinalist, Smogon Tour 15 champion, Smogon Tour 14 playoffs, Smogon Tour 11 quarterfinalist

If the stats did not give it away, Ojama has been that guy in ADV for a longer time than some of this field have been playing. With his unique teams and his dominant mentality, Ojama will always stand out in the fields he plays in, and this time will be no different. What will be the most interesting is if he can bounce back to his previous highs after taking some time off from the game. Many people would bet on him being able to do so just because of how good prime Ojama truly was, but in order to truly meet expectations, he will have to defeat one of the two new-school ADV players ranked above him, which is where things get fun. With the support of Triangles, perhaps any adjustments to the modern metagame will come easily and Ojama will dominate. If not, it could be a struggle at first for Ojama, who has struggled before, but it would be hard to see someone so historically strong do too poorly.

• Team: 1-4 all-time SPL (all ADV) and 7-9 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic VII finalist, CALLOUS Invitational V third place

After flirting with mediocrity for a couple of years, Altina flipped the script in 2021 and became an absolute world-beater. Not only did he qualify for Smogon Classic and hold his own in CALLOUS Cup, which already seemed like a big ask for Altina, he also proceeded to be downright dominant in both settings. Unfortunately, Altina's fairytale ending was gatekept by a pair of Tyrants in ABR and Gilbert arenas, but his runs were still impressive and filled with quality victories. In terms of his preparation and play, Altina is a confident risk taker who has a well-developed grasp on the ADV metagame, including recent trends, and has the support of creative mastermind and fan favorite SuperEpicAmpharos if need be. This core may comes into the tournament with high expectations surrounding what people expect Altina's ultimate record to be, but he has yet to replicate his success in this setting, so it will be interesting to see what this new-and-improved Altina can do for the BIGs!

• Team: 24-19 all-time SPL, 9-8 ADV OU SPL, and 61-49 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic quarterfinalist x2, Smogon Classic II playoffs, Smogon Tour quarterfinalist x2, Smogon Tour playoffs x2

M Dragon is back in the playing field after many years of managing the Sharks. This time around he joins another one of the top franchises of all time, the Ruiners, to play ADV OU. It would be unsurprising to see him play GSC OU at points, too, with watermess getting the go in ADV, so keep your eyes opened for that prospect. Assuming M Dragon is in the field, however, there is a lot of ADV history to go over. M Dragon qualified for many Smogon Tour with ADV in it back in the day, even if his eventual win was after it left, and he also has a strong track record in Smogon Classic. In addition, he has a couple of respectable CALLOUS invitational runs to his name, too. While you have not seen him play SPLs recently, the point is that M Dragon is an all-time great that belongs in the top half of this field. His price may have been steep for a fifth-ranked player, but peak M Dragon could come out and easily outperform this record, too, if he stays in form. With the support of watermess and dice, perhaps M Dragon could prove that he is still dominant this SPL!

• Team: N/A
• Individual: ADV Circuit semifinalist, Smogon Classic VII playoff tiebreak

The bottom half of the ADV pool is largely made up of players with less official experience but high standings within the ADV community. johnnyg2 is the epitome of this, impressing a plethora of users familiar with old generations with his play in recent times. Along the way he has had scattered success throughout the circuit, Smogon Classic, and CALLOUS's most recent invitational. To elaborate, Johnnyg2 managed to defeat McMeghan and SoulWind across CALLOUS invitational while only losing to Hclat twice during his impressive run. He clearly is capable of defeating top players and competing within this field. While a price north of 13k and a ranking in the middle of the ADV field for anyone making their debut is unprecedented, there has to be a degree of confidence surrounding johnnyg2 and what he can do. His understanding of the metagame and teambuilding are where they need to be. Expect big things here if johnnyg2 does not feel the pressure of his debut, but come into the tournament with some hesitancy until he gets his feet wet.

• Team: N/A
• Individual: N/A

After a four-game winning streak led mikmer deep through the losers bracket of the recent CALLOUS invitational, including delivering a tour-ending blow to both undisputed and z0mOG, mikmer is getting his first chance at making his mark on SPL! This new-school ADV player from Italy has proven quite a bit in his brief time playing, truthfully, and many ADV fanatics are excited about his debut, claiming that the Scooters did a fantastic job nabbing him as a cheap starter. The rankings are less sure of this notion due to his inexperience relative to those ranked above, especially when you look towards the top half of the field, but there is absolutely some potential to untap. Add in the fact that he is managed by McMeghan, who is one of the best ADV minds of all time, and you get an ADV core with potential to overachieve. Only time will tell if we get the ideal results here, but the foundation for success has been laid down at the very least.

• Team: 2-7 all-time SPL (all ADV)
• Individual: N/A

After CALLOUS managed to help a seemingly washed-up Golden Sun resurface with a 6-3 SPL showing, he hopes to make something out of Teclis despite his history of poor performances. While Teclis only has a nine-game sample size and his defenders claim he has not been the most fortunate, there is no justifying a 2-7 mark no matter how you look at it. The Tigers drafted a budget option in ADV due to their in-house support between both managers knowing the tier well and Tamahome being one of the better all-time ADV players. In order to justify going with a low-cost option, Teclis is going to need to be more consistent than he ever has been and at least bring in a few wins against higher-ranked players with the support he will have at his disposal. If this does not happen, the Tigers do not have many alternatives that do not involve a juggle that will cripple other tiers, so it could be a long season.

• Team: 0-1 all-time SPL (ADV) and 0-2 overall
• Individual: N/A

Sadlysius is one of the group of ADV mains who dedicate a good amount of time and effort to the tier but have yet to truly stand out from the crowd. In a ridiculously small sample size thus far, he is yet to pick up his first win in official tournaments, but of course there will be more chances for this fact to change as he plays more than a mere two games. With Dizno in the back to either provide support or substitute in if needed, there is some depth to the Raiders ADV plan and some hope that their teamwork can help one or the other overachieve. With this said, Sadlysius is still ranked ninth for a reason: he is in a pool with a lot of strong players with long histories of success and he has yet to prove much of anything. His teambuilding tends to impress in ADV circles, but we are going to need to see gameplay to match that to get anywhere here. The Raiders are going to need someone to pick up the slack in ADV with no obvious candidate to go positive in this field.

• Team: 21-28 all-time SPL, 8-6 SPL ADV, and 28-42 overall
• Individual: N/A

Coming in tenth place in the ADV rankings is Jirachee, who many believed would either go unbought or be purchased strictly as a substitute. One can argue ADV was his best generations of OU for a few years surrounding his prime and Jirachee's close rapport with some top ADV players such as BKC definitely rubbed off. In fact, Jirachee went positive in ADV over a couple of seasons years back. Unfortunately, Jirachee has struggled over a very large sample size in official tournaments as a whole and has been very inactive for the last few years while the metagame shifted a good amount. In addition to this, he has gained a reputation as someone to quit on teams mid-tournament when things are not going ideally and he is not paired with close friends. Yes, I am salty. In an ideal world, Jirachee comes out motivated and adapts to the new metagame with the assistance of his strong support network. If this happens, he is good enough to win against the bottom portion of the pool and perhaps more, but getting any victories against the top group of players seems like a stretch unless this SPL greatly shifts his trajectory as a player. This world is not always ideal and there is a good chance we see the hot-hand, Pheo', come in early relief, however.

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• Team: 30-14 all-time SPL (all GSC) and 37-26 overall
• Individual: N/A

The one, the only, the foat. If you take away an off-brand 2021 SPL, Fear has been the single most dominant GSC player in recent memory. Sadly, we must not completely ignore his most recent showing, which had Fear costing a large sum when he largely underachieved. A 3-6 campaign was not enough to deter managers or rankers, however, as Fear still cost 28k and is ranked first. Perhaps this vote of confidence is correct and the Greek stand-out will return to his insanely consistent form. Until we see games, we will never be sure, but many signs do point to this given his track record and encyclopedic knowledge of the metagame. The sky is the limit for Fear as usual.

• Team: 52-43 all-time SPL, 47-34 SPL GSC, and 70-61 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic IV playoffs

Conflict kicked it back into gear last SPL as he went 7-2 in GSC, showing us that he still has plenty in the tank after doubts about his form left him ranked fourth in his home generation of GSC. Say what you want about Conflict, but one cannot deny his consistency as a player in the second generation. While it is true he will be missing the opening week of the season, Conflict is expected to do well over the remainder if he is still in form anywhere close to that of last year. He has the most experience among anyone in the field in this format, and it should be possible to even regain form because of this if he has strayed far from the game. It's just a matter of making sure Conflict does not use anything too crazy and stays active when playing; if these two things are assured by the Cryonicles, then Conflict may very well be a lock to go positive in GSC.

• Team: 17-15 all-time SPL, 3-7 SPL GSC, and 31-29 overall
• Individual: GSC Cup IV champion, Smogon Classic IV quarterfinalist, GSC Cup III semifinalist, Smogon Classic III semifinalist

Jimmy Turtwig finds himself back in GSC after a couple of years of strong DPP and a year of even stronger BW. Truth be told, Jimmy is a rock across a number of old generations, which very much includes GSC. While his SPL IX showing was not up to his normal standards as he went 3-6 in GSC, his individual success is easily better in this generation than others. Overall, you are always going to get a veteran presence who takes preparing and playing seriously across a full season with Jimmy. For just under 20k, the Raiders got a second season of this in a row, and there is little reason to believe this investment will fail to be worthwhile. Jimmy is simply good at Pokémon and largely seen as a reliable pick-up.

• Team: 18-11 all-time SPL and 54-29 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic IV semifinalist

lax is one of the stronger players around, but he is not known for GSC quite yet, so he is ranked below the top players by enough to distinguish this. With this said, he has adapted to a number of metagames in the past and even made it to the semifinals of Smogon Classic, so an honest effort should be enough for lax to be in the top half of this or just about any other field. The flashy westside player had not been as dominant last SPL, merely going even, but he bounced back in SCL and his ceiling is clearly among the highest on the entire site. If lax is motivated for the magma BIGs and works alongside coinflip mastermind Altina and long-time GSC follower Vileman, he should be able to string together an impressive run with a positive record. If things go poorly earlier on, they could come crashing down entirely, so the BIGs should be cautiously optimistic here.

• Team: 4-5 all-time SPL (all GSC) and 4-5 overall
• Individual: GSC Circuit finalist

TC is back for his second season in SPL as a GSC starter. Last year, he had some impressive peaks against strong opponents but also flamed out at some points -- literally and figuratively. With the Tyrants being his team this year, he will have a better environment to work out any issues in his mental or actual game, especially alongside the assistance of ABR. TC is still going to have to do the heavy lifting himself, and with less experience than everyone ranked above him, he will have to continue improving in order to overachieve. Thankfully for the Tyrants, they have FriendOfMrGolem120 as a post-midseason insurance plan and TC only costing 3k, but they are still hoping to get excellent value out of this slot, while TC has clear control of the starting slot to begin the season.

• Team: 8-7 all-time SPL, 8-4 SPL GSC, and 8-7 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic V playoffs

After two straight positive seasons in GSC, Zokuru finds himself back in the generation he calls home. Ranked sixth for the second year in a row, the perception is that he is pretty average in this field. For a mere 3k, this seems like ridiculously good value for the Tigers. Last season, Zokuru was able to beat some of the top players while supposedly being an active teammate, but there is a stigma surrounding the Tigers' GSC player that his playstyle and antics do not fit in well with every crowd, which likely deflates his crowd. Antics or not, Zokuru is a strong GSC player with an improving track record that will hopefully overachieve his ranking once more.

• Team: 3-1 overall
• Individual: GSC Invitational champion, 2020 GSC Circuit Semifinalist

Kenix is finally free in SPL once more, but this time around he is playing GSC for the first time on the big stage. After a year filled with development in GSC, Kenix blossomed into a dominant presence with a streak of strong wins en route to an invitational championship. Of course, this is going to need to be just the tip if the iceberg for Kenix in the second generation if he wishes to see consistent success, as he has yet to play an SPL in the generation, let alone a full SPL in any format. He could also end up in RBY with M Dragon in GSC and watermess in ADV, so do not get too attached to this slot. For GSC, Kenix shows great potential and already has some individual results. We just need to see it translate to the SPL arena to be sure. The Ruiners should come into the tournament with confidence despite the relatively low initial ranking.

• Team: 6-9 all-time SPL (all GSC) and 8-10 overall
• Individual: N/A

Choolio is back in business after a couple of years away from official tournaments. Many believe this will not hurt him all too much, as Choolio has a vast catalog of GSC knowledge and has not been entirely absent from the community, but there will need to be some convincing that the rust is off for everyone to be sure. Couple this with his inconsistent results thus far over a couple of seasons and you get a mediocre ranking for Choolio in his return. He is absolutely capable of more but will need to display some of his prior strengths in order to live up to that potential. For a mere 3k, Choolio is a worthwhile investment, even if there is a sizable amount of risk that comes alongside the pick. With the support of GSC prodigy TDK as a manager, perhaps Choolio's return to form will be smooth and he will be able to overachieve, but we will have to stay tuned and find out.

• Team: 15-14 all-time SPL and 36-38 overall
• Individual: N/A

The next participant in d0nut's school of GSC OU will be clutch Spaniard Garay oak. While Garay has dabbled in old generations like ADV and ORAS over the years, even getting a full season of ORAS under his belt, this will be his official debut in GSC. Thankfully, he has the support of d0nut, who managed to turn TDK into a GSC stand-out last year and KratosMana into one the year prior. This track record is thoroughly impressive, and while Garay oak has yet to impress across other OU formats like these two, he is still a very capable player, and with the right guidance, this could translate to some victories. Of course, this slot, as well as the one player ranked lower, is largely unknown until the tournament starts, so we will have to keep our eyes on Garay's early games to see if things pan out or not!

• Team: 39-22 all-time SPL and 61-43 overall
• Individual: N/A

After mastering lower tier farming and even finding scattered success in generations like DPP and BW, soulgazer will now try his hand in GSC OU under the tutelage of managers TonyFlygon, who continues to knock on the door of a GSC Cup win each year, and BKC, who has long played the metagame at a high level. In a sense, soulgazer's tenth place ranking was a formality, as he has no track record in a metagame that rewards experience more so than some others, but with the right supporting cast, which is present, and enough determination, which should also be present given the team soulgazer landed on, you can absolutely make a claim that soulgazer is set up perfectly to make a dark horse run filled with upsets of more proven GSC players. Will this actually happen? We cannot be sure, but the ceiling is absolutely higher than the average tenth place player, so stay tuned!

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• Team: 22-8 all-time SPL (all RBY) and 25-9 overall
• Individual: N/A

For the fourth consecutive season, Heroic Troller is the first-ranked RBY player in the field, which is the second-longest streak of all time behind SoulWind's six consecutive seasons in BW at first overall. Given his dominance, Troller was such a highly contested RBY option in the auction that his price even surpassed 20k, solidifying him as the most valuable RBY player in recent memory. While this RBY field is stronger at the top and deeper than most, Troller still stands out as the best option. Why is this? It is because Troller knows his specific, no-nonsense game plan and the game itself outright better than anyone else. He may not frequently use fringe Pokémon or string together ridiculous sequences to pin-point a specific position, but Troller rarely missteps in his game plan while possessing a great deal of knowledge on his opponents and the trends of the RBY metagame. Troller's methodical mastery has far surpassed the level of his one-time master Marcoasd and reached uncharted territory, landing Troller in the conversation for best RBY player ever as he looks to continue where he left off after a 6-1 RBY run last season.

• Team: 33-30 all-time SPL, 25-13 SPL RBY, and 56-48 overall
• Individual: 2x RBY Cup finalist

Nails is an absolute beast in RBY. We can sing praise about Troller and his dominance all day long, but the second-ranked RBY player is as tough as nails. This Wolfpack star is not particularly far behind Troller either, as he continued to solidify himself as a standout RBY starter last SPL with another 7 victories, giving him one of the best records in the tier. If Nails is able to notch 5 more this upcoming SPL, he will surpass MetalGro$$ for the most all-time, too, which would cement him as one of the best RBY players ever. What makes Nails so consistent? Part of the equation is the fact that ever since Nails learned RBY for SPL VIII, he has become increasingly knowledgeable to the point that he is always prepared for whatever gets thrown his way. However, you do not become this successful with just sheer metagame knowledge. Nails goes above and beyond with his preparation, finding himself in winning positions frequently due to optimized set choices and early-game sequencing. When Nails made his dominant run last season that began around mid-season, his unmatched game-planning abilities truly shined, and the Wolfpack should expect more of the same this season from Nails.

• Team: 20-11 all-time SPL, 6-5 SPL RBY, and 24-12 overall
• Individual: N/A

Coming in third in the RBY rankings is FriendOfMrGolem120, who has continuously found ways to go positive in both RBY and GSC. While he is more known for GSC at this point and could shift there later in the tournament if needed, that should not leave people doubting his RBY prowess, as he went positive in his debut SPL a couple of years back and has only grown stronger since. In fact, FOMG won the RBY OU Global Championship this past year against a pretty impressive group of opponents. Even though he has the assistance of Gilbert arenas, ABR, and reyscarface if needed, as they all have varying degrees of RBY success over the years, FOMG should be a self-sufficient, positive record if the past few years are any indicator of what is to come. The Tyrants should be confident they got a strong RBY player who has a knack for six-plus win SPL seasons with this pick.

• Team: 17-15 all-time SPL, 17-14 SPL RBY, and 17-15 overall
• Individual: 2020 Circuit semifinalist

After a brief managerial stint last season, Amaranth is back for another season in his beloved RBY. While us boomers may still regard Amaranth as a player on the newish side of the old generation player spectrum, he is only two wins away from cracking the top five for all-time SPL RBYers and should comfortably crack that list this SPL. Many RBY players believe Amaranth's success is due to his ability to capitalize on the trends of his opponents and the metagame as a whole, taking calculated risks to give himself an advantage. Amaranth's consistency in the tier, which is a testament to the aforementioned strategy he employs, began with a couple of average finishes as a new player to SPL but really blossomed with a 7-4 showing in his most recent SPL as a player. Accompany this with a number of individual achievements, such as a Global Championship victory and a deep circuit run in 2020, and it should be no surprise to see this Italian Tournament Director ranked among the better RBY players.

• Team: 5-4 all-time SPL (all RBY) and 5-4 overall
• Individual: RBY Cup VII semifinalist

Serpi is looking to follow up his positive SPL debut with yet another positive campaign this time around after being retained by the Scooters. While he ranks in the middle of the field, Serpi is by no means just an average player. He was able to take his first opportunity in any official tournament and make the most out of it by going positive, but he has only gotten stronger since then as he finished second in the RBY OU circuit standings and made it to the top four of RBY Cup this past year, building off of a strong showing in RBY Cup 2020. Coming from the teachings of long-time RBYer Lusch and the management of Amaranth last season, Serpi had a fantastic foundation to help him blossom into one of the most promising RBY players in the modern-day, and now he is ready to showcase this for his Scooters!

• Team: 1-6 all-time SPL and 8-13 overall
• Individual: Smogon Classic VII playoffs

Exiline will be replacing spies in RBY after the latter has stepped away from the game. We did not want to re-poll rankers or rewrite a large part of the article given the last-minute nature of the situation unfolding on New Year's Eve, so Exiline will be retaining spies's ranking of sixth. This could be accurate if Exiline is able to get into his best shape in RBY, however. While his past in SPL is not the best, things can change, and that showed in the recent SCL, where he did well in his normal home tier of Ubers. Exiline also has some experience in RBY, including a recent trip to Smogon Classic VII playoffs. Overall, RBY is regarded as his strongest old generation and Exiline just needs more experience to be able to compete with this strong field. Only time will tell if this will come and he will make the leap, or if it will not and the Cryonicles will be left in a tough situation.

• Team: 8-7 all-time SPL, 7-2 SPL RBY, and 12-13 all-time
• Individual: N/A

Mako broke out in her first full season as an RBY starter last year, going 7-2 with signature victories against top players such as SMB and Nails along the way as she took home the top RBY record. This was absolutely not a fluke either, as Mako followed up this dominant run with yet another comfortably positive showing in RBYPL, making her all-time RBYPL record an impressive 7-3. While last year she had the experienced supporting cast of Genesis7 and M Dragon as she attacked the RBY pool as a Shark, this time around, the Classiest have a couple of people who have dabbled in RBY, including manager d0nut and one-time RBY Cup winner SoulWind, who should be able to provide their insight if needed. Mako may lack the depth of experience that some of the top-rated players have or the individual tournament results of those ranked directly above her, but she has an amazing RBY record under her belt, and she is very capable of adding a second for the Classiest this time around.

• Team: 5-2 all-time SPL (all RBY) and 12-14 all-time
• Individual: N/A

The controversial BIGs retain Hayburner looks to justify his...surprisingly middling retention price in an all-time deep RBY field this SPL. After relieving Tiba of his duties for what could be the final time in his legendary competitive Pokémon playing tenure, Hayburner got a fresh start in RBY and made the most of it, going 5-2 with wins in each of his last four series. Of course, this is a small sample, much like Mako, and we would like to see more in terms of official results. We do not have that at all, and that is largely why we see Hayburner in eighth rather than higher-up following a strong showing. Hayburner managed to only go even in RBY PL this year after going 6-0 the year prior, which likely helped him land his starting job with the BIGs to begin with. Perhaps his form is still in a similar condition, and we are judging one small sample to make conclusions about the worth of another small sample. There is no real way for us to know at this point, but hopefully, supporter Maya Chansey can help share her RBY wisdom to make sure this slot stays strong. The BIGs could have another 5-2 caliber campaign coming if Hayburner continues to progress and works well with his RBY aficionado teammate, but he is going to need to be at his absolute best given how strong this pool is, so we will have to wait and see what comes of this retention and Hayburner's first full season in RBY.

• Team: 3-2 all-time SPL (all RBY) and 3-2 all-time
• Individual: Smogon Classic VII playoffs

Aliss is finally getting her much-deserved opportunity at being a full-time SPL starter in RBY, the tier she previously played last SPL in relief of MetalGro$$. Over the course of about half of the season, she managed to go 3-2 with impressive wins over spies and SMB along the way. Aliss also made a respectable run into the fifth round of RBY Cup as part of her Smogon Classic playoff showing. Perhaps even more impressive is her showing in RBY PL as she went 4-0, proving that her wins from last SPL were no fluke and that she was clearly in improved form for this upcoming SPL. While Aliss does not necessarily have the depth of experience or the resume of top-tier victories to stack up with many of those ranked against her, she clearly has a great grasp on the tier and how to prepare for competent opponents, so she should absolutely not be written-off this SPL. Of course, we have said great things about the eight people ranked above her, too, and those are all justified. This RBY field is phenomenal. Someone is going to have to fail, and it could be one of the lower-ranked players like Aliss, but many signs point towards her overachieving for the Raiders and continuing her recent winning ways, so watch out for Aliss as a potential dark horse in this field!

• Team: N/A
• Individual: 2021 circuit semifinalist

Rounding out the RBY pool is chuva de perereca, who is a lesser-known RBY player on the Ruiners with some respectable recent results in unofficial tournament settings. While chuva has yet to play an SPL or make any noise in RBY Cup, he did manage to finish third in RBY Circuit standings for 2021 and defeat now-teammate Kenix in playoffs en route to a semifinals appearance. Overall, chuva is still very raw relative to his counterparts in the field, and it is entirely possible that we see Kenix in RBY with M Dragon sliding down to his slot in GSC, as they have depth in these generations, but if chuva starts, there is still some room for hope and perhaps even optimism. He managed to go 3-1 in the most recent RBY PL, and many RBYers claim that chuva's ceiling is higher than numerous others in this field, leaving us to wonder what could come of what may be the least known slot in this entire tournament. We should be eager to see what the Ruiners do with their RBY slot and how they manage to perform moving forward given all of this. Only time will tell to see if this is going to be a cheap slot that fails to produce in a stacked field or if we could be seeing one of the steals of the auction!

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While TonyFlygon may have his hands full with two red trophies already, BKC has one more hand open after collecting his first on the Wolfpack last season. This triumphant tandem being ranked first should be a surprise to absolutely nobody, as the Wolfpack look to establish themselves as an SPL dynasty. With the combination of TonyFlygon's top-notch interpersonal skills and drafting strategy and BKC's universal Pokémon prowess, these two complement each other perfectly and look to lead yet another dominant SPL campaign this season! With a strong group of retains already in hand, it is clear their decisionmaking and core will be capable of doing the trick, too.

The reyscarface-led Tyrants have been a staple in the SPL playoff picture, even making it to the finals and coming within a game of bringing home the Tyrant-red trophy last season. For one reason or another, reyscarface elected to add PDC as his assistant last year, and it seems to have stuck. While some say PDC's DPP background has helped the team with crucial support as he tests across the generations, others say PDC is just present for comedic relief—at his own expense, of course. Regardless of this, the Tyrants have an experienced and successful group of managers that retained a duo of similarly experienced and successful players. There is no reason to believe these managers will not help lead their team to heights equal to or greater than those the Tyrants have reached in recent seasons!

Another duo of veterans taking the helm of a team would be TDK and obii, who attempt to fill the seemingly irreplaceable void M Dragon left as managers of the Sharks. While TDK and obii lack the experience that the above pairs have, specifically in terms of SPL management, obii has had success as a manager in Smogon Snake Draft, while both have been around in the tournament community for many years. TDK is able to bring strong playerbase knowledge and unique old generation preparation insight to the table, which he has showcased firsthand in recent tournament showings. obii is experienced in a number of generations himself while he also is a social butterfly, making sure the Sharks will be a lively bunch this year. Overall, TDK and obii seem likely to provide an enjoyable environment and can help set their team up for plenty of Shark Attacks this SPL!

While the first three managerial pairings are more present in public tournament settings, do not let d0nut and FMG's more reserved demeanor distract you from their competency as managers. d0nut's near-encyclopedic knowledge of competitive Pokémon and its playerbase serves as a great drafting tool, while the two complement each other nicely when it comes to tiers of expertise. FMG is able to help with fairygens and even dabble in BW as an active testing partner, while d0nut's teambuilding and gameplay strength ranges from RBY through DPP, making the two capable of elevating many of their players throughout an SPL campaign. They both have experience managing competitive teams at this point, too, but neither has quite the positive experience of the top couple of managers. Perhaps this will be the year that these two lead the Classiest further than before with how well they are set up though, so stay tuned!

McMeghan and Excal look for a fresh start as managers of the Scooters, who also look for a fresh start as a franchise after their season crumbled following a 3-0-1 start last year. While both players have experience managing, with McMeghan running the Ruiners in the past and Excal taking charge with the BIGs recently, this is their first time managing the Scooters or doing so together. Do not let the new scenery or relative inexperience fool you though, as both have a great deal of experience in formats in the tournament, with McMeghan in particular standing out as one of the best players of all time, and they managed to retain a strong trio of players for a mere 33k. McMeghan and Excal can help elevate these players and those they draft with unique old generation perspectives and a seemingly endless flow of ideas, which could make the Scooters particularly hard to prepare for. If they can take advantage of this well, perhaps they will be scooting back to the playoffs under McMeghan and Excal!

The BIGs have grown into a franchise synonymous with comedic errors and failure, finding themselves as the target of countless communitywide memes. None of this fazes manager Stone_Cold, however, who is coming in hot after winning yet another World Cup of Pokémon and the first Smogon Championship League as a manager within the last six months alone. Say what you want about his seemingly comical SPL history in recent years, but Stone_Cold is the most successful manager in Smogon history, and lots of respect is due because of this. His assistant is no slouch either, as TPP is a thorough and well-regarded teammate. His expertise in both SS and SM should help with team construction, testing, and general quality assurance while he remains a friendly chat presence to help with the team environment. These two have plenty going in their favor headed into this SPL and could make a dark horse run for the red trophy, but they still have to shed the atrocities of the BIGs's history to get there.

I- Won ROAPL back to back (most recent two years), drafted the number 1 power ranked team in SPL last year, demonstrated by commitment to the tour and never giving up by rallying the team back from a terrible 1 point in three weeks start to being in legitimate mathematical playoff contention in the final week and demonstrated my integrity by reaching out to the opposing manager while down 2-3 in a must-win week 8 and letting him know there had been a leak and we had information about a team one of their players was intending to use. I've also held thousands of dollars of other people's money and have been involved in numerous community-wide old gen invitationals, including CALLOUS Invitational, which this year received over 2300 dollars in donations and was given the green light to award a custom avatar to the winner!/p>

Bush- Was on Tigers last year and put up a positive record including huge wins over SoulWind and others, is a well-known great team presence, shadow-managed Lindworms in Snake on their way to the championship, won ROAPL with me this year and has several individual accomplishments this year as well including- Classic Playoffs, top 16 in OLT and Smogon Tour quarterfinals (ongoing at the time of this writing). He's very knowledgeable about many generations and a super tryhard that would undoubtedly be a huge asset to a squad he's managing.

After two straight winning campaigns, the Ruiners went from dynasty to one of the worst SPL seasons ever. In the aftermath, their managers left a vacancy that was filled by shiloh and FlamingVictini. Both have a couple seasons of management under their belts, with shiloh's recent SCL finals run standing out as the most successful either of them has been as a manager in officials thus far. While the pair does not cover every generation, shiloh has a decent amount of old generation experience, especially when it comes to RBY, and FlamingVictini has a good deal of fairygen experience himself. The main worry about this pair is their activity and accessibility throughout a grueling campaign. Thankfully they have an amazing value pick with Ox the Fox as a retain, giving them a great starting point, but they will have to put in the work in order to get the Ruiners back to where they historically have been: deep in the playoff picture.

The Cryonicles are led by a duo of managers with a surprisingly large deal of playoff experience, as both have made it as managers within the last calendar year. In fact, Triangles and Gingy being ranked ninth is a great testament to how deep this pool of managers is, and it is very possible they make yet another deep run with the Cryonicles, who have been playoff bound each of the last two seasons. They retained Smogon Tour champion Lusa for a mere 10k, which is also a great start to their team's construction. Between Triangles being an extraordinary ADV supporter through both building and testing and Gingy's unique hodgepodge of playing experience in some more recent generations, these two can provide some direct support as well, but not quite as much as other, more complementary duos, which likely hurt their ranking a tad. Overall the Cryonicles have already proven they can make the playoffs under the management of Triangles, and Gingy has a history of making deeper runs in team tournaments, so the sky is the limit for this pair, but they are going to be facing stiff competition each week to get there, which could prove to be very challenging.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Tricking and Raiza managing the Raiders. Both of these two have been around managerial circles in the past but have had greater deals of success as players. Tricking in particular is an all-time great, while both of them managed to win WCoP together on Team Italy. Be it for better or worse, they are here to take over a Raiders franchise who is a few years removed from seriously contending to win the tournament. Tricking can provide a great deal of teambuilding and testing support across generations, particularly being helpful in newer formats, while Raiza is a great resource in BW and a good chat presence as well. They also retained BIHI for a mere 10k, who is a great option in both SS and DPP, giving them a strong start to the tournament, but ultimately there are still lots of tiers they need to cover between the draft and support. Both Tricking and Raiza bring a lot of upside and have potential to win another trophy together, but this is a very deep managerial field and they are going to need to make the most of every opportunity in order to stand out here.

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