S1nn0hC0nfirm3d - When starry first brought you up as a potential starter I was absolutely down to take a chance on it since even if the bulk of your accomplishments were in lower tiers you always stood out to me as a strong player that wasn't afraid to click the right buttons. To this day I have no idea how we managed to walk out of the auction getting you for just 3k and knew after that masterclass win week 1 that you had the potential to be the steal of the draft but honestly given how many weeks you clutched including both tiebreak games even calling it the steal of the draft seems like an understatement. I know there are a handful of people out there who aren't a fan of your antics but its ultimately misplaced. People could learn a thing or two about not giving too much of a fuck about what is ultimately a fun hobby, and not taking things too seriously can be a great strength when it comes to playing with confidence when all the chips are down. It also makes you a great presence and a lot of fun to be around, keep doing your thing brother.
leng loi - I know you would have liked to have put up a more dominant record here, but your record alone obviously doesn't speak to how instrumental you were for us. With SV taking up a third of the starting slots a strong builder was clearly a must have and we put full trust in Expulso's judgment that you could handle the job and you certainly delivered. Its definitely not easy to have to take on that burden while maintaining such a high level of creativity especially over the span of a 13 week tournament but it ultimately paid off for us in a big way, massive props for the effort you put in here. It was great getting to meet you this season, and I hope you continue to do well in your tournament career going forward be it on South in WCoP or whatever else you decide to do.
LpZ - Another great high ceiling player we were able to secure for cheap. You did a fantastic job adapting your success from slam onto yet another big stage and secured some huge wins throughout the season. Despite having a lot going on behind the scenes you always managed to show up and put on a good performance, I'm sure you'll continue to do well in tours for years to come as well. You were an amazing presence and it was great having you around this season, may your future be filled with capybaras, gains, and more trophies.
Kate - You were a player I had my eye on as a cheap option that could start and likely bring in some wins given you always seemed capable to me in other tours even if it was mainly playing Ubers. While we didn't initially get you to start it was reassuring to have you as an option to step up if we needed to make adjustments and that ended up working out great for us here with you bringing in some big wins and especially keeping the undefeated playoff streak alive. You were also the perfect fit for the vibes for this team we assembled and one of the funniest people in the chat hands down. Dropping in with one of your unhinged statements or past experiences was always a highlight of the chat for sure.
damien the genius - Given SS was a field with a lot of uncertainty about it, I'm glad we ended up managing to get away with picking you up for so little even as funds started to get tight. You were never afraid to click the right buttons to control games with aggressive plays and the heroics you managed to pull off with your trusty Zapdos throughout the season made for some of the most memorable in game moments of anyone this season. You're also a very humble and kind individual amidst a website of large egos and shit talkers which made it nice to have you around in the chat as a breath of fresh air. I'm sure you'll continue to do big things and I hope WCoP goes well for you and your team.
Tace - Pretty much the one guy we knew from day 1 we were going to get without much room for negotiation since starry wouldn't take no for an answer. Given the consistency you've shown in SM over the years I knew it would be a solid choice and didn't really push back on that beyond considering backups for the worst possible situation. Despite some obstacles you ended up putting up another strong season and I'm glad the confidence we had in you wasn't misplaced. As a midwest mainstay you also fit right into the culture of the team and I appreciated having someone else around that could balance out the over the top energy of our more vocal yappers like starry. You're no stranger to winning these things and your consistency as a player is definitely a big part of that so I wouldn't be surprised if its not your last time.
pj - One of the most hard working and dedicated players on the team for sure. The ORAS prep channel was always insanely active and it was insane to see you and kh working nonstop, oftentimes prepping for the next opponent as soon as your most recent game was over. You were also a mainstay chat presence and the heart of this team in many ways. Similar to damien you're definitely one of the nicest people around and your optimism is infectious which I think was necessary to balance out the constant doom posting that would inevitably come from starry whenever a game started up. I'll be hoping for the best for you in your future tours, maybe you and MANNAT can run it back in a future tour but just remember we got you there first, its all about respect.
dice - As the one person on the team with a longer dry streak for an SPL win than myself I gotta congratulate you for finally making it happen. Your regular season might not have been to your usual standards but clutching your playoff games in such dominant fashion showed just how much hunger you had to get the win in the end (as if the daily "@everyone lets win spl!!!!" tags didn't do that already.) You're a lot of fun to have around and I appreciate the expertise you were able to provide in the old gen channels, you stepped up to support Roro both in his decision to play to his strengths in the tiebreak and with prep in a big way in that final adv game. I'll look forward to seeing you in future SPLs, and now you'll be able to go forward having finally gotten that big win.
Groudon - Going back to our old days on central you're the person on this roster I've known for the longest. It was a blast getting to reunite with you through this tour as you've always been such a positive person and a lot of fun to have around. If you told the me from like a decade ago we'd be winning SPL together with you starting in DPP I'd have probably said something like "this clown is good enough to start in 2025?" Incidentally if you told me the same back in December I'd have almost certainly said the same thing but here we are. Honestly though I couldn't be happier that we made the decision to take the gamble on you since you definitely do have the experience needed to win in this tier (and the army of support required to make that happen) and you've always been able to put up with my comments from the sidelines since you know its all in good fun. I'm glad this tour was able to reignite your passion for playing, its always fun watching you play big stakes games so hopefully we can see more of that in a future SPL.
McMeghan - In all these years playing the only other time we teamed was back during my first SPL on the Bigs in SPL 7. While that season was far from the best run a lot has changed since then and it was incredible getting to run things back again with one of the all time greats. It was very reassuring to see you have a positive first impression of our draft from the outset, and when things started to click into place even during the offseason week leading up to the tour I knew we were in for something special. It was nice to have you around knowing you could always bring in the win whenever we needed it, but also to provide insight to all of our players about the game as a whole from a source they could respect. Even with everything you had going on I appreciate the amount of effort you put into your games, particularly the ones in the tiebreak where you managed to keep things under control even with the high stakes. I'm glad you were able to vibe well with everyone including starry who you might have understandably had some poor impressions of, and that you were able to take the numerous the jokes at your expense. Perhaps now that things are winding down you might actually be able to return to a somewhat normal sleep schedule, but we'll still see each other around while our chat still remains reasonably active and I look forward to seeing more gameplay from one the greatest and most passionate players this game has ever known.
BIHI - I know you might not have the best feeling about this season in terms of personal achievement but I still stand by our decision to go for you. You had more than your share of misfortune but still showed some very solid gameplay and clutched crucial wins for us even in a tier where you didn't have the most experience or the greatest impression of it. I also admire you a lot as a player and respect the hell out of anyone who willingly steps up to play these big tiebreak games with everything on the line and all the pressure that comes with it. If this is the end of playing for you then I'm glad we could at least pull off a win together, but this game has its ways of bringing people back so perhaps we'll see you on the big stage again.
Kaz - While I'm sure you would have wanted to put up a better record and are definitely capable of doing so, being able to clutch those wins in playoffs means so much more to the team. I know you struggled to find your usual confidence with your plays during the regular season but you did a fantastic job pulling it back and I really appreciated your mentality when it came to looking for things you could have done to improve even in some of these games where you more or less just got robbed. The tie offer vs the Tyrants when we were down 3-6 was a stressful moment but it at least paid off and became a sort of rallying point for us when morale was at an all time low. Was a pleasure winning this with you, and hopefully you can perform to your full potential in a future SPL now that you've already bagged a win.
Abyssal Ruins - You're definitely not the most active presence and a bit of an enigma but you're definitely an entertaining player to watch. Glad we could get you a couple games in this season to show what you can do, hope you enjoy this victory as well.
Arc - Thanks for helping out our SV core where you could. Its definitely not easy to stand out from a bench role when the tour has 4 slots for the tier you're providing input for but that speaks volume about the importance of that role as well. If other hobbies don't take up too much of your time perhaps you'll have a breakout tour of your own in the future.
DAHLI - I know this season wasn't representative of what you're really capable of but I appreciate you taking things well when we shifted our lineup and sticking around with us. I'm glad we could at least secure the trophy though and wish you the best with whatever you do going forward.
blank - Really there's a lot I could say here but a lot is stuff you've already heard from me by now. It was kind of a crazy twist that brought this core together in the first place and when Expulso floated the idea last minute I figured it would be a fun way to approach the tour. On one hand your reputation would likely turn several big names away from wanting to affiliate with us but on the other it makes the tour way more entertaining. I also had confidence based on what I'd heard from people involved with midwest that you would be a positive contributor and that we could navigate creating a team that wouldn't be repulsed at the idea of playing for you. To that end we definitely succeeded and even convinced big names like McMeghan and BIHI you weren't as insufferable as they might have previously believed. Oh and we apparently won SPL too while we were at it LMAO. Honestly though if this tour proved anything its that those that actually give you a shot will realize you aren't as bad as you made yourself out to be all those years ago and that you're one of the most capable managers on this site. You were definitely the biggest part of keeping the chat thriving and assembling a culture that stayed active and exciting the entire season. We might not have really had direct interactions before this but things clicked between us fairly quickly so we were able to work past that and create a good plan and execute on it. While its difficult to say whether we'll be doing this again after getting the win I'm definitely more inclined to want to return if you'll be running it back with me for another year.
Expulso - Similarly to starry we might not have had many interactions before this but I'm absolutely glad that didn't stop us from going through with it anyway. Your knowledge of the current landscape of Smogon in the current generation compared to starry and myself was critical towards us putting together a winning lineup and the effort you put into prep across multiple slots every week was massive and I guarantee every player on this team appreciates you for it despite the hard time we give you. You probably put more effort into winning this than anyone and I'm glad you were able to redeem yourself with a win so quickly after coming up short in your previous finals run. After trying to get into managerial positions for so long it almost seems crazy you didn't get your chance sooner because you have a great mindset for it and the determination to make it work. Everything from the chat activity to keeping motivation high to making sure prep was going smoothly was handled incredibly well and your contributions were essential to that end. It was fun getting to hang with you and everyone else these last few months and thanks for taking a lot of the verbal abuse from everyone like a champ. If obligations or other things prevent myself and/or starry from being involved in future years I would be able to rest easy knowing things were in your charge should you keep it up going forward.
Overall I wasn't certain how I felt about things shifting to three managers initially but given the dynamic of our group I think it worked out for the best here. Between starry's contributions to the chat and culture of the team to Expulso keeping the team on track and focused on their prep each week they were able to complement one of the main things I've come to lack over the years which is time. Keeping up with multiple metagames while also being able to involve yourself for hours on end to keep an environment alive is a monumental task for any one person to take on and having less time with other things in my life taking priority makes me really appreciate that they were able to reduce a lot of that burden on my end. I can only hope that my own contributions of experience, planning, and keeping a more level head in difficult situations was enough to balance things out.
I'd also like to quickly thank the numerous people who helped us out courtesy of starry's open border policies.
KlefkiHolder - I appreciate the tremendous amount of work you put in helping out in ORAS while also being a mainstay of our chat, you're basically as much a part of the team as all of us. Your knowledge of the tier was very apparent even to someone whos several years removed from the metagame and I respect the accountability you had even when things didn't pan out. Your more level headed analysis of games was also appreciated amidst starry's sea of doomering.
Cow - Thanks for showing up to provide dice with some level of input when he was otherwise isolated from people on the team up to date with the current tier. Hope you can get your shot next year and that WCoP gives you a chance to show what you can do.
Student of Sinnoh - You and everyone else in Groudon's ear were undoubtedly instrumental to the success he had. I knew you to be a knowledgable DPPer from the last time you played for the team and it was nice to have you around.
Zpanther19 - Starry picked you out of a crowd of possible adv helpers and somehow roped you into helping us for free. Appreciate all you did to help out and hope you can make it into this tour in the future.
kjdaas and
Sabelette - I appreciate you two showing up to support Kaz and cheer the rest of us on throughout the tour, glad we could live up to expectations and win.
SPACE FORCE meeps - Its good to see you're still around, even if only to check in on Groudon's results and keep the bot running. It made for an instrumental part of the team culture.
Kyo - Thanks for providing ideas and running some tests with Tace when he was otherwise lacking in people to run games with on the roster.
Jisoo - Appreciated having you around when you had time to pop in and check in on the rest of us, and particularly dice when he was feeling lost.
Bouff - Was good to have you around to vibe with the chat and help out with SS, you were a big part of the team culture.
siras - Another active presense that was instrumental to keeping our chat alive, was great have you around.
Also a quick thank you to
Sacri',
Vileman,
Sceptross,
oldspicemike,
Lily ,
TDNT,
Punny, and
Excal for your support during the later stages of the tour, I'm grateful you took the time to either hang out with us or support our slots in these final weeks.
I'd also like to give a special mention to
Garay oak . You honestly went above and beyond for someone with no direct stake in this. As something of a franchise player having been on Classiest multiple times it felt very nostalgic having you around during playoffs and I very much appreciate the time you put in testing or bouncing around ideas. Between the insane season and support you provided I can't think of anyone who deserves to win this tour more going forward.
Lastly I'd like to thank
FMG,
snaga,
Amaranth, and
Luthier for running the team with me in these past years. Went through a lot of ups and downs with you guys and enjoyed the opportunity to manage with each of you. I'd also like to thank
jake and
Finchinator for the role they played in me getting my initial start in Smogon tours back in the central days, I hope all is well with you guys.
but I don't forget the rest of the team, who obviously fully deserves my congratulations, they are great players too 
