SV OU: S1nn0hC0nfirm3d vs Luispeikou - Sinnoh is just a consistent winner at this point, and he’s done so in clutch time before as well. Sometimes I wish he would stfu, but even I can’t deny that he’s a clear favorite here and a good tiebreak option for the Classiest. Luis I am less familiar with and simply less high on, but he has some clutch wins in the past at least.
SV OU: LpZ vs Mada - Mada is just really solid. Mostly good teams, keeps getting better in-game, and has a good idea of what to expect from his opponents. He puts in the work and tends to get some results out of it. I liked the retain from the Tyrants to start the season and like him here as well even if he only went 4-5. If you look, he played a lot of top players this season and could’ve easily been positive. LpZ is a high ceiling player dating back to his original Grand Slam heroics and going positive in CG OU is a great showing. I do think his OU form is less self-sufficient than Mada, but he can outplay anyone. I will go with Mada, but it’s one of the closer games.
SV OU: Kate vs vk - Kate is a really underrated player, but vk went 6-3 and finished off very strong. I go back and forth on this one and honestly may have bolded the other way in predictions for all I remember, but vk seems like the safer pick? I mean to me Kate has exceeded expectations and feels like more time will lead to even more success, but the Tyrants approach in CG is historically great and vk has been their standout pick here thus far for a mere 3k. It is possible he could be nervous in the playoffs, but I think this franchise having so much experience could help him settle into normal comfort.
SV OU: leng loi vs myjava - Highlight! leng loi is absolutely fantastic. Her teams have been unique, she’s taken a big leap in terms of understanding the right risks to take, and she’s in-touch with the metagame as it evolves. I do feel like last week or so has been scary with her losing OST unfortunately and subbing out W9, but perhaps this gave her some breathing room. Maybe it’s a smart move by the Classiest to manage their stars in a way that keeps them fresh and lets them reset for playoffs, but I think the game itself will have to do the talking for or against that. Java has been doing it a bit longer and with perhaps more consistency. I don’t view him as someone super likely to use a flashy team like Leng, but he’s a big game player who doesn’t get tunnel vision and just clinched playoffs for the Tyrants. I am going with him just because he’s done it for longer and been here before. I actually think Java’s schedule outside of Lily W1 has been a bit weaker than most and that gave me some pause, but I trust his entire resume of work up to this point to get it done. Really excited to see what Leng uses though, been tracking that all tournament.
SS OU: damien the genius vs Luthier - Damien is one of the top SS players whereas Luthier is one of the top all-around players on the site. I do think their last matchup was a pretty awkward game progression for Luthier, but he will find a way to click it all together for playoffs I am sure. I do think Damien’s metagame familiarity could be good at punishing re-uses or known trends, but short of that I favor Luthier just given how strong of a player he is.
SM OU: Tace vs Metallica126
ORAS OU: pj vs Poek
BW OU: dice vs SoulWind - Ok, so SoulWind managed to salvage a 5-4, but I think it’s fair to say both underperformed this regular season? I mean dice has been all over the place and used some teams that maybe have been a bit out there even for him. I think his gameplay has been mostly fine outside of the Franco game, but the wins just have not come. SoulWind has actually been playing mostly well and that’s no shock as he’s the BW goat, but he loaded some Tenta weatherless and double dipped in HippoConk — I dunno, maybe he just has a different view of the metagame than the mainstream. Kudos to him for that and its stuff like this that pushes the tier forward, but I think he could’ve easily won 7-8 in this pool with some different loads personally. Think he continues getting it together and sweeps playoffs unless someone else steps up big time and dice kinda has to re-prove himself here.
DPP OU: Groudon vs BKC
ADV OU: McMeghan vs Shitrock enjoyer
GSC OU: BIHI vs Rubyblood
RBY OU: Kaz vs spies
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SV OU: DugZa vs Ewin - Ewin has evolved from annoying scheduler to protagonist. The peak with Klawf, the devious stall pivots, and the overall strong play has made him a really amusing player to follow. I am a big fan of him in SV OU. DugZa has been awesome this season though and showed great signs in Masters as well, but I think Ewin is in better CG OU form and I think he is well prepared for the moment in playoff settings. Close one, kind of a highlight.
SV OU: Storm Zone vs Stareal - Storm Zone is a bold for me more often than not. Stareal is great and he keeps progressing as a player, now consistently able to SPL/SCL at a high level. But it’s Storm Zone. In the story of SV OU, he’s among the main characters and it’s not because of funny business — dude can ball. He uses his own teams with unique strategies and a great deal of ladder experience to back them. I think he will lock in and get it done like he did around this time last year when he won OST.
SV OU: 3d vs clean - Two guys with high hopes to continue recent breakouts. Clean has been slightly better and I am going with the hot hand. He is a nice dude with the right attitude that just continues to improve with more experience. That’s the best part of these tours to me — seeing guys get a chance and running away with the opportunity. 3d is another great story. He puts in the time, he keeps getting better, and he’s going to have a great future ahead of him if he remains committed to his craft. I do think he’s a little short of clean’s outplaying potential and I do think they’re about even in terms of team decisions, but will be good and hopefully close.
SV OU: JJ09LIE vs One Last Kiss - Less familiar with both. JJ seems to have the better track record and OLK is still newer to SPL starting as far as I know? So could be risky in a high pressure situation, but I know he has some wins prior. JJ just feels more reliable. Don’t have as much to say on this pairing.
SS OU: Ox the Fox vs Gtcha - Idk, both of these guys are super respectable players with some crazy good results before and potential to dominate in playoffs now. I really enjoy watching both and seeing their team picks. This is close to a toss-up and that’s intended with full respect to both as they’re just great. Ox feels like he’s getting better with more season and I like that, but Gtcha has a lot of clutch wins on his resume as well. My gut says Gtcha just because I like how much range he has shown and think he can punish Corv Chomp GKing stuff, which may force Ox to expand. Ox isn’t just one dimensional though, but he’s going to have to get in reps and be smart with it to retain his normal, high level of play. Could easily go either way though. Highlight for me.
SM OU: c0mp vs GeniusX
ORAS OU: RufflesPro vs fade - IDK enough modern ORAS, but just want to say this is a dope matchup that’s a repeat of a heated WCOP contest. Two players I thoroughly enjoy.
BW OU: Sergio Aguero vs GaryTheGengar - GTG has been really unlucky this season. He could easily be neutral or even slightly positive. His record isn’t something he should be ashamed of as his play is mostly good and the teams haven’t been bad either. Maybe he’s had a few weeks where he felt a year or two behind times, but overall it’s more of a continuation of his prior, good performances that has been caught up in bad luck and some tough draws. Sergio is a weird case as he is a great player and he showcased this during Circuit, but between being less fond of Bo1, some unfortunate circumstances taxing him earlier in the season, and it being his debut as a fully starting player, it wasn’t easy. He didn’t win a game, but I will say he got better with more reps — he could’ve won the Monai game, which was all over the place, and I think he sequenced well enough into me, but ran HO into Scarf Terrakion + FakesNite into Yache LandoT. GTG is the conventional favorite and my bold here simply due to his long track record and competency, but it’s way closer than some may think. Sergio isn’t what his record is and, if he can get confident, he will be dangerous to play against. Don’t count out my man. Awesome matchup despite it seeming to be less stellar from a spreadsheet POV.
DPP OU: Christos vs Void
ADV OU: baddummy vs Mako
GSC OU: Don Eduardo vs choolio
RBY OU: shiloh vs Isza
