Smogon Premier League XIV - Commencement Thread

[xray]

Keep in mind that there are various factors to consider when drafting a team. Of course general skill is of high importance, but for a successful team you also need to factor in how that person will work on your team: Are they gonna influence the team atmosphere in a positive way or in a negative way (which is probably even more important to consider)? Are they able to build for themselves? Are they able to help others? And of course many other aspects. As a manager you have the responsibility. Wild teamchoices that may work every now then may scare managers. Bad news travel around fast on Smogon, if you once were an exceptionally bad teammate, people will know for years. If you really want to get in these tours then make a name for yourself in tournaments. There are numerous chances to do so throughout the year. If you truly deserve it, then you will be recognized at least. Show others that you're a good teammate in smaller teamtours. By doing that you can make managers feel more comfortable drafting you. After all it is a risk/reward thinking for the managers. If you minimize the risk of drafting you and maximize the reward of you getting drafted, it will have positive results. GL

 

[Tomahawk]

My advice to all newcomers who are upset that they've not made it, ahead of the next tournament that you really want to get into, is to remember this unhappiness. Remember this deep burning feeling that is the source of your posts, and do something productive with it. Grind your tier every day, if ladder doesn't do it for you find a practice partner. Analyze every win and every loss, improve your understanding of the game. Make it your only goal to become undisputably better than the people who've gotten in ahead of you. Stop pouring frustration into this thread, and redirect it towards the true reason why you're not in an SPL team: yourself. Get better. Maybe you're already pretty good, maybe you made playoffs of some official tour here and there - clearly it's not enough. Get. Better.

or maybe you shouldn't overdo it. maybe this is a bit controversial (or even a bit irrelevant) here, but that's not gonna be a good mentality for everyone (the grinding part, obviously aim to get better). for some people, maybe it will just never happen to get in spl even if they grind every day, that's okay, you don't have to grind every day if that's not something you enjoy, that's not healthy. this shit is supposed to be a hobby, after all. do whatever you enjoy, and if you don't get into spl, that's okay!

i also didn't get into spl, of course it's frustrating, and maybe i would have a higher chance of being if i had been grinding everyday - but would i be happier? no. i really learned that if i do that, it just stresses me out, takes time out of my personal life that i dont want to miss. even worse is if you grind every day and still don't end up in spl. i just do what i enjoy now, team tours & randbats, nothing else. just remember why you playing this game: for fun. if you're not having fun, don't do it.

obviously doesn't apply to everyone, just a lesson i personally learned which hopefully might be helpful for some people

 

[Amaranth]

or maybe you shouldn't overdo it. maybe this is a bit controversial (or even a bit irrelevant) here, but that's not gonna be a good mentality for everyone (the grinding part, obviously aim to get better). for some people, maybe it will just never happen to get in spl even if they grind every day, that's okay, you don't have to grind every day if that's not something you enjoy, that's not healthy. this shit is supposed to be a hobby, after all. do whatever you enjoy, and if you don't get into spl, that's okay!

i also didn't get into spl, of course it's frustrating, and maybe i would have a higher chance of being if i had been grinding everyday - but would i be happier? no. i really learned that if i do that, it just stresses me out, takes time out of my personal life that i dont want to miss. even worse is if you grind every day and still don't end up in spl. i just do what i enjoy now, team tours & randbats, nothing else. just remember why you playing this game: for fun. if you're not having fun, don't do it.

obviously doesn't apply to everyone, just a lesson i personally learned which hopefully might be helpful for some people

Yes ofc this is 100% true as well. It's not for everyone. Some people just aren't serious enough about the game to make it to SPL and should just find other goals for their hobby that makes them happier / not get so attached to unrealistic expectations for themselves

 

[Gingy]

If you're a 3-6k player just don't be a dickhead and have friends. Quality at those prices vary massively and people coping in this thread saying they're seriously considering it as a factor are lying. You might have your suspicions on who will be good at that price but its mostly just a draft for team environment and plugging holes at that point. Alongside listening to your already drafted players on who they like as support. Xrays right in saying side tours are the best place to make these connections. As are the various jerks everyone says they hate but is absolutely a part of.

If you want that to not matter be good at the game and cost more than those prices.

Managers stop trying to justify your picks in this price range and putting any honus on people to "no life" or "remember this pain". Its not healthy and the game should be fun. Its a misrepresentation of how drafting works here and isnt fair on the users who are upset.

 

[IPF]

Yes ofc this is 100% true as well. It's not for everyone. Some people just aren't serious enough about the game to make it to SPL and should just find other goals for their hobby that makes them happier / not get so attached to unrealistic expectations for themselves

 

[Pokeboi456]

Can someone tell me who was drafted

 

[Pokeboi456]

I didn’t see

 

[TLTK]

But I think what you're also missing is the difficulty to pull the trigger on new talent as a manager.

I wonder how players such as ziloXX, Mr. 378, Rubyblood or vani fit in the "new, fresh and incoming talent" criteria but ok. And also wonder how players with less than 20 messages in forums get to "pull the trigger on new talent" but it's also ok.

This topic went out of control, I started claiming that managers don't know the GSC scene and never give a look on results, and then I ended up in a debate about the bias in this website and managers trying to justify those moves. Pool isn't that bad (or so I hope, for the sake of the tier) but definitely it would be in better hands if some of the aforementioned had been drafted and that's pretty much it.

 

[MANNAT]

As a forward, this post is mostly in reference to first time SPL starters, rather than potential bench buys, which are admittedly extremely influenced by social dynamics.

I would argue that there’s slightly more nuance to who does and doesn’t get drafted than just social aspects. Like managers previously mentioned in this thread, picking up someone with 0 SPL experience is a big risk. Historically, first time players do pretty atrociously in team tournaments, so there has to be a standout reason to draft someone. So, for the requirements managers to draft a player independent of social connections (which are always going to be a thing because people wanna have fun), results need to be extraordinary. I can’t speak for other managers, but I weigh the results of invitational tournaments a bit more highly than circuits because of opponent quality (and this is reflected in who I drafted). If you want to get drafted solely off of individual tournaments, and you cannot get into the invitational tournament yet, then you need to put on a really impressive run or string together multiple/impressive circuit wins (see oipon, d4). This doesn’t mean that you need to no life and play 12000 ladder games, but it does mean that for managers to draft you, there has to be exceptional motivation to do so. Obviously leveraging social channels like ROAPL and GSCPL and such in conjunction with “lesser” results like one good circuit run and a good relationship with a future retain/SPL manager is a bit easier if you can do it, but I understand the sentiment that it’s harder for people that aren’t native english speakers to do so. At the end of the day it will always be a combination of social aspects and pokemon skill that shape SPL teams because everyone wants to have fun in it, but I hope that the posts from managers in this thread helped people get more insight into the mindset that goes into team construction.

 

[Dave]

I wonder how players such as ziloXX, Mr. 378, Rubyblood or vani fit in the "new, fresh and incoming talent" criteria but ok. And also wonder how players with less than 20 messages in forums get to "pull the trigger on new talent" but it's also ok.

This topic went out of control, I started claiming that managers don't know the GSC scene and never give a look on results, and then I ended up in a debate about the bias in this website and managers trying to justify those moves. Pool isn't that bad (or so I hope, for the sake of the tier) but definitely it would be in better hands if some of the aforementioned had been drafted and that's pretty much it.

Look, I tried to provide reasonable insight to how the managers system could potentially work. If you want to argue or whatever and refuse to listen to the valuable advice of those around you, that's on you.

But let it be known that I gave 2/4 of those players you listed their first shot in the official tournament scene. Let's get it.

 

[phoopes]

I just want everyone to have fun

 

[egalvanc]

Get. Better.

I will try to win the next OST, make a deep run into ST Playoffs and qualify for Classic for my first time ever if I have time, be aware of this words and we will see if that is enough to get drafted or not. We'll see what happens. All of this I'll do by myself, as I've been doing all along this journey. My pokemons will be awaiting on their pokéballs... have fun in SPL XIV, everyone. I'm sure it will be a fun one to watch.

 

[awyp]

I'm just going to give my thoughts, I don't really care how it's received because I'm kind of annoyed. I think a fair amount of people who don't get in a team definitely deserve a shot, frankly there's just not enough teams which is fine because that would extend the SPL to be much longer than it needs to be. I reached out to 4 teams out of the 4, there was 1 team that reached back out and asked for an application, the others pretty much left me on read / didn't really give a shit to respond back. As someone who took apart of the first SPL, it's a completely different process now than it was before. Back then you literally hit the manager up on IRC, they ask you to battle some other people trying out / some people who were already selected on the team. Based on that result, they tell you if you got in or not. Now it's vetting to see what's your highest ladder achievement, what tournaments have you won / farthest you went, replays, who can vouch for you, etc. I do believe SPL back in the day is completely different now because the amount of traffic (how much people are applying) and some managers give new names a chance, but a solid about of managers have the core team built before sign ups even go up. Not trying to come off as rude / aggressive, I didn't air anyone's name out; I just feel it needs to be more accepting for some people who definitely deserve a spot but just don't picked because they're not the homie / their name isn't big enough.

 

[Pokeboi456]

Good luck everyone who got drafted!!!

 

[Nichalho]

Can someone tell me who was drafted

You can find the full list of drafted players in this post here! https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/spl-xiv-official-retention-announcements.3713010/post-9462610

Putting my two cents in where it isn't necessary: I didn't stand a chance of getting drafted (because I'm bad), but I tried to get my name out there a bit anyway setting the groundwork for the future. I'm not disappointed for myself, but I do feel a little bad for the many players way better and more well known than me that didn't get picked up. I know there are only so many slots to go around, but it still kinda feels like I'm watching kids not getting picked to play dodgeball at recess, and that's a sad reality even when extrapolated into a forum where grown adults play Pokemon.

Regardless though, I am still very excited for this season. Congrats to everyone who got drafted, and I hope everybody has a fun and competitive SPL!

 

[Excal]

idt most of these manager perspective posts on how to be drafted are that useful. everyone knows that smogon is just as much a game of brown nosing, social climbing, and clout chasing as your average middle/high school. the format this year is dogshit (12 slots + 4 SV + 2 subs), and having only two subs means there will be fewer new players since most managers (myself included) don't have enough trust in starting "unproven" talent week 1. people are shafted every year, as there are so many "deserving" players and not enough spots. in spl 10 i went undrafted and was so upset that i quit pkmn for a few months. can fully empathize with those upset about going undrafted and how they view some of the pools post-draft.

the only advice i have for people (whether u have played in spl or not) is to build your own teams and be able to stomach the unpleasant aspects of this community while accepting the way it is enough to stick around, cause nothing will change. surround yourself with those that make u the happiest, regardless of social status.

 

[Pokeboi456]

I didn’t get drafted

 

[Pokeboi456]

:(

 

[boulicrok]

 

[Amir]

I didn’t get drafted

Don't worry Pokeboi456, we will both get drafted one day.

 

[Tuthur]

 

[ziloXX]

 

[Pheo]

OMG Student of Sinnoh

 

[airports]

spl needs managers who, citing 'team synergy', are willing to discriminate against cocky americans

 

[FNH]

can we just get over this year's GSC draft and go back to complaining about RBY in SPL?