Well, this was a really fun tour. The ending result irks me to an extent solely because I knew my team was capable of better. Throughout this tournament, I made a couple new friends and developed stronger friendships with various others on my team and I am genuinely glad I had this experience. I do think that, as a team, we could have executed at a higher level in finals and, perhaps, prepared in a different fashion that would have ultimately correlated to a different result, but that is water under the bridge at this point and I am in no way going to generate a discussion full of "what if" when we can all move on to bigger and better things in the immediate future.
Going into this tournament, I didn't know what to expect. I got manager solely based on my own name recognition and willingness to dedicate myself to the extent asked, not through extensive tier knowledge or competence on my own behalf. This was reflected in my draft as I bought many generally solid, competent players that were known, but my line-up didn't entirely branch out to a tier like PU and, to a lesser extent, RU. This did end up costing my team to an extent, but it also helped diversify the group and add a bit of fun to the dynamic, so I don't have many regrets. I think my team was solid and I hope to be on teams with each and every one of these guys in the future, but only time will tell if that becomes a reality.
Shoutouts:
Pearl - Mister worldwide, PU legend, teddeh slayer, etc. - you did it all. I'm pretty sure you would've played Ubers in this tour if I asked you to, even if there wasn't a slot - you'd have found a fucking way. You did pretty much everything a manager could ask from a team player and I think you were probably one of the best buys in the entire tournament. You manned PU because I didn't really draft anyone from the tier after a brief start in UU and you even RU'd one week, iirc. You are an amazing team player and a superb individual teambuilder/player. I cannot possibly be thankful enough for all of your contributions and I hope to be on teams with you again at some point in the future
rozes - The other half of my Wolf manager duo that I almost missed out on in the auction; thank god I was willing to spend those extra few because you were easily worth it. I'm not sure who I would label as MVP b/c you, pearl, and a few others deserve it and picking 'favorites' at this point is dumb, but you built in multiple tiers and consistently dominated in NU and were a genuinely enjoyable presence the whole time, so, like for Pearl, there's no way I can ask for more and I'm very happy that you were a part of the team. Probably one of the best ORAS NU players out there and you should go down as one of the top dogs in gen 6 NU, so take that in stride and gl in SPL fam awoo
Shiba - Yea, finals were rough blah blah blah - I don't care, you did a spectacular job this tour overall and nobody can take that away from you. You won games left and right when needed despite costing 3k for fucks sake. I really still question how you dropped and yes, you were a nomination intended to have other people go and overpay on you to save me time and money, but this accident ended up working wonders, so I guess that things worked out quite well. I'm glad that I had you on board and I hope you do well in the future, it was a pleasure getting to know you a bit and getting to see you compete at a high level :D
Star - lmao you didn't fucking link the last game of the fucking season go fuck yourself stupid LC bitch. fr tho, you are truly a great player and I know you were essentially thrown into an adverse situation with another individual's teams, but you undoubtedly were capable of filling the shoes of a true RUer when needed at times. It wasn't the best tour for you and the tier list never indicated it would be, but for fairly cheap, I'd surely get someone like you again and I am very glad to have been on another team with you. Good season, glad we had you on board, and best of luck in future SPL weeks my mans :o
Sam - Just when you thought SPL 6 and multiple WCOPs were enough, you ended up stuck with me once more. With that said though, I was very glad to have you and I think you did a solid job this season. A rough game/match-up or two in there, but you were still captain clutch, Mr. Sunday night! You definitely were one of the best ORAS UU players on the site and it was cool to see you evolve and progress in terms of play and community standing back during/after SPL 6 and now that you're at somewhat of a peak, it was great to see you perform. Thanks for being a solid team member and best of luck this SPL. Go Steelers, here we fucking go!!!
Rare Poison - Probably one of my favorite chat presences out there and definitely one of my closest friends. I was very happy to get you, even if FLCL upbid me a bit more than I thought anyone would. You didn't get to play a ton and I'm sorry this was the case, but it was a pleasure having you around and you certainly fit into the overall dynamic of the team. You're a great dude and I hope to talk with you and work with you again in the future! :)
Nails - Solid mola tier player who did not disappoint this season. I was very glad to snatch you late and you certainly filled the spot that I needed you to. It was fun having you around after I chilled w/ Wolf last year and you're a really fun dude. I hope your VGC and RBY endeavors go well in the future n_n
Vileman - Among my favorite jajas is the PU lover, Vilememe. You had a solid season with a few unlucky breaks and a few rough match-ups. I'm really happy you went out of your way to essentially take up a tier for the sake of the team and we could use you in our line-up. Your contribution to the team and active presence is genuinely appreciated, so thanks for everything and I'm glad to actively talk to you as a good friend over the past two years. Hopefully plenty of more fun times to come in the future ~_~
Realistic Waters - Quiet, but deadly. You're another one of the top ORAS NUers and you should go down as one of the most consistent ones, too. You had a good tour, even with the bar set high coming in due to your history and fairly high price, and I was so glad to have you as a member of the team. You are a good dude and I know you like to keep to yourself, but I enjoy watching you play and briefly talking to you here and there. I hope you enjoy the new generation if you intend to keep playing NU and I'm glad we had you, maybe we can work together on a team again in the future ^_^
tko - solid host, thanks for making this possible and best regards!
Thanks everyone, grats again Kinglax.