hi, in an attempt to revive(? not sure if it's possible to revive smth that was never alive) this thread i'll be sharing my personal rankings of the pu starters this season. the actual prs will be released later this week and will be linked in the op
1. sensei axew
sensei has been a very consistent player this gen, with his first pu result being a very good 6-1 showing in puwc i, and then also going positive in the past two pupls. his main feat is winning circuit, though, beating very respected players within the tier in the process -- as well as winning ru circuit and making finals of the nu one. his scl showing last year was also nothing short of impressive; he managed to go 7-3 in nu and 7-4 overall, playing a game in uu for whatever reason. xavgb support is also very helpful and with those two being as knowledgeable of the metagame as they are, teambuilding should not be an issue. as long as he doesn't go gigalith on a scrafty, he should have a very good season
2. jonfilch
jonfilch's recent results across many tiers and pu experience is enough for me to rank him second. he made top 8 of pu open, only then losing to finalist tj and had a very strong early pupl season, struggling more in the second half. outside of pu showings though, he qualified for grand slam and has experience in officials, notably going Positive in the most Recent spl. excal is also a very solid builder and should be able to support him well, and as long as these two work well together, i think the dynamos can easily have a splendid season. only if he clicks pain split though :joobilaugh:
3. termi
the only True pu mainer in the top 3, termi has plenty of experience and results she's accumulated over the years. she had a solid scl and went 5-4, made pu open finals, and got to quarters of pu circuit, all in 2021. her not being higher might surprise some people but her dislike for the current meta and overall proneness to tilting makes me more confident in the two above players. however, i still think she'll do great, and could end up with the best record if she doesn't tilt early on. even if she does, gibles always have hariyana grande (broken, would farm) to sub in like trust
4. z0mog
not only is z0mog good at the game, but he also has some of the best support in the pool, with zs and pu swiss winner shaneghoul which i think automatically gives him an edge against multiple people in this pool. this isn't his first time playing pu in scl/snake as well, as he had a brief stint in the tier during the last edition of snake and managed to do well. even if he ends up struggling for some reason, shaneghoul, who easily could've been starting if he ended up on another team, should also be able to do well
5. soulgazer
similarly to z0mog, soulgazer is a good player that has the potential to farm, but i have him lower than z0mog because of his support being worse. sinnoh and sasha should both be able to feed him with decent teams, but the former's builds tend to be on the weirder side while the latter is less experienced and knowledgeable of the tier. soulgazer's playing abilities should still be enough anyway, and i don't really see him having a bad tour, though i also don't think he'll do exceptionally well, unless i'm underestimating his building support
6. lambovino
coming off a great pupl showing, lambo will once again be starting this scl. his unique teambuilding style is definitely a plus, though that sometimes means his teams end up being quite matchup fishy. while he's a decent player himself, he's in a pool filled with more experienced players, and i think he'll struggle a slight amount. but i also think he can do alright and i'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with this tour
7. scottie
scottie's a very solid player, but just had a very mediocre pupl and has no one to help him with teams. i think how he ends up doing will matter a lot on how his teams look; if he's using good teams, he's easily a top 5 player in the pool, but otherwise i don't really see him doing too hotly when people of similar caliber are in this pool and have more recent pu results and support
8. snaga
i think he's the builder? which has a chance of going horribly in the first few weeks as he learns the tier considering his limited exposure to the tier and poor pupl showing, but similarly to scottie he's a good enough player that there's a solid chance he doesn't do as badly as this rank implies, as long as his teams are good (though most other teams still have more support)
9. raichy
at last we have raichy, who has no support and is not as good of a player as the people above him. don't think it's a lost cause though and he could? pick up a few wins. just like scottie and snaga, it'll probably depend on if his teams are good or not
