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Smogon Premier League XV - Commencement Thread
- Thread starter Theia
- Start date
those are my boyz. biggest fan from day1
YAHALLO and welcome to the UNBIASED MIDSEASON SPL Power Rankings. The last time I did these was around 4? years ago I believe. This has been a pretty interesting SPL so far and it really does seem like any team can get washed on any given Sunday. I'm sure the rest of the season will be entertaining. These rankings will build upon my original rankings. My initial thoughts after writing the PRs were that this was a relatively close tournament where no teams seemed downright insane; this opinion has only seemed more and more true as the season has progressed. This means that the current standings are even more important than they would be in years past. Some players / teams may be better / worse than I initially thought. The purpose of these rankings is not to determine the best regular season team, but rather to predict which squad has the highest likelihood of hoisting the trophy. Of course, to win the trophy, you also have to make the playoffs, so the current standings are still relatively important. Having the highest amount of points at this time doesn't necessarily guarantee that you will be #1 on the rankings; however, obviously, your team wouldn't be first if you didn't have a myriad of players performing well, which should increase your ranking nonetheless. Anyway, let's get into it. I suppose we should start at the bottom and work our way up.
10. The Ever Grande BIGs
The BIGs were the team I ranked 10th in my initial PRs. The team managed to push the Wolfpack to a 5-5 series state in Week 1, but were unable to come away with any points. 3d tried to be the hero the team needed on several occasions throughout the first 3 weeks, but failed each time. In Weeks 4 and 5, he finally managed to secure some wins, which has helped breathe some life into the team. Ultimately, though, the road ahead is tough. The team is down 0-2 to the Scooters this week, and still has a date with the Tyrants in Week 9. Of course, the Tyrants may have clinched a playoff spot by then, which may play into the BIGs' favor. Because of their Week 2 decimation at the hands of the Cryonicles', however, they have a -10 BD, which is certainly not going to help them qualify. That -10 BD helps offset the 1 point difference between them and the Sharks, in my mind. The BIGs might need to get 11 points to qualify, which is definitely not going to be easy. I also just think the Sharks have a better roster; the BIGs do have some underperforming players who may turn things around, but I just don't see it. Also, it's the BIGS...it would be foolish to expect good things to happen with this franchise.
9. The Stark Sharks
Despite winning last week, this team is still certainly in dire straits. With only 3 points to their name, the team will almost certainly need to win at least 3 of the remaining weeks and probably tie the other one in order to have a shot at the playoffs. All their weeks have been extremely close, but they simply failed to get points on too many occasions after reaching 5 wins; the team may just be cursed. They had a 5-0 lead in Week 4 against the Wolfpack and failed to get a point...that really felt like the straw that broke the camel's back. However, they managed to win last week to keep their season alive. In terms of performances, TDK is having himself a very memorable campaign, exerting a similar level of dominance as he did all the way back in SPL 8; Serpi is also having a good RBY campaign so far. Attribute has exceeded my expectations, so they also have that going for them. No one else on the team is really performing that well, though. fade is struggling far more than I think anyone anticipated, and several of the team's other slots are also going through rough patches. GeniusX bottled his game against PZZ in Week 4, costing the Sharks a point, but at least he managed to secure a very important win last week. All around, while this team has shown they have the potential to make any potential enemy sweat, their initial lack of monster talent coupled with their low point total makes them an easy choice for 9th on the rankings. The gap between them and the BIGs is razor-thin.
8. The Congregation of the Classiest
So far, these PRs have been the same as my initial ones. However, that changes here. The Classiest were a team I, and many others, had very high hopes for. I think pretty much everyone thought this team would make the playoffs. And, to be honest, they could still do it. However, having 3 points with 4 weeks left is definitely not where you want to be as an SPL franchise. Last week really felt like a missed opportunity. The Classiest were unable to secure a much-needed win against the Raiders, with Roro playing a pretty sublime game to help his team tie the week up. This team certainly has more talent than almost any other in the tournament, so you definitely can't write them off. Lusa and pdt have exceeded expectations, and players like Michael should be able to finish the season strong. Lusa's performance is especially impressive given the stacked nature of the ORAS pool. Fear has definitely regressed from his past dominance, but he really does not need to be that good to get a lot of wins in this GSC pool. They are bleeding out in RBY, which is to be expected because of the low value they invested into that slot. Also, unsurprisingly, Pideous was unable to solve the variance madhouse and currently seems like an overpay; as I said before, I really wish the team just bought a cheap DPPer and invested the money elsewhere. Anyway, this team certainly has all the pieces necessary to make a run. It may just be too late.
7. The Cryonicles
This is another team I will rank the same as I did initially. Their season got off to a rocky start, but they managed to right the ship recently and pick up 4 points in the past 3 weeks. In terms of performance, this is a pretty top-heavy roster. Santu, Conflict, and Separation are trying their hardest to prop up what is otherwise a drowning ship. Santu has been superb in a tier featuring extremely high-priced players, and has provided an insane amount of value to the team at only 13.5k. It certainly seems as though it would have been wise for Star to retain him. However, the best player on the team and I think unquestionably the best player of the entire tournament so far is Conflict. I'm pretty convinced he could have gone 9-0 in GSC considering the extremely lackluster state of the player pool; however, in order to help his team out, he flexed into ADV and continued to get important wings there against tough competition such as BIHI and robjr. It is honestly insane how much this man is doing for the team. This team certainly has a lot of holes, though; BW seems like kind of a disaster so far, and the non-Conflict ADV / GSC slot is certainly in a bit of disarray as well. If they make the playoffs, Hclat can stop the bleeding, but it is going to be a long road ahead. I think Finchinator is really going to have to step his game up if the team wants to make a run; they simply cannot afford to have him end up with a pedestrian record. All that being said, the 1 point they have over the Classiest (coupled with a salvageable BD, unlike the BIGs), gives them the edge here.
6. The Team Raiders
The Raiders were another team pretty much everyone on Earth thought was good. I don't think there was a single person who thought this team would miss the playoffs. But well....it might happen. The season so far has certainly not been what many expected of them. Roro may have saved the season with his performance last week, allowing them to eek out a much-needed point against the Classiest. The big story here is that there retains are underperforming. Both Jisoo and Roro, despite his amazing performance last week, are negative, and Skypenguin is only 3-2; he also got throttled by GeniusX in week 1 in what was one of the most lopsided games I can remember watching. On the flip-side, Kenix is overperforming, going 4-1 in what was believed to be the most stacked RBY pool ever. This team certainly has the talent to make the playoffs, though; it would be foolish to expect their retains to keep struggling like they have been. If those 3 players can start stringing together wins, this team can definitely make the playoffs. And, as we have seen over the past two years, it would be pretty foolish to bet against Tricking and Raiza once they manage to make it there.
5. The Alpha Ruiners
If you believe in week-to-week momentum, you would probably put this team lower. After starting out the season with a demolition of the Scooters, while not even playing Stresh, by the way, the team has floundered as of late. After the great rey-Mannat war of Week 4, which featured one of the dumbest act fishing / double sub attempts I can remember, the team has failed to pick up a win. In fact, they have not won a week since Week 1, which honestly is kind of baffling. With stresh in the fold, the Ruiners definitely have the talent to make the playoffs. Charmflash has honestly been one of the more impressive players of the entire tournament, and is looking like an absolute steal at 4k. Fakes, Siatam, and oldspicemike are also all 4-1. I was a Siatam doubter heading into the season, so I think he will regress a bit from here on. I don't believe all of these players are going to end 7-2 or even 8-1, but maybe one of them can, which would certainly help the team out. The only starters on the team who are actively struggling are pj and baddummy. pj is in a stacked ORAS pool in which some people were always going to do badly, so honestly, he might not be able to turn it around. The Callous Cup hero is also struggling, which does not particularly surprise me given his prior 7-9 sheet record and lack of notable results besides that tournament win. I am not really counting on him to finish the season strong. I do believe in stresh, though; he is only 1-1 and I honestly just can't envision him finishing negative. He will have to ascend to his previous sheet warrior self in order to guide this team to the playoffs. The Ruiners clearly have a solid amount of talent, and in an SPL this close, having +4 BD from the Week 1 destruction of the Scooters certainly helps; that is enough for me to give them an extremely miniscule edge over the Raiders.
4. The Circus Maximus Tigers
This team has 5 points, which is certainly important right about now. The carry so far has been M Dragon, who has put forth an impressive 4-0 showing so far. The team actually has no1 else that has a record above 3-2, which is honestly really weird. Some of their players have certainly exceeded my expectations so far, which has helped save them in light of Garay's 1-4 performance. However, as I wrote in the original PRs, Garay is not a player that you expect to put up a great record; he pretty much never does with the exception of last World Cup. That being said, he is certainly a solid player and should be able to rebound from 1-4 pretty easily, which should definitely help the team out. I think people like Trosko and Gama could also end the season strong. Their RBY slot appears to be kind of a disaster at the moment, but the team didn't invest that much in RBY, so it's not that big of an issue. Ultimately, the team needs to secure points in at least 3 out of 4 weeks moving forward, which certainly will not be easy. That being said, I do think they are in a better spot than the teams below them. If Garay plays up to his level, the team should be able to make some noise.
3. The Wi-Fi Wolfpack
Now, we get to my team. I ranked us as the 3rd best team heading into the tournament, and that's exactly where we find ourselves now. Unlike the Raiders and Classiest, there were certainly a lot of Wolfpack doubters; the team was ranked last in the official PRs and reputable sources such as Iguana pegged the team as a bottom-feeder. However, to me, the team had enough talent to make a playoff run, and it certainly looks likely that we reach the playoffs as of now. Having 7 points with 4 weeks left is a very good spot to be in, as it essentially means that the team only needs to win 2 out of the remaining 4 weeks to make the playoffs. The team managed to turn a 0-5 deficit into a 7-5 win against the Sharks in Week 4, which is certainly big for the team's title hopes. ABR has underperformed so far in terms of record, but has brought a pretty unmatched amount of team support; I expect him to end the season strong. dice and TDNT have been pretty impressive so far, with their only loses coming to pretty capable players in elodin and Michael. zio has been a pleasant surprise so far, as he has managed to amass a 4-1 record to help keep the team afloat in light of others' struggles. The main carry, though, has been Void, who has played pretty well in the madhouse so far. It is the madhouse, though, so I would be kind of foolish to not expect some regression here just due to the nature of the tier; the prep has been pretty on-point, though, so far. freezai and Fog have both struggled more than I anticipated; Fog in particular has had a season-from-hell so far. He did manage to take down Finchinator, though, and he has displayed an ability to win in the past. I don't expect him to struggle this much moving forward, so I do think the team can hope for some positive regression here. The GSC slot has been a pretty big issue, so much so that I find myself in GSC this week; I did predict this slot to struggle in the initial PRs, though. ORAS has also struggled a bit, but with the stacked player pool, this is less of a surprise. Ultimately, this team definitely has holes, but in an SPL rife with struggling slots / players, having 7 points this late in the season is simply a great place to be. I think we certainly have a good shot of winning the tour.
2. The Indie Scooters
Now, this is a team that has really surprised me. They got completely annihilated in Week 1, but since then, they have been a juggernaut. It certainly seems likely that Dave is bound for his SPL playoffs since SPL 5 with this squad. hellom has been the main revelation here for me, as he has looked pretty dominant thus far; and in a close SPL, one player I have no belief in becoming a star is all a team needs to thrust themselves into relevancy in my eyes. The Well is smashing everyone again, which really shouldn't surprise anyone. I thought Niko would do well, but I didn't think he would be 5-0 after 5 weeks. vani has also been a pleasant surprise so far, but I will continue to be a bit of a doubter until I see more. The chef is struggling more than I anticipated, but hellom's dominance makes that less of an issue. The team is also 1-4 in the madhouse, which honestly, I don't really find to be that concerning. The main issue to me is the loss of Lord_Enz, who I thought would at least have a decent campaign. I have a lot less faith in Hayburner, but he has been solid so far. That being said, Lord_Enz's disappearance certainly hurts the ceiling of this team. Ultimately, though they have some solid pieces and are basically a shoo-in to make the playoffs. If they can get some positive regression in the variance madhouse, it would go a long way to helping them secure a trophy and get the monkey off Dave's back.
1. The Dragonspiral Tyrants
Well, imagine thinking rey would miss the playoffs. They could still theoretically not make it, but with 8 points and 4 weeks left, it seems all but guaranteed that the Tyrants will join the playoff party yet again. Troller and SoulWind doing well does not really surprise anyone. The main story here is the return of the 2015 [IDM]Basedlord, who has turned back the clock with a vintage performance. CTC is pretty clearly one of the best SV players right now, and his stellar performance has helped offset CBB's rather disastrous season so far. Of course, similarly to Garay Oak, CBB is not a player you buy with the expectation that he puts up an insane regular season record. That being said, I don't think anyone would expect him to go 0-5, even in a stacked player pool. It is highly likely he closes out the season strong to bring himself to a more normal record. The team was also rewarded for spending 3k in the madhouse, which is something I always love. However, their SM slot has certainly been pretty disastrous as late, with Poek unable to turn back the clock like CTC was able to; their ADV slot has also not been great; the team invested limited resources in these slots, though, so these performances are not as much of an issue. Many of the team's players have put up some questionable performances, but ultimately, this team has a solid amount of talent and they are extremely likely to make the playoffs. As mentioned before, there is no awesome team in this year's edition of SPL, so that might be all the Tyrants need to help the second-best manager of all time hoist his first SPL trophy.
Unlike previous SPLs, I honestly just don't think schedule matters THAT much; the teams just feel so close that anything can happen on any given week. I find it very unlikely that both the Raiders AND Classiest make the playoffs, so I will personally be hoping for the current top 3 teams to make it, along with one of the Raiders / Classiest so I can claim my 3/4 playoff prediction and yet another victory over the Official PRs.
I hope you enjoyed this year's edition of the UNBIASED MIDSEASON POWER RANKINGS!
10. The Ever Grande BIGs
The BIGs were the team I ranked 10th in my initial PRs. The team managed to push the Wolfpack to a 5-5 series state in Week 1, but were unable to come away with any points. 3d tried to be the hero the team needed on several occasions throughout the first 3 weeks, but failed each time. In Weeks 4 and 5, he finally managed to secure some wins, which has helped breathe some life into the team. Ultimately, though, the road ahead is tough. The team is down 0-2 to the Scooters this week, and still has a date with the Tyrants in Week 9. Of course, the Tyrants may have clinched a playoff spot by then, which may play into the BIGs' favor. Because of their Week 2 decimation at the hands of the Cryonicles', however, they have a -10 BD, which is certainly not going to help them qualify. That -10 BD helps offset the 1 point difference between them and the Sharks, in my mind. The BIGs might need to get 11 points to qualify, which is definitely not going to be easy. I also just think the Sharks have a better roster; the BIGs do have some underperforming players who may turn things around, but I just don't see it. Also, it's the BIGS...it would be foolish to expect good things to happen with this franchise.
9. The Stark Sharks
Despite winning last week, this team is still certainly in dire straits. With only 3 points to their name, the team will almost certainly need to win at least 3 of the remaining weeks and probably tie the other one in order to have a shot at the playoffs. All their weeks have been extremely close, but they simply failed to get points on too many occasions after reaching 5 wins; the team may just be cursed. They had a 5-0 lead in Week 4 against the Wolfpack and failed to get a point...that really felt like the straw that broke the camel's back. However, they managed to win last week to keep their season alive. In terms of performances, TDK is having himself a very memorable campaign, exerting a similar level of dominance as he did all the way back in SPL 8; Serpi is also having a good RBY campaign so far. Attribute has exceeded my expectations, so they also have that going for them. No one else on the team is really performing that well, though. fade is struggling far more than I think anyone anticipated, and several of the team's other slots are also going through rough patches. GeniusX bottled his game against PZZ in Week 4, costing the Sharks a point, but at least he managed to secure a very important win last week. All around, while this team has shown they have the potential to make any potential enemy sweat, their initial lack of monster talent coupled with their low point total makes them an easy choice for 9th on the rankings. The gap between them and the BIGs is razor-thin.
8. The Congregation of the Classiest
So far, these PRs have been the same as my initial ones. However, that changes here. The Classiest were a team I, and many others, had very high hopes for. I think pretty much everyone thought this team would make the playoffs. And, to be honest, they could still do it. However, having 3 points with 4 weeks left is definitely not where you want to be as an SPL franchise. Last week really felt like a missed opportunity. The Classiest were unable to secure a much-needed win against the Raiders, with Roro playing a pretty sublime game to help his team tie the week up. This team certainly has more talent than almost any other in the tournament, so you definitely can't write them off. Lusa and pdt have exceeded expectations, and players like Michael should be able to finish the season strong. Lusa's performance is especially impressive given the stacked nature of the ORAS pool. Fear has definitely regressed from his past dominance, but he really does not need to be that good to get a lot of wins in this GSC pool. They are bleeding out in RBY, which is to be expected because of the low value they invested into that slot. Also, unsurprisingly, Pideous was unable to solve the variance madhouse and currently seems like an overpay; as I said before, I really wish the team just bought a cheap DPPer and invested the money elsewhere. Anyway, this team certainly has all the pieces necessary to make a run. It may just be too late.
7. The Cryonicles
This is another team I will rank the same as I did initially. Their season got off to a rocky start, but they managed to right the ship recently and pick up 4 points in the past 3 weeks. In terms of performance, this is a pretty top-heavy roster. Santu, Conflict, and Separation are trying their hardest to prop up what is otherwise a drowning ship. Santu has been superb in a tier featuring extremely high-priced players, and has provided an insane amount of value to the team at only 13.5k. It certainly seems as though it would have been wise for Star to retain him. However, the best player on the team and I think unquestionably the best player of the entire tournament so far is Conflict. I'm pretty convinced he could have gone 9-0 in GSC considering the extremely lackluster state of the player pool; however, in order to help his team out, he flexed into ADV and continued to get important wings there against tough competition such as BIHI and robjr. It is honestly insane how much this man is doing for the team. This team certainly has a lot of holes, though; BW seems like kind of a disaster so far, and the non-Conflict ADV / GSC slot is certainly in a bit of disarray as well. If they make the playoffs, Hclat can stop the bleeding, but it is going to be a long road ahead. I think Finchinator is really going to have to step his game up if the team wants to make a run; they simply cannot afford to have him end up with a pedestrian record. All that being said, the 1 point they have over the Classiest (coupled with a salvageable BD, unlike the BIGs), gives them the edge here.
6. The Team Raiders
The Raiders were another team pretty much everyone on Earth thought was good. I don't think there was a single person who thought this team would miss the playoffs. But well....it might happen. The season so far has certainly not been what many expected of them. Roro may have saved the season with his performance last week, allowing them to eek out a much-needed point against the Classiest. The big story here is that there retains are underperforming. Both Jisoo and Roro, despite his amazing performance last week, are negative, and Skypenguin is only 3-2; he also got throttled by GeniusX in week 1 in what was one of the most lopsided games I can remember watching. On the flip-side, Kenix is overperforming, going 4-1 in what was believed to be the most stacked RBY pool ever. This team certainly has the talent to make the playoffs, though; it would be foolish to expect their retains to keep struggling like they have been. If those 3 players can start stringing together wins, this team can definitely make the playoffs. And, as we have seen over the past two years, it would be pretty foolish to bet against Tricking and Raiza once they manage to make it there.
5. The Alpha Ruiners
If you believe in week-to-week momentum, you would probably put this team lower. After starting out the season with a demolition of the Scooters, while not even playing Stresh, by the way, the team has floundered as of late. After the great rey-Mannat war of Week 4, which featured one of the dumbest act fishing / double sub attempts I can remember, the team has failed to pick up a win. In fact, they have not won a week since Week 1, which honestly is kind of baffling. With stresh in the fold, the Ruiners definitely have the talent to make the playoffs. Charmflash has honestly been one of the more impressive players of the entire tournament, and is looking like an absolute steal at 4k. Fakes, Siatam, and oldspicemike are also all 4-1. I was a Siatam doubter heading into the season, so I think he will regress a bit from here on. I don't believe all of these players are going to end 7-2 or even 8-1, but maybe one of them can, which would certainly help the team out. The only starters on the team who are actively struggling are pj and baddummy. pj is in a stacked ORAS pool in which some people were always going to do badly, so honestly, he might not be able to turn it around. The Callous Cup hero is also struggling, which does not particularly surprise me given his prior 7-9 sheet record and lack of notable results besides that tournament win. I am not really counting on him to finish the season strong. I do believe in stresh, though; he is only 1-1 and I honestly just can't envision him finishing negative. He will have to ascend to his previous sheet warrior self in order to guide this team to the playoffs. The Ruiners clearly have a solid amount of talent, and in an SPL this close, having +4 BD from the Week 1 destruction of the Scooters certainly helps; that is enough for me to give them an extremely miniscule edge over the Raiders.
4. The Circus Maximus Tigers
This team has 5 points, which is certainly important right about now. The carry so far has been M Dragon, who has put forth an impressive 4-0 showing so far. The team actually has no1 else that has a record above 3-2, which is honestly really weird. Some of their players have certainly exceeded my expectations so far, which has helped save them in light of Garay's 1-4 performance. However, as I wrote in the original PRs, Garay is not a player that you expect to put up a great record; he pretty much never does with the exception of last World Cup. That being said, he is certainly a solid player and should be able to rebound from 1-4 pretty easily, which should definitely help the team out. I think people like Trosko and Gama could also end the season strong. Their RBY slot appears to be kind of a disaster at the moment, but the team didn't invest that much in RBY, so it's not that big of an issue. Ultimately, the team needs to secure points in at least 3 out of 4 weeks moving forward, which certainly will not be easy. That being said, I do think they are in a better spot than the teams below them. If Garay plays up to his level, the team should be able to make some noise.
3. The Wi-Fi Wolfpack
Now, we get to my team. I ranked us as the 3rd best team heading into the tournament, and that's exactly where we find ourselves now. Unlike the Raiders and Classiest, there were certainly a lot of Wolfpack doubters; the team was ranked last in the official PRs and reputable sources such as Iguana pegged the team as a bottom-feeder. However, to me, the team had enough talent to make a playoff run, and it certainly looks likely that we reach the playoffs as of now. Having 7 points with 4 weeks left is a very good spot to be in, as it essentially means that the team only needs to win 2 out of the remaining 4 weeks to make the playoffs. The team managed to turn a 0-5 deficit into a 7-5 win against the Sharks in Week 4, which is certainly big for the team's title hopes. ABR has underperformed so far in terms of record, but has brought a pretty unmatched amount of team support; I expect him to end the season strong. dice and TDNT have been pretty impressive so far, with their only loses coming to pretty capable players in elodin and Michael. zio has been a pleasant surprise so far, as he has managed to amass a 4-1 record to help keep the team afloat in light of others' struggles. The main carry, though, has been Void, who has played pretty well in the madhouse so far. It is the madhouse, though, so I would be kind of foolish to not expect some regression here just due to the nature of the tier; the prep has been pretty on-point, though, so far. freezai and Fog have both struggled more than I anticipated; Fog in particular has had a season-from-hell so far. He did manage to take down Finchinator, though, and he has displayed an ability to win in the past. I don't expect him to struggle this much moving forward, so I do think the team can hope for some positive regression here. The GSC slot has been a pretty big issue, so much so that I find myself in GSC this week; I did predict this slot to struggle in the initial PRs, though. ORAS has also struggled a bit, but with the stacked player pool, this is less of a surprise. Ultimately, this team definitely has holes, but in an SPL rife with struggling slots / players, having 7 points this late in the season is simply a great place to be. I think we certainly have a good shot of winning the tour.
2. The Indie Scooters
Now, this is a team that has really surprised me. They got completely annihilated in Week 1, but since then, they have been a juggernaut. It certainly seems likely that Dave is bound for his SPL playoffs since SPL 5 with this squad. hellom has been the main revelation here for me, as he has looked pretty dominant thus far; and in a close SPL, one player I have no belief in becoming a star is all a team needs to thrust themselves into relevancy in my eyes. The Well is smashing everyone again, which really shouldn't surprise anyone. I thought Niko would do well, but I didn't think he would be 5-0 after 5 weeks. vani has also been a pleasant surprise so far, but I will continue to be a bit of a doubter until I see more. The chef is struggling more than I anticipated, but hellom's dominance makes that less of an issue. The team is also 1-4 in the madhouse, which honestly, I don't really find to be that concerning. The main issue to me is the loss of Lord_Enz, who I thought would at least have a decent campaign. I have a lot less faith in Hayburner, but he has been solid so far. That being said, Lord_Enz's disappearance certainly hurts the ceiling of this team. Ultimately, though they have some solid pieces and are basically a shoo-in to make the playoffs. If they can get some positive regression in the variance madhouse, it would go a long way to helping them secure a trophy and get the monkey off Dave's back.
1. The Dragonspiral Tyrants
Well, imagine thinking rey would miss the playoffs. They could still theoretically not make it, but with 8 points and 4 weeks left, it seems all but guaranteed that the Tyrants will join the playoff party yet again. Troller and SoulWind doing well does not really surprise anyone. The main story here is the return of the 2015 [IDM]Basedlord, who has turned back the clock with a vintage performance. CTC is pretty clearly one of the best SV players right now, and his stellar performance has helped offset CBB's rather disastrous season so far. Of course, similarly to Garay Oak, CBB is not a player you buy with the expectation that he puts up an insane regular season record. That being said, I don't think anyone would expect him to go 0-5, even in a stacked player pool. It is highly likely he closes out the season strong to bring himself to a more normal record. The team was also rewarded for spending 3k in the madhouse, which is something I always love. However, their SM slot has certainly been pretty disastrous as late, with Poek unable to turn back the clock like CTC was able to; their ADV slot has also not been great; the team invested limited resources in these slots, though, so these performances are not as much of an issue. Many of the team's players have put up some questionable performances, but ultimately, this team has a solid amount of talent and they are extremely likely to make the playoffs. As mentioned before, there is no awesome team in this year's edition of SPL, so that might be all the Tyrants need to help the second-best manager of all time hoist his first SPL trophy.
Unlike previous SPLs, I honestly just don't think schedule matters THAT much; the teams just feel so close that anything can happen on any given week. I find it very unlikely that both the Raiders AND Classiest make the playoffs, so I will personally be hoping for the current top 3 teams to make it, along with one of the Raiders / Classiest so I can claim my 3/4 playoff prediction and yet another victory over the Official PRs.
I hope you enjoyed this year's edition of the UNBIASED MIDSEASON POWER RANKINGS!
No one care now that DOU is excluded.
Have fun clicking stealth rocks and rapid spin for 300 turns in a row
Have fun clicking stealth rocks and rapid spin for 300 turns in a row
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I would like to thank Vulpix03 and DeepBlueC for drafting me this SPL and bbeeaa for recommending me to them.
It was a really fun environment in the team,unfortunately our team couldn't make it and I also ended with a 2-3 record(sorry team,will try my best to continue to improve more),at start of the tour I was all pumped up and very active in all prep which I was mostly getting all correct too along with building teams and new techs but I think I burned myself out of SV and lost all the steam leading to not putting in the effort needed in the final weeks, though that doesn't take away the fun I had watching weekly games of all gens and appreciating/learning more and more about them weekly and gave me newfound appreciation for them which I previously would of never even watched a game of,also glad I got to be in same team as you Savouras for first SPL,had a lot of fun building new teams and cooking heat sets and s/o Exotic64 for the help
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It was a really fun environment in the team,unfortunately our team couldn't make it and I also ended with a 2-3 record(sorry team,will try my best to continue to improve more),at start of the tour I was all pumped up and very active in all prep which I was mostly getting all correct too along with building teams and new techs but I think I burned myself out of SV and lost all the steam leading to not putting in the effort needed in the final weeks, though that doesn't take away the fun I had watching weekly games of all gens and appreciating/learning more and more about them weekly and gave me newfound appreciation for them which I previously would of never even watched a game of,also glad I got to be in same team as you Savouras for first SPL,had a lot of fun building new teams and cooking heat sets and s/o Exotic64 for the help
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First ever SPL, this is prob the most motivated i have been playing mons, even prepping had been so much fun, last time i was this excited to prep/build was in WCOP 2022 giving out ideas like Physdef Stunfisk, nidoking conkeldurr BO, Keldeo Sand in SS OU but i wasn't that good back then, and this time around i get to do that again but on a much bigger stage every week.
I felt bad for getting benched halfway through thinking i failed after the horrible misclicked that happened in my Week 2 Game but helping my teams with building and testing at such a highstakes intense tournament was as fun as playing in them. This tour really sparked a new motivation to play and improve further, and wished i could've build and played more in playoffs to go positive instead of even but it is what it is.
Shoutouts to Vert and ima they helped me and my teammates so much with building and were very understanding and patient even when trying to build with mons like Decidueye, genuinely could not have done this good or had as much fun as i did had it not for them. Shoutouts to georgiethefirst Stunfisk2169 (i think thats your smogon) aswell for helping with ideas and wack builds i wanted to bring, and also shoutouts to hellom for bouncing ideas with eachother throughout the whole tour giving feedbacks to eachother, and grats to him for having a killer starting first season and good luck in playoffs friend (your week 9 win was undeserved tho
)
s/o to my managers snaga and suapah for giving me a chance and my teammates for making the past two months a blast as well, you are all amazing and gave me appreciation for every tier and teamwork, even if we didn't win this was still such a fun experience. GLHF To everyone else in the tour, i'll be rooting for tyrants as their season have been amazing!
I felt bad for getting benched halfway through thinking i failed after the horrible misclicked that happened in my Week 2 Game but helping my teams with building and testing at such a highstakes intense tournament was as fun as playing in them. This tour really sparked a new motivation to play and improve further, and wished i could've build and played more in playoffs to go positive instead of even but it is what it is.
Shoutouts to Vert and ima they helped me and my teammates so much with building and were very understanding and patient even when trying to build with mons like Decidueye, genuinely could not have done this good or had as much fun as i did had it not for them. Shoutouts to georgiethefirst Stunfisk2169 (i think thats your smogon) aswell for helping with ideas and wack builds i wanted to bring, and also shoutouts to hellom for bouncing ideas with eachother throughout the whole tour giving feedbacks to eachother, and grats to him for having a killer starting first season and good luck in playoffs friend (your week 9 win was undeserved tho
)s/o to my managers snaga and suapah for giving me a chance and my teammates for making the past two months a blast as well, you are all amazing and gave me appreciation for every tier and teamwork, even if we didn't win this was still such a fun experience. GLHF To everyone else in the tour, i'll be rooting for tyrants as their season have been amazing!
Fun season, glad i got to play a ton for once. Thanks Conflict njnp Sabella @whoever else was in mannajerk for the trust in me to slot into gsc, and even moreso for letting me keep going after not my best showings in my first two games. Glad i got to turn the record around.
And of course, thanks everyone for the support susciety for the one billion games per week, RealJester too, Century Express and Fear for games and advice, and brotherman gorgie for all the support, advice, and handling me at my lowest to rise up. Thanks bro.
edit: somehow forgot about Aliss and D4 Repertoire. Both also gave hella test games n advice, thanks a bunch
Cryos: it was a fun season. We all know what we could had done better, i'm particularly sad we had two stellar showings in Santu and Conflict (who even flexed into adv, which gave the patented plot armor boost). We should had given you playoffs but failed, hopefully we get there if we are to team up in the future.
gl to all teams in playoffs
And of course, thanks everyone for the support susciety for the one billion games per week, RealJester too, Century Express and Fear for games and advice, and brotherman gorgie for all the support, advice, and handling me at my lowest to rise up. Thanks bro.
edit: somehow forgot about Aliss and D4 Repertoire. Both also gave hella test games n advice, thanks a bunch
Cryos: it was a fun season. We all know what we could had done better, i'm particularly sad we had two stellar showings in Santu and Conflict (who even flexed into adv, which gave the patented plot armor boost). We should had given you playoffs but failed, hopefully we get there if we are to team up in the future.
gl to all teams in playoffs
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Thanks to my teammates on the Cryos who tried their hardest and provided great company throughout the season. Losing obviously sucks and this result is more frustrating than anything else for me — every extra year not winning just stings a little more than the year prior, but there was some fun along the way and this frustration is mostly a skill issue on my part anyway, nothing personal.
We got super close and I respect everyone who didn’t give up the last two weeks. Those two comebacks the last two weekends were wild, even if we fell short. The fight, the energy, etc. was so intriguing. You guys have a friend in me for sure.
Sorry for going 4-5; going negative for my price tag is entirely unacceptable regardless of luck or other efforts. It’s a results oriented tournament and you guys deserved more wins for me. You all know it wasn’t due to a lack of effort, but that really doesn’t matter at a certain point. Thanks for trusting in me nevertheless.
Good luck to my friends in the playoffs. Excited in particular to see if Hellom can continue his undefeated run. Going to be really exciting to see the SV games!
We got super close and I respect everyone who didn’t give up the last two weeks. Those two comebacks the last two weekends were wild, even if we fell short. The fight, the energy, etc. was so intriguing. You guys have a friend in me for sure.
Sorry for going 4-5; going negative for my price tag is entirely unacceptable regardless of luck or other efforts. It’s a results oriented tournament and you guys deserved more wins for me. You all know it wasn’t due to a lack of effort, but that really doesn’t matter at a certain point. Thanks for trusting in me nevertheless.
Good luck to my friends in the playoffs. Excited in particular to see if Hellom can continue his undefeated run. Going to be really exciting to see the SV games!
I wanna thank all my teammates and managers for making my first SPL a blast.
I especially wanna thank my managers Sabella and njnp. Sabella was super supportive and kind to me despite my disappointing first two weeks, and njnp took the time to even give me tryouts and believe in me. I know I wasn't really on anybody's radar to be an SPL SV starter, and I wish I could've done better to validate the risk they took on me. I want to say I got a lot better as the season went on, but my average performance is fully my responsibility.
All my teammates were wonderful and supportive but I especially want to shout out Finchinator and Dj Breloominati♬. Finch is such a tryhard and he really does so much to help every single slot. Nobody was more reliable when I was stumped by my team choice for the week or needed some last day tune ups. No matter what he or anybody else says, I think he lived up to his price tag. DJ was such a great teammate and so good to me, I know SV wasn't kind to him but I'm glad we clinched the victory against his indian brother Piyush25. Our calls were a ton of fun and included gems such as:
I regret not being able to bring my goats Conflict and Santu to the playoffs they deserved, but I think my biggest regret was not trying at pokemon in general sooner. I've been on this site for a decade and this SPL season was by far the most fun I've had playing mons. Maaan I wish I got good and joined team tours sooner. I plan on being in great form for the rest of this month in hopes of playing in my first wcop for US Northeast, can't wait to play another team tour.
Rooting for my pals myjava, hellom, akalli, xavgb, Fc, and Storm Zone in playoffs
Imma go back to my forum main roots and breakdown each sv game in semis and finals.
I especially wanna thank my managers Sabella and njnp. Sabella was super supportive and kind to me despite my disappointing first two weeks, and njnp took the time to even give me tryouts and believe in me. I know I wasn't really on anybody's radar to be an SPL SV starter, and I wish I could've done better to validate the risk they took on me. I want to say I got a lot better as the season went on, but my average performance is fully my responsibility.
All my teammates were wonderful and supportive but I especially want to shout out Finchinator and Dj Breloominati♬. Finch is such a tryhard and he really does so much to help every single slot. Nobody was more reliable when I was stumped by my team choice for the week or needed some last day tune ups. No matter what he or anybody else says, I think he lived up to his price tag. DJ was such a great teammate and so good to me, I know SV wasn't kind to him but I'm glad we clinched the victory against his indian brother Piyush25. Our calls were a ton of fun and included gems such as:
I regret not being able to bring my goats Conflict and Santu to the playoffs they deserved, but I think my biggest regret was not trying at pokemon in general sooner. I've been on this site for a decade and this SPL season was by far the most fun I've had playing mons. Maaan I wish I got good and joined team tours sooner. I plan on being in great form for the rest of this month in hopes of playing in my first wcop for US Northeast, can't wait to play another team tour.
Rooting for my pals myjava, hellom, akalli, xavgb, Fc, and Storm Zone in playoffs
Imma go back to my forum main roots and breakdown each sv game in semis and finals.
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Kenix
World Defender
I just can't get over how ridiculously unfair this decision seems. You say that people are responsible for their own useraccount and can't provide the security for their accounts on the website you want them to play their games on. YES, this situation is unfair to the Tyrants, dridri especially. But Malekith also did not get the chance to play this game without doing anything wrong. After all, Malekith did have a password for his account, what more do you expect of him?
I think that this is a uniquely weak decision that should be revoked and the game replayed with new teams. What a disgrace for an SPL Semifinals to (potentially) be decided by that.
I think that this is a uniquely weak decision that should be revoked and the game replayed with new teams. What a disgrace for an SPL Semifinals to (potentially) be decided by that.
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https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/spl-xv-administrative-decisions.3733518/#post-10045412
This decision is not in line with the competitive spirit that makes our tournaments. We are here to play Pokemon and let the best man win, not to allow hackers to decide incredibly important matches. Malekith had a registered account with a password changed within the last 6 months - he has taken all reasonable steps that players on this site take to keep their account secure, with the known about and accessible tools Smogon and PS! offer. Being hacked in such a situation can happen due to freak cases, but handing a loss and placing an onus on the player shies away from the responsibility of the hosts and TDs to uphold the integrity of our tournaments. Are we really trying to send the message that players and fans can do anything and everything to help their team win, including hacking their opponent?
The prior "precedent" states that "since the alt being unregistered was an avoidable mistake on the player's end and a recreate could be exploited in the forfeiting player's favour, a recreate or rematch will not be granted." This is not the situation we find ourselves in today.
I know a tiebreak is juicy to all the fans, and heck we might get one anyway, but this is not the right decision if we want to hold our tournaments to a respectable standard. I implore everyone in this community to support what is right and grant a rematch.
This decision is not in line with the competitive spirit that makes our tournaments. We are here to play Pokemon and let the best man win, not to allow hackers to decide incredibly important matches. Malekith had a registered account with a password changed within the last 6 months - he has taken all reasonable steps that players on this site take to keep their account secure, with the known about and accessible tools Smogon and PS! offer. Being hacked in such a situation can happen due to freak cases, but handing a loss and placing an onus on the player shies away from the responsibility of the hosts and TDs to uphold the integrity of our tournaments. Are we really trying to send the message that players and fans can do anything and everything to help their team win, including hacking their opponent?
The prior "precedent" states that "since the alt being unregistered was an avoidable mistake on the player's end and a recreate could be exploited in the forfeiting player's favour, a recreate or rematch will not be granted." This is not the situation we find ourselves in today.
I know a tiebreak is juicy to all the fans, and heck we might get one anyway, but this is not the right decision if we want to hold our tournaments to a respectable standard. I implore everyone in this community to support what is right and grant a rematch.
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At the end of the day, my opinion is that the fault is on PS! itself for not supporting 2FA in 2024. Basically every major gaming platform has this option available at this point…
Isn’t the situation more comparable to a disconnect from 300-0, which calls for a remake.
Why don’t we compromise with “Expulso Clause” Dridri starts up 1-0 in a bo3.
Isn’t the situation more comparable to a disconnect from 300-0, which calls for a remake.
Why don’t we compromise with “Expulso Clause” Dridri starts up 1-0 in a bo3.
I sympatize with Malekith and the Ruiners a lot and it's obviously big bullshit. But the precedent that you could make anyone log into your account mid game (or even just do it yourself with phone+vpn) is so outrageously shit (and impossible to prove otherwise no matter how obvious, unless you want to cherry pick by user/gut feeling but that's even worse) it can't be allowed, like seriously think about it 5 seconds.
@comment for everyone but the Ruiners who are rightfully too upset to mull it over.
@comment for everyone but the Ruiners who are rightfully too upset to mull it over.
I sympatize with all you said, but my game ended in a tie, so if you want to tie it ok, we won 6-5.
That's all good and all but what does this site and the maintenance stuff intend to do to stop this in the future?
There were many cases of outrageous cheating scandals and whatnot that were used as a stepping stone to improve PS!'s security and integrity as a site/platform for this game.
I genuinely don't know who to address this to but it has to be addressed for the tournament scene's well being in future iterations.
If it's forcing 2fa to every player that wants to play in stours, then we need to do it somehow, right?
Pretty sure the forum says you got disqualified turn 1 for not being you on your account, please don't direct your rightful anger at me. The situation is so shit and dumb i can't even flame you because i understand how you feel, that said i'm not a doormat for you to vent, go take a hike. I'm stating my opinion on tours integrity, get mad at the guy who got you good.
I think that you’re right in general, but this specific case was so obviously a hack given the circumstances and what happened. This decision should be overturned (but not used as a precedent) and enabling widespread 2FA (rather than the current system of contacting an admin that no one on our team knew about beforehand) on all showdown servers should be an immediate priority to minimize the chances of this being a long term problem.
you know in the future, in a case like this you can make the proper decision for the case at hand, while safeguarding against hypothetical abuse of a loophole established by the precedent by stating that this is a sui generis case and future incidents will be handled differently. the post could look like this:
“Malekith was hacked in his game, and as such we are determining it was a tie and they will rematch with different teams. to prevent this from being abused in the future this decision doesn’t establish precedent, and any future cases of a player being hacked will result in a loss for that player.”
cause this is obviously a real hack, no one would do this turn 2. so you safeguard this spl’s integrity, and defend against abuse in the future by establishing that a bad actor could never do this on purpose as there will be 0 tolerance going forward
food for thot
“Malekith was hacked in his game, and as such we are determining it was a tie and they will rematch with different teams. to prevent this from being abused in the future this decision doesn’t establish precedent, and any future cases of a player being hacked will result in a loss for that player.”
cause this is obviously a real hack, no one would do this turn 2. so you safeguard this spl’s integrity, and defend against abuse in the future by establishing that a bad actor could never do this on purpose as there will be 0 tolerance going forward
food for thot
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I support the mission. I suggest you hack finchinator and have "him" lobby for a boots ban too.
