Approved by TPP
Welcome back to OU player of the week!:) Today we have the Magical, Mystical, and Magnificent; Michaelderbeste2!! WCOP runner up, SmogTour qualifier, and current SPL player, what more can you want? Let's take a look at what makes this great player so great!
Favorite pokemon: Victini/Scraggy
Best known for: 50 point Smogtour qualification, WCOP, SPL
Hi friend how are you doing?
I am fine. Thank you for asking. I'm stressing myself out a bit for the Abitur, but aside from that I'm doing great right now :D
Im having some nasty orgo exams right now so I know the feeling ahahah, I wish you luck!
Can you tell me a little more about yourself?
Sure. My name is Michael, who would have thought, and I am 18 years old. I am one of the many German newcomers and I come from Glückstadt, which translated means Lucky City. As I mentioned before, I'm graduating from high school this year. At the moment I play a lot of Pokemon Unite. That's why I'm happy to see that there will be a lot of competitive support for the game in the next few weeks. Besides that, I generally have a lot of fun watching soccer, winter sports or Formula 1. I think everyone knows that I also play Pokemon Showdown.
Bayern or Dortmund?
Neither. My heart beats only for HSV. But if I had to pick a team, it would probably be Bayern, because I like Lewandowski more than Haaland.
Agreed! you are ok in my book
How did you get into PS?
When I was 10 years old, I watched various Youtubers who played this game. In the beginning, I only played Random Battles. But as time went by, I also started playing draft leagues. I've only been playing official tournaments since 2019/2020, so I don't have a lot of experience yet.
What would you accredit your tour success to then? Draft leagues? ladder? or just had a talent for it
I can't say for sure. I've played a lot of draft leagues and gained a lot of experience. Random battles have helped me to learn every typing and moveset. In smaller German tournaments I could show what I learned. That's how I got into the WCOP team and now I'm here.
Very nice! I know it probably seems like a while ago but I wanted to comment on a very impressive SmogTour run, in the early stages were you confident that you were going to make it?
I associate a few things with this SmogTour Season. After I had already qualified for OLT, but then failed miserably in the playoffs, I wanted to take revenge. I had won SS twice in one weekend. The funny thing is that I played the first tournament on my phone at an HSV game in the stadium. When the playoffs started, I told myself that I wanted to win the thing. With a little bit of struggling, I was able to beat Malekith. After that I had to play Jon, a good friend of mine. I always tend to play worse against friends than against others. I'm probably not the only one who feels that way.But after loading one of the worst ORAS teams ever, I didn't deserve to win the tournament.
playing a ps tour game on my phone is my worst nightmare
but regardless of results it was not easy competition
I've played many games on phone actually x)
the last game against Malekith I also had to play on phone
because of a repairman who came in
Insane, maybe ill try it next time, see if it helps me qualify LOL
More recently you sold for a pretty impressive 18.5k for SPL, how has the tour been for you?
I still can't believe that I was so expensive. But I am very happy to have ended up in Congregation of the Classiest because I like the team very much. You can talk about a lot of different things and also the preparation is going very well so far. I am sure that we will get the trophy.
Im divided on who I want to win but the Classiest have been doing very well, good luck to you
With playing so much SS how do you feel abt the metagame right now?
I think the Kyurem ban is a shame, but it is justified. It was one of my favorite mons to play, but now I can't use it, unfortunately. I think the metagame is very enjoyable right now. The best playstyles right now are Bulky Offense and Balance in my opinion.
is there anything in particular that you find yourself abusing? or some combo you find is very good?
I really like the combo of Knock Off Trap Tapu Fini+Nihilego, as the Tapu Fini, can remove something like Ferrothorn and the currently rising Slowking-Galar. Unfortunately, in my SPL week 6 game, it didn't work as I imagined. On the ladder, however, the combo was a lot of fun, which is why I would definitely recommend it.
ahahaha I do love Nihilego, spamming it on ladder recently,
Do you think you could pass us a team you think is pretty good?
I brought this team into week 4 of the SPL and it worked enormously well. The plan with the team is to chip the enemy team so that Flame Charge Blacephalon can go through at the end. Many teams lack Ghost Resistance, so this is very doable. Sometimes the Ghost Resist is also a Toxapex, which you can then knock out with Expanding Force in the terrain. 252 SpA Blacephalon Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex in Psychic Terrain: 280-330 (92.1 - 108.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock Then I add to that the terrain setter Tapu Lele, which I equipped with Choice Scarf to have some form of speed control. The advantage to Scarf Tapu Lele is that it is faster than Arctozolt in Hail, so even the Hail matchup, which seems difficult at first, is good to play. The special thing about the set is the Future Sight. You press it to force Switches, then bring in the best breaker on the team, Tyranitar.
I felt like bringing in choice band Tyranitar to benefit the most from Future Sight, because then Buzzwole or Toxapex can't get in. Stone Edge, Crunch, Superpower are already a very good couverage on Tyranitar, which is why I chose Rock Blast as the last attack. Rock Blast is more accurate than Stone Edge and can overcome the PP problem. Also, the attack is very good to counter opposing Dragonite or Sub Zapdos. To take better advantage of Future Sight, I wanted to use a Pokemon with Eject Button. I came to the conclusion that Toxapex was the best fit, since I still needed a Tapu Fini Check. That's why I also play the Poison Jab. In addition, Toxapex helps me to handle enemy Urshifu. What should not be missing in any team is the OU Staple Landorus-T. Every team needs a ground type and I think Landorus-T is doing too good a job right now. The speed is chosen to outspeed an Adamant Bisharp or Modest Volcanion. I play Knock Off over the more commonly seen Toxic to knock out Tornadus-T's heavy-duty Boots, so Blacephalon can then kill to +1 after Stealth Rocks. +1 252 SpA Blacephalon Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-Therian: 270-318 (74.5 - 87.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rocks The team is rounded out by Corviknight, which is here to do the job as Defogger. It checks Kartana and Melmetal, which were a big threat before. Corviknight also provides momentum, which is good for getting Tyranitar, Tapu Lele or Blacephalon in.
Thank you! Gives a great idea on how to utilize this team. Any shoutouts you would like to give?
There are many people I could say hello to, be it the Random Battles community, the German community or my SPL team. But a big shoutout to mind gaming, who brought me into the competitive scene. Because through him I got to know Draft Leagues in 2014 and participated together with him and against him. Since then we have played many different tournaments or leagues. To this day we still do stuff together more often and that is something I will always keep in mind (no pun intended). Also huge thanks to xray and Gefährlicher Random who not only invited me to the WCOP team but also supported me in my Smogon Tour run. You can always count on those guys. Last but not least I would like to shoutout my homie ez. Playing the z0mog New Friends tournament with you was incredibly fun and even after that we had extraordinary amounts of fun, be it Showdownladder or Uniteladder. Thanks to everyone who has supported me on my journey so far. I guarantee you'll be seeing pixels under my name soon! Cheers
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Thanks to Michealderbeste2 for the interview, and make sure to leave any questions below!
Thanks to Michealderbeste2 for the interview, and make sure to leave any questions below!
