9. Unowndragon
Unowndragon has for a while now shown great instincts and good results, across not just RBY OU but really any RBY tier he puts his mind to. He has never managed to convert this consistency into that single brilliant result, though, failing to make it past Invitational play-ins three years in a row, and never managing too deep of a run into any individual. If Unowndragon can shake off a few bad habits and level up his metagame understanding just a touch more in time for SPL, he may well be a competent sleeper pick.
10. nicole7735
nicole7735 has been one of the fastest learners I have ever witnessed in RBY, going from complete newbie to NU superstar to threatening OU player impressively quickly. However, her 2023 has been streaky, as her nice successful Invitational play-ins run that qualified her to top32 was immediately cut short by two main event losses, and the recent RoAPL results haven't been so kind to her either. While her potential is clear to see to everybody, it may not yet be her time... unless she proves here and now that it is.
11. Torchic
Though the Chinese veteran has shown remarkable highs in RBY, including a clean 6-1 in RoAPL 2022, this has been a bit of a dry year for him, with relatively early exits from circuit tournaments as well as Invitational. He will no doubt add value to any SPL team that picks him up, between his positive attitude and his familiarity with multiple oldgens, but he will likely need to reverse his 2023 fortunes here if he wants to see the SPL field in first person by 2024.
12. Gastlies
Gastlies is well on track for two consecutive top 16 circuit finishes; while they have yet to have a proper breakout tournament, the consistency across two full years has been remarkable (only Narwhal and possibly Ctown6 of all other signups have managed this feat). Only time will tell if the breakout is imminent, or if it will be one more tournament of respectable but modest performances.
13. oakdeon
oakdeon managed a legendary loser's bracket run in this year's Winter Seasonal, losing in Round 1 to then go on a warpath all the way through to Round
15, where he was finally stopped by Ice Yazu and finished 3rd place. Along the way, he claimed wins over solid names such as Hipmonlee, Ctown6, chub, Genesis7, and many others. The French player demonstrated fantastic skill and endurance - while he failed to reproduce results on that level throughout the rest of the year, that run stands tall amongst the achievements of players ranked close to him, and I am eager to see if he can regain that seemingly untouchable form.
14. Mister Tim
Somewhere in there there's a player who got top 6 at Invitational 2021. For one reason or another, that player has never really showed up consistently on Smogon, or at subsequent Invitationals for that matter. However, Mister Tim is a name that still commands respect - from the relentless freeze spam of the old days, to his modern Taurosless ventures, he'll always have a nasty surprise to punish you if you get complacent, and on his day he can truly take on anyone.
15. Sabelette
Sabelette followed a trajectory very similar to nicole7735, exploding on the NU scene and transitioning that to decent OU results. However, as of now, she has fallen a bit short of nicole's peaks - where nicole made it through Invitational play-ins, Sabelette stopped in round 3. Where nicole managed a strong Summer Seasonal run this year, Sabelette managed... nothing to write home about. While they don't seem to be too far apart in skill, it is hard not to acknowledge the sheer results gap in 2023, justifying Sabelette's lower ranking. Nevertheless, she shares similar potential, and this may just be the right time for it to come out.
16. Quarante8
48 has been on the list of "very promising, nearly there" players for a couple years now. Unfortunately, he is still there. He returned to his BW roots this RoAPL - maybe the change of scenery will allow him to return to RBY energized and ready for the next step. 48 passes the eye test, but has never been able to string enough consistent performances together - will this tournament finally be his time?