Tournament RUPL IX Commencement Thread

Ampha

"They don’t call me Greed for nothing!"
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
1647039894379.png


Pohjis27500
odr22500
Ajna21500
Feliburn20500
mncmt20500
Luthier19000
Finchinator17000
Xiri16000
Ark16000
Hurtadoo15000
beatiful15000
Mac315000
Raptor14500
Spl4sh14500
Scottie14000
Bouff13500
Eternal Spirit13500
eifo13000
Lyss11500
ninjadog11000
Clementine10000
Lily10000
etern9500
mael8500
GoldCat8500
TJ8000
banks8000
The Strap7500
Chaitanya7500
Beraldinho7000
Thiago Nunes7000
TPP7000
Askov6500
TSR6000
Void6000
We Three Kings6000
Dj Breloominati♬6000
Sabella5500
jonfilch5500
Heni-san5500
Confide5500
lighthouses5500
passion5000
Aliss5000
Danny5000
London Beats5000
gum4500
Metallica1264500
Aberforth4500
Yourwelcomethanku4500
omi4500
Daruma4000
EternalSnowman4000
zS4000
Elfuseon3500
Alkione3500
Natan3500
Holly3500
Feen3000
Reece3000
avarice3000
Ampha3000
Staxi3000
Luna's Banned now3000
tlenit3000
QWILY3000
Oathkeeper3000
Inder3000
PokemonCestDur3000
ToastedBunzzz023000
HaxxSel3000
airfare3000
Yay3000
Miyami~~~3000
Isza3000
xXcrossbowXx3000
Jordy0043000
GW3000
neomon3000
fran173000
NEON_Voyager3000
DugZa3000
Specs3000
ez3000
emma3000
Fc3000
Juno3000
cy3000

Grats to everyone picked :psyglad:
 

Expulso

Morse code, if I'm talking I'm clicking
is a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Social Media Contributor Alumnus
RUPL9.png


RU Premier League IX Power Rankings
voted by managers
writeups by me except the one for my team (thanks EviGaro)
all rosters were projected by me and may not be 100% accurate

TEAM OVERVIEWS:
:entei: Inting Enteis :entei:
Bo3: Eternal Spirit
SS: TheFranklin, Expulso, Scottie, EternalSnowman
SM: Xiri
ORAS: banks
BW: Yay

Despite leading the field in upbiddings, the Expulsos managed to end up with a fairly standard and well rounded roster. In SWSH, retain TheFranklin and manager Expulso lead a quite decent quartet, paired with most likely scottie (Osh (Oshawott fan)) and EternalSnowman, two general smogon players with decent success in this tier over the course of the generation. You'd expect them to do well, although a commitment to building will be required from players that tend to be a bit shaky there. User yourwelcomethanku can certainly help there, as well as subbing in for anyone if needed. Eternal Spirit leads bo3 with a solid run in Invitational under his belt. Gama has played all the tiers when they were current gen, so there's no problem of familiarity there, but his approach to building might set him apart from the rest of the SWSH slots, will be interesting to see! In old gens, Xiri banks and Yay forms a known core to RU tours, with Xiri obviously being the standout name in recognition, and a generally solid approach to SM tiers. However, he's a little bit alone on this team there, barring again Gama (who used CRACKED stuff like Banette) so that + the goat timezone might leave him with some issues, though logic says he will perform well. banks and Yay are known to the community, but are both coming into this tour following very young hiatus. banks is certainly a good player with familiarity in the big brain field of sludge bomb knock synthesis sludge bomb sludge bomb though, and will not be an easy match at all, and backup Miyami can surely contribute to building. Yay is someone we can all certify as incredibly nice and deserving of success, but bw is without mercy to actual fairness, a fact the manager of this team is aware of altogether. Would not be surprised to see renewed calls for the gen to be axed here.

Overall, this team has very few weaknesses, though a lack of standouts might be observed. This team needs strong positive records from Xiri TheFranklin and Gama to contend, but it's not as if it's incredibly unlikely either. If the more middle of the pack slots can hold their own as they have all the ability to, this is certainly a team that will not be an easy out in any week.

:noivern: Noble Noiverns :noivern:
Bo3: Punny
SS: TPP, Specs, Natan, Ez
SM: Finchinator
ORAS: Ark
BW: Lily

In Punny’s first attempt at managing in some time, he has taken matters into his own hands by getting his retain at a whopping price of 20.5K that is somehow still a substantial discount. After recording a ridiculous record of 18-3 in the most recent RU subforum team tournaments, making top 4 of RU’s circuit playoffs in consecutive years, and winning RU Open and Grand Slam, Punny’s RU resume is second to none – especially now that sensei axew has retired. He is considered the favorite in an incredibly competitive Bo3 pool and could foreseeably put up about 5 regular season wins against RU’s toughest competition.

A prolific SS builder, Punny decided to spend the rest of the auction focusing more on oldgens – particularly BW, for which he bought three players. I assume Lily will BW while Finch plays SM and Ark plays ORAS, but almost any combination of these three tiers and players is theoretically possible. Lily put up a solid 3-1 in BW last RU Snake, and Finch is the Greatest Rarely Used Subforum Tournament Player Of All Time; both are projected to do slightly above average in their oldgen pools. Ark may be less familiar to the RU community, but he’s a known tryhard who can pick up a wide variety of tiers and play them well; it would be a surprise to see him not finish approximately even in ORAS.

After this strong start in Bo3 and old gens, the SS core looks to be Noiverns’ Achilles heel. Punny spent very little on the SS slots, getting capable players who he plans to support with his teams. This strategy sounds solid but may not work as intended because of Punny’s very unique style; his teams are very much tuned to his specific playstyle and aren’t the most intuitive for new players to pick up and use. TPP, ez, and Specs fit the description, having not touched the RU tier much at all. While all are capable players, the rankers don’t expect them to have a playing advantage that overcomes the lack of familiarity with the tier and consider them all below average. Natan has played the tier before and actively built but hasn’t touched it in a while, so it’s difficult to know how involved and capable he might be. Overall, the Noiverns have a superstar in Bo3 and very solid oldgens but may be held back by the inconsistency of their SS core -- inconsistency fitting for a mascot that doesn't have any 100% STAB moves.

:darmanitan: Dabbing Darmanitans :darmanitan:
Bo3: mncmt
SS: Umbry, Luthier, London beats, Askov
SM: Lyss
ORAS: Spl4sh
BW: fran17

Lunala, defending champion in RU but also seemingly in every tier’s PL, has returned with another very intimidating roster to perhaps claim the title once again. Mncmt returns from the RUSD-winning Solid Steelixes, and Umbry and Luthier return from the RUPL-winning Dabbing Dadas – albeit for a combined 15K more than they cost last time.

Everyone knows what mncmt does: all he know is bo3, charge they phone, be bisexual use HO in oras and lie. He’s projected to finish around the middle of the pack in the extremely competitive Bo3 pool. Umbry and Luthier enter the SS pool as two of the top 5 players, though Luthier could foreseeably swap places with Lyss and SM. I expected Lyss to SM after a strong performance in RU Snake, but either would make sense. London Beats and Askov round out Luna’s SS core as solid pilots. Unfortunately, Lunala may have to build for 3 SS slots per week – and that’s only if Umbry can be self-sufficient in the tier. However, London Beats and Askov (despite his 1-6 last RUPL) will be able to do fine, if perhaps below average, if Luna can do this.

The old gens are closed out by another Brazilian and yet another Italian: Spl4sh and fran17. Fran has played in both ORAS and BW before, though usually as a sub, and Spl4sh played BW last RUSD to some success while also going 7-2 in SPL for ORAS OU. Rankers are skeptical that fran17 can step up in a full season starting role but have some faith in Spl4sh to make the jump down to RU in his preferred gen.

The Darmanitans are a strong team, though somewhat reliant on the starpower of Umbry and Luthier for their good ranking; these two players have mostly put up average performances in RU tours, though, so this is not a guarantee. Slots such as SS 3&4 and ORAS/BW may be rather reliant on manager Luna to lift them, but there’s reason to expect the Lunalas will be (sigh) dabbing again at the end of the tour.

:sandslash-alola: Sleek Slush Rushers :sandslash-alola:
Bo3: odr
SS: TJ, Chaitanya, tlenit, Danny
SM: Staxi
ORAS: MrAldo
BW: GoldCat

After a chaotic draft in which he may have accumulated more players than can fit into one Smogon convo, MrAldo leads a truly wild team this tour. Odr and GoldCat headline the show; odr’s price of about 21k looks like a steal after the auction and GoldCat’s price of about 7.5k was considered one the moment bidding ended. GoldCat will hold down BW and is expected to end this tour positive despite a slightly negative finish in RUSD, and he also provides valuable SS support for a team without many builders in the starting SS lineup. Odr is also an active builder and gives MrAldo a strong tiebreak option as well as an above-average Bo3 player, a huge asset in what is by far the most competitive pool in RUPL.

Solid tour mains TJ and Chaitanya occupy two of the SS slots, while creative builders tlenit and Danny take the other two. Well, that’s in my head at least; in practice, with 15 players (besides Odr, GoldCat, and MrAldo) there are 1,365 SS roster combinations (https://www.mathwords.com/c/combination_formula.htm). All are expected to finish at about the middle of the pack – great depth for a core that seemed to be rather shambolic as the draft happened, when Aldo was sitting with about 25k more than everyone else and some teams had already finished. Good teams from Odr and GoldCat, both of whom generally build slightly off-meta and solid stuff, should lift the core as well.

ORAS and SM seem likely to hold the team back, though; MrAldo and Staxi both were ranked near the very bottom of their pools. However, with an impressively deep SS core and a genuine star in odr, the Aldos may finally have enough tools to make a playoff run this year.

:durant: Deranged Hustlers :durant:
Bo3: robjr
SS: Sabella, Beraldinho, jonfilch, The Strap
SM: Pohjis
ORAS: TSR
BW: Void

The Fighting Kittos (or Deranged Hustlers, which I should type out because it’s one of the most fire team names) return to RUPL, having to pony up a massive sum of 27.5k to acquire the de facto mascot Pohjis. After farming three(?!) ribbons, his talent remains as present as ever, making him a favorite whether he enters the Bo3 or SM pool. I initially put retain robjr in the Bo3 pool but it could be either combination. Despite a recent win in RU Cup, robjr is ranked last in RUPL’s toughest pool (perhaps ever): he simply isn’t viewed as a star of the same caliber as players like Punny, Garay Oak, and odr. However, the “fodder slot” of SPL is certainly capable of pulling off wins against favored opponents, as he just showed off in a SPL playoff win in ADV OU of all places.

Young Beraldinho, another successful underdog who eliminated Punny from RU Championships, anchors the SS core. An active builder who has succeeded with cool, off-meta sets like LO Aerodactyl, he has a lot of potential, though he has yet to prove it in RU’s team tours (where he is only 2-2). Sabella provides much more experience, reuniting with Rabbit after an SCL where he was a pleasant surprise in the RU pool; solid tour players jonfilch and The Strap round out an average to slightly above-average SS core.

TSR is expected to do fairly well in ORAS; I know TheFranklin was quite high on him pre-draft, but he’s also folded under pressure in some prior tours, and either outcome is quite possible here. Void might disappear into the void (you’re not funny dude stfu (sorry)) as one of the more inactive players on the site, but I expect them to find some way to get a few wins in BW. The name of the game for this team is generally “average”: most slots are around the middle of the pack, with the exception of star Pohjis and void/rob if he Bo3s, so a lot will depend on the team’s ability to adapt to the post-shifts SS meta and stay active.

:lucario: Top-Laning Lucarios :lucario:
Bo3: Feliburn
SS: EviGaro, HaxxSel, Elfuseon, Bouff
SM: Hurtadoo
ORAS: eifo
BW: Clementine

Unite main Evi fell back on her main draft staples this tour, grabbing old favorites Feliburn, Bouff, and LE DOO to anchor a certified Evigaro classic. I almost wrote Gondra in this PR… but alas he did not sign up. Feli has the talent to do fairly well in Bo3 though is expected to be slightly below average; fortunately, a huge number of players (EviGaro, Bouff, Eifo) can step into the slot if needed. LE DOO enters SM for 15K (I really wanted him!) and coils easily outperform his ranking, particularly with French sidekick HaxxSel by his side. After stating his love for ORAS in the RU Discord after a strong Invitational run, I predict that eifo will be allowed to start his campaign in the tier this tour, where the rankers expect him to do about average; Clementine (formerly Pujo) carries the same expectation into BW.

EviGaro and Bouff, both handily considered top 10 in the SS pool, form a strong first half of the core. Unfortunately, however, the core is completed by HaxxSel and Elfuseon, both of whom are ranked at or near the absolute bottom of the 32-person SS pool. The team does have builders: Evi, a motivated (and not retired) Feli, Bouff, and Eifo all fit the bill. They will need to do a lot of work to ensure that the 2 shaky SS slots don’t pull the team back like an anchor. It’s certainly possible – Elfuseon was very solid in RUSD, for instance – but the weakness of the team’s SS 3 and 4 slots seems, on paper, to be greater than any one strength the team has.

:basculin: Masculine Basculins :basculin:
Bo3: Star
SS: gorex, beatiful, GW, zS
SM: Thiago Nunes
ORAS: Mac3
BW: Ninjadog

Having to draft at 5 in the morning must be tough for Gorex. Fortunately, he got a head start by spending a whopping 34.5K before the auction even started, retaining himself and Star. Star is one of the most valuable assets a team can have this tour: an above-average player in the brutal Bo3 pool. Gorex’s self-retain is considered somewhat the opposite, though: he’s ranked near the bottom of the SS pool. Fortunately, an excellent purchase of 15K beatiful more than makes up for that: Bea is considered the best SS player in that pool and can easily provide 20K or more value if he a) uses good teams and b) doesn’t get banned. In other words that 15K may have been wasted…

Assuming he doesn’t get banned for Smogtours antics, though, he will get the support of a very capable SS builder in Mac3. SS3 zS also builds – extremely creatively – giving bea the potential to do quite well. zS and GW aren’t viewed very highly as players but I could definitely seeing both go about .500 if things go right for the Basculins. Admittedly, that isn’t likely after gorex squandered the chance to name them Toxic Basculinity :(

After Ninjadog, a very strong BW that also went for a reasonable price, the oldgens are quite a mystery. Who will fill ORAS and SM? I predicted that Mac3, ORAS stall enthusiast and invitational top 4 finisher, will ORAS while Thiago Nunes plays SM: rankers are high on Mac’s potential but not really on Thiago’s. The SM slot and non-bea SS slots look like a big liability for the team, but gorex will try to replicate the playoff-making team of last year’s formula by outweighing that with the starpower of Mac3, Star, and Bea.

:mimikyu: Magical Mimikyus :mimikyu:
Bo3: Garay Oak
SS: Sage, Confide, passion, Aliss
SM: lighthouses
ORAS: Ajna
BW: etern

One-time retiree Sage returns to the Pokemon and managing scene with an excellent team. Professional Pokemon player Garay Oak brings over $600 of earnings to the team for the small fee of 20K auction credits, and Sage tacked on her own retain for another 10K. Starting the auction with just 70K, however, didn’t stop them from buying superstar Ajna and also pretty much every gay user in the draft pool. Yass so magical.

Garay is a co-favorite to win the Bo3 pool; in one of the most competitive pools RU has ever had, that says quite a lot, and it says even more that they could swap in a whole second player (Ajna) and be just as well off there. Their oldgens are just as highly regarded; etern is ranked near the top of the BW pool despite being likely to play about 4 games all season and Ajna is the undisputed best ORAS if he plays that tier as I predicted. (He could go anywhere, though, so I’m not super sure about it). Diogo has a rather rocky history in teamtours but also benefits from the Mimikyus’ extremely supportive environment, both through moral support and through the SM knowledge of players like Sage, Ajna, and passion.

After near-top SSer Sage, however, the SS pool begins to drop off a little bit. Confide is a very talented player but is generally unfamiliar with RU and does not build it; the other two SS players, Aliss and passion, also haven’t played the tier much. The “oldheads” like Garay and Ajna are also a question mark to build the tier, and Sage has been away for a while too, so it’s quite possible they’ll struggle in the SS builder for a bit. Regardless, I believe the team’s outstanding pros, including a genuinely stacked tiebreak, make them my personal favorite to win the tour lose to my team in finals.


PLAYER RANKINGS:
Points correspond to the average rank assigned to a player. Small number = good

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OVERALL RANKINGS:
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thanks for reading, have fun everyone! :afrostar:
 

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