Smogon Champions League I - Commencement

Merritt

no comment
is a Tournament Directoris a Site Content Manageris a Member of Senior Staffis a Community Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host
Head TD

Artwork by Zracknel

Welcome to the commencement thread. This year SCL will be hosted by Amaranth, Merritt, and Perry.

This first edition of the Smogon Champions League is a team-based tournament where 10 team managers draft their team from a pool of players and duke it out in 10 current generation metagames for nine weeks to make it to playoffs, where the top four teams face off to determine the winning team and to claim a trophy.

A reminder of rulings that hold true for this edition of SCL, and some new ones:
  1. Managers are allowed one (1) assistant Manager.
  2. Teams are only allowed three (3) retained players from last year's SCL.
  3. Retention rights may not be traded.
  4. Players may not be traded at any point (NEW)
  5. Midseason signups are restricted to people that signed up for the original auction.
  6. The minimum number of players in a team is 14.
  7. The maximum number of players in a team is 24.
  8. There will be a severe penalty for any team that picks up a known alt of a banned player, or any player masquerading as another person to lower their cost in the auction. This has not been a big issue in the past, but it is important to establish that both parties will be penalized immediately and harshly if they are found doing so.
This year's managers will be:

Arena Spartans - snaga + suapah
Circuit Breakers - Osh + Alpha Rabbit
Indigo Platoon - TonyFlygon + Star
Mt. Silver Foxes - EviGaro + Kink
Orange Islanders - Staxi + Stone_Cold
Power Plant Dynamos - Lunala + Bouff
Showdown Shoguns - tko + Ninjadog
Studio Gible - Hogg + Garay oak
Technical Machines - Lilburr + Feliburn
Uncharted Terrors - shiloh + Gingy

Assigned teams and draft order will be announced at a later time.

Player sign-ups will go up at shortly after this commencement thread is made. When a prospective player signs up, they are expected to also note which tiers they are interested in playing during the tournament. In order to ensure the best possible experience for yourself, the managers, and your team, please do NOT sign up for any tier you are unwilling to play. If you would not seriously consider playing that tier in a tournament environment, do not list it. The tiers you put down in your signup are not binding for the entire tournament, but they will affect how your prospective manager sees you, and as such they should be as accurate to your skillset as possible. Don't make dumb joke posts about playing tiers you do not care for.

Retainer rules:

As this is the first edition of Smogon Champions League, no teams have eligible players for retention. However, retained players will exist in future editions of Smogon Champions League. The current rules for retainers are in the hide below as a reference.

As stated above, only three retainers are allowed this year. You may not retain more than three, though you may retain less or no players at all if you wish.

The cost to retain a player on their first year as a retention will be the HIGHER of the following two scenarios (unchanged from last year):
  1. the amount that the player went for in the last auction + 3k (ex. if Oglemi was bought for 13k, it would cost 16k to retain him)
  2. 10k, if the previous price + 3k would end up being lower than 10k (ex. if Oglemi was bought for 6k, his retaining cost would be 10k, not 9k)
Remember that a player bought for under 10k during last year's auction will not necessarily cost just 10k to retain. If Oglemi was bought for 9k in last year's auction, he would cost 12k to retain this year, not 10k.

The cost to retain a player that was already retained in the last SCL will be dependent on how many times they have been retained. The fee being raised by +3k with each subsequent retention (ex. if Oglemi was retained for 16k last SCL , it would cost 22k to retain him in this one, and 31k to retain him in the next one.


The tier lineup this year is as follows:
  • SS OU
  • SS OU
  • SS OU
  • SS Ubers
  • SS DOU
  • SS UU
  • SS RU
  • SS NU
  • SS PU
  • SS LC
Tournaments Rules and General Guidelines

General SCL Rules & Regulations

The General Manager of a team is essentially the boss of a team. The GM is the final word in all decisions (barring the hosts) regarding his team. The GM decides which players play on the team, who plays in what position, and even handles the team finances. Managers also make sure that the team keeps running on a day to day basis. If a team fails to complete their matches by the end of the allotted time, the onus is on the manager to inform the hosts as to what happened in order to make sure that proper activity calls are made.

Because of these responsibilities, The General Manager is probably the most important part of the team. As such, the position of GM is not one to be taken lightly.

• General Managers are not eligible to play in the Smogon Champions League. You can either play or manage, not both.
• General Managers are chosen largely on a subjective opinion of the hosts as well as Tournament Directors as to who they believe would be fit for the position. Being fit for the position includes the knowledge of excellent battlers in the community (for fielding a competent team), having above average activity on the forums, Pokémon Showdown and/or Discord (in order to ensure that you don’t abandon your team), as well as possessing a necessary amount of “gravitas” (If you can’t make a player do what you tell them to, such as play an undesirable metagame, you’re not going to make a good manager).

General Managers are required to acquire one Assistant Manager. The General Manager gets full sovereignty in choosing his assistant manager. The assistant manager is essentially the second in command for the team. They have all of the functions and roles as the General Manager does, the GM just trumps him in head-to-head decisions.

Lastly, the General Manager has the following duties:

• They shall choose one Assistant Manager.
• They shall make the hosts aware of any player retentions by the time player signups close.
• They shall be present at the live auction, or appoint someone (preferably the Assistant Manager or a retained player if the AM is unavailable) to participate in the live auction in their stead.
• They shall send the hosts weekly rosters.
• They shall ensure to the best of his/her abilities that his/her battlers complete their matches on time.
• In the event that a match fails to be completed, they shall inform the hosts as to why the match failed to be completed, and what his/her battler did in order to finish the match.
• They shall communicate any grievances with the hosts.
All players must sign up if they wish to play in the Smogon Champions League, even those who will eventually be retained to their past teams. It is important to note that the Smogon Champions League is an 11 week event and that the activity level of a player is significant. Do not sign up to play for a team if you do not intend to see the tournament through to the end. This includes maintaining a competitive attitude if your team is already eliminated from playoff contention. You never know whether or not winning your end-season matches will make you a more valued player next season, so even if your team isn’t necessarily in the playoff picture anymore, there’s always value in playing your best. Failure to complete matches in a timely manner consistently may result in being barred from entering the Smogon Champions League in future seasons.

During the first two weeks of SCL, players are only allowed to play in the tiers listed in their signups post. We will not be enforcing this rule for anyone with a price tag of 3k.

The sign-up list will then be taken and sorted into appropriate lists for each of the 8 metagames. These lists will then be used by managers for the auction.
Total money for teams is 140,000 credits. There will be no holdover on extra credits from previous years - everyone starts with a blank slate and 140k.

In the weeks preceding the live auction, a time will be chosen by all of the General Managers to meet and perform a live auction in order to choose players. Managers will be expected to remain at the auction for the entire duration, which should take approximately 2-3 hours. If a General Manager cannot, for some reason, find any feasible time that he can attend a Live Auction, then the Assistant Manager will be called upon to fill in the spot. If no Manager can fill the spot for the Live Auction… then a new General Manager + Assistant Manager who can find time to make a live auction will be found to replace the old ones.

Once a time is set, all 10 managers + the hosts will enter the place where the auction will be held - likely the Smogtours server. Spectators are allowed to join in to watch the fun unfold, but will not be able to speak. Discussion on the bidding at hand should be relegated to the SCL chatroom or any other appropriate chat outlet.

The hosts will first ask a team to nominate a player. The order by which teams will nominate players will go in a snaking pattern from the highest ranked team from last year to the lowest ranked team, then the lowest ranked team to the highest ranked team. The hosts will then tell the details of said player and bidding will commence, starting at 3000 credits, with the nominating team automatically placing the first bid. The auction will then be in real time. Managers will simply put in their bids in the chat, raising a minimum of 500 credits. If after 15 seconds there are no new bids, the player is sold to the highest bid in the channel. The hosts or utilized bot will provide a 5 second warning before bidding is closed on a player. The updated credit totals will then be posted and then the next manager in the rotation will be prompted to nominate a player.

Managers are asked to please have a predetermined list of players you intend to nominate as well as potential bid caps, in order to make the process go as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

Managers: it is necessary for you to field a roster of 10 starters and a minimum of 4 substitutes, with a maximum of 10 substitutes being allowed of which all must be paid at least 3000 credits. This creates a soft cap of 101,000 credits on any particular bid - that is, the maximum amount of money you can spend on any one player and still have enough money left over to pay at least 3000 credits a piece on 13 more players.

Remember that there are midseason free agent pick-ups. It may be beneficial to save some credits in order to pick up players midseason, but remember that no new players will be allowed to sign up for the midseason draft.
It is at this time that the tournament will commence. The league stages consist of a Round Robin tournament. Every team will face every other team once through 9 weeks of play. Each manager will submit to the hosts a roster no later than the deadline of the previous week. This roster will list the starting players and what metagames they will play.

When the week starts, teams' players will face off in their respective metagames / tiers. The SS OU 1 from Team A will face the SS OU 1 from team B, SS OU 2 will face SS OU 2, and so on. Whichever team wins the most battles will be declared the victor for the week. Rather than score based on how many individual battles a team wins, the primary thing that matters is who beat the most teams. As such, points are awarded based only on wins and losses versus teams as a whole, not individual players. Beating a team in a week’s matchups is worth two points, tying with a team is worth one point, and losing is worth none, simple as that. At the end of the round robin, the top four teams in the points proceed to the playoffs and will be seeded into a knock-out style bracket where they will face off until only one team remains.

There are a few regulatory things during the league stages that need to be outlined.

1. Substitutes – At any point in time during the week, a team may make a substitution for a currently slotted player. In order to do this a manager must post in the thread, tagging the hosts, the opposing managers and the opposing player stating which player is substituting out, and which player is substituting in. A player that has substituted out for a week cannot be substituted back in. In addition, in order to catch any attempts at garnering favorable matchups in SS OU (where the lineup you choose affects pairings), all substitutions are subject to veto by the hosts if the substitution is suspected to be attempting to “game” the system.

2. There will be no trades allowed at any point during SCL.

3. Activity decisions – There are inevitably times where two players simply fail to complete a match; however, the nature of the tournament system sometimes makes it advantageous to purposely fail to play (such as when a team is up 6-5 in a week). Because of this, it is necessary to make activity decisions on matches. Hosts are required to make thorough investigations regarding each and every potential failed match during a week. If both parties are deemed to be equally apathetic or enthusiastic about getting the match done, but just have not had the opportunity to make it happen, the match will result in a no contest. However, if it is deemed that one party made significantly more effort than the other in attempting to get the match done, then a win will be awarded to that player. Things that will make it very likely that you will lose via activity include: failing to VM your opponent immediately upon the week’s start, scheduling a match and being documented as missing the match time, failing to provide any concrete times for which you can be reached, failing to respond to an opponent’s VM at all. Note that this is a tournament that requires a very high level of activity and diligence, if you don’t think you can get your matches done, quite simply don’t sign up.

4. Rule Breaking – There is no excuse for breaking any of the predetermined rules. If you are caught breaking a rule, you will lose your match. There is no lenience with regards to this. Break a rule, you lose. Period.

5. Reversing Rulings - No ruling will be retroactively overturned once the week following the week that the ruling has been made has ended. This includes: activity rulings / rulings based on rule breaking / anything else under the sun. I'm not going back in time to reevaluate every single decision I've made throughout the tournament on Week 9 because you think you were gypped 1-2 wins along the way and now they're the difference between you and a playoff spot. Any appeals to a ruling must be made during the week that the ruling is made; beyond that, all rulings are final once the week ends.
During Week 4, sign-ups will reopen for 4 days. Players that signed up for the original auction and weren't drafted will sign up and a new free agent list will be made. Note: Even if you signed up the first time around, you must re-signup in order to get on the midseason free agent list. After sign-ups close, the host will remind each manager how many credits they have left over from the original live auction.

Up until week 4 managers will have the opportunity to report players that they believe are not meeting minimum activity requirements and/or sabotaging their team to the hosts. The hosts will review the team situation on the first 2 days of week 5, and if it is found that the player in question is indeed guilty of one or both, the team will be allowed to sell them back. Reports made on team quitters after the end of Week 4 will not be evaluated until the conclusion of the tournament, with the exception of cases of cheating or team leaking/sabotage. A user merely being forum banned or tournament banned is NOT grounds for a sellback.

If a player is sold back, their team obtains their value as credits to be used in the midseason auction.


Instead of having another live auction, an auction will take place on the forums. A manager will post their bids, with other managers having up to 12 hours from the time of the post to make a higher bid on the player. After 12 hours, if the manager has not been outbid, his or her team will be awarded the players. The Midseason auction will last for 5 days during week 5. The players purchased here will be allowed to start playing starting on Week 6. There is no use for credits leftover after the midseason free agent pickups, so it is in every manager’s best interest to spend all of their remaining credits at this time. No players may enter SCL after the midseason auction, except in the case of a team falling below the minimum number of starters due to their players being banned, in which case they'll be allowed to pick players from the undrafted pool until they reach the minimum.
At the end of the league stages, there will be a knockout style playoffs involving the top 4 teams in the points. In the event of a tie in overall points standings, the following criteria is used for breaking ties.

• Overall Points >
• Battle Difference (total # battles won - total # battles lost) >
• Best of 3 - each team picks a unique tier with the winner of the Head to Head matchup picking second, then SS OU is the 3rd game. In the event that the two teams tied in the Head to Head matchup, the team with better results against the higher seeds will pick second.

After the top 4 have been determined, each team will be seeded. The #1 seed will play the #4 seed, and the #2 seed will play the #3 seed. The victors of these matches will advance to the finals match. The winning team of this match will be declared the ultimate victors of the Smogon Champions League.

League Stages & Playoffs

League Stages


Not all 10 teams will qualify to play in the playoffs. Based on the results of the League stage, the top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs.
In the league stages, beating another team gives you 2 points, drawing the match gives you 1 point, and losing it gives you nothing. In addition, the manner in which you win will also be stored; that is, how many you won vs how many you lost. This difference will be used in case of a tie at the end of the league stage.

Playoffs

Based on the league stage, the top 4 teams will be seeded and placed into a bracket, in which they will go head to head. Teams will battle in the same format as during the league stage. At the end of all 10 battles, the team with more wins will advance to finals.

In the case of a tie in playoffs, the advancing team will be decided by a best of three - each team picks a unique tier with the higher seed picking second, then SS OU is the 3rd game.
The tournament will progress in this format until there is only one team left standing, the champion of the Smogon Champions League.

---

This post marks the formal start to SCL I, which means:
  • Managers can hold official tryouts
Here's to a fantastic first season!
 
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hey a small shoutout post addressed at the various managers

you were able to follow a lot of team germany members by watching their games however the managers had to sub a player in semis who easily would've started on any other roster. LNumbers was a big help in building as well as preparing and coordinating, needless to say he obviously has access to all teams as well. He's been very active in uu tournaments for the past year so i'm sure the entire community there knows him well however i know he's really looking forward to play and grind for a team in either OU or UU so just wanted to post some insight from how he performed on team germany.
Whatever the cost he'll be worth his money, don't sleep on him
 
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Iguana

formerly mc56556
First official mock of the Smogon Champions League!

Screen Shot 2021-08-16 at 2.44.44 PM.png


Lord_Enz31000
talah29500
SoulWind28500
Punny28000
lax27500
John W27500
Finchinator26500
watashi26500
Nat24000
Eternal Spirit23000
LilyAC23000
Lusa22000
Insult21000
mncmt21000
Serene Grace19000
Bushtush19000
Mishimono18500
Gefährlicher Random18000
Ajna18000
Poek17500
kythr17500
Adaam17000
umbry16500
ggggd16000
Gondra16000
odr16000
Niko16000
M Dragon15500
dice15500
pdt15500
Dragon Claw15000
Santu15000
Kushalos15000
robjr15000
Ox the Fox14500
Luthier14500
Skypenguin14000
Xiri14000
ez14000
MAX UND MAX13000
Nails13000
FALSE12500
64 Squares12500
stormzone12000
TJ11500
Qwello Lee10500
TPP10500
kttverde10500
Sensei Axew9000
chlo9000
elodin9000
MichaelderBeste29000
Aliss9000
Biosci8500
PDC8500
dahli8500
devin8500
Askov8000
mind gaming8000
Ruft8000
Frania8000
GoldCat8000
Z Strats7500
tlenit7500
Reje7000
Fc7000
Eeveeto7000
pokemonisfun7000
Icemaster7000
z0mOG7000
Lyss7000
Wail Wailord6500
Paraplegic6000
teal66000
termi6000
Jordy6000
Specs6000
LNumbers6000
qsns6000
atomicllamas6000
decem5500
daunt vs5500
SpookyZ5500
tazz5500
Gray5500
Charmflash5500
Sabella5500
Sagiri5500
Lets In The Sun5500
The Strap5000
afakedugong5000
ojr5000
rodriblutar5000
TeamCharm5000
Vaboh5000
Excal5000
SiTuM5000
QWILY5000
Expulso5000
TDNT5000
Confide5000
Bag of Trixx4500
crying4500
Memoric4500
ramboss4500
frisoeva4500
TSR4500
TheFranklin4000
Highways4000
Exiline4000
Gilbert arenas4000
GW4000
Roseybear4000
-Tsunami-4000
avarice4000
Tace4000
S1nn0hC0nfirm3d4000
dcae4000
airfare4000
Raptor4000
Trade4000
BluBirD2524000
Stareal3500
DC3500
mael3500
Cirlo3500
malekith3500
McSim3500
Baloor3500
Meru3500
100percentpureheat3500
CyberOdin✝3500
JRL3000
trace3000
KM3000
AA3000
crusty3000
March Fires3000
flareblitzkreig3000
cy3000
emma3000
the pharoah3000
Fille3000
Fogbound Lake3000
RKD3000
eifo3000
Estarossa3000
Splash3000
drud3000
Meri Berry3000
ampha3000
Ren-chon3000
IPF3000

Team Lineups

Most people submitted these, but a couple of teams' managers didn't, so I quickly threw together lineups for them.​

SS OU: dice
SS OU: Excal
SS OU: Vaboh SS Ubers: SOULWIND
SS DOU: Z Strats
SS UU: Adaam
SS RU: odr
SS NU: Baloor
SS PU: tlenit
SS LC: dcae
Subs: MichaelderBeste2, ampha, tazz, SiTuM, TeamCharm, Meri Berry

SS OU: Lusa
SS OU: MAX UND MAX
SS OU: Stareal
SS Ubers: M Dragon
SS DOU: Paraplegic
SS UU: Highways
SS RU: Punny
SS NU: GW
SS PU: Decem
SS LC: Serene Grace
Subs: Roseybear, DC, Exiline, Gilbert arenas, TheFranklin

SS OU: talah
SS OU: Eternal Spirit
SS OU: elodin
SS Ubers: March Fires
SS DOU: emma
SS UU: Askov
SS RU: the pharoah
SS NU: flareblitzkreig
SS PU: John W
SS LC: Bushtush
Subs: crusty, KM, cy, AA

OU Lord_Enz
OU Gefährlicher Random
OU Santu
DOU Biosci
Ubers Reje
LC Fille
UU Gondra
RU mind gaming
NU Dragon Claw
PU -Tsunami-
Subs: ojr, Fogbound Lake, RKD, Cirlo

UBERS - icemaster
OU - robjr
OU - z0m0g
OU - ez
UU - lyss
RU - atomicllamas
NU - mncmt
PU - confide
LC - lilyac
DOU - qsns
SUBS - tsr, devin, bluebird252, goldcat, trade

OU - Insult
OU - crying
OU - FALSE
DOU - JRL
Ubers - the strap (Skysolo)
UU - umbry
RU - lax
NU - Sensei Axew
PU - Chloe
LC - ggggd
Subs - Bag of trixx, mael, trace, afakedugong

SS OU: Niko
SS OU: stormzone
SS OU: Raptor
SS Ubers: 100percentpureheat
SS DOU: Memoric
SS UU: Luthier
SS RU: frisoeva
SS NU: Xiri
SS PU: Ktutverde
SS LC: TDNT
Subs: Aliss, Lets In The Sun, CyberOdin, ramboss, IPF, dahli, Frania, Sagiri, airfare

SS Ubers: Poek
SS OU: Ajna
SS OU: Tace
SS OU: PDC
SS DOU: Nails
SS UU: teal6
SS RU: Nat
SS NU: Kushalos
SS PU: termi
SS LC: Wail Wailord
Subs: avarice, Rodriblutar, Jordy, eifo, Malekith

OU: Finch
OU: Skypenguin
OU: SpookyZ
Ubers: Fc
DOU: Mishimono
UU: Pif
RU: Watashi
NU: Ho3n
PU: Specs
LC: DVS

OU Ox the Fox
OU TPP
OU Ruft
Ubers 64 Squares
UU pdt
RU Expulso
NU Sabella
PU TJ
LC Kythr
DOU Qwello Lee
Subs QWILY, LNumbers, Gray, Meru, Charmflash, Ren-Chon

The first of many mocks to come! :) Here's to a great SCL ahead!
 
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Specs

Getting in your own way
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
UUPL Champion
Wanted to do a shoutout to a couple PU ppl that didn't get picked up last year that I think the managers should consider picking up this year. Hope this helps any managers with deciding PU slots/support

Greybaum has popped off this year, making it to semis in PU Open and going 5-2 in PUPL. Good dude that I know can work well with people. If you already have another starter in mind he can build too. A really value pick that wont disappoint

avarice has had good success and builds a lot. Building most of his stuff (if not all, idk) during his recent seasonal run. If you're looking for a builder and/or a player he'll do good work

zS also builds a lot and comes up with pretty cool stuff, can also play at a solid level. A really value pick

chlo is an excellent player who I know will put in lots of effort. She is on top of the meta and I believe can do really well for any team

if any manager needs more insight feel free to msg me, looking forward to this year
 

Luthier

Don’t get mad, get even.
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Two-Time Past SCL Champion
I also wanted to echo the sentiments in the post above with some LC players that I believe are very strong. Especially with the entire pool aside from a few individuals getting flushed out into different tiers or managing, I wanted to see some representation from some capable individuals.

Laroxyl has been on the rise for a bit over a year now. He seemingly popped out of nowhere in the LC community and has put up some solid numbers in LCPL. He is by far the most passionate player I know in the LC tier and he even managed an LCWC team on his own, which is a feat in itself for someone this new to the LC stage. You would definitely not regret picking him up.

Toadow has been an incredibly consistent presence in the LC tier for a while. Although he's played SM LC for the past couple of LCPLs, his SS LC follows directly behind. In addition he has been the team support for prior SPL and Snake LC starters. Extremely friendly and for sure will be a great teammate to talk to if he's in your team chat.

boulicrok follows very similar lines as toadow - great dude and solid play

KSG is probably the LC player with the most amount of tier knowledge. Although I can't vouch much for his play (haven't seen too much of it), I've always been under the impression that he knew what he was talking about when it came to meta analysis. When I tailed around the cobras chat for a bit last season, KSG was a caring support for shrug and it showed inside and outside of chat - even though he wasn't on the team.

Surfy is for sure the most subtle names in this group but I've really enjoyed watching them play for a while now. I think they would be invaluable as a support or even a sub. I'm sorry that I can't speak much about their personality or their ability to build since I don't really know them outside of their LCPL and LC ladder games. Either way, cool player and brings solid builds so I'm sure you'd enjoy them on your team.

as with what specs said, if a manager would like my insight on the LC pool, please feel free to message me and I'll try my best to check discord as often as I can for the new few weeks before the draft. Please do take all i've said with a grain of salt since i'm not the most in tune with the LC playerbase and meta right now. Cheers and good luck to all the players and managers!
 

Gray

stop ballcapping
is a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
Wanted to add a few players I know are 100% worth picking up, definitely agree with Luthier’s picks as well (especially laroxyl i think hes a top 5ish LCer atm)

100%GXE dude plays like a god with creative builds and can find success in any tier he feels like playing. He doesnt join as many tours as I hope for but he borderline never disappoints with his records, cant stress how underrated he is

Mikaav LCer whos been putting up consistent results for years now and is only getting better. He just came off an impressive 5-2 in lcpl on mostly his own builds and is someone who i wouldnt count out against any player

tazz i dont think i have to put him here but definitely up there in lc as a builder with a lot of impressive results in ss including winning back to back ssnls. He was my manager for lcwc, in which he was super active, friendly and did a lot of the building for us having a good record himself

Clone sleeper pick for ou/support, super cool guy who helped me and others out with building for south and despite his hiatus from mons he showed he could still be a valuable asset in ss + he has undefeated wcop eo teams
 

lax

cloutimus maximus
is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnuswon the 10th Official Ladder Tournamentis a Past SPL Championis a Past WCoP Champion
RBTT Champion
I wanted to add my thoughts on some pretty solid and worth it players from a record-cost ratio.

Niko - I mean... he's like what 14-2 in SPL and WCoP? Not to take credit for scouting him or anything, but I did purchase him in the SPL for like 4.5k. Some of you may think "well, lax, why did you trade him then?" and I mean it's a pretty obvious answer tha. Niko, though... man if I could rewrite ANY point in history I would cancel that trade and hone Niko into being the best SWSH OU player of all time. I mean, he's pretty up there right now like 3rd or 4th behind talah and xray, but under my tutelage Niko would have ascended even higher. Were talking like 18-0 levels of records or something and yeah he'll be super cheap cuz he's an "enemy of smogon" now or whatever cringe circlejerking people decided they hate him so the entire site hates him or something etc

blarghlfarghl - moving on, we have blargh. Blargh is just simply incredible. Super patient, methodical, and precise with his gameplay. Have you ever seen that replay of blargh vs FV? Probably the biggest beatdown in the history of PokEmon, ever. Ever since he was unbanned, he successfully topped the OU ladder during OLT but unfortunately forgot to register his account, leading to him not qualifying for the prestigious tournament. Pouring one out for our boy, blarghfarghl. Also, phenomenal teammate. He's actually the reason behind ez's success this WCoP with lots of tutoring and VoD reviewing his replays and gameplay on ladder as well

ABR - there's not a lot to say here. like, it's ABR... you guys get it. absolutely clinical gameplay and prep

Accel - I've already discussed the best UU players above, but if were talking about 3rd best? It's clearly Accelgor. Tutored by CBU himself (11-1 UUPL and 1 UUPL ring as manager), Accel ranks among the best of the best. Known for his signature HP Fire Amoongus created in SM UU, he's probably one of the most innovative players of our time. If were talking about lower tier goats... we got soulgazer (obviously), ict, Poek,... and Accel lol he's that good at UU and will probably sport a 8-1 record at worst
 

TJ

Banned deucer.
is the Smogon Tour Season 34 Championis a Past SPL Championis a Two-Time Past SCL Champion
Wanted to add a few people that are worth picking up in PU that Specs forgot to mention in his post:

Bag of Trixx: I do not see Trixx as a starter yet, but he is very knowledgeable and would be a good builder if you need support. He helped me in Snake last year and recently led his team to PUPL playoffs as a manager. I believe that he can also help support NU / LC / Ubers. Overall, a very nice dude who will be active and is worth picking up.

Decem: He has shown that he can play PU at a high level and has proven to be very creative in the builder. He recently made it all the way to PU Open Finals and did really well in PUPL, despite not playing the tier much before then. I think he should absolutely get picked as a starter.

Squash: He has improved a lot from when he first started and I think he deserves to be a starter. He builds good teams and is able to support himself and pull the trigger when needed. He is currently in winners finals of seasonal and has done really well recently.

termi: Kinda shocked termi wasn't drafted last year. She absolutely deserves to be a starter this year. Like Decem, she made it to PU Open Finals and does well in every PU tour. Recently, she has led her team to PUPL Finals and has p much qualified for circuit playoffs too. Easily one of the best players in the pool.

jcbc: Not someone to pick up as a starter, but he is a good dude that would be active and eager to help out and support where he can. He helped me and Realistic Waters a lot last year in Snake and has knowledge in all of the lower tiers.

lockjaw: Don't see him as a starter but think he would make a decent sub. He's a really good builder and did well in PU Open and the latest Seasonal off good prep and meta knowledge. Think he should definitely hit up some managers.

Drud: Don't know if he gets picked to start, but he would be a good sub that is solid in-game and in the builder.
Ktütverde: This guy will not win a single game. :blobtriumph:
 

TJ

Banned deucer.
is the Smogon Tour Season 34 Championis a Past SPL Championis a Two-Time Past SCL Champion
had to save an entire new post for this player. what a sensational gamer at PU and more than likely a first 3 pick up

z0mOG: merriam-webster had to create a new word just to define this guy's ability to maneuver around top tier PU threats like jolteon and runerigerus or whatever... Puenius. if you arent picking this guy to slap 6 boots on a team and switch for 45 turns straight with rocks up you can just go back to managing the minor leagues. I dont even feel like trying to quantify his success in objective terms or measurements. the number is higher than i generally tend to count to
 
I wanted to add my thoughts on some pretty solid players from a possibility of cancer - are they worth it ratio.

dice - if you've been on smogon, you know who dice is. usually an old gen main but someone who can pick up pretty much any tier and play it at a high level. however, given his history of team cancering, it may be wise to bid cautiously. dice has been punished for his low effort levels multiple times and his former spl manager, callous, even complained about him publicly. id recommend buying dice only if you have a surplus of clout. mainers be wary

watashi - similar to the above, watashi (also known as FLCL, The Virgin, doobie) is someone with an extremely high ceiling but low motivation. in fact, watashi has publicly admitted that he "hasnt been interested in mons for 2 years". while it may seem wise to spend big on a talented player, watashi is a huge risk. even when teaming with his closest friends in life, he's only capable of putting up a 4-5 record. in my humble opinion, it is wise to not get catfished for such an inconsistent player

-Tsunami- - the reason he's made this list is because some mainer managers might get fooled into thinking shake is good due to his join date, trophy count, anything really. im here to warn you that if you look at any of his most recent tour games, well they speak for themselves. shakeitup is a ball of infectious disease that not only cannot win his own games, but brings down his entire team's morale with a persistently negative attitude, incessant "trolling", and absurdly offensive remarks about teammates. if you are looking for someone to put up an 0-x record while being the worst internet presence you've ever encountered, this is your buy.

soulgazer - just steer clear, not worth it at any price.

FlamingVictini - flamingvictini aka the busiest person on planet earth has proven his skill multiple times putting up insane team tour records and even a recent OST win. this would make you think that his prices would be very high but he's successfully been able to fool managers with his impossible schedule and lower his price accordingly. balancing college, an 8 hour job, a side gig curing cancer, and fighting social injustice, FV still manages to find time to build strong teams and play his games, often leading to wins. do not be fooled managers!!! FV is worth spending on

Finchinator - carl is a unique kind of cancer. he's a nice enough personality and good enough to put up solid records but he suffers from something called Finch Syndrome. accumulating tons of bad karma with his constant complaining, negative attitude, and hypocritical behavior, he is bound to sink any team he lands on. have you ever wondered why he's never won a non-wcop team tour? furthermore, teams often invite users from eliminated teams to join their chat. a team that's added finch to their chat has never won. tournament regulars already figured out that finch is essentially an omen of bad luck but mainers will often get catfished by his social standing and draft him for a hefty price. to whatever mainer duo that picks up finch this year, good luck next year.
 

freezai

Live for the Applause
is a Tiering Contributor
I just wanted to post in support of daunt vs for the LC pool. I drafted him in lcpl and he went 6-3 but more importantly than that it was very clear that he understands the metagame a lot more than most, I'd probably put him top 3 in that regard, next to lilyac and femboy. He's an active chat presence ( top 3 in the team server) and scouts and builds effectively. He built all his own teams and had many frameworks ready. In game he understands game scenarios well. I say this because in the after game discussion he's able to explain exactly why he did something and even in my own games he's able to offer critiques about pathways I could've taken. He plays aggressively and while he's a choking hazard because sometimes he goes for the right read even if it's not necessarily the right play, I would overall rate him as a top 10 lc playing wise.
 

pdt

is a Past SCL Champion
PUPL Champion
i really like all of these posts that people are making giving users exposure when they may not have as much as they deserve, so i wanted to make my own post too. i played ltpl, upl, uupl, rupl, nupl, pupl, lcpl and a few other teamtours that make me believe i have good knowledge of the lower tier playerbase, so here goes

Greybaum a few others have talked about him and his pu open and pupl performances which were both stellar (he 2-0'd me in r2 of pu open in convincing wins), and recently i've had to privilege to team with him in nfepl, where he has shown me great playing instinct and the ability to make metagame picks that stay a step ahead of his opponents. while his building and work ethic is solid, i value his instinct above all his other qualities that i believe makes him a solid pick

EternalSnowman esm is someone that i always viewed as an underrated player for a very long time now, and i especially began to appreciate his contribution to a team when i teamed with him in ltpl this year. he has the ability to contribute across multiple tiers, and i thought that his in game play looked very clean for the most part, and he is someone that no matter what will bring in wins. he also has a lot more tour experience than people might think, as he's been part of the tours room community for quite a while i believe, and people sleep

bb skarm skarm is a player that will test every day if you want him to, and i was really impressed with his dedication and desire to win when following his deep ru open run this year. he practiced a lot, almost every day, and he showed a lot of desire to improve his playing ability, which i think is a really admirable trait and a precursor of a great player. he has a lot of experience in ru and plays a couple other lower tiers as well, so he would be able to support those nicely, and can fill in and grab some wins if you need him to do so

ManOfMany while mom has not gotten much exposure in ss tiers, i know for a fact that he has played them recently and quite a lot, so he is surely familiar with ss pu at the very least. he will also be able to pick up any other tiers easily, as he is a player that i think wastes his talent in oras pu (even though it is an entertaining tier you should branch out my friend), and i can confidently say he is one of the best team chat presences and nicest dudes i have ever teamed with. he also consistently puts up positive records in the tiers he is familiar with and has great instincts for the game, farming me in tests often. definitely a sleeper pick

TheFranklin arce is somebody that i started watching all of his tour games closely after i joined his team's blt discord the year before last to build their uu teams. he absolutely farmed his opponents in that pool, and has since moved onto playing in many lower tier pls. he has a creative building style and executes his teams very efficiently, and it seems to me that i always see his winposts when i am browsing through any given lower tier pl week. i am a really big fan of his playstyle, and he has experience across multiple lower tiers. he is definitely a valuable pick

OnArceus this player i have not interacted with much personally, but i do know that he made very deep runs in ru and nu ssnls this year, and i think he won one of the nu circuit tournaments. he also put up a ridiculously good record in nupl (beat me as well although with some fortune), and he has a lot of potential as a player and builder. worth considering for sure

daniYSB dani is a player that i had the pleasure of teaming with in nupl, and i constantly watch his tour games and his exploits on ladder. he is a very active player in many of the lower tiers, more than just nu, and he is an extremely nice guy. ill be honest, im not sure that he is ready for a starting spot and would like him to have some more tour experience before that, but he is a fantastic option for a support role and super sub at the very least. he will bring creative ideas, solid building, and good attitude to any team that drafts him

Mac3 is probably the player on this list that has impressed me the most with his building, specifically in ss ru. he has a fantastic knack for reading the metagame and picking pokemon and strategies that pick up easy wins, and in my experience he is willing to learn other tiers as well. he is a dirty stall builder, and surely can farm wins / support a player to farm wins with his solid teams. as with dani, i don't know that i would give put him on the same level as a player with starters, but he is always willing to improve and has beaten me many times before. also a super nice guy

KSG while my lc knowledge is pretty pathetic, ksg stood out to me as the main force in tandem with levi, london, and our other helpers during our lcpl run, that unfortunately was cut short in semifinals. our team was really powerful, and ksg's metagame knowledge and calculated play was a big part of this. he supported multiple lc slots each week, tested his teams consistently, and always went into his games ready to win. i remember being surprised by his telling me that it was his first lc smogon teamtour, because of the attitude with which he approached his games and the confidence with which he executed, which can be seen in his convincing lcpl semifinals win. definitely deserves to be picked as a lc supporter at the very least, and in my opinion would be a fantastic starter too

xavgb fuckin stresh has not signed up yet but i am planning to force him to (he also said he would) and he might be the most slept-on player in this entire site. while this might not hold as much weight in the official playerbase's eyes, because he mostly plays exclusively oms for whatever reason, but he has dominated that tour scene for a very long time, winning om championships circuit and om grand slam easily, while winning almost 50% of the individual tournaments leading up to the playoffs (this may not seem impressive at first glance, but with the variance of the metagames and how matchup-based they can be, this level of success is extremely hard to achieve). he also puts up near undefeated records in every ompl, and recently branched out to play in nupl this year, picking up convincing wins versus experienced tour players. in my opinion he is on par with almost every player that has the potential to start in this tournament, and i would pick him in a heartbeat if i were a manager. his in-game instincts and calculated style make it so that he rarely if ever makes mistakes in-game, and you have to outplay him at every turn if you want to win. extremely underrated pick, and i think rozes is going to get mad at me for exposing his favorite sleeper pick

i believe that everyone on this list deserves a roster spot at the very least, and there are many other lower tier players that are not as well-known as they should be, so i encourage the managers to really explore the player pools because they are deeper than you might expect. good luck to everyone in the draft :)
 
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IPF I mean... he's like what 2-2 in WCoP? Not to take credit for scouting him or anything, but I did get him on asia. okay jokes aside, ipf's a great team mate and also helps out a shit ton. He's active too and also a great chat presence. I believe he deserves a shot at this tour, so if any managers*cough cough* Alpha Rabbit can get him would be cool. He's worth it for the 3k you gonna spend on pikachu123456.
 

vani

This is the way.
is a Forum Moderatoris a Tiering Contributoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
Wanted to add a few people that are worth picking up in PU that Specs forgot to mention in his post:

Bag of Trixx: I do not see Trixx as a starter yet, but he is very knowledgeable and would be a good builder if you need support. He helped me in Snake last year and recently led his team to PUPL playoffs as a manager. I believe that he can also help support NU / LC / Ubers. Overall, a very nice dude who will be active and is worth picking up.

Decem: He has shown that he can play PU at a high level and has proven to be very creative in the builder. He recently made it all the way to PU Open Finals and did really well in PUPL, despite not playing the tier much before then. I think he should absolutely get picked as a starter.

Squash: He has improved a lot from when he first started and I think he deserves to be a starter. He builds good teams and is able to support himself and pull the trigger when needed. He is currently in winners finals of seasonal and has done really well recently.

termi: Kinda shocked termi wasn't drafted last year. She absolutely deserves to be a starter this year. Like Decem, she made it to PU Open Finals and does well in every PU tour. Recently, she has led her team to PUPL Finals and has p much qualified for circuit playoffs too. Easily one of the best players in the pool.

jcbc: Not someone to pick up as a starter, but he is a good dude that would be active and eager to help out and support where he can. He helped me and Realistic Waters a lot last year in Snake and has knowledge in all of the lower tiers.

lockjaw: Don't see him as a starter but think he would make a decent sub. He's a really good builder and did well in PU Open and the latest Seasonal off good prep and meta knowledge. Think he should definitely hit up some managers.

Drud: Don't know if he gets picked to start, but he would be a good sub that is solid in-game and in the builder.
Ktütverde: This guy will not win a single game. :blobtriumph:
You forgot Feaniix :blobthumbsup:
 

roxie

https://www.youtube.com/@noxiousroxie
is a Tutoris a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
NU
====

Sabella will obviously get drafted but his dedication to build and play fluently is worth drafting for any team. His knowledge of the tier is fresh and innovative (in a great way) and battling him is always a surprise. He also plays other tiers and was in past SPLs but just vouching him for NU!

Meri Berry is probably one of my favorite nu builders right now and her builds were showcased greatly in NUPL. NU Tiering & Viability Council member and is always up-to-date on the metagame.

Sensei Axew played pretty well in Bo3 and has made an exceptional performance in multiple lower tiers.

Some other good people but I am lazy to write: Xiri / neider / Davon / abejas / poh / realistic waters
 

Fc

Waiting for something to happen?
is a Site Content Manageris a Top Team Rateris a Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a defending SCL Champion
Ubers Leader
Second mock draft results
Mock results.PNG

talah30000
SoulWind30000
Punny30000
FALSE29500
Lord_Enz28000
Nat27000
Luthier26000
cy26000
Gondra25000
lax24500
Finchinator23500
Insult23000
Poek22000
watashi22000
Lusa21000
Eternal Spirit20500
Ox the Fox20000
umbry19000
Bushtush18500
stormzone18000
LilyAC18000
kythr17000
robjr16000
Adaam16000
odr16000
M Dragon16000
kttverde15500
March Fires15500
Kushalos15500
mncmt15500
Gefährlicher Random15000
TPP15000
Tace15000
rodriblutar15000
Ajna14500
64 Squares14000
Serene Grace14000
Skypenguin13500
MAX UND MAX13500
Nails13500
Dragon Claw13000
TJ12500
Qwello Lee12500
pdt11500
byronthewellwell11500
dcae11000
Mishimono11000
Expulso11000
Xiri11000
tlenit10500
Ruft10000
Niko10000
pokemonisfun10000
Confide9000
z0mOG9000
devin9000
Icemaster9000
Sensei Axew9000
Ren-chon9000
Meru8500
termi8500
Manaphy8000
greybaum8000
decem8000
KM8000
ez7500
daunt vs7500
Memoric7500
Santu7500
avarice7500
MichaelderBeste27500
SiTuM7000
Raptor7000
Meri Berry7000
LNumbers7000
Wail Wailord7000
hs7000
Sabella6500
Laroxyl6500
Ayoukoo6000
GW6000
Z Strats6000
teal66000
mako6000
SpookyZ5500
Gray5500
qsns5500
OnArceus5500
dice5500
Charmflash5500
Roseybear5000
Frania5000
BluBirD2525000
Tenzai5000
Specs5000
IPF5000
PDC5000
eifo5000
The Strap5000
TheFranklin4500
Jordy4500
crying4000
Fc4000
afakedugong4000
TDNT4000
100%GXE4000
Biosci4000
Paraplegic4000
fatty4000
100percentpureheat4000
vivalospride3500
Isza3500
boulicrok3000
Jomatoes3000
Hervalt3000
Eeveeto3000
Rubyblood3000
Crunchman3000
BlazingDark3000
daniYSB3000
atomicllamas3000
Ninja3000
Always!3000
ibleachyourskin3000
Shadowmonstr73000
roxiee3000
no one interesting3000
Flex OKLM3000
Exiline3000
TeamCharm3000
Vaboh3000
FatFighter23000
Baloor3000
Reje3000
Fogbound Lake3000
chlo3000
rumor3000
gorex3000
Mac33000
Sagiri3000
malekith3000
Nido-Rus3000
KSG3000
John W3000
the pharoah3000
ggggd3000
Ubers: Manaphhy
OU: Talah
OU: Lord Enz
OU: Rubyblood
UU: umbry
RU: RAptor
NU: Confide
PU:Roseybear
LC:Boulicrok
DOU:Crunchman
SUBS: jomatoes,ayoukoo Situm ,hervalt, raptor,eeveeto,

SS Insult
SS John W
SS MichaelderBeste2
DOU Nido-Rus
UBERS M Dragon
UU Hs
RU Lax
NU Watashi
PU Ktut
LC Fatty
Sagiri, Qsns, Malekith, KSG

SS Ubers: March Fires
SS OU: Lusa
SS OU: dice
SS OU: PDC
SS DOU: Nails
SS UU: teal6
SS RU: Eternal Spirit
SS NU: OnArceus
SS PU: termi
SS LC: LilyAC

Subs: eifo, KM, Isza, Jordy

Ubers: Fc
OU: Soulwind
OU: Devin
OU: z0mog
UU: Meru
RU: Atomicllamas
NU: DaniYSB
PU: Decem
LC: Dcae
DOU:Frania
SUBS: crying, SpookyZ, Tenzai, Poek, blubird, Greybaum,

ou: Ox the Fox
ou: MAX UND MAX
ou: Gray
ubers: Fogbound Lake
dou: biosci
uu: Gondra
ru: Punny
nu: Ren-chon
pu: chlo
lc: Wail Wailord
subs: Paraplegic, gorex, mac3, rumor, LNumbers

ubers: 100PercentPureHeat
ou: mcnmt
ou: Niko
ou: Tace
uu: kushalos
ru: charmflash
nu: rodriblutar
pu: xiri
lc: ggggd
dou: mako
subs: the pharoah, tpp, the strap, pokemonisfun, laroxyl

ou: afakedugong
ou: ibleachyourskin
ou: always!
ubers: bushtush
dou: shadowmonstr7
uu: luthier
ru: thefranklin
nu: roxiee
pu: specs
lc: ninja

subs: ez, nat, false, no one interesting

OU: Stormzone
OU: Skypenguin
OU: Byronthewellwell
Ubers: Icemaster
DOU: Mishimono
UU: Robjr
RU: pdt
NU: TeamCharm
PU: TJ
LC: Kythr

Subs: Flex OKLM, GW, Exiline, IPF

ou: ajna
ou: gefährlicher random
ou: santu
dou: zstrats
ubers: reje
uu: 100%gxe
ru: odr
nu: dragon claw
pu: avarice
lc: serene grace
subs: cy, meri, viv, baloor

ou: Finchinator
ou: TDNT
ou: Ruft
dou: Qwello Lee
ubers: 64 Squares
uu: Adaam
ru: Expulso
nu: Sensei Axew
pu: Tlenit
lc: Daunt vs
subs: Memoric, Vaboh, Sabella, Fatfighter2
 
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