Smogon Snake Draft IV - Introduction

kjdaas

this girl rly slapped some letters together huh
is a Community Contributoris a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnus

Artwork by Bummer

Welcome to the official shitpost thread. This year SSD will be hosted by MajorBowman, Merritt and kjdaas.

The fourth edition of the Smogon Snake Draft will be a team-based tournament where 10 team managers draft their team from a pool of players and duke it out for the following nine weeks to make it to playoffs, where the top four teams face off to determine this year's winning team. This year's tiers will be:
  • OU
  • OU
  • OU
  • OU
  • DOU
  • UU
  • RU
  • NU
  • PU
  • LC
This year's Captains teams will be (following draft order):
  1. TonyFlygon & TDK - (Rumble Hall Rattlers)
  2. EviGaro & HJAD - (Ambrette Astrotias)
  3. rozes & Eternally - (Shinto Ruin Serpents)
  4. Tricking & Mysterious M - (Lake of Rage Leviathans)
  5. Aurella & Will of Fire - (Black City Mambas)
  6. Eternal Spirit & M Dragon - (Lanakila Nagas)
  7. Averardo & Prinz - (Celadon City Cobras)
  8. xImRaptor & Gondra - (Sky Tower Lindworms)
  9. Analytic & Jordy - (Terminus Taipans)
  10. Christo & FlamingVictini - (Berry Forest Bushmasters)
General SSD 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 or her 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 Snake Draft. 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 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.
• They shall oversee all trades the team makes.
All players must sign up if they wish to play in the Smogon Snake Draft. It is important to note that the Smogon Snake Draft 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 Snake Draft in future seasons.

The sign-up list will then be taken and sorted into appropriate lists for each of the 7 metagames. These lists will then be used by managers for the auction.
Unlike SPL there are no credits used for this draft, instead it will be conducted in a snake draft format, the order of teams being determined at random and shown right above.

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

Once a time is set, all 10 managers + the hosts will enter the Snake channel in the Smogtours server at the given time. The host will administer the @ rank to the 10 managers, and place modchat on the chat. 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 a different channel.

The draft order will have been determined prior to the start of the draft, and teams will pick in this order. Each team will pick one player, until the final team is reached, after which the draft order reverses and the final team will now get the first pick for the next round, making this a Snake Draft. This process will repeat until every team has a total of 14 players, enough for 10 starters and 4 substitutes.

Managers are asked to please have a predetermined list of players you intend to nominate in order to make the process go as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Each team will have 90 seconds per round to pick their player and if they exceed this limit their pick will be skipped, and they will get to make up for this after the next 5 picks (half a round). On this next attempt, they will have a 30 seconds timer to pick again. Should they fail to do so within the alloted time, they will have this particular pick added to the end of the 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 only 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 an inactive 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. Player Replacements – Player replacements may only happen between the auction and the start of the first round. As soon as matchups are posted, player replacement will no longer be accepted. Only acceptable reason for replacing a player is team cancering, as defined by our official tournament rules.

3. Trades – Trades are only possible after the auction and until the end of week 5. This means you can trade before week 1 has begun. In order to complete a trade, both involved managers must submit a PM to the host detailing which player(s) on their team they are trading away, as well as what they are receiving as compensation.

4. Teams that are facing each other may not conduct a trade that week and players cannot play in the week they were traded.

5. 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. All cases of activity will be handled following the rules posted here, so please read them carefully.

6. 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.

7. 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.
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 Snake Draft.

League Stages & Playoffs

Tiebreaks in the Playoff stage (ie when teams are tied 6-6, not when they are trying to get into playoffs) have been changed.

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 12 battles, the team with more wins will advance to the next round.

In the case of a tie, 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 Snake Draft.
_ _ _

Standard Tournament Procedures:

The general tournament rules and guidelines can be found here.
Please read them very carefully.
 
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GOAO

Banned deucer.
n jogarei nesse torneio porem gostaria de desejar uma boa sorte p meus amigos manageantes Eternal Spirit vc tem se provado um pessimo manager continuamente em diferentes teamtours mas tenho ctz q dessa vez sera diferente. meus amigos ruins hs Askov Spl4sh Umbry Highways tomara q os managers ignorem vcs serem terriveis e draftem vcs. meus amigos capitaneantes gringos como Averardo vc é bem ruim mas boa sorte mano. meus amigos ggggd Luthier que dizem q n vao entrar mas com ctz vao. meus amigos de longa data como Luigi e mncmt tomara q seja mais 1 torneio iluminado p vcs craques. tomara q certos lcers haters vao mto mal. tomara q forcem o askov a jogar. boa sorte a tds.
 
n jogarei nesse torneio porem gostaria de desejar uma boa sorte p meus amigos manageantes Eternal Spirit vc tem se provado um pessimo manager continuamente em diferentes teamtours mas tenho ctz q dessa vez sera diferente. meus amigos ruins hs Askov Spl4sh Umbry Highways tomara q os managers ignorem vcs serem terriveis e draftem vcs. meus amigos capitaneantes gringos como Averardo vc é bem ruim mas boa sorte mano. meus amigos ggggd Luthier que dizem q n vao entrar mas com ctz vao. meus amigos de longa data como Luigi e mncmt tomara q seja mais 1 torneio iluminado p vcs craques. tomara q certos lcers haters vao mto mal. tomara q forcem o askov a jogar. boa sorte a tds.
boatogostandodever.jpg


Boatogostandodever
 
I remember for the Doubles Premiere League one had to convince the team leaders to be drafted, in which thread does that process take place in this tournament, if at all?
 
- Timezone: GMT+2 France
- Availability this tour: Yes
- Playing Tiers: DPP OU
- Building Tiers: RBY LC
- Tournament/Circuit results (@Builders players/teams you've built for and in which tours): My friends say im pretty good, i'm even called "the osgoode of rby LC"
- Replays and/or examples of teams you've built: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/the-wheelchair-company.3664808/
- A little about yourself: I can eat more than 12 kilograms of grape in less than 2 days without having stomach troubles (kilogram is the correct unit btw)

Aurella
 
Aurella
- Timezone: GMT+13 (Kiribati, Rawati Islands)
- Availability this tour: Disponible
- Playing Tiers: mons is mons
- Building Tiers: I build all my teams
- Tournament/Circuit results (@Builders players/teams you've built for and in which tours): I won the last RoA tour night and had a good PPL run
- Replays and/or examples of teams you've built: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-128187329
- A little about yourself: I like Mario Party and hot chocolate. I believe that the power of friendship can overcome any adversity that crashes down like a tidal wave on one's daily life.
 

Ruft

is a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Contributor to Smogonis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
OU Leader
results of the 1st mocc
View attachment 269085
im sure this is very representative of how the real draft will go

SS OU - watashi, xray, vaboh, CBU / Luigi
SS UU - CBU / Luigi
SS RU - vulpix / zugubu
SS NU - vulpix / zugubu
SS PU - false
SS LC - coco / maroon
SS DOU - qsns
Mine:

OU: Bloody alfa
OU: Eeveeto
OU: Storm Zone
OU: Steve Angello
DOU: Ezrael
UU: High Impulse
RU: KW
NU: Moutemoute
PU: Confide
LC: Osh

Subs: Samqian, AdvanceShip, Gtcha, Ampha

This roster is very flexible and would allow for many possible lineup changes throughout the season.
 
results of the 1st mocc
View attachment 269085
im sure this is very representative of how the real draft will go

SS OU - watashi, xray, vaboh, CBU / Luigi
SS UU - CBU / Luigi
SS RU - vulpix / zugubu
SS NU - vulpix / zugubu
SS PU - false
SS LC - coco / maroon
SS DOU - qsns
OU - Santu, Bea, Leo, Relous
UU - Soulwind
RU - tko
NU - snaga
PU - tj
LC - Ninjadog
Dou - Luisin
subs - Flamita, Haru, Odin, ziloxx

good mock....
 

Ampha

"They don’t call me Greed for nothing!"
is a Community Contributoris a Tiering Contributor
results of the 1st mocc
View attachment 269085
im sure this is very representative of how the real draft will go

SS OU - watashi, xray, vaboh, CBU / Luigi
SS UU - CBU / Luigi
SS RU - vulpix / zugubu
SS NU - vulpix / zugubu
SS PU - false
SS LC - coco / maroon
SS DOU - qsns
OUs: Mncmt, 1TL, BIHI, Ruft/ HANTSUKI
UU: hs/pdt
RU: Leru / Kdot / Gorex
NU: Finch
PU: Tlenit1
LC: Wail Wailord
Doubles: Umbreon098

For a first mocc this one was actually great
 

spatula

I LOVE CHIPFLAVOUR
is a Tiering Contributor
results of the 1st mocc
View attachment 269085
im sure this is very representative of how the real draft will go

SS OU - watashi, xray, vaboh, CBU / Luigi
SS UU - CBU / Luigi
SS RU - vulpix / zugubu
SS NU - vulpix / zugubu
SS PU - false
SS LC - coco / maroon
SS DOU - qsns
OU: Fear
OU: Raiza
OU: Sabella
OU: Lusa
DOU: Nails
UU: Void
RU: aim
NU: lax
PU: Expulso
LC: dcae


Subs: fantos13, Mob Barley, sugarhigh, djokra

BANGER MOCK #LIVEEVIL
 
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sensei axew

i’m not a stop along the way, i’m a destination
is a Community Contributoris a Three-Time Former Smogon Metagame Tournament Circuit Champion
results of the 1st mocc
View attachment 269085
im sure this is very representative of how the real draft will go

SS OU - watashi, xray, vaboh, CBU / Luigi
SS UU - CBU / Luigi
SS RU - vulpix / zugubu
SS NU - vulpix / zugubu
SS PU - false
SS LC - coco / maroon
SS DOU - qsns
aight well if everyone's posting their lineup

ss ou: eo, tace, mael, robjr
ss uu: accelgor
ss ru: bouff
ss nu: sjneider
ss pu: elodin
ss lc: burntzebra
ss dubs: z strats
subs: chaitanya, avarice, thiago nunes, mac3
 

Accel

arise
is a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Hey there! This year's UU pool is bound to look a little different from last year's, so I figured I'd shine a light on some of UU's newest prospects. Hopefully, this serves as a reference for our managers and gives each and every person listed here the exposure and credit they deserve. Before I begin, I want to thank Nat, Levi, and Teddeh for making similar posts last year. It's always important to recognize our community's rising stars, and I hope that others can continue this trend and make posts of their own for their respective playerbases.

I prefer not to order or rank people so let's go with alphabetical order:


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- 100%GXE -
The winner of SS UU's first circuit tour has found some decent success since then, going 5-4 in the latest UUPL and qualifying for UULT. For the most part, GXE's play has impressed me and his prime strength is surely in his unique style of teambuilding. Before DLC, he was one of the first to utilize a near-fully physically defensive Escavalier that was great for checking some of the tier's popular breakers. He's continuously found ways to blend the right amount of creativity into his builds and this particular trait is invaluable, given the current state of the tier. The lack of clear post-DLC results might hurt his chances, but he's undoubtedly capable and has a big tour win under his belt.


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- Amukamara -
Since winning UU Masters of last year, Liam has had some fairly modest results. This has changed recently with his top 8 placement in UU Open as well as hot streaks in other tours, primarily in UU Classic. While his building is mostly by the book, his playing ability is usually enough to extract the necessary amount of flair to end up on top. To me, Liam is the embodiment of a sleeper pick in this pool and can definitely hold his own versus the pool's powerhouses if given the opportunity to do so.


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- CBU -
Some believe that CBU should've made it into last year's UU pool after he'd won 2 individual circuit tours in the same year. Nevertheless, he's found some notable results thus far, qualifying for UULT playoffs, making it to the top 16 of UU Open, and amassing a 9-1 record in UUPL. He's undoubtedly skilled and is probably one of few on this list who's truly prepared with the necessary mindset to do well in this sort of tour. Take into account that he's been successful enough to earn a council spot, and you have a player who can surely keep up with the tier's finest.


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- Highways -
Although Highways has been playing since ORAS, his builds and play never left much of an impression of me up until he started dabbling with SS UU around UULT time. Since then, it's been clear that SS UU's pace and ideal team styles suit him very nicely. He did end up qualifying for UULT and progressed to the top 16 in UU Open, both of which are fairly recent and suggest that he's been adapting and improving his approach. It does seem that his experiences over the years are close to culminating in a sort of peak for him and it would not surprise me at all if he was drafted in the later rounds.


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- Indigo Plateau -
IP had a subpar Snake III, to say the least, but he's absolutely flipped the script with his UU achievements since then. He made it to the semifinals of this year's UU Masters and willed his way to an impressive 7-1 record in UUPL. Teambuilding has always been his strong suit, and while his play has been steady over the years, it has gradually improved to a respectable level this year. IP's also well known for helping to support Lycans in his own official tour runs, so this sort of setting is nothing new for him. Nevertheless, most will agree that he seems to be ready and worthy of a starter's load this year and his recent achievements justify it.


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- Lilburr -
One of UU's brightest rising stars is here, brimming with confidence and the will to explore teambuilding routes that most others would not dare to delve into. Lily's breakthrough accomplishment was an impressive 5-2 record in UUPL, and since then she's remained highly influential as a council member and pioneer for the tier's more underrated options. It also helps that she's played in a number of other lower-tier PLs and assumedly knows enough to be able to support others. All of the signs point towards her involvement in this upcoming snake and so far, she's been well-deserving of it.

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- PinkDragonTamer -
PDT's another player who's been involved with UU for a few years now. Although he only played 2 games of SS UU in UUPL (he was chosen to start in SM UU since it is his best gen overall), he was heavily involved in his teammates' success as an avid teambuilder who had the desire to remain a few steps ahead of what other builders were exploring. He has also qualified for this year's Grand Slam playoffs, with great runs in the NU, PU, and LC opens. At the least, PDT is one of the best support options available and is more than capable of slotting in as a starter if it is ever required of him.


1597537953521.png

- pokemonisfun -
Pif requires no introduction. His laddering prowess is near unmatched and he managed to win this year's UULT in a dominant fashion while taking down some notable names along the way. While most may classify him as a one-trick pony with his predominantly stall-based usage, he is well capable of piloting a plethora of other structures and is therefore one of the more versatile players around. In a pool where a good number of newcomers are bound to get their shot, Pif can safely be ranked as a top option amongst the list of this year's UU initiates.


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- Ramolost / solonor24 -
Although both Ramo and Solo have been around since SM, it was in SS that both managed to make some noticeable waves. Solo made it to the top 8 of UU Masters and in UULT, we saw Ramolost advance to the top 16 while Solo reached the semifinals. In just a few months, the pair have managed to earn respect as established players and every mention of them tends to involve praise. It's only a matter of time until both players become household names for UU, and for those managers who are looking to get away with a low-risk/high reward UU pick, you should look no further than these two.


1597538086194.png
1597538117716.png

- Sabella / ZoroDark -
Both players are similar in that they're tournament regulars who have taken an interest in SS UU as of late. Zoro had the superior record in UUPL, with his 3-1 score outmatching Sab's of 3-4, while Sabella advanced to the finals of UULT while besting Zoro himself in the top 8. This snake will most likely feature both players as starters and honestly, there isn't much that needs to be said of their accomplishments and how they will foreshadow their individual results. Both are proven, have done well on the big stage, and are more than capable of upholding their proven consistency in this tournament.


1597538171631.png

- vivalospride -
Since SM, Viv has been one of UU's prominent teambuilding influencers. It's exceedingly rare to play in a UU tournament and not find yourself matched versus a player who happens to be utilizing his builds, and this support has been noticeable since the last snake. He did accrue a 3-3 record in UUPL, and while there may not be any clear individual results, his skill and influence are apparent all the same. Viv is also a member of the current UU Council and it's therefore apparent that he has a good enough grasp on the tier's mechanics to be granted with control over UU's development. I think there's also something to be said about the passion and fervor a player can provide for his team, and one way or another, Viv is capable of bringing that to the table and converting it into results.


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- Askov / Cam / High Impulse / Luigi -
I figured I'd bunch up these 4 players because while they're not heavily or consistently involved in the community and its tournaments, every single one of them is capable of doing well. Askov, High Impulse, and Luigi are currently in the semifinals of UU Open and each of them has taken down some notable names along the way. The current state of the tier clearly suits their capabilities and for some managers, it would be wise to take a chance on them to extract the most out of their ongoing hot streaks. Cam deserves a mention for his consistency in this year's UU circuit as well, as he can both build and play at a highly competent level.


Do keep in mind that there are a number of players who should be locks to join the UU pool and that the point of this post was the shed some light upon players who haven't had any major opportunities to make their mark in UU during previous official team tournaments. Most of the returning players from last year's UU pool who have kept up with SS UU should manage to hold on to their spots and hopefully, a few names from this list will be there to join them in what should be a competitive UU pool this year.
 
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