YAHALLO! Drafting blunders are one of the keystones of SPL and Snake. These drafts are all about finding value, and overpaying heavily for an asset in SPL or reaching hard for one in Snake can absolutely tank a season. Now, there are two ways to criticize a drafting move. The first is by examining the results and by using hindsight to claim that "x individual was an overpay / reach," while the second approach focuses on analyzing the context surrounding the pick and judging whether or not the pick was an overpay / reach at the time, while subsequently using that individual's results to either support or that notion or refute it. The easiest way to explain this is to provide an example. I will be using myself as the example here, since my situation was one of the clearest ones I could think of to make this distinction. I was taken fourth overall in the first edition of Snake 1, ahead of household names like Roro and M Dragon. I went 0-3 and then quit the site after tilting; CLEARLY, if we use hindsight, we can say that I was one of the worst picks ever. HOWEVER, by the criteria I am using for this list, I was not. As crazy as it sounds nowadays, my stock was pretty high at that point, and I was the only RU player in the tournament who had any real tournament experience; I had won the Smogon Classic not too long ago, and my sheet record was around +18 or so. I had never had a bad team tournament outside of my debut tour in SPL III, where I played VGC twice as a meme and went 1-3. Again, as insane as this decision looks with hindsight, I was not a big reach at that point in time; if I recall correctly, I was pretty much a consensus 1st round selection. It doesn't really make sense to fault managers for their players heavily underperforming if they acquired them for a reasonable price. In the same vein, if someone paid 20k for some 5k filler character and that player managed to go 9-2 or something, there's no way I could justifiably put them on this list, even though they were clearly an overpay at the time. This is without question the most logical way to approach this ranking, due to the factors I have outlined above.
As TDK pointed out to me, reaching for someone in Snake is generally more defensible than overpaying for someone; if you really want a player, you might have to take them a bit too early out of fear. So, because of that, Snake decisions will be criticized less harshly than SPL ones. I was not present for SPL I or II, so I will not be discussing those tournaments in this list, since the context aspect will be pretty impossible to verify without asking a host of sources; SPL 1 also seems pretty sketchy considering that there was no real base-line prices to work off of from past auctions. That leaves us with 3 editions of Snake and 9 editions of SPL to create a list. Let's get to it.
Honorable Mentions:
Rexus [Round 4 in Snake III]
This is a pretty weird one. Rexus was taken in Round 4 to play OU after qualifying for OLT. He hardly played, though, and was MIA for most of the season for reasons still unknown to this day. What stops him from being on the list is the fact that he was in fact considered to be one of the best PU players in the tour, even though he wasn't originally drafted to play it. These murky circumstances are enough to keep him off the list.
MoP [Round 5 in Snake II]
MoP is one of the most infamous users in Smogon's history. He's an amazing manager, and obviously knows a fair bit about the boomer metagames as well. However, legendary SPL drafter reyscarface decided to take him in Round 5...in a tour with no old gens? This move was absolutely baffling at the time, and the only thing stopping it from getting on the list is the fact that MoP actually went 2-1. Is that a good enough record to justify his selection? Well, he only had the opportunity to play three games, so it's hard to really say. In this case, it's enough to earn this decision a spot in honorable mentions and keep it off the top 10 list.
obii [10.5k in SPL X]
We all know that obii is not worth anywhere near 10.5k. At least his sheet record was only 1-7 at this point, and not 3-15 like it is now. That being said, this was still an absurd amount to pay for obii; picks like these are the reason why teal6 and ABR almost certainly should not be allowed to draft a full SPL team. obii had himself a pretty bad tournament, going 2-7 and essentially throwing any shred of tournament viability he had down the drain...and yet, the Cryonicles still decided to start him in the SPL XI playoffs? Really makes you wonder. The only thing stopping this decision from cracking the list is obii's rather inexpensive price tag compared to the other names on the list; the decision itself is just as ridiculous as some of the other ones on the list, though.
imsosorrylol [Round 7 in Snake I]
Well, now it's time for our first BKC decision. imsosorrylol was projected by almost everyone to be an extreme late-round flier; most pegged him as a Round 13-14 selection. So when BKC decided to pick the unproven rookie up in Round 7, the whole community was pretty shocked. The hardest thing to do in the Snake Draft is to regain lost value; the nature of the draft makes it very unforgiving. There are hardly any steals, especially compared to a tour like SPL. Taking a player 6 or 7 rounds too early can really make it hard for a team to compete. sorry naturally performed pretty poorly in Snake I, only managing to get a measly 1 win in 7 attempts. His tour career since has been rather forgettable as well, with his terrible 3-8 performance in SPL X nearly costing his team the trophy. The only thing that stops this decision from being on the list is the fact that sorry was only a Round 7 pick; it's not like there's an abundance of amazing players by that point in the draft.
Karrot [11.5k in SPL V]
Back-to-back BKC picks? Yup. I'm sure hardly any of you even know who Karrot is, so let's just take a look at the Power Rankings from SPL V to get a better understanding of why Karrot wasn't worth anywhere close to his price tag.
Spending 11.5k on an individual ranked 10th in the Power Rankings seems a bit insane, especially when hardly anyone had any expectations for him at all. It's unclear how his price even got so high, honestly. He performed pretty poorly, going 1-5 and being so bad that Sweepage correctly predicted his team to win a week 11-1...with Karrot being the only loss. I suppose that was, in fact, the original unbiased prediction. This terrible decision only fails to crack the list because the team invested relatively little in Karrot compared to how much other managers invested into the other players on this list.
10. Pearl [22.5k in SPL XI]
Pearl needs no introduction. He has been a dominant lower tier force for quite some time now, and won the Smogon Grand slam not too long ago. That being said, his results in the OU tiers have been much less impressive. He hasn't really put forth too many notable results on the big stage outside of his 4-1 performance in BW OU last World Cup, in which he squared off against a rather...questionable group of talent. 22.5k felt like a massive overpay at the time for someone who most people considered to only be the 4th or 5th best BW OU player in the pool; without UU in the tour, it's not like Pearl can assist that slot with his creative builds, either. I was rather surprised when Tony went this high on him; this seemed like a teal6 move to me. He was clearly not very enthusiastic about any of the remaining players in the pool at the time, though. Either way, this was a clear overpay at the time, and his 3-5 record in tandem with his lofty price tag certainly hurt the Wolfpack's chances of making a run in SPL XI. He was also met with some rather scathing criticism by the GOAT as well:
Regardless, the fact that Pearl is an established force in the community who most individuals would certainly classify as a "good player," keeps him from being higher on this list.
9. Lycans [17k in SPL XI]
Lycans had been having an amazing sheet run prior to Snake III. With no lower tiers in SPL XI, it appeared as though he could perhaps be a relatively cheap ORAS OU player. However, the Raiders had other plans, as Kingler picked him up for an absurd 17k. This price was absolutely nonsensical. He was actually tanked 5th in the PRs, but that can be attributed more to the barren state of the player pool rather than his skill level in the tier. He did absolutely terrible to start the season, going 0-3 before being benched for...2020 Posho LOOL My god. He did win in the final two weeks of the season as a replacement for Trosko, though, salvaging his record a bit and keeping him from being higher on the list.
8. Sabella [18k in SPL IX]
Sabella was a relatively new face in the tour community before SPL IX. He sat at 11-7 on the sheet before this tour, and was coming off a nice 6-3 World Cup. That was apparently enough for the Classiest to invest 18k into him, a price that seemed absolutely absurd at the time. The Power Rankings back this up, as he was only ranked 9th out of 20 players OU players. He struggled mightily in the tour, only managing to accrue 2 wins over the duration of the season. At least he was coming off a good tour and wasn't crust, I guess.
7. Dekzeh [17k in SPL XI]
ANOTHER SPL XI DRAFT MOVE? LOL Dekzeh is one of the better ADVers in Smogon's history; he has put up solid results in the tier in the past, and against a rather mediocre player pool, especially by ADV's usual lofty standards, many people thought the veteran could put up a respectable record. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Dekzeh was in the clutches of the crust rule. He flopped spectacularly, going 0-3 with some pretty poor performances before being benched. Spending a hefty sum on washed players is an easy way to ruin your season. The sad state of the ADV pool coupled with his prior solid performances in the tier keep him form being higher on the list.
6. Leftiez [16.5k in SPL XI]
We have now gotten to our 4TH DECISION from this year's draft. LOL This seems a bit crazy, but the fun's not over yet people. Leftiez was considered to be a respectable player before his retirement a couple of years ago. He decided to come back and play in SPL XI. The ORAS and SM pools were considered by many to be pretty poor, so there was a chance Leftiez could do relatively well. However, the Cryonicles were so engrossed with the crust player's skill that they picked him up for 16.5k. This was an absolutely blasphemous amount, especially considering that Leftiez was negative on the sheet BEFORE he was crust. When will teams learn not to underestimate the crust rule? Leftiez got smashed in most of his games, going 1-3 before being traded to the BIGs. The story surround his trade was almost as nonsensical as his price tag; the Cryonicles agreed that, if Leftiez took down bro fist in Week 4, the BIGs would have to throw a random filler character named Descending into the trade as well. Leftiez actually managed to defy all odds and take down John before being promptly shipped off. If you paid 16.5k for someone and they just beat arguably the best player in the tour, wouldn't you want to keep them? LOL Like, this trade made absolutely no sense on the surface. Leftiez would go on to play only 1 game for the BIGs, a loss against TDK, before basically disappearing for the rest of the season.
5. Indigo Plateau [Round 5 in Snake III]
Well, you all knew that this move would be on here. I've bashed Indigo Plateau enough over the past six months, so I'm not going to go too crazy here...can't let myself get banned by the SJWs, you know? Indigo Plateau's lone achievement heading into Snake III was his nice OST Run. Almost everyone I spoke to figured that he would be drafted after Round 10; most people said Round 12 or later. And yet, the Lindworms decided to take him...in Round 5? The amount of value lost here is absolutely stunning. Snake is not a tour where you can easily recuperate value, so tossing away this much of it in a single selection is almost unthinkable...and that's without mentioning that the team also took tko in Round 6 and xImRaptor in Round 7. At least tko managed to go 2-3 and win two important games for his team late in the season, so I guess there's that. Raptor, meanwhile, had himself a pretty nice tour. Regardless, the team almost certainly could have secured all three of these players after Round 10, and have had a much better collection of talent overall. IP's awful performance and higher draft slot earns him a spot on the list over the other two, though; he went 0-5 and had some pretty....lackluster........performances. Despite their awful drafting, the Lindworms actually almost managed to make the playoffs; they almost certainly could have made it if they allocated their resources better in the draft, and that starts with not taking IP in Round 5. As I said earlier, Snake decisions will be judged less harshly than SPL ones, so this one doesn't crack the top 4.
4. 6A9 Ace Matador [16k in SPL VIII]
I'm embarrassed to put a decision I made on this list...but we have to be unbiased here lol. Back in SPL 8, I was a massive crust lover. The thought of picking up a former legend for a hefty sum to slot into an old gen was like music to my ears; it seems inconceivable now, I know. Ace Matador was someone I had always heard great things about as I made my way up clout Everest; I thought he would be a great addition to my team...despite the fact THAT HE HAD NOT PLAYED A GAME ON THE BIG STAGE SINCE SPL 5!!! SPL 5 LOOOOL oh my god. I was an absolute lunatic. And the thing that tilts me the most about this selection is that I DRAFTED HIM TO PLAY IN THE VARIANCE MADHOUSE LMAO jesus man. At least I can take solace in knowing that my team was so garbage that year that we would have gotten washed even IF I didn't draft him, so that's something I guess. He obviously did terribly, going 1-6 and losing to garbage players like Marshall Law along the way. This was easily one of the worst draft selections of all time; the only thing stopping it from being higher is the fact that, at the very least, he was an amazing player at one point in his career.
3. ShakeItUp [14k in SPL III]
NYANPASU!!! I guess even the great ones can find their way onto this list lol...So, for context, I was a BW RU specialist during SPL III. And by specialist, I mean that I had recently picked up the tier and topped the ladder with an ingenious TR hail team. We've obviously seen lower tier mainers go for a high price in recent SPLs, even if they had had no results on the big stage. That being said, I was extremely inexperienced at this point in time, and hadn't even done many RU tournaments. I definitely shouldn't have been worth anywhere near 14k...especially TO BE A SUB?? Yes, you heard that correctly. The Raiders bought me for 14k to be a sub. It actually defies all logic. I remember distinctly that I was allowed to play 2 of the first 4 weeks because our actual RU starter, Heysup, was unavailable. I went 1-1, defeating marilli back when he was a lower tier mainer, and losing to Hikari. After my loss to Hikari, I didn't play a single meaningful game the rest of the season. Spending 14k on someone so that they can play a grand total of 2 relevant games is absolute insanity; I still find it hard to believe that a drafting decision could possibly be thought out this poorly. It hurt the team massively as well, as the Raiders, despite essentially wasting 14k, still managed to easily make the playoffs, and were one game away from the finals. Unfortunately, our VGC slot was terrible, so we had no choice but to put in Rewer against the best SPL VGCer of all time, Sixonesix. I think we all know how that one went...Imagine if they had 14k to spend on a real player, lol.
2. Blightbringer [18k in SPL XI]
Well, we're back to SPL XI for the final team. My god, this draft was HORRENDOUS. This decision was absolutely flabbergasting at the time. I was so blown away by it, as evidenced by my live-reaction:
I WAS SHOCKED HE WAS 7K!!! HOW DID HE GET TO 18K LMAO Of course, we all know by now that Blight did well in the latest edition of the Callous Cup. Somehow, people try to use this to defend his price tag...There's no way he should be anywhere close to 18k just off his performance in that tournament LOL You should only be anywhere close to 18k if you are an established elite player on Smogon; how on earth could this journeyman player who hardly anyone wanted over the past decade suddenly be worth 18k?? LUIGI LITERALLY WON A SMOGON TOUR LAST YEAR AND WENT UNDRAFTED IN SNAKE AND WAS 3K THIS SPL!! LOL Like what?? Of course, we all know that the ADV player pool was in a rather dire state, but that doesn't excuse such a ridiculous price tag for Blightbringer. He only got top 6 by the way; he didn't even win the tour...LIKE COME ON!! And to absolutely NO ONE's surprise, Blight only managed to accrue 3 wins in 9 weeks, helping sink the Sharks' ship. Callous Cup syndrome bros.
1. CasedVictory [17.5k in SPL X]
Cased was one of Smogon's biggest and most polarizing personalities...up until his ban a few years ago. If there's one positive thing we can say about Case, it's that he definitely wasn't afraid of the moment. He had the balls to bring monoice at 5-5 in the SPL VII finals, and tilted SG out of the game in what was probably the worst moment of my Smogon career. Since his ban, though, he had only sparingly played Smogon tours, and had instead established himself in the VGC scene. He was known for being an innovative GSC player, though, crafting the multi-Thief Jynx offense team that has been spammed countless times throughout the years. After surprisingly being unbanned before SPL XI, Case was seen as a relatively high-risk GSC pick. The Raiders coughed up a hefty 17.5k for his services. This felt like an awful lot for someone who had no Smogon results in years; even back when Case was considered to be one of the best NU players of the site, he certainly wasn't a sheet warrior. Could Case live up to this absurd price tag and exceed his 7th place ranking in the PRs? Well, unfortunately for both he and the Raiders, he could not. Case got absolutely washed in SPL X, going 0-4 before being traded to the BIGs. He would not play another game that SPL, however, as he was unable to control his hateful impulses, leading to him being booted from the site yet again after his harsh attack on Natalie. His absolutely horrendous performance coupled with his absurd price tag earn him the top spot on the list.
Well, there you have it. I wasn't expecting to have so many recent decisions on the list, but going through past spreadsheets, I really couldn't find many that were more egregious than the ones this year; there's really not THAT many instances of players being overvalued by 10k or more, and then having a bad tour on top of it. Maybe I missed someone obvious, but I think I have the right names.
As TDK pointed out to me, reaching for someone in Snake is generally more defensible than overpaying for someone; if you really want a player, you might have to take them a bit too early out of fear. So, because of that, Snake decisions will be criticized less harshly than SPL ones. I was not present for SPL I or II, so I will not be discussing those tournaments in this list, since the context aspect will be pretty impossible to verify without asking a host of sources; SPL 1 also seems pretty sketchy considering that there was no real base-line prices to work off of from past auctions. That leaves us with 3 editions of Snake and 9 editions of SPL to create a list. Let's get to it.
Honorable Mentions:
Rexus [Round 4 in Snake III]
This is a pretty weird one. Rexus was taken in Round 4 to play OU after qualifying for OLT. He hardly played, though, and was MIA for most of the season for reasons still unknown to this day. What stops him from being on the list is the fact that he was in fact considered to be one of the best PU players in the tour, even though he wasn't originally drafted to play it. These murky circumstances are enough to keep him off the list.
MoP [Round 5 in Snake II]
MoP is one of the most infamous users in Smogon's history. He's an amazing manager, and obviously knows a fair bit about the boomer metagames as well. However, legendary SPL drafter reyscarface decided to take him in Round 5...in a tour with no old gens? This move was absolutely baffling at the time, and the only thing stopping it from getting on the list is the fact that MoP actually went 2-1. Is that a good enough record to justify his selection? Well, he only had the opportunity to play three games, so it's hard to really say. In this case, it's enough to earn this decision a spot in honorable mentions and keep it off the top 10 list.
obii [10.5k in SPL X]
We all know that obii is not worth anywhere near 10.5k. At least his sheet record was only 1-7 at this point, and not 3-15 like it is now. That being said, this was still an absurd amount to pay for obii; picks like these are the reason why teal6 and ABR almost certainly should not be allowed to draft a full SPL team. obii had himself a pretty bad tournament, going 2-7 and essentially throwing any shred of tournament viability he had down the drain...and yet, the Cryonicles still decided to start him in the SPL XI playoffs? Really makes you wonder. The only thing stopping this decision from cracking the list is obii's rather inexpensive price tag compared to the other names on the list; the decision itself is just as ridiculous as some of the other ones on the list, though.
imsosorrylol [Round 7 in Snake I]
Well, now it's time for our first BKC decision. imsosorrylol was projected by almost everyone to be an extreme late-round flier; most pegged him as a Round 13-14 selection. So when BKC decided to pick the unproven rookie up in Round 7, the whole community was pretty shocked. The hardest thing to do in the Snake Draft is to regain lost value; the nature of the draft makes it very unforgiving. There are hardly any steals, especially compared to a tour like SPL. Taking a player 6 or 7 rounds too early can really make it hard for a team to compete. sorry naturally performed pretty poorly in Snake I, only managing to get a measly 1 win in 7 attempts. His tour career since has been rather forgettable as well, with his terrible 3-8 performance in SPL X nearly costing his team the trophy. The only thing that stops this decision from being on the list is the fact that sorry was only a Round 7 pick; it's not like there's an abundance of amazing players by that point in the draft.
Karrot [11.5k in SPL V]
Back-to-back BKC picks? Yup. I'm sure hardly any of you even know who Karrot is, so let's just take a look at the Power Rankings from SPL V to get a better understanding of why Karrot wasn't worth anywhere close to his price tag.
Spending 11.5k on an individual ranked 10th in the Power Rankings seems a bit insane, especially when hardly anyone had any expectations for him at all. It's unclear how his price even got so high, honestly. He performed pretty poorly, going 1-5 and being so bad that Sweepage correctly predicted his team to win a week 11-1...with Karrot being the only loss. I suppose that was, in fact, the original unbiased prediction. This terrible decision only fails to crack the list because the team invested relatively little in Karrot compared to how much other managers invested into the other players on this list.
10. Pearl [22.5k in SPL XI]
Pearl needs no introduction. He has been a dominant lower tier force for quite some time now, and won the Smogon Grand slam not too long ago. That being said, his results in the OU tiers have been much less impressive. He hasn't really put forth too many notable results on the big stage outside of his 4-1 performance in BW OU last World Cup, in which he squared off against a rather...questionable group of talent. 22.5k felt like a massive overpay at the time for someone who most people considered to only be the 4th or 5th best BW OU player in the pool; without UU in the tour, it's not like Pearl can assist that slot with his creative builds, either. I was rather surprised when Tony went this high on him; this seemed like a teal6 move to me. He was clearly not very enthusiastic about any of the remaining players in the pool at the time, though. Either way, this was a clear overpay at the time, and his 3-5 record in tandem with his lofty price tag certainly hurt the Wolfpack's chances of making a run in SPL XI. He was also met with some rather scathing criticism by the GOAT as well:
Regardless, the fact that Pearl is an established force in the community who most individuals would certainly classify as a "good player," keeps him from being higher on this list.
9. Lycans [17k in SPL XI]
Lycans had been having an amazing sheet run prior to Snake III. With no lower tiers in SPL XI, it appeared as though he could perhaps be a relatively cheap ORAS OU player. However, the Raiders had other plans, as Kingler picked him up for an absurd 17k. This price was absolutely nonsensical. He was actually tanked 5th in the PRs, but that can be attributed more to the barren state of the player pool rather than his skill level in the tier. He did absolutely terrible to start the season, going 0-3 before being benched for...2020 Posho LOOL My god. He did win in the final two weeks of the season as a replacement for Trosko, though, salvaging his record a bit and keeping him from being higher on the list.
8. Sabella [18k in SPL IX]
Sabella was a relatively new face in the tour community before SPL IX. He sat at 11-7 on the sheet before this tour, and was coming off a nice 6-3 World Cup. That was apparently enough for the Classiest to invest 18k into him, a price that seemed absolutely absurd at the time. The Power Rankings back this up, as he was only ranked 9th out of 20 players OU players. He struggled mightily in the tour, only managing to accrue 2 wins over the duration of the season. At least he was coming off a good tour and wasn't crust, I guess.
7. Dekzeh [17k in SPL XI]
ANOTHER SPL XI DRAFT MOVE? LOL Dekzeh is one of the better ADVers in Smogon's history; he has put up solid results in the tier in the past, and against a rather mediocre player pool, especially by ADV's usual lofty standards, many people thought the veteran could put up a respectable record. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Dekzeh was in the clutches of the crust rule. He flopped spectacularly, going 0-3 with some pretty poor performances before being benched. Spending a hefty sum on washed players is an easy way to ruin your season. The sad state of the ADV pool coupled with his prior solid performances in the tier keep him form being higher on the list.
6. Leftiez [16.5k in SPL XI]
We have now gotten to our 4TH DECISION from this year's draft. LOL This seems a bit crazy, but the fun's not over yet people. Leftiez was considered to be a respectable player before his retirement a couple of years ago. He decided to come back and play in SPL XI. The ORAS and SM pools were considered by many to be pretty poor, so there was a chance Leftiez could do relatively well. However, the Cryonicles were so engrossed with the crust player's skill that they picked him up for 16.5k. This was an absolutely blasphemous amount, especially considering that Leftiez was negative on the sheet BEFORE he was crust. When will teams learn not to underestimate the crust rule? Leftiez got smashed in most of his games, going 1-3 before being traded to the BIGs. The story surround his trade was almost as nonsensical as his price tag; the Cryonicles agreed that, if Leftiez took down bro fist in Week 4, the BIGs would have to throw a random filler character named Descending into the trade as well. Leftiez actually managed to defy all odds and take down John before being promptly shipped off. If you paid 16.5k for someone and they just beat arguably the best player in the tour, wouldn't you want to keep them? LOL Like, this trade made absolutely no sense on the surface. Leftiez would go on to play only 1 game for the BIGs, a loss against TDK, before basically disappearing for the rest of the season.
5. Indigo Plateau [Round 5 in Snake III]
Well, you all knew that this move would be on here. I've bashed Indigo Plateau enough over the past six months, so I'm not going to go too crazy here...can't let myself get banned by the SJWs, you know? Indigo Plateau's lone achievement heading into Snake III was his nice OST Run. Almost everyone I spoke to figured that he would be drafted after Round 10; most people said Round 12 or later. And yet, the Lindworms decided to take him...in Round 5? The amount of value lost here is absolutely stunning. Snake is not a tour where you can easily recuperate value, so tossing away this much of it in a single selection is almost unthinkable...and that's without mentioning that the team also took tko in Round 6 and xImRaptor in Round 7. At least tko managed to go 2-3 and win two important games for his team late in the season, so I guess there's that. Raptor, meanwhile, had himself a pretty nice tour. Regardless, the team almost certainly could have secured all three of these players after Round 10, and have had a much better collection of talent overall. IP's awful performance and higher draft slot earns him a spot on the list over the other two, though; he went 0-5 and had some pretty....lackluster........performances. Despite their awful drafting, the Lindworms actually almost managed to make the playoffs; they almost certainly could have made it if they allocated their resources better in the draft, and that starts with not taking IP in Round 5. As I said earlier, Snake decisions will be judged less harshly than SPL ones, so this one doesn't crack the top 4.
4. 6A9 Ace Matador [16k in SPL VIII]
I'm embarrassed to put a decision I made on this list...but we have to be unbiased here lol. Back in SPL 8, I was a massive crust lover. The thought of picking up a former legend for a hefty sum to slot into an old gen was like music to my ears; it seems inconceivable now, I know. Ace Matador was someone I had always heard great things about as I made my way up clout Everest; I thought he would be a great addition to my team...despite the fact THAT HE HAD NOT PLAYED A GAME ON THE BIG STAGE SINCE SPL 5!!! SPL 5 LOOOOL oh my god. I was an absolute lunatic. And the thing that tilts me the most about this selection is that I DRAFTED HIM TO PLAY IN THE VARIANCE MADHOUSE LMAO jesus man. At least I can take solace in knowing that my team was so garbage that year that we would have gotten washed even IF I didn't draft him, so that's something I guess. He obviously did terribly, going 1-6 and losing to garbage players like Marshall Law along the way. This was easily one of the worst draft selections of all time; the only thing stopping it from being higher is the fact that, at the very least, he was an amazing player at one point in his career.
3. ShakeItUp [14k in SPL III]
NYANPASU!!! I guess even the great ones can find their way onto this list lol...So, for context, I was a BW RU specialist during SPL III. And by specialist, I mean that I had recently picked up the tier and topped the ladder with an ingenious TR hail team. We've obviously seen lower tier mainers go for a high price in recent SPLs, even if they had had no results on the big stage. That being said, I was extremely inexperienced at this point in time, and hadn't even done many RU tournaments. I definitely shouldn't have been worth anywhere near 14k...especially TO BE A SUB?? Yes, you heard that correctly. The Raiders bought me for 14k to be a sub. It actually defies all logic. I remember distinctly that I was allowed to play 2 of the first 4 weeks because our actual RU starter, Heysup, was unavailable. I went 1-1, defeating marilli back when he was a lower tier mainer, and losing to Hikari. After my loss to Hikari, I didn't play a single meaningful game the rest of the season. Spending 14k on someone so that they can play a grand total of 2 relevant games is absolute insanity; I still find it hard to believe that a drafting decision could possibly be thought out this poorly. It hurt the team massively as well, as the Raiders, despite essentially wasting 14k, still managed to easily make the playoffs, and were one game away from the finals. Unfortunately, our VGC slot was terrible, so we had no choice but to put in Rewer against the best SPL VGCer of all time, Sixonesix. I think we all know how that one went...Imagine if they had 14k to spend on a real player, lol.
2. Blightbringer [18k in SPL XI]
Well, we're back to SPL XI for the final team. My god, this draft was HORRENDOUS. This decision was absolutely flabbergasting at the time. I was so blown away by it, as evidenced by my live-reaction:
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: we nommin blight b4 sg
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: ??
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: whys he so much
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: WHAT
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: WHAT IS HAPPENING
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: WHYS HE 7K
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: .
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: ??
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: YOOOO
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: THE SHARKS
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: THE NEW AGE SHARKS
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: THEYRE HERE
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: OML
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: .
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: 10K
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: YES
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: oh my god
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: what changed
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: WHEN DID BLIGHT BECOME A RESPECTED BATTLER
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: lmao
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: what did i miss
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: when did this transformation
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: happen
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: WHYS HE SO MUCH
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LOOL
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: 20K
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: PLEASE
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: REACH OJAMA
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: BRO THEYRE BOTH BIDDING
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: THEY WANT HIM
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: ..
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LMFAO
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: OH MY GOD
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: 18K
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: LMFAO
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: THE JERK
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: + BLIGHT
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: ??
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: whys he so much
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: WHAT
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: WHAT IS HAPPENING
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: WHYS HE 7K
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: .
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: ??
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: YOOOO
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: THE SHARKS
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: THE NEW AGE SHARKS
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: THEYRE HERE
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: OML
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: .
[5:06 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: 10K
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: YES
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: oh my god
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: what changed
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: WHEN DID BLIGHT BECOME A RESPECTED BATTLER
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: lmao
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: what did i miss
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: when did this transformation
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: happen
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LMAO
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: WHYS HE SO MUCH
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LOOL
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: 20K
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: PLEASE
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: REACH OJAMA
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: BRO THEYRE BOTH BIDDING
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: THEY WANT HIM
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: ..
[5:07 PM] Ravenn: LMFAO
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: OH MY GOD
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: 18K
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: LMFAO
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: THE JERK
[5:08 PM] Ravenn: + BLIGHT
I WAS SHOCKED HE WAS 7K!!! HOW DID HE GET TO 18K LMAO Of course, we all know by now that Blight did well in the latest edition of the Callous Cup. Somehow, people try to use this to defend his price tag...There's no way he should be anywhere close to 18k just off his performance in that tournament LOL You should only be anywhere close to 18k if you are an established elite player on Smogon; how on earth could this journeyman player who hardly anyone wanted over the past decade suddenly be worth 18k?? LUIGI LITERALLY WON A SMOGON TOUR LAST YEAR AND WENT UNDRAFTED IN SNAKE AND WAS 3K THIS SPL!! LOL Like what?? Of course, we all know that the ADV player pool was in a rather dire state, but that doesn't excuse such a ridiculous price tag for Blightbringer. He only got top 6 by the way; he didn't even win the tour...LIKE COME ON!! And to absolutely NO ONE's surprise, Blight only managed to accrue 3 wins in 9 weeks, helping sink the Sharks' ship. Callous Cup syndrome bros.
1. CasedVictory [17.5k in SPL X]
Cased was one of Smogon's biggest and most polarizing personalities...up until his ban a few years ago. If there's one positive thing we can say about Case, it's that he definitely wasn't afraid of the moment. He had the balls to bring monoice at 5-5 in the SPL VII finals, and tilted SG out of the game in what was probably the worst moment of my Smogon career. Since his ban, though, he had only sparingly played Smogon tours, and had instead established himself in the VGC scene. He was known for being an innovative GSC player, though, crafting the multi-Thief Jynx offense team that has been spammed countless times throughout the years. After surprisingly being unbanned before SPL XI, Case was seen as a relatively high-risk GSC pick. The Raiders coughed up a hefty 17.5k for his services. This felt like an awful lot for someone who had no Smogon results in years; even back when Case was considered to be one of the best NU players of the site, he certainly wasn't a sheet warrior. Could Case live up to this absurd price tag and exceed his 7th place ranking in the PRs? Well, unfortunately for both he and the Raiders, he could not. Case got absolutely washed in SPL X, going 0-4 before being traded to the BIGs. He would not play another game that SPL, however, as he was unable to control his hateful impulses, leading to him being booted from the site yet again after his harsh attack on Natalie. His absolutely horrendous performance coupled with his absurd price tag earn him the top spot on the list.
Well, there you have it. I wasn't expecting to have so many recent decisions on the list, but going through past spreadsheets, I really couldn't find many that were more egregious than the ones this year; there's really not THAT many instances of players being overvalued by 10k or more, and then having a bad tour on top of it. Maybe I missed someone obvious, but I think I have the right names.
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