YAHALLO AMIGOS! It has been a long time.......bop. I originally wasn't planning to do these and I was going to sleep through the auction but then I woke up for the auction and then I stayed up and then I watched the whole auction and then people asked me for rankings so here we are. I'm not going to be posting these on the forums, so I'm free to say whatever I want, which is actually pretty cool. I can't believe we now live in a world where "haha reacting" someone's post is a punishable offense; that really might be the dumbest thing I've seen in the history of Smogon. But anyway, let's get to the rankings!

This auction was definitely weird. I feel like I say that every year but LOL There were a lot of strange decisions and randomly undervalued players. I'm not really sure what to make of it quite yet. Well, that's what this post is for lol. These lineups were mainly provided by Finchinator, although I did tweak some minor things based on guesswork.

The Alpha Ruiners

SS: mcnmt
SS: Separation
SS: Empo
SM: Gondra
ORAS: WillofFire
BW: Frania
DPP: Emeral
ADV: Hclat / Teclis
GSC: Hyogafodex
RBY: Troller
Subs: OxTheFox / Askov / Raichy / Aurella
Managers: Prinz / Hantsuki

The defending champions are back. Will they become the first team in history to win 3 SPLs in a row? That might be a pretty impossible feat, but this team does have some nice pieces that may allow them to pull it off.

The headliner of the team is Empo. After all this time, I feel as though I have to begrudgingly drink the Empo kool-aid LOOL He wins every game and he even won an individual tour lately (technically his second if we're counting the Smogon Championship). He even won a tiebreak last SPL. I guess he really is one of the best players on the site now. Wild. The team also absolutely fluked into the mcnmt retain LOL The fake jamvad did absolutely nothing last SPL before being gifted a win by CTC that somehow changed his entire trajectory as a player. A strong run in OST followed by a dominant World Cup and a solid Snake campaign leaves the fake jamvad as one of the best values of the entire tournament. The team also retained Gondra following his magnificent showing in SPL XI. He chose to manage to Snake and only played 1 game in World Cup, so he really hasn't done that much on the big stage since that tournament. However, it would be unwise to predict him to flop. The team has a lot of flexible players, so it's unclear which some of these players will play. I'll put Gondra in SM for now just because that's the tier he dominated in last SPL, but maybe he'll play ORAS or SS. Gondra was generally a slightly above average player before his breakthrough campaign last SPL, so it remains to be seen if he can thrive on the big stage again. Overall, I'd predict Empo to get around 7 wins, and mncmt and Gondra to go positive.

The other newer gen players on the team are Separation and WillofFire. Separation, otherwise known as FLCL's best friend, is an up-and-coming Chinese player who people seem to have high hopes for in his first time on the big stage (no1 cares if you can beat some 3rd world randoms in the WCoP play-in stage). He went for a high price of 16k, primarily due to his recent standout performance in the Official Ladder Tournament, where he reached the finals before losing to Clicking, a man who may be the greatest player on the website by the end of 2021 at this rate. While his run was impressive, I will obviously need to see more before I'm actually ready to have faith in this guy. Keep in mind that the runner-up of OLT 2019 was le LLiolae, who has impressively racked up 11 Ls in a row LOOOL yes that is an actual fact. We all know that dude is unviable, and while I doubt Separation will ever reach that low of a level, it's important to not buy into the hype immediately. His season could go either way. WillofFire is another player who has basically done nothing on the big stage. He's established himself as a very good builder, but he has yet to actually demonstrate a large amount of battling skill outside of his victory in the legendary blunder tournament 2 years ago. I think we've seen that it's unwise to bet against Italy in 2021, so I'm kind of hesitant to say he'll struggle. His season could also go either way.

The old gens of the team are a bit more shaky. In BW, we have Frania. Like...okay? LOL Ye, this is the same dude that literally every human on the planet agreed went too early in Snake for Doubles. Well, at least he scraped together a 4-5 record...like? I'm really not sure why I'm supposed to expect this guy to win anything. The biggest thing he's done is go 4-0 in BW last SPL, which is at least something I suppose. However, dig deeper and you'll find that his wins were against 2020 Posho, Twixtry, Zesty, and Raiza, which is not exactly a murderer's row of opponents. I project him to struggle, but at the very least, he hasn't proven himself to be unviable. In DPP, we have a Emeral, a random French dude who went 3-3 last year. He really hasn't done anything else on the site, although he seems to have his share of fanboys who think he's some god or some shit. I mean...he went fucking 3-3 in the variance tier, you want a medal or something? LOL He also lost to ima in Round 1 of Classic, who certainly isn't some DPP wizard. I expect him to go negative. In ADV, we have Hclat, an ROAPL mainer who goes for an absurd amount in that tour every year. He's like the poster boy of irrelevant tournaments; everyone always nutrides him in that tour LOL jesus. It seems as though he's finally getting his chance on the big stage. ADV has some tough competition; honestly, I really don't expect him to do anything. The team also Teclis, but this guy looked like an absolute clown last year like LOL surely you can't start this guy. In GSC, we have fucking hyogafodex LOOOOOOOL come the fuck on man THIS GUY IS NOT GOOD! HE WAS 1-7 LAST YEAR HOW THE FUCK WAS HE OVER 10K LMAO GSC had some fucking absurd prices too god This was such a massive overpay. What has this guy ever done?? He literally lost in r2 of GSC Cup this year too man. God what an unviable loser. In GSC, we have Troller, who will probably rack up 6+ wins again in the variance tier. bop. He'll definitely have to carry some of these other clowns.

Finch put OxTheFox as a starter over WoF but man LOOOL I just can't believe this might be a possibility. I didn't even know this guy was relevant again. I have not heard of this dude since like fucking 2016 OLT He did do well in this year's OLT, so I guess there's that but jesus if you're gonna spend over 10k on WoF you have to start him I think. The other subs probably won't play. Maybe Raichy will eventually be forced into GSC after Hyoga inevitably gets dicked 5 weeks in a row. Overall, this team clearly has some potential. I don't particularly like the roster, though. It doesn't seem like they have that many sure-fire prospects besides everyone's lord and savior Empo. Even if he pops off, which he probably will, the team might lack the power to reach the playoffs.

The Circus Maximus Tigers

SS:	watashi
SS:	beatiful
SS:	BK
SM:	robjr
XY:	bushtush
BW:	dice
DPP: ToF
ADV: Golden Sun
GSC: gorgie
RBY: SadisticNarwhal
Subs: CBU / Gtcha / Jordy / Meridian
Managers: CALLOUS / JabbaTheGriffin

Ah yes, the Tigers. I didn't really care if Callous got to manage SPL or not, but I'm definitely happy the TDS reinstated him after briefly kicking him out of the tournament. That would have been one of the dumbest things in the history of Smogon LOOL A horde of angry mainers and former Tigers managers rallying together to get this guy kicked out of a tournament he probably cares about more than anyone on the site bar probably BKC would have certainly been a black mark on the tournament's legacy. BCC's draft was a highly-anticipated one. Did he deliver?

The start of the team is obviously FLCL. While the man will probably have around 200 lines in his team chat the whole season, there's no denying that he is a winner. I'm not entirely sure how he's always undervalued. 18.5k for FLCL is definitely one of the better pick-ups in the tour, especially considering some of the prices other players went for. I wholly expect him to smash the competition. The next best player on the team is dice, a player who we all know I have very high expectations for LOL Say what you want about him being  a team cancer or w/e (which he is LOOL), but dice is a good BW OU player. I like the value on this pick as well; I would much rather have 14.5k dice than 23k Finchinator, for example. I definitely expect him to go positive, with an outside chance of getting a stellar record.

One of the strangest parts of the auction for me was watching fucking beatiful go for 24.5k LOOOL like what? what the fuck??? When did this clown become such a hot commodity? LOL	he is coming off a dominant Snake and had strong Smogon Tour and OLT showings as well, but jesus LOOL THIS IS 24.5K LIKE WHAT THAT'S SO FUCKING MUCH DUDE!! He was the 108th pick in Snake, so clearly no one gave a fuck about her skill level back then. This feels like a massive overpay to me. Callous did get value in other parts of his draft, so it's not the end of the world. I will definitely need to see a lot more from beatiful before I'm ready to trust him, though. That being said, based on recent performances, it would be foolish to expect him to go negative. I would probably project him to get 5 wins or so. The team's other SS player is BK, a player who I've always thought was above average. He always seems to win, and while he hasn't done that much on the big stage lately, he is coming off an impressive Smogon Tour showing. He did get washed in Round 1 of the playoffs though by Kenix, which is probably not a good sign. That being said, I like what I've seen of BK in the past, so I do expect him go positive. Not to mention, he's a fucking Italian new gens player. That adds at least a win to his projection.

I'm not sure if he'll be worth 16.5k, but I don't hate it. The other newer gen players on the team are robjr and BUSHTUSH. I've never been too big of a robjr fan outside of lower tiers; he never seems to really impress me. He did have a good World Cup, but he benefited quite a bit from matchup. He struggled in Snake, and also had an awful SPL XI campaign. I just really don't think he's that great of a player. 12k seems relatively fine for him, though. I'd probably expect him to get around 4 wins, I guess, although it wouldn't surprise me if he did worse than that. BUSH was somehow fucking 15.5k LOOOOOOOL WHAT???? what the fuck are people smoking THIS IS BUSHTUSH DUDE WHAT LMAO I mean no doubt this was an absurd overpay. I don't think anyone's fucking questioning that. Due to his ban, he obviously hasn't done anything notable on Smogon lately. This man's last tour game was World Cup 2018 LOL god. I would expect him to go negative if I had to guess.

The old gens of the team are relatively solid, honestly. ToF is a boomer DPPer who went for 8k. He'll probably go positive; this was a solid pick as well, especially taking into consideration the new price scale. Golden Sun somehow went for 3k, which is honestly absurd LOL How is Golden Sun worth 12k less than fucking umbry? Sure he's definitely past his prime, but he did go 8-5 in World Cup + SPL as recently as fucking 2019. That performance makes me pretty confident that he'll turn in a decent season. I think he'll definitely be worth the value, especially with CALLOUS and I guess Jabba around to help him prep and keep him motivated. In GSC, we have Floppy, who proved all the haters wrong with a strong 6-4 showing last SPL. I'm certainly not ready to have too much faith in Floppy, though. This was someone who was perpetually mediocre for his entire career and it will take more than one good showing for me to expect him to go positive. That being said, he's certainly better than I thought he was before, and I don't hate his price tag. I would probably expect him to get around 4 wins. In RBY, we have some clown I've never heard of LOL Actually his name is familiar, but who the fuck knows. That being said, he was only 3k and he's in RBY, so I automatically think the pick was fine lol. He can probably get a few wins in this joke tier.

Overall, I think this team is fine. The beatiful and BUSHTUSH selections were honestly a bit baffling to me; it's fucking absurd that those two cost 40k combined LOOL That being said, there's definitely a bunch of value picks littered throughout the lineup and they really don't have any dogshit players, I guess, although it wouldn't shock me if bush got smashed. I think he'll be serviceable, though. I honestly think Callous did a pretty respectable job here and this team honestly might make the playoffs.

The Congregation of the Classiest

SS:	lax
SS:	luthier
SS:	Jytcampbell
SM: Garay Oak
ORAS: Steve Angello
BW:	fakes
DPP: august
ADV: tamahome
GSC: tdk
RBY: rozes
Subs: soulgazer / London beats / Isza / Jacob / Mazinger / Kenix
Managers: snaga / d0nut

The Classiest return off of a very promising 2019 campaign. The team looked to be in a relatively strong position in the early portiosn of the draft, but it's pretty safe to say that whatever strategy they had crumbled at some point in the auction. Their last 10 or so purchases were all around 3k, which basically means that they fucked up and didn't spend big earlier and were forced to buy 859439 subs instead. This definitely isn't a good sign of things to come.

The stars of the team are lax and Tamahome. lax returned to earth a bit in Snake after being one of the most dominant players on the site earlier on. I still have very high hopes for him here. He's shown a ceiling that very few players on Smogon can claim to match. I'm not entirely sure what the fuck type of aneurysm he had in his endgame vs. Eo in Snake finals, but I'm sure he can get over it LOL Tama has been a machine for a while now, and I fully expect him to do well in ADV in this tournament. He even managed to make me into a solid ADVer for around a year back in 2012, so that's all you need to know about his ADV prowess. These two will certainly have to carry the load if the team wants any chance at repeating their 2019 success.

The other newer gens on the team are a bit of a disaster, honestly LOL The team's starting Luthier in SS...like what? LOOOL There's no evidence that a lower tier mainer is going to succeed in OU. I'll believe it when I see it. The team's other SS slot was so dire that they were FORCED to trade for fucking jytcampbell to patch the hole LMFAO oh my fucking god not this clown. Honestly, he has surprisingly been a serviceable entity in recent memory. I certainly don't think this guy is good, though. I expect him to get around 3 or 4 wins. Garay Oak is the next player on the docket. I've never been particularly impressed with him outside of lower tiers, but he did perform admirably in Snake, winning both tiebreaks against SoulWind and Ajna, which is definitely very impressive. That alone makes me a bit confident in his ability to succeed. Despite those two wins, he still only did go 7-6 in Snake, and has never really had a super impressive tournament run or anything. His recent sheet records have been pretty mediocre. I'd probably expect him to get around 4 wins. Steve Angello only signed up for ORAS, so he has to play that for at least the first 2 weeks. Maybe they'll switch him with one of their other goons later; I don't know. This guy certainly doesn't inspire much confidence in 2021 LMAO like come the fuck on. He was 1-3 in Snake man...yeah. I expect him to struggle.

The old gens of the team are certainly interesting. Fakes didn't actually sign up for BW, so they actually can't play him there the first two weeks LOL This is actually pretty problematic, since this mean's they can't actually start Fakes for the first 2 weeks. I assume they'll put obii in BW? I don't know what the fuck else they're going to do LOL I mean, I certainly can't expect obi to do anything but go 0-2 in BW OU...like he did do well against some mainers last Snake but come on LOL As for Fakes, I mean I've always been a fan of his. I think he's definitely worse at BW than DPP and ADV, though, so I'll have to temper some expectations a bit. He's also obviously an activity risk. In DPP, we have august, who should easily be one of the better DPPers in the pool. I fully expect him to get around 5 or 6 wins. In GSC, we have TDK, who's stock has fallen through the fucking gutter as of late LOL This man was cheap as balls good lord. He hasn't had a good tour in what seems like a fucking century, but I do know that he likes GSC and has played it a fair amount. I can't really confidently expect him to finish positive or anything in what seems like a relatively solid pool, but, gun to my head, I'd probably project him for around 4 wins. Rounding out the Jerk team is rozes, who hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in his RBY showings on the big stage. I believe he is 3-8? in RBY so far. I'd project him to finish negative.

This team honestly looks like a disaster LOOL what the fuck I honestly thought it was a solid team until like a certain point in the auction. After that, it looked like everyone just lost their fucking minds or something like what? LOL Like how the living fuck is august their 3rd most expensive player? It certainly doesn't help that they pretty much can't start Fakes for the first 2 weeks either. This was clearly an oversight by the management. Maybe Tama should have signed up for more than 2 tiers if he was just going to be retained anyway. Either way, the Classiest have a lot of holes, and I really don't think they have the talent to overcome a lot of them. They do have some flexibility if their players want to get creative; SG can play DPP if needed also. But...god LOL This looks like another failed rendition of a Jerk team to me.

The Cryonicles

SS:	bro fist
SS:	Lusa
SS:	Leo
SM:	z0mOG
ORAS: Sjneider
BW: Finchinator
DPP: Malekith
ADV: umbry
GSC: tc
RBY: Nails
Subs: K-12 / Serene Grace / Posho / xtra / shortage
Managers: Triangles / Coconut

The Cryos are back after a relatively successful campaign, especially for their standards, in 2020. This is certainly an interesting team. Do they have the pieces to contend for a playoff spot?

The star of the team is pretty obviously bro fist. No one else on the team is really close to his level, honestly. The Punisher of Plays should return to his normal team tour standard and smash all of his opponents again. I don't really think anyone is doubting that. Can the rest of the team keep up with him or will John be forced to watch as his teammates choke away the season for what probably feels like the 3285989th SPL season in a row for him? The other big piece on the team is Finchinator, a man who really needs no introduction. I think he was most certainly an overpay; I don't think he's worth a 23k retain. That being said, he's obviously going to do well in BW OU. He pretty much always does. The team will need him to really step up to make it worth the retain, though.

Surrounding bro fist in SS OU is a pretty interesting cast of characters. Lusa went 5-4 last SPL, but also choked away the season in Week 9, putting a bit of a damper on my expectations for him coming into this year. It seems as though he's pretty much done nothing notable since that campaign, which is why he was only 5.5k. I would probably expect him to negative. The team is also starting Leo, who has yet to really leave a strong impression on the big stage. He went 1-3 in WCoP and followed it up with a 3-3 Snake. Like...congrats? I certainly don't think he's a good player. I'd also expect him to go negative. The last key piece here is z0mOG, who is coming off a 4-0 Snake campaign, albeit against a bunch of clowns in the lower tiers. He was pretty fortunate last year to do as well as he did; I remember several instances of pretty glaring luck on his side. He also hasn't done anything notable in SM in what feels like an eternity. I'd probably project him for around 4 wins. In ORAS, meanwhile, we have Sjneider, a player who seemingly always goes positive as of late. I have bolded against him a lot in the past, usually to my detriment, but there's no denying that he's carved out a role as a viable starter. I'd definitely expect him to go positive, but I still don't consider him to be some sort of world beater or anything.

The old gens of the team are very interesting. Malekith went for 7.5k, which was definitely one of the better pick-ups of the auction. This is pretty strange because all I heard last year when Blightbringer went for 18k were things like "OMG MONEY TOURS MATTER SO MUCH OFC HE SHOULD BE THAT EXPENSIVE." However, despite his impressive 2nd place finish in the recent Permasand Invitational, Malekith, a player who has been a force on this site in the past by the way, only went for 7.5k. Perhaps people finally decided not to spend that much on the thinking gen. I don't know. Either way, I like Malekith as a player and I expect him to go positive. Next up, we have umbry, who somehow went for the absurd sum of 15k LOL like what?? There's really no evidence umbry is ready to smash people in ADV on the big stage. This seemed like a massive overpay to me; she even lost in Round 2 of the ADV cup people LOL I'm really not sure what they were doing here, especially considering how cheap some proven ADV veterans were in this tour. She has apparently been doing well in the ADV circuit, but do I really care about that? Obviously fucking not. In GSC, we have TC. I'm not even going to pretend like I know who this is, but he signed up for SPL all the way back in 2015 and didn't get bought. He's basically done absolutely nothing since then LOOL Imagine trusting some clown like this bro what are we doing. I expect him to get dicked.  Lastly, in RBY we have Nails, who has asserted himself as one of the best RBYers on the site. I don't like his price, though, because who the fuck wants to spend over 15k on RBY? I only think Troller is worth anywhere near that amount, honestly. Either way, I expect him to go positive.

This team seems extremely lackluster to me. They don't really have anyone I expect to pop off besides bro fist, and a lot of their players don't inspire much confidence. I don't really understand their draft. The team does have the ghost of Posho to sub in if they need it LOL nvm who the fuck is going to do that. They also have shortage, who's apparently some decent ADV player, but like...they spent an absurd amount on umbry already so like. I don't think this team will make the playoffs, which is unfortunate, because I was one of the biggest fans of the roster last season.

The Dragonspiral Tyrants

SS:	John W
SS:	Eo
SS:	100percentpureheat
SM:	Omfuga / Sabella
ORAS: CBB
BW:	elodin
DPP: Christo
ADV: Gilbert arenas
GSC: Conflict
RBY: spies
Subs: Rumor / hsa / sugarhigh / sadlysius
Managers: reyscarface / PDC

Expectations are always high for the Tyrants. Despite putting together impressive lineups over the past three seasons and seemingly always being in the hunt for a trophy, reyscarface has yet to win SPL as a manager. Can this latest band of users finally seal the deal and give the Tyrants their first trophy?

The headliner of the team is obviously Eo. He's coming off a ridiculously dominant Snake, and it's honestly absurd that he was only 23.5k LOOL like what? How was beatiful MORE THAN EO?? WHAT? Eo rarely plays and he stayed calm under pressure in Snake finals despite lax's constant attempts to throw him off his game with his in-game buffoonery. I wholly expect Eo to smash the competition once again; he's always been a really good player in my eyes. The team also has John W, who has become a sensation on the site since rey picked him for dirt cheap in SPL XI. This was arguably the best retain in the tournament in the eyes of many people, and there are high expectations for the up-and-coming star. He went Round 1 in Snake following a dominant 4-0 WCoP campaign, and managed to put together a 5-3 record. He also did well in the most recent Smogon Tour and OLT. I'm not as high on John W as most people because he hasn't done enough on the big stage yet. That being said, I definitely expect him to go positive and maybe he'll be able to reach that elusive ceiling that everyone keeps talking about in this tour. The biggest question mark here is obviously 100percentpureheat. I have no fucking idea why he was so much or how he's going to do. People seem to have very high expectations for him, so maybe he's a threat. However, obviously I'm not going to expect him to do anything notable LOOL He's pretty much done nothing of note in the competitive scene outside of making Smogon Tour playoffs two seasons ago, which I guess counts for something. It wouldn't shock me if he got smashed.

BUT IN SM OMLLLLLL WE HAVE THE GOAT LMAOOOOO YES OMFUGA IS BACK LETS GOOOOOO LOOOOOOL Man I really don't know what to expect here LOL If this was GSC or especially a fucking lower tier, I think he'd do fine, but SM OU is a bigger question mark for me. He was a force in this tier in the past; I remember I had to luck the fuck out of him in OLT playoffs to win LOL I'll always be a believer in Omfuga's talent, but after factoring in his extended hiatus, I think it's safe to say that this pick could go either way. The team also has Sabella to slot in should Omfuga struggle, who usually puts up some relatively decent record. I hope Omfuga smashes everyone, though. The newer gens are rounded out by CBB, who finally went for a good price for once LOL 14.5k for CBB is certainly a good value, since he's regarded as the best ORAS player pretty much every season. He has yet to really put forth a dominant campaign reflecting this status, though, so I'll temper my expectations a bit. That being said, it would be hard to see him not exceeding his draft vaalue by the end of the season.

The old gens of the team feature an interesting cast of characters. elodin finds himself in BW OU again. Has this dude played BW OU in a tournament since fucking SPL 6? LOL Good god that tour was fucking insane. 8.5 for elodin is probably fine when you consider the new price scale. I certainly don't expect him to smash people or anything, but he'll probably do decently. Next up we have Christo, another one of my favorite players LOOL Omfuga and Christo core OML Christo proved he wasn't a one trick pony last SPL, and he's definitely good enough to succeed in the fucking thinking gen. I definitely like this pick. In ADV, we have marcop, who was probably slightly overpriced as a retain. The pool is a hard one and marcop will have his work cut out for him if he wants to repeat his past performances. That being said, he's still a good ADV player and I expect him to go positive. In GSC, we have Conflict, one of the best GSCers of all time. He has had his struggles recently, though, so this is no surefire success story. He was forced to play ADV for two games last season, so his 3-6 record is a bit deceiving. I'm not sure if he'll live up to his 17k price tag in 2021, but he clearly has the metagame knowledge and he's displayed his talent in the past. I've always been a Conflict fan, so I'm optimistic that he'll return to form here. Gun to my head, though, I'd probably expect him to get around 4-5 wins. In RBY, we have a fucking omega boomer in spies LOOOL jesus fuck This is all you need to know about this pick, honestly: https://i.imgur.com/1hnELEj.png
That being said, this is fucking RBY, so I won't go too crazy with the crust rule. I don't really have high standards for this tier. I'm excited to see him play, and for 3k, he's probably a fine pick-up.

Overall, I don't think this team is as good as Tyrants lineups of the past. That is a very high standard to reach, though. There are certainly some pretty high-ceiling picks on this team, and they don't really have any holes besides 100p (depending on how confident you are in his abilities...I mean he was 17k I guess). Also, I obviously appreciate their decision to spend 8k combined on the 2 meme variance tiers. I definitely think they'll make the playoffs, and if things break their way, they may finally be able to clutch that coveted trophy.

The Ever Grade BIGs

SS:	ima
SS:	FMG
SS:	Insult / Storm Zone
SM:	Eternal Spirit
ORAS: Vulpix03 / Electricitycat
BW:	Steelskitty / Insult
DPP: DeepBlueC
ADV: McMeghan
GSC: Zokuru
RBY	Tiba
Subs: Sakito / Zilo / Hayburner
Managers: Stone_Cold / Excal

The BIGs return to SPL after an absolutely batshit SPL XI campaign. These dudes had like 45 players LOOOOOL And they weren't even bad by the end of it good god. The team seems to have trimmed down considerably this season, as the Classiest seems to have taken on the "army" challenge this time around. Will this roster propel the BIGs to the playoffs for once?

The star player here is Roro, who returns to ADV against what appears to be a relatively interesting player pool. He'll certainly have to beat some threats if he wants to pop off this tournament, but it would be foolish to bet against one of the best players of all time. I fully expect Roro to get around 7 wins, honestly. The other big names here are Eternal Spirit and Insult. I'll always believe in the magician. He has certainly cooled off the sheet lately, but I'm still a big believer in his talent. I think he'll definitely go positive; it remains to be seen if he can return to his previous highs, though. Insult, meanwhile, was an up-and-coming monster before his recent hiatus. He didn't play Snake IV, but his results before that were very impressive. I think he's definitely a solid player and I'd expect him to do well in this tournament.

Man. I already drank the Empo kool-aid LOOL Do I really have to drink the ima kool-aid as well dude come on. He struggled a bit last SPL, but his other tours besides that one have all been solid. At this point, you have to project him to go positive. I don't think he'll go 8-3 or anything, though, but I guess at this point, it may be a real possibility. I mean, he was definitely worth the 11.5k retain. FMG is another player who was a good value pick. The public seems to have soured on him as of late, but he had a lot of potential in the past, and he was still a serviceable player in his past two appearances on the big stage. I think he'll do decently. The ORAS slot is a pretty big question mark, though. Vulpix struggled a bit after a good start last SPL, and only went even against a bunch of mainers in PU in Snake. I don't really have high hopes for him. Finch also slashed this random guy in ORAS...who the fuck knows LOOL

In BW, we have...Steelskitty? LOOL what? what fucking year is this I'm pretty sure this guy's last appearance was him getting ghosted by US East in 2015 LMAO what the hell? Bro. He's definitely crust. I'm not buying it. The team could also put Insult in BW and start Storm Zone in SS, but Insult seems to be much more dominant in new gens from what I've seen, so I'd probably advise against that. In DPP, we have DeepBlueC, a player I've always felt was a bit overhyped. That being said, he's certainly worth his 7k price tag, and he's established himself to be a serviceable thinking gen starter. In GSC, we have Zokuru who had a decent SPL XI campaign. He nabbed some nice GSC wins, but I don't really think he's an impressive player. He has some crackhead opinions too LOL I'd probably expect him to go 3-6 or something. BUT IN RBY OMLL WE HAVE THE RETURN OF THE RBY GOD TIBAZAO YES!! I LOVE THIS PICK! Tiba for 3.5k is absurd. This guy was the best RBYer of all time when he retired and if he comes back at even half that skill level he'll be a good value pick. Not to mention, it's RBY, so I care a lot less about the crust rule there. I believe in him so much that I bet with teal that he'll have a better record than MetalGro$$ (well, +1.5 games). Great pick.

Overall, this is a decent team. They have some pretty solid slots and a good amount of upside. The BW slot looks like a bit of a disaster, and the ORAS slot might be a train wreck too, but I like the other pieces. It wouldn't surprise me if they made the playoffs.

The Indie Scooters

SS:	Sacri'
SS:	Gefährlicher Random
SS:	Corazan
SM:	Chaitanya
ORAS: Santu
BW:	Caetano93
DPP: windsong
ADV: thelinearcurve
GSC: vani
RBY: louna
Subs: xizaaa / Niko / snofall / FALSE / serpi
Managers: Lopunny Kicks / Amaranth

One of the worst teams from the previous SPL returns, this time under new leadership. The Scooters have gone through a lot of iterations over the years, and they haven't really found any success in what feels like eons. The closest they've gotten to a trophy in recent memory is in SPL 8, where Mazar blew them out of the water. Will this edition of the Scooters be a threat?

The star player here is thelinearcurve. Hailed as the greatest ADVer by pretty much everyone on the planet, he's expected to dominate the competition. I definitely think he's a great player and he should live up to everyone's high hopes. I have to think he was a bit of an overpay, though, just in general. I don't really agree with paying an astronomical price like 34k for someone who's only going to play one tier and probably not help anything else. But, either way I suppose. The ADV pool is also looking pretty hard, but if anyone can smash the competition, I suppose it's this man. The other key piece of the lineup is Sacri', who pretty much always seems to put up wins in these tournaments. He did struggle in World Cup, though, only managing to amass a paltry 1-4 record. He rebounded with a dominant Snake, though, and I fully expect him to get around 6-7 wins in this tournament, honestly. These two are really going to have to carry the load if the Scooters want to contend this season.

Gefährlicher Random	is one of the team's other SS players. He went positive in both World Cup and Snake, so clearly he's at least somewhat serviceable. I guess he'll do decently. The team is also starting Corazan, who is currently 11-5 on the sheet. He had a good World Cup campaign, so that bodes well for his ability to succeed here. That being said, I remember him being quite lucky in the past, so his statistics may be a bit inflated. He also made it to the semifinals of the second-to-last Smogon Tour, only losing to ABR. He seems like a serviceable player at least, so I'd guess he'd probably do fine. In ORAS, we have Santu, who smashed last SPL before following it up with an undefeated World Cup campaign. There is reason for skepticism, though, as he struggled to the tune of a 3-5 record in the most recent Snake Draft. That result will make me temper my expectations a bit, but I generally do like how he plays. I think he'll go positive. Imagine betting against an Italian in 2021 btw. In SM, we have Chaitanya, who most certainly isn't good. He did do decently in OLT, I guess, but I still expect him to do badly.

In BW, we have the Doctor, who has firmly established himself as one of the better BW players on the site. I don't expect him to pop off or anything, but he should go positive. In DPP, we have...windsong? LMAO bro what. I know I said to spend 3k on DPP but like surely there's a better option than a fucking crust RU main LOOL what the hell. I mean, it is the thinking gen, so I guess he has that going for him. In GSC, we have some clown named vani LMAO what the fuck where are people getting these losers from bro. He's gonna get smashed for sure. Finch also slashed FALSE in GSC, but come the fuck on LMFAOOO I'm not entertaining that absolutely ludicrous possibility. FALSE one of the shittiest players in the history of Smogon dude HAVE YOU WATCHED THIS GUY PLAY? Please fucking no. He's currently in the midst of a 9-game losing streak, having gone 0-3 in all of SPL, WCoP, and Snake. Good god he's actually -15 now LOOL And in RBY, we have some other random. Well, at the very least, at least they punted on the variance tiers I guess.

Overall, this team isn't...awful? They have some nice pieces and some decent players. They obviously have holes, but it's obviously better to be garbdicks at DPP and RBY than actually good tiers. GSC and SM are also disasters, though, honestly LOOL God idk. I don't particularly have high hopes.

The Stark Sharks

SS:	xray
SS:	1 True Lycan
SS:	reiku
SM:	Welli0u
ORAS: jonfilch
BW: SoulWind
DPP: Void
ADV: Endill
GSC: Fear
RBY: Genesis7
Subs: Ruft / luis / MaxUndMax/ byronthewellwell / watermess	/ Kiichikos
Managers: M Dragon / Trosko

The formerly GOAT franchise is back...man it hurts to say that LOOL I can't believe the Ruiners are the GOAT franchise now. What a fucking joke. The Sharks have honestly been a meme lately. They haven't made the playoffs since fucking SPL 7 LOL god. Maybe things will finally turn around this year?

The best players here are obviously SoulWind and Fear. SoulWind is still in his prime right now and there's a legitimate chance he might go 9-0 in BW. There's honestly no reason to ever predict against him at this point LOL He's clearly figured this tier out. Fear is someone who you all know I've hated on in the past LOOL He's a good player who's absurdly lucky. As per usual, I expect him to get 7 wins or something. It's honestly pretty unlikely that either of these players doesn't live up to their expectations, so this is a very solid foundation for the team to build upon.

in SS, we have the team's other retain, xray. The former ORAS prodigy has done well in SS lately, going positive in Snake and putting up very good records in both SPL and WCoP. With the new price scale, 15.5k for him is a solid price. I've always liked how he's played in ORAS especially, and it looks like he's figured out SS a bit as well. I expect him to finish positive, but maybe he can put up a stellar record again. The baron has also been a force in the past year, going 12-5 between SPL and WCoP. He seems like a solid player, and I think he'll definitely do well. Last up, in CLASSIC Sharks fashion, we have 2021 reiku LOL I mean, he did go undefeated in World Cup and also went positive in SPL. He was also definitely a very solid player in the past. I think he'll do decently. In SM, we have the Well, who I'm surprised was only 12000. This was definitely one of the better value picks in the tour. He seems to always put forth a good showing, and honestly, I'd predict him to get 6 wins. In ORAS, though, we have some random clown who I think was a BIGs helper like 2 years ago? LOL who the fuck knows man he'll probably get annihilated.

In DPP, we have Void, who was only 4k. I actually like this pick. He's shown great mastery over this tier in the past, and while he clearly isn't as good right now as he was then, I think he could definitely succeed again in the variance tier. I'm not even going to pretend like I know who Endill is LOL It doesn't even look like he played Classic, so I really have nothing to go off here. At least he has M Dragon support. I still expect him to get turbo washed. Rounding out the team is Genesis7, who I guess is a decent RBYer. He's fine for 3k I suppose. Finch also slashed Kiichikos here, but that dude got fucking curbstomped by every human on the planet in Doubles last season LMAO there's no fucking way he's viable.

This team could definitely make the playoffs. They have two players who I think are very likely to put up insane records and a bunch of other solid pieces. They good some good value picks as well. They do definitely have some weaknesses, though. Again, I love that they barely spent anything on DPP + RBY and still got some nice picks. If the unviable clowns don't int the season away, maybe the Sharks can finally return to glory.

The Team Raiders:

SS:	Flamingvictini
SS:	Eeveeto
SS:	Samqian
SM:	frisoeva
ORAS: Luigi
BW:	Jimmy Turtwig
DPP: BIHI
ADV: CyberOdin
GSC: FriendOfMrGolem
RBY: MetalGro$$
Subs: Altina / aliss / Ajna / HMNIP
Managers: Raiza / Tricking

Unfortunately, our good friend the loaf was not allowed to manage this year. Replacing him is the Italians, who have drafted a rather interesting teams. Can they bring the Raiders back to the SPL 8-10 glory days, or will they return the franchise back to its desolate roots?

The best player here is very obviously FlamingVictini. Although he hasn't played many team tours lately, the OST champion always does well when he does play. He went for a high price of 25.5k, but I think he has a pretty good shot of living up to that price tag. The team wild definitely need him to perform like his 37-16 sheet record indicates he can if they want to contend. The team also spent an absurd 27.5k on FOMG. This definitely feels like an overpay to me. That's such an absurd amount for someone who, at best, is probably the 3rd best GSC player in the pool. He is 12-4 in his past two tournaments so there is reason for optimism, but the price just feels a bit high. Nonetheless, I still expect him to do well in the tournament.

The other SS players on the team are Eeeveeto, Samqian, and frisoeva. Eeveeto is someone who has ascended quite a bit recently, amassing an 11-4 record in WCoP + Snake. He makes some absolutely crazy plays at times, though LOOL this guy's straight up insane. He's certainly not one of the players that gives a manager a sense of security or anything, but he has performed well despite his crackhead antics. He was only 10k, a price tag he can probably live up to. I think he'll do fine. I must have missed the point where Samqian turned into a hot commodity but LOL He was 13k somehow. He's been rather mediocre so far in his young tournament career. His season could go either way. Rounding out the core is frisoeva, who has really struggled as of late. He did poorly in both World Cup and Snake, and his outlook is certainly a lot bleaker than it was during last SPL. That's probably why he went for 4.5k. It wouldn't be surprising to see him struggle again. In ORAS, we have Luigi, who somehow is perpetually underpriced LOL How did he go for 4k dude? The disrespect oml. I think he will definitely be one of the better value picks in the tour and I wholly expect him to go positive.

In BW, we have Jimmy Turtwig, who went for 16.5k. I mean, I've never been the biggest fan of his. I guess he's fine. I probably wouldn't have paid this much, but I guess you can argue it with the new price scale. It seems like an overpay to me though for someone who hasn't played in a while. I guess he'll do fine. In DPP, we have BIHI, the dude who everyone on Smogon nutrode after his SPL 11 DPP performance. He was only 7k, which is a fine price. He should also do fine. DPP as a whole feels pretty balanced honestly. In ADV, we have Odin, who was somehow 3k again LOL like what? Did people not watch last year's SPL? I mean even if you thought he was fortunate, this is just an insane price. He should definitely be a good source of value. Rounding out the team is MetalGross, who I recently learned is the all-time RBY wins leader. I don't really know what to make of that LOL but it is a statistic. It's the meme tier, so who really knows, but I'm sure he'll go like 5-4 or something.

I'm not really sure what to think of this team. I guess they're not bad, but I wouldn't really say they're good. They don't really have holes besides frisoeva I suppose, so that's a good thing. I think FV will definitely carry as well. Not to mention, they have the power of Italy on their side lol. They have some nice value picks across the board, but I'm not sure, I just feel like they could have done a bit more.

The Wi-Fi Wolfpack

SS:	tace
SS:	talah
SS:	Bloody Alpha
SM:	Relous
ORAS: Quaze
BW: shawyu1313
DPP: mael
ADV: Star
GSC: ABR
RBY: SMB
Subs: Leru / TPP / GaryTheGengar / Dragon Claw
Managers: Tony / BKC

Tony is back for yet another season. This time he's joined by the GOAT, and ofc, they got ABR too LOL Who could have foreseen this?? Is it possible to win SPL with an expensive as fuck ABR? Let's find out.

Well, speaking of ABR, he's obviously the star of the show. Despite having recently been on a bit of a hiatus, especially by his standards, the king of consistency is back and looking for another trophy. He finds himself in GSC, where he's generally viewed as the 2nd best player after Fear. GSC is the perfect tier for someone like ABR since he rarely misplays and enjoys long and drawn-out games. He's also lucky as hell, which helps. It's always hard to predict ABR to lose even a single game. He will naturally be competing with Fear for the top GSC record in SPL XII. The other key piece here is Star, who was a retain. Star is seen as one of the best ADVers on the site, although the pool is looking a bit stacked with linear, Roro, Tama, marcop, and a host of other veterans. Star will definitely need to bring his A-game if he wants to succeed here. He certainly has both the talent and the team support to do so, though.

Starting off the SS core is tace. First off, I'm not sure how the fuck this dude was the 28th pick in Snake LOL people were on fucking crack what the hell?? 11.5 I guess is fine I suppose. He has done well in tours besides SPL XI, so he has that going for him. He should do fine. Next up, we have talah. Well LOL talah was, without question, one of the most unviable players on Smogon before last Snake, where he somehow went 5-2, and was even picked for a fucking tiebreak (which, obviously, he lost). It's going to take a lot more than this before I'm ready to think talah is a serviceable OU player; he was legitimately awful before. If anyone can get the best out of him, it's Greek addict Tony, I guess. I still expect him to go negative, though. Last up we have Bloody Alfa, another classic Tony pick. He's another player whose season could really go either way. He's had decent results I suppose, although I've never found him to be too impressive. Next up, we have Relous, another player who has had his fair share of ups and downs. He was on a hot streak before last SPL, where he flopped spectacularly. He rebounded with a solid WCoP campaign, but then faltered last Snake. Who really knows. He could also do poorly. Quaze is the last player in the newer gens, and he hasn't done anything notable on the big stage really. He's had middling results. I think he did well in Smogon Tour like a year ago? Anyway, I don't expect him to do anything really.

In BW, we have shawyu, the osgoode drone? He's another player who really hasn't done anything notable. He did poorly in Classic this year too. At least he has BKC to help him, I guess. In the thinking gen, we have mael LOL I can't believe mael and BKC are teaming up again after the Raiders fiasco, but here we are. mael has won a trophy before, so he clearly has some talent. You could throw any clown in DPP with BKC as a teammate and they'd probably be viable. mael should do fine. The last player in the lineup is SMB, who is one of the better RBY players on the site. I honestly think he was too expensive, especially for this team. I'd have rather spent more on another slot instead, since it seemed like the team was very strapped for money after buying ABR. Regardless, he should do fine.

Team support is the name of the game here. How much help can BKC and ABR really provide? Tony is also a mastermind, so if these three can elevate the skills of those on the team, this team could contend for a trophy. A lot of these slots have the potential to fail, though, so the team will need its carries to perform if they want to succeed.

Final Rankings:

This is honestly hard LOOL I don't think there's some god team. It seems like a relatively close tour.......hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ok I honestly had no idea how to rank these so I did what I did for the midseason PRs last year and just gave every player a score based on how confident I was they would perform well bop And obv RBY / DPP had lower scores and also more average ones, which is probably why some of these skewed this way. This led to some surprising results LOL

1. The Dragonspiral Tyrants

I honestly didn't think I would put the Tyrants first. But after adding up the scores, they got 1st by two points so there you go I guess.

2. The Stark Sharks
3. The Circus Maximus Tigers
4. The Team Raiders
5. The Alpha Ruiners
6. The Wi-Fi Wolfpack
7. The Ever Grande Bigs
8. The Cryonicles
9. The Indie Scooters
10. The Congregation of the Classiest

The difference between the 1st team and the last team was 12 points on my genius scale, so take that as you will. Also, it's very unfortunate that Quite Quiet tried to ruin this tournament by locking the thread before teal6 could sign up. Hate to see it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this edition of the UNBIASED POWER RANKINGS