It's been a long time coming, but the Grand Slam playoffs have finally arrived! Before we take a look at my glorious power rankings, let's recap the tournament so far:
The tournament started off with the UU Open, which had a staggering 256 entrants. After an intense tourney, RU veteran New Breed managed to defeat German player Lowgock for the crown and claim 13 points. The LC Open was the next one to finish, with YouTube sensation chimpact toppling Calloflochie in the finals. Both winners so far were part of the prestigious IDM clan, but unfortunately for the clan, IDM member Mizuhime fell to VGC player TFC in the Doubles Open finals. Clan leader gr8astard managed to avenge his fallen comrade, however, defeating RU council member Spirit to claim the RU Open and clinch a spot in the playoffs. Lastly, the NU Open concluded with a surprising winner, as a relatively unknown tournament player, Vileman, managed to take home the crown over Tricking. The Ubers Open, meanwhile, is currently in the semifinals. Another thing to note is that a tiebreak to decide the last seed in the playoffs is currently happening between Ubers player Level 56, UU / RU player Meru, and resident Brazilian OU player KratosMana. This best of 5 Round Robin will determine what lucky individual will get the honor of competing in the prestigious Grand Slam playoffs! These users were granted this opportunity due to UU Open champion New Breed quitting Pokemon, and Ubers player malefic misplaying in his NU Open semifinals match against eventual winner Vileman, leaving the aforementioned three users tied for the final playoff spot.
Now, it's finally time to begin King Tsunami's illustrious power rankings. Keep in mind, these rankings will be based on my opinion of the participant's strengths in each of the tiers and that person's overall playing ability, with weight added for their seeding as well, as being a higher seed can mean that one can eliminate one's own weakness or his opponent's strength from a match. The candidates for the 8th playoff spot will be judged separately after these initial rankings. For reference, the seeding is as follows: 1. Calloflochie | 2. aim | 3. gr8astard | 4. chimpact | 5. Afro Smash | 6. Psychotic | 7. Lowgock | 8. Playoff winner |
Afro Smash
aim
Calloflochie
Psychotic
gr8astard
chimpact
Lowgock
Afro Smash (#5 seed) - Afro Smash is the favorite to win this tournament in my eyes. Despite being only the 5th seed, Alan is very proficient at RU, UU, and NU, making him a major threat in any of these three metagames. Having this high of a skill level in this many metagames is what will give him the crown; he is probably the best RU team builder and player in the tier at this point, even. Even if his opponents are able to eliminate one of these tiers, he managed to accumulate 5 points in the LC Open, which should serve him well. Other players in the playoffs are also relatively good at the above tiers, but Afro Smash is the best overall at those 3, which makes him a solid choice for the prestigious position of #1 overall. None of the players seeded above him entered the Doubles Open, either, making it more likely for them to eliminate the tier regardless.
aim (#2 seed) - Joey is probably the most diverse tournament player on Smogon, and he is solid at almost every tier. He has shown himself to be very proficient in Ubers, as seen by his solid SPL performance in the tier for the Wifi Wolfpack, and this is an asset he can utilize extremely well due to his high seeding. This tournament has shown that he can learn a variety of tiers to a high degree, which should also serve him well in the playoffs. aim also has a great amount of tournament experience, going undefeated in Smogon World Cup and helping defend the Smogon Frontier. He is very good at counterstyling his opposition, and can even strike fear in the hearts of his opponents due to his mass following on YouTube; one choke, and potentially over 60,000 people will think that that person is a scrub. With a great deal of things going for him, Joey should continue to do great things in Grand Slam.
Calloflochie (#1 seed) - A lower-tier Australian player who is doing great things in Grand Slam, New Breed should continue to make some noise in the playoffs... Oh, oops. Wrong Australian. Regardless, Calloflochie has earned the 1st seed in the tournament, and this should help him continue to dominate the competitive scene. The co-leader of UU, Calloflochie's experience in the tier should serve him well going forward; he has also shown himself to be very solid at both LC and Ubers, two tiers which many players lack experience in. With the #1 seed, he has the ability to neutralize his opponent's best tier if he wishes to, throughout the tournament. However, his lack of major tournament experience is the reason why he is ranked below aim, although his proficiency in the lower tiers should be enough to propel him forward.
Psychotic (#6 seed) - Making noise in the SPL scene with an undefeated record before quitting mid-season to go on a backpacking trip, Psychotic is back in an attempt to claim his first shiny trophy. He has performed admirably in both LC and RU, and is also a respected member of the UU community, giving him an edge over those beneath him on the rankings. However, his low seeding could cause him issues, because if the opposition eliminates one of these tiers, Psychotic could be in danger. His lower tier background should help him out, however, and if he becomes more proficient in Doubles, Ubers, and NU, he could easily come out on top.
gr8astard (#3 seed) - Official Smogon Tournament and IDM legend Hugo returns in an attempt to claim the Grand Slam trophy. In terms of overall playing ability, Hugo is arguably the best on Smogon, and his ability to counterstyle and counterteam the opposition is truly remarkable as well. However, unlike the other competitors in the playoffs, he does not actually play any of these tiers regularly, which could hurt him forward, and is the reason why he is ranked at #5. Despite this flaw, he still managed to win the RU Open, despite never even having played the tier before. This playing skill is what makes Hugo so deadly, and if he can acquire some solid teams, he could definitely make a run in this tournament, especially with his solid seeding.
chimpact (#4 seed) - Like Hugo, chimpact does not really play any of the tiers in this tournament regularly. Despite this, he managed to win the LC Open over Calloflochie, proving that he can indeed be a force to be reckoned with. However, he lacks any major tournament experience, which could hurt him going forward against more experienced opponents. He has definitely proven to be a capable of great things, however, as he also managed to net 7 points in the RU Open; his YouTube subscribers may even be able to give him some teams, which could help him out. His seeding is only in the middle of the pack, though, which could definitely hurt him in the future.
Lowgock (#7 seed) - A German rounds out the Power Rankings. Lowgock does not truly play any of the tiers in this tournament with frequency, and also had very poor showings in both the RU and NU Opens. However, he managed to come in second in the UU Open, as well as earn 5 points in both the LC and Doubles Opens. Unfortunately for him, however, his low seeding means Doubles will likely get eliminated, as no other playoff candidate chose to participate in the Doubles Open, and his lack of proficiency in the other tiers could hurt him in the playoffs.
Meru
KratosMana
Level 56
Meru (#2 seed in tiebreak) - Meru is ranked as the best of the players in the tiebreak because he is a lower tier player who has proven to be proficient at both UU and RU, which should serve him well in the tournament. He also managed to do well in the Ubers Open, which should also benefit him in the tiebreak.
KratosMana (#3 seed in tiebreak) - Anti has the most tournament experience out of the players in the tiebreak, doing well in the Smogon World Cup and helping Team Brazil win the tournament. He also did very well in the LC and NU Opens; despite being the lowest seed in the tournament, his tournament experience should greatly help him out in the tiebreak and beyond if he manages to emerge victorious.
Level 56 (#1 seed in tiebreak) - Level 56 is an Ubers player who also managed to do well in the NU Open, and is the #1 seed in the tiebreak. Unfortunately for him, he lacks major tournament experience, and this could hurt him due to his lack of proficiency in the other tiers. His #1 seed could be used effectively, however, giving him a chance to emerge from the pack.
So, there you have it. Will Afro Smash achieve like I predicted? Or will any of these other high-caliber players come through and claim the trophy? Let the clash of the titans begin!