Windsong's SPL Week 2 Highlight Match Predictions - Ruiners vs. Raiders

SPL's only onto week two, but we've already seen quite an array of shocking upsets in games, drama's already been sprung on half a dozen issues, and SPL's already at its third host for this season alone. With week two comes a whole new set of excellent matches for SPL participants and non-participants alike to watch, and for the players of the teams in question to enjoy, complain, and get salty over. Here with you today is Windsong, bringing you my top predictions and reasoning for this week's SPL matchup of the Alpha Ruiners vs. The Team Raiders.

The Alpha Ruiners vs. The Team Raiders

BW OU 1: McMeghan vs. Kidogo

McMeghan is the golden boy of Pokémon's fifth generation, and quite apart from being either Earthworm's son, lover, or alt, is undeniably one of the strongest BW2 OU players out there. McMeghan is still going strong after excellent performances in Smogon's Special Olympics, also known as the Grand Slam, and winning Smogon Tour 14. Kidogo on the other hand is a solid up-and-coming battler who's certainly got what it takes to put up a fight. However, provided he escapes the brutal combination of team matchup and luck that could would cause him to react exactly as Earthworm would, McMeghan is likely to take this match without too much trouble.

BW OU 2: Princess Bri vs. [K-12] The Madchine

A match between two titans of BW, on one side of the arena lies Princess Bri, the man (?) best known for his idolatry of user Whitequeen and his desire to eventually match Whitequeen's BW UU prowess with his own OU prowess; [K-12] The Madchine stands in the other corner of this matchup. Not much is known of the mysterious Spanish man, other than the fact that he simply always has the most important word to say. This is clearly marked by the fact that he types only in a bold and beautiful shade of burgundy red, drawing attention to any post of his. In this fairly even matchup, my pick would have to go to the red terminator.

BW OU 3: CTC vs. GaryTheGengar

CTC and GTG are both relatively lesser known battlers, although clearly neither of them is a slouch. CTC is likely a bit off with his game following the rough previous week against Los Tigers in which he was defeated by bro_fist, who clinched the win against the Ruiners. GTG, on the other hand, is fresh off a victory against Krack, one of the strongest players out there. Admittedly, when asked about his loss, Krack responded by linking this post. Whether he was attempting to say that GTG lucked him or that GTG will be the next Eo Ut Mortus is still uncertain. Regardless, I recommend placing your bets on GTG to pull off another upset and defeat his fellow three letter acronym user.

BW Ubers: pi face vs. Faint

pi face has been stomping people flat on the ground since his earliest days in SPL 2 and is showing no sign whatsoever of stopping. His Dialga is ready to burn opposing Lugias with Fire Blast, and his Groudon ready to crit its way through all the Giratinas that it faces. Quite frankly, when you're pi face, everyone else is just so damn zetta slow, whereas you're moving in the fast lane. Faint could end up pulling an upset off a half dozen minimum damage rolls and a final choke as he managed last week, but all bets are on pi face for this one.

BW UU: FlareBlitz vs. kokoloko

FlareBlitz is widely regarded as one of the strongest UU players out there, but kokoloko has a lot resting on this match. He's determined to improve from his solid 2 - 7 record from last year, including a brutal loss in RU to Mr.E, and nothing's going to get in his way. Sure, RT. managed to psyche him out last week, but RT. also gives kokoloko every single team that he uses, so kokoloko was at an immediate disadvantage. The one team that kokoloko had for use against RT. last week utilized Spikes + Sleep Powder Roserade, a combination that kokoloko had been using on the UU ladder for well over a month before realizing that it was, in fact, an impossible moveset combination. Without the might of illegal Roserade movesets, it seems unlikely that kokoloko has a chance at victory, but I believe in his ability to pull off an upset.

BW RU: Pocket vs. Nails

Last week showed us clearly that RU is undoubtably one of the most competitive tiers in SPL this year, and this match pits OU moderator Pocket against Nails, formerly NailsOU, now turned to RU and what he'd hoped to be a quiet retirement from Pokémon. Pocket, while best known for his firm stance on Tornadus-T which he frequently expresses in the OU suspect threads, is also quite a solid RU player, and will be looking to show it after a win against Double01 of the Tigers last week. However, Nails is a very solid player in his own right and will likely be wanting to prove it by beating Pocket into the ground. Of course, this is all assuming that Pocket stops johning Nails and that Nails chooses to not take the activity win.

BW NU: Annoyer vs. Gl4ss

Looking at this matchup initially, I really had no idea of whom to pick. Although I've dabbled in NU enough to give my own teammates in SPL mediocre teambuilding advice in the tier, I really don't know the playerbase all that well. I decided to do a bit of detective work and stopped by #neverused to ask the players there their opinions on the match. I got some very well thought out arguments and predictions for each player, which can be seen below.

[5:10pm] windsong: hey can any nu player
[5:10pm] windsong: do me a big favor
[5:10pm] windsong: and write up a little blurb on Annoyer vs Gl4ss
[5:11pm] windsong: for a competitor article
[5:11pm] tennisace: annoyer sux
[5:11pm] windsong: just who you expect to win + a little humorous rambling on them
[5:11pm] FLCL: annoyer sucks
[5:11pm] windsong: oh that works too

VGC 2013: Dimsun vs. Human

According to Synre, the most fabulous of all (former) Smogon administrators, Dimsun simply takes Smogon tournaments more seriously than fellow VGCer Human. In addition, Dimsun has faced accidental ridicule at the hands of Smog Frogs captain LonelyNess and SPL host Symphonyx64, who are both thoroughly convinced that Dimsun is nothing more than an excellent Asian appetizer, as evidenced by the initial spelling of his name on the player spreadsheet managed by LonelyNess and on the week two matchups thread by Symphonyx64. In his efforts to let those people understand that he is not Dimsum, but a Dim Sun, he will stop at nothing to draw the attention of the masses with a victory in this match.

DPP OU: Delta 2777 vs. TheFourthChaser

The DPP OU matchup of this team pairing pits the great Delta "The Machamp" "I don't play anymore" "dodrio lover" "bluewind lucker" 2777 against the Dragon of the West, TFC. Both are obviously strong contenders, but I think that Delta has a slight edge, as for the first time since SPL2, he's realizing that the team he's on has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs, and Delta's desire to play is at his highest since defeating Bluewind in Smogon Tour X Finals. On the other hand, TheFourthChaser is no slouch, and will definitely put up a fight, although last week's defeat at the hands of the butt naked wonder Blightbringer's Focus Sash Dragon Dance Dragonite is still fresh in his mind. Perhaps he will enlist in the help of US West teammate mostwanted to build an ideal counterteam to Delta; however, The Machampion definitely has a slight advantage in this matchup.

ADV OU: CrashingBoomBang vs. MDragon

BW NU sensation CBB surprised the masses at the beginning of this season with an announcement proclaiming that he would be unwilling to play NU, and would rather be benched than forced to do so. Initially, this seemed to be nothing short of a ploy to make sure he did not end up on the Wifi Wolfpack, who were originally scouting him as a player choice, and at that point did not look very solid due to Limitless spending a good portion of the team's money trading for retaining rights of players from other teams. However, despite his refusal to play BW NU, CBB still managed to go for an astonishing 18k at auction, and will be looking to prove it after a week one defeat against Giga Punch. I truthfully believe that MDragon has the upper hand here, but of course, this could go either way depending on MDragon's success with Megahorn, the move which reputedly hates him more than Outrage hates Justinawe.

GSC OU: Crystal_ vs. FAFUS

Tauros master Crystal_ faces off against the mysterious FAFUS in a match that could really go either way. Both players are smarting from losses last week, with Crystal_'s realization that he could not win in wars between Tauros in GSC leading to his defeat, while FAFUS was defeated by a green man from Namek in a match that flip-flopped back and forth. Despite it being widely agreed that The_Chaser accidentally confused GSC OU and RBY OU when sending in his roster and put Crystal_ in the wrong tier, I expect a fairly strong showing from Crystal_ this round, should he finally realize how Hyper Beam works in GSC.

RBY OU: spies vs. Jackal

In a match that could be determined by a coinflip, anything can happen. Of course, given his large amounts of maple syrup consumption and the fact that World Cup Team Canada teammate Atticus may attempt to ghost for Jackal, it could end very badly. Especially given Atticus's recent RBY OU play. Jackal's loyalty may also come into question at this point, given that he has proudly been displaying the mascot of the Wifi Wolfpack in both his avatar and signature, while going around the many SPL threads proudly posting "RIBBIT". In fear of Jackal staging a coup, it is possible that Raiders management may even attempt to sabotage his own game, in an attempt to stop him from gaining influence amongst the team members. Given all these factors, spies seems like the better choice in this matchup, especially as he's proven from last round that he inherited Crystal_'s Tauros handling skill.