Well, it's about time. After participating in all four of these and making three finals, my team finally won one. Funnily enough, it was the one year I got my ass seriously carried. Obviously, the whole 31.5k price tag hung over my head all tour, win or lose, and I understand that it was hard to shed that and lower expectations, but what truly mattered was my team, as a whole, meeting and exceeding expectations with our cumulative results. I am so proud of so many of our players for their personal development, preparation, and gameplay in general - it was a pleasure being on this team and I met lots of new people that I enjoy as well as strengthening some past friendships. I'll cut the crap here, before it comes an essay, and give some individual shoutouts that are all well deserved!
Kiyo - Serious props to you. Good draft, good managing, good play, and good decision making overall. You deserve 100% of the credit for your draft - my only interaction was
here and you had it all under control and you know pretty much everything. It takes a LOT of knowledge and ability to be able to form a winning team with a 31.5k player going 2-4 at the core of your plans. You also impressed me a lot with your gameplay in ORAS - looking forward to seeing you next SPL if you play, keep it up and best of luck!
Advantage - Probably one of the best people to be on a team with, in my opinion, and that says a lot because I've been on too many teams to fucking count at this point. You faced some shaky circumstances during one of the weeks and still came back strong, helped the team whenever you could, and played to the best of your ability. I think you still have some progress to make in terms of gameplay, but you're certainly quite good as is and you're only getting better with time (not to mention your ability to teambuild is solid...although I'm not a personal fan of the stalls, but they still seemed to work!). Keep going and I hope we can stick in touch in the future; I value you a lot as a friend and a user.
blaziken - you're not
Blaziken. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Blaziken. - Knew very little about you coming into the tournament, but the more and more I found out, the more and more I liked. You have a solid amount of knowledge and playing ability - you have a LOT of outplaying potential for someone who seems to be newer to the higher-level tournament play scene. I think you need some more tournament experience to truly reach your full potential, but I'm glad that you were a part of the team and I hope to work with you again at some point in the future.
Brick Small. - You're another very nice user and solid player. Again, I didn't know you very well going in, either, but I was impressed by a couple of your games and while one game didn't go your way when you had a shot, that's ok because you didn't give up on the team and came back as a strong teammate and you handled most of you matches very well. I hope to see you around NU in the future and can't wait to see how you continue to develop and progress as a player and user!
bugzinator - Not bad, not bad at all. The PO #Tournaments kid from 2013 continues to shine. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical of you during the tail end up SPL, up until the Teal match at least, and I wasn't sure how active or caring you'd be about this tour. Activity wasn't even amazing or too big of a factor as to why you did well, either, it was simply taking the teams and playing better than your opponent. Nothing can compensate for outplaying potential and execution, my friend, and you've executed amazingly. I guess I'm tooting my own horn a bit because I did most of the building and scoutwork (bar your game vs FLCL), but none of that was all too special - you had guys' heads spinning with your plays and in close games, you kept it together and pulled them out. I'm impressed with how well you've developed over the years and glad we are still friends. Keep it up and hopefully we can team together again if you play more and are still active. Cheers, lad.
CanadianWifier -
Sorry, don't know you Chill dude, but dunno much and wasn't amazingly active in the playing/testing department, unfortunately. Best of luck in the future!
Christo. - For a funky UU player, you got your NU game on point, my friend. I've always sort of liked you as a player and a user and I'm glad I got the opportunity to be on your team. You handled playing and being on the team very responsibly and properly and contributed with plenty of big W's. Keep up the good work and hopefully we can work together at some point in the future.
innovamania - To be honest, going in I thought you were a jack of all trades, master of none. And well, you proved to be quite the competent ADV NU player. And quite the player in general, better than I initially imagined, for sure. You were active and always willing to talk and test about DPP and ADV and I'm very glad you were a part of the team as your presence was quite valuable. Keep up the good work!
Oglemi - Sorry for hogging up the DPP slot for most of the tour :x, but you're a chill dude and although this wasn't exactly the biggest tour for you to shine, glad you were a part of the team, the winning team!
QueenOfLuvdiscs - A bit like TCW, but you helped me test like once or twice iirc. I still don't know you all too well, but thanks for taking part and you seem to be a nice dude!
Sweep - Solid BW play throughout and it was a pleasure playing, building, and associating with you. Nice, down to Earth guy who knows how to play at a high level, especially in BW NU, and uses some cool stuff, too. Good showing and hopefully we can work together again at some point or another!
The Goomy - Where do I start with this one, haha. You're an incredibly creative thinker and builder and that is a characteristic that is incredibly valuable. Never change - your building and take on the game amuses and interests me on many occasions. Overall, you're a solid, competent player and I'm glad you got the start and the W in the finals, even if it wasn't the cleanest match on either side. You helped with testing and you were a consistently active presence in the chat who I wouldn't want to replace no matter what the circumstances were. I hope we can keep talking and work together at some point in the future - hopefully you can play in more tours in the future, too!
@Finch_temp_account_fuck_my_life - you SUCK
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rozes - you're my fucking friend, phew. thanks for the tests and everything.
Evan. - Good run dude, best of luck next year and in the future. You keep improving from tournament to tournament and it's great to see!
Zebraiken - GIVE WCOP
Omfuga - THIS MAN IS MY FUCKING FRIEND FROM DAY ONE AINT NOBODY BEATING THIS MAN OUT GOOD GOD SOMEONE STOP HIM
Heysup - i'm going to have to beat you in DPP NU one day ;]