Predictions.
SS OU: Gtcha vs.
bro fist - Alright, I know. Gtcha can't seem to lose any games and might even end up with more wins in this tournament than bro fist lasts turns before timing out. I get it. However, this is just the one game it all comes down to. This is by far the biggest game Gtcha is going to play up until this point, whereas this is business as usual for bro fist. In fact, this is going to be his tenth (!) tiebreaker game, and he's 8-1 in them so far. Knowing bro fist he'll be looking to wash out that lax shaped stain with bleach at that. If anyone knows how to prepare for and manage the biggest of the biggest team tournament games, it's John.
That said, he's not peak bro fist anymore and he's up against someone more familiar and almost certainly sharper in the current metagame, too. Frankly, while Mannat and the TDs were looking for the o, Gtcha has kept to himself and straight up farmed. I wouldn't have hesitated to bold him if this were a week 7 matchup instead, for example. It isn't, though. It is the one game that might decide all of these months worth of blood, sweat and tears. Nobody in the history of this website has been more dependable in those very games than bro fist, and it isn't close either. I have to believe that matters.
SS OU:
100percentpureheat vs. suapah - I am looking forward to this game so much. Both of them have been very impressive and it's actually the second season in a row Craig finds himself in the finals tiebreaker playing SS OU for his team. His resume is nothing to scoff at, even if he's a prime example of xtra's "mons is mons" mantra not applying to everyone. He's a specialist and that's okay, too. Hell, it's what the Raiders need right now. As a unit they haven't dropped an SS game yet in these playoffs and BIHI has proven to be able to flex into opposing old generation picks. Plus, Craig now has another year of experience under his belt, including huge playoff and tiebreaker games. Add that to the countless other tournament and ladder games he's won in this metagame, and I can't go against him here. This is assuming he can withstand the heat better than his Heatran could, obviously.
Honestly, my only real issue with regards to suapah is that he hasn't played too much in recent history, especially compared to Craig. The games he has played genuinely looked great, in fairness. Even his finals loss against Gtcha was superbly piloted for the most part. Perhaps it was more of a team choice/matchup issue, because the poisoned Lando into Koko interaction was really the only thing that went against him, but it was also the only thing the Raiders really needed to win that game. Punished for the lack of a Doris nickname, maybe? suapah has a ton of team tournament experience going into this game as well, both as a player and as a manager. Whether or not he and the Sharks can bridge the gap in metagame familiarity and experience this week remains to be seen. I for one can't wait to find out.
RBY OU: BIHI vs.
Heroic Troller - Well then. The year is 2022 and every tiebreaker that's happened in this SPL has featured RBY. It appears the community has started to gradually change their negative view of the tier more and more, as even inexperienced SPL players like chuva can turn into tiebreak caliber options nowadays. For the Sharks it's a bit more straightforward, though. Regardless of what your opinions on the metagame itself may be, the Sharks have Troller. They've sure kept him busy, too. Slammed, if you will. The numbers speak for themselves, let alone the confidence and the swagger with which he's achieved them. The double Porygon series against Mako comes to mind and he certainly put a unique spin on things by bringing Moltres to a playoff series this year. When someone is this consistently this dominant within their respective playerbase, then picking them to tiebreak is pretty much a no-brainer, even in RBY. Or perhaps especially in RBY, given that the opponents not only have to beat your best player, they have to beat them twice.
As for the Raiders, their solution to the Barrage of RBY tiebreaker picks has been practical; they've decided to reheat RBY BIHEAT. For those of you that don't know, BIHI isn't a complete stranger to this metagame at all. He's made RBY Cup semis before in Classic and looked dominant in his games as the RBY starter for team 2011 during the join date iteration of CPL as well. That 2011 team was undeniably underrated and met with controversy from the start due to not merging with one or two other years, but that certainly didn't stop BIHI. Fast forward to this year's SPL and we see BIHI stepping up as big as one possibly could, firmly cementing his place like a Conkeldurr as a retained stronghold. The Ruiners might have regretted picking RBY into ultra beast BIHILEGO, but he isn't facing a rookie this time. He's facing the best RBY player of all time. Other than it being the basis for Troller's nicknames, there is no mystery here. BIHI won't just roll over, though I'd be shocked if he won this series.