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Ep. 15 2024 World Championship Preview! Top Player Storylines
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Hello, everyone! This is Episode 15 of "The Show 6 Podcast", where we bring you the highest quality coverage of the Play! Pokémon Championship Series for Pokémon GO! We explore the plays, the players, and everything else happening in the competitive scene.
This week, we talk about the players behind the plays...our top storylines for the 2024 World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii!! We categorize our top picks in a few ways, from Wild Cards, to Dark Horse Candidates, Machampions, and more! We hope you enjoy this episode. Let us know who your favorite is to win the Pokémon GO World Champion title this year!
If you're ready, Lock In, press play, and good luck, have fun!
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Transcript
2024 World Championships Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
The 2024 World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii are just a week away. We've had an incredible season, starting with Wadaj and his Shadow Dragonite dominating in Pittsburgh to polish us Magna Zone, cooking its way through all of Europe. Lyle Jeffs III, Colin and Jukobrovich all won two events in a single season. Meanwhile, Doon Bug won up them by winning three.
00:00:24
Speaker
Young stars like Emmie Weedle and Out-of-Pocket were shining brightly at our icy competitions. And determined trainers like LNDS Harjef, RCS Aurelius, and Ryustication showed us that, behind the Pokémon, there are passionate trainers who wear their emotions on their sleeve. And being present in those big moments is what competitive Pokémon is all about.
00:00:46
Speaker
This
Significance of Pokémon World Championships
00:00:47
Speaker
episode is our world's preview, where we take a look at the player behind the plays. From Dark Horse candidates, Tomb of Champions, and everything in between, we've got some interesting insights we can't wait to share. So if you're ready, lock in, good luck, and have fun.
00:01:27
Speaker
It's finally here. The 2024
Player Journeys: Potomain and RCS Aurelius
00:01:30
Speaker
Pokemon World Championships are in Hawaii in just a week. It's wireless. I'm so excited to finally get to Hawaii. its It feels like it's been ages since NAIC. How hyped are you?
00:01:42
Speaker
I am so hyped and Speedy, I will tell you one thing. If Look How Far We Come was an intro, you just put that out there for everybody to listen to. I feel like you you highlighted so many storylines already and I can't wait to get into like all those characters, all those names and faces that made this season memorable.
00:02:02
Speaker
It's really, it's really been, and it's really been insane to watch. Sorry. It's really been insane to watch how we've had so many players just go on stage and execute and play out of their minds and just separate themselves head and shoulders above everyone else. And then we've had a lot of players that just have had such an emotional story, right? Watching Potomain
Categorizing World Championship Players
00:02:20
Speaker
win a regional championship and be embraced by his family. Seeing RCS Aurelius just sit down and just start crying on stage, having hard Jeff win and say, you know, everyone watching, you can do this. You can do what I'm doing right now. All those emotional stories and all those awesome plays are just boiling down to one final competition. And I just can't wait for Worlds because I feel like at Worlds, we always get the best of both, right? We get the best players and the best plays and the storylines really kind of complete their arcs. This is going to be an interesting episode because for NAIC, we kind of listed off
00:02:53
Speaker
players kind of chronologically who we thought would place well. I thought that was really fun, but we're going to take a bit of a different approach this time. We're actually going to slot players into categories. so I'm really excited to get underway. The first category we're going to talk about are players that are returning to the world championship series. Then we'll talk about trainers that are heating up, having a really good end of season, which we think can propel them into a successful world's campaign. Then we'll talk about trainers on the rebound.
Spotlight: Crescent Angels from Japan
00:03:20
Speaker
Maybe they had a ah really good start of the season, but they kind of went quiet towards the middle or the latter half. And now they are on their way back up. We'll talk about our dark horse candidates to win it all. Our wildcard picks, which
00:03:32
Speaker
Maybe these trainers have more questions than answers, right? And we're going to find out exactly what they can do on the biggest stage. And finally, we'll conclude with our champions. So without further ado, these wireless, who are you highlighting in the return to the WCS?
00:03:49
Speaker
I really want to shine a light on somebody that in my notes I labeled Mr. Japan because it is Crescent Angels. Crescent Angels was one of the breakout trainers of the
Axon's Quest for Repeat Success
00:04:04
Speaker
2022 World Championship in London where he basically amazed everybody with his precise counting and like incredible catches at a time when I do believe um the skill gap was a little wider than it is today from like the greats to the good players. I feel like everybody has learned a lot um in those past two years and it's just all the more impressive.
00:04:31
Speaker
A, that Crescent Angels was on that level that we consider elite today, even two years ago. And also that he still can keep up with the competition that has gotten a lot better and managed
Zardy's Redemption Story
00:04:44
Speaker
to punch his way through the pw PJCS and um did it did so with a poly-rath too, was one of 16 Japanese qualifiers. And yeah, I feel like some trainers just have some type of aura to them and Crescent Angels definitely falls into that category for me. I'm so glad you mentioned Crescent Angels. Again,
Lurgan Rocket's 2024 Season Highlights
00:05:06
Speaker
like you said, one of the players that's been able to impress us from the very get go and still is succeeding this season. Yeah, I can't echo your sentiments enough. I'm really excited because Crescent Angels is ah is a GBL hero, a show six, pick three hero, and one of the most entertaining trainers to watch. And I feel like the reason is, is because he's so comfortable on stage.
00:05:26
Speaker
It almost felt like he was playing ah at a local tournament or he was just doing GBL at his house, the way he would just switch in, make these crazy catches, sometimes a little unnecessary to make the catch, right? Didn't need it to win, but still found a way to just kind of flex those muscles and be present in the moment. So I fully expect for him to take the stage and have some really, really awesome fireworks ah pop off when he does.
00:05:49
Speaker
Um, speaking of comfortability on the stage, I think the first player I want to highlight is our reigning world champ. It's action.
Rising Momentum: S. James P21 and Palasha
00:05:57
Speaker
And the reason I think this is important to point out is because when dancing, Rob won worlds in 2022, you could tell that.
00:06:05
Speaker
He won worlds and that was a huge accomplishment. I battled him in ADL before he was a show six, you know, go to the silver arena play quite a bit. But I think for a lot of people, it was a surprise that he was able to win and maybe even to himself. He was like, Oh, I actually did that.
00:06:20
Speaker
But ah he he put his best competitive foot forward and really kind of blazed a path for himself. And I believe he tweeted afterwards, maybe a couple of weeks after Worlds, he said, I've accomplished everything I want to accomplish in the game. So now I'm going to try and pursue other things.
00:06:36
Speaker
And I think that was a really important um point to make because he, he moved then from competing towards staff. And when he was invited back to the WCS in Yokohama, I think, I think he, you know, he went two and two or something like that. Not a, not a very stellar performance, but but talking with him before the competition, you could tell that wasn't his goal.
00:06:54
Speaker
And I feel like Axon is different. I think Axon wants the the repeat, you know, he wants to be the two-time world champion. He's heavily invested in the game, has been making a lot of content, ah competitive content, right? And I feel like he actually wants this championship back to back and he's really going to put his put his nose to the grindstone and fight for it.
00:07:16
Speaker
he maybe he was a little surprised right i remember his reaction on stage when he won was oh my god you can you can just read his lips oh my god but i feel like he actually is really going to push hard to win again Yeah, i really I really like that you're highlighted accent here because um I do believe this is like a more favorable inclusion than what I had going because ah he actually featured in like my shortlist for the like on the rebound category, trainers who maybe want to bounce back after less than stellar performances. And yeah, like obviously,
00:07:58
Speaker
Axon won Worlds, right? Like there's nothing bigger to achieve than winning Worlds. But his 2024 season,
Harjef's Resilient Comeback
00:08:05
Speaker
like I'm not saying it's poor, but it's poor for a trainer of Axon's caliber is what I would say because he placed 7th, 13th, 25th at EUIC and most recently 129th at NEIC.
00:08:21
Speaker
um yeah let Let me just say that I do not believe that um in terms of raw ability, Axan was trainer number 129 at NAIC. There were a lot of top trainers at NAIC, but still, I do believe that whenever Axan enters a competition, he is basically immediately like at least a candidate for top eight, right?
00:08:46
Speaker
um so Like, I don't happen to watch a lot of YouTube these days. um well like i still I still love that there's YouTube creators out there, but in many respects, I do believe that some of the content might be more helpful for newer players.
Nighttime Clasher's Potential at Worlds
00:09:05
Speaker
And I've been around for long. I'm old. um But I did stumble upon an accent video recently where he um played show six battles against other world's competitors. And he put on a clinic. So even though it his um competitive results in this season might make it seem as if he
00:09:29
Speaker
might not be as sharp as he used to be. um I do believe a lot of that also has to do with him maybe taking things easier or um also like trying out Pokemon that he wouldn't try out if he didn't have that world's invite in the back and if he had just wasn't at peace with his standing within the competitive community. like I think you brought a Medicham to NAIC. That's simply not something that you do when you really want to go all out to win the thing. um
Maximilian P's Determination
00:10:02
Speaker
So I do believe that you could be onto something with Axton wanting to prove himself. And I'm definitely looking forward to it because it would be, it would like to to so to to talk in Lord of the Rings terms, it would be the return of the king, right? Because he still wears that crown.
00:10:21
Speaker
Um, but we haven't really seen him like on a championship Sunday in a, in a winner's final. Um, and I want to see him again there because I know what he can do. And I think it's incredibly entertaining to watch players who perform at that level. And I'm curious to see what he cooks up. Um, another trainer I'm really curious about, because I do expect a little bit of a redemption arc is actually.
00:10:47
Speaker
um someone that I used to label like Mr. Brazil in a way. um But I do believe that title has been taken from him by um
Dark Horse Candidates: Shiny Dialga and LNDS Steiner
00:10:57
Speaker
the the two LNDS twins with their matching teams at NAIC. I think Rajiv and Steiner are probably the two Brazilian players you would think about currently when you are and you're considering the options for a high world's placement. But do not count out Zardy. It's just First of all, we we tried our best to convince him of bringing back the Shadow Dragon there last episode. I will not do that again. um Money back guarantee still stands though. Nice. um And yeah, like I do feel like this was a season for him of consistently top cutting, but not really having that moment, like those moments. Like he used to be like kind of Brazilian rise to occasion with how he just won regionals. um But yeah, like he's been like kind of
00:11:46
Speaker
just in in the shadow of those two big, big names with their big, big wins this season. But I do not believe he is like strictly a worse player. I do believe on on his days, Zardy can still beat anyone. And yeah, I just i just love the the energy and the sportsmanship that he brings to every competition he enters. And yeah, i would I'm just excited to see what he can do.
00:12:13
Speaker
I like to call Zardy, and I've told him this multiple times, I like to call him the ah Brazilian James Bond. He's 00Zardy
Colin's Wildcard Status
00:12:22
Speaker
in my mind, right? He's ah meeting him in person a couple of times. he's He's so kind. He's so ah generous.
00:12:28
Speaker
He's just a very nice individual, but then he competes like hell. I mean, he competes with with fury, right? Very, very good player. I almost feel like we talked about players that ah like, for example, you mentioned Crested Angels, a player that was really good back two years ago and is still maintaining and still holding their own against the new wave of competition. I feel like that question kind of applies to t Zardy, right? Because Zardy was the Brazilian trainer to watch out for.
00:12:54
Speaker
ah two years ago, but now I feel like the bar has just been raised. So I'm really excited to see what Zardy can do at Worlds. And um I'm actually really glad you mentioned him. And not only is he a good trainer, he genuinely seems like a really good person. So it's going to be awesome to have people like Zardy at Worlds. Speaking of awesome people, but's so let's turn over to a ah one of the ah perennial competitors who is a bit of a party animal. Let's talk about Lurgan Rocket. Let's go. Let's go. I have him on my list too. um I love that you're bringing bringing him up.
00:13:24
Speaker
Oh nice, nice. Let's talk about Lurgan Rocket. Lurgan has had a pretty strong 2024 season. He finished 4th at Liverpool, 10th at Utrecht, 5th at EUIC, and 3rd at Stockholm. I mean that is nothing to snuff at. It's a very, very strong resume.
00:13:39
Speaker
But the downside is that in Yokohama last year, he finished 49th after getting knocked out by Aero and Ton Ton Batus. So not the best world's performance. not I'm sure it wasn't up to his own personal standards that he sets for himself.
00:13:55
Speaker
But I feel like back at World Championships in London in
Canadian Strategies: SS Thorn and Magmar Man
00:13:58
Speaker
2022, he finished fourth overall. So I feel like Lurgan is a trainer that's going to be making his third trip to the World Championships. And he's already proven that he can play with the best of them. And I feel like for Lurgan to return, this is at a moment for him to kind of rewrite what happened last year in Yokohama and have a much, much stronger finish in Hawaii versus ah what he was able to achieve last year. Do you like share the same sentiment?
00:14:25
Speaker
I definitely do, and I want to add one more thing. I did have my my dad visiting today. like We had a wholesome um father-son day in my house. not hometown but my residential town of Hamburg and um he was asking about this whole world stuff coming up and whether it's all just luck based or how much skill and what what one all goes into like world's preparation and
00:14:57
Speaker
I explained to him how even the Pokémon that you use, that you catch, um and that you select for their specific IVs can make such a big difference. And I do believe that I used the Dragonair versus Lickitung example for that, because A, both are Gen 1 Pokémon, and my dad was instrumental in getting me all the Gen 1 Pokémon cards when I was the little one.
00:15:24
Speaker
um And also that's just like a matchup where it's one turn fast attacks and there's a break and a bulk point. So the difference that specific IVs can make is actually huge. And I do believe that Lurgan Rocket is up there with the trainers that um put the most emphasis on really selecting optimal IVs and not just PvP IVs 0, 15, 15, but optimal IVs that accomplish exactly ah what those Pokemon are selected to accomplish. And it's always scary to play against a trainer who has an information advantage. Because yeah if you have those wacky IVs, you already know more about your Pokemon than your opponent does. Because if you sim a matchup on like PVPoke, you basically just
00:16:20
Speaker
plug in the rank once and hope for the best, right? So you don't actually know all the numbers. But Lurgen knows all his IVs. He can just plug those into PVPoke and sim them against the meta. And he knows things that you don't. And that's already like, you're already starting behind if you face Lurgen.
00:16:39
Speaker
And that makes, that makes him exciting to watch. Also, he's just so funny. Like he's such an entertaining character. He's well-spoken, charismatic, and doesn't shy away from just being himself out there. And I think we need more of that. So yeah, I really, I'm rooting for him. I want him to make a deep run. Um, another person that is like kind of in the same way of, um, like little brainier.
00:17:09
Speaker
Um, very consistent and strong EU competitor, but hasn't really competed since EUIC really like barely ever made it out to locals as far as I'm aware. I think he just recently competed in another challenge or cup in the Netherlands. Um, it's that a stand. Um, good pick. He's somebody who competed in both world championships and he came 17th in 2022 and 65th at worlds last year in Yokohama.
00:17:39
Speaker
And I do believe that he's kind of been under shooting his potential with that. He came top 10 in five of his last tournament outings in in Europe. And I do believe that if he finds a way to, to break the meta, like he used to do with picks such as mew or dance bars. Um, I do believe that this could be.
00:18:03
Speaker
maybe his best year at Worlds. um But again, like he still needs to prove himself on that big, big stage. I'll say this. ah Based on all my experience watching Statistan play, obviously one of the most gifted trainers in EU, I think he's incredibly consistent as well. But I'm just going to say his biggest weakness is that, especially once once we get to day two, especially when the stakes get higher and higher, Statistan tends to become a bit predictable.
00:18:33
Speaker
ah He tends to bait when you think he'll bait. He tends to shield when you think he will shield. And I think that in order for status stand to have a successful run at worlds, not only does he like you can point it out, need to find a hole in the meta and really kind of exploit whatever gap he can, he can locate.
00:18:49
Speaker
He also needs to change his playstyle, become a little bit more ah unpredictable, I think is the key for Stan. In my personal opinion, right he's he's definitely top cut way more than I have and has performed really well. But based on what I can see as a viewer, I think that if he was a little more loose with some of his plays and a little more risky, I think it would really pay really, really, really nice divide dividends for him, excuse me.
00:19:14
Speaker
Um, my next pick is AV rip. So AV rip has been one of the best performers in the Australia, New Zealand area. I would say APAC, but I know APAC also includes ah South Korea, Japan, India, and those other areas that are under TPC. But I think that AV rip definitely has something special in 2024. He was fourth at Melbourne and and then eighth in Perth.
00:19:39
Speaker
But in Yokohama last year, he actually finished ninth overall, which is a really, really strong performance from him. And he did it by taking down a trainer from three different respective regions. So in round one, he took down Tomahawk UK 2-0. Round two, he took down Dijon the Zhen 2-0.
00:19:56
Speaker
Then he took on Gabriel Yehova, who was the runner-up at LAIC, right behind JW Naldo. He defeated him 2-1. And then he took on one of his his Aussie friends, Rick Flareon, and beat Rick 2-0. His two losses in the tournament were actually 2-Wadaj, who finished third place overall, and Skafo, who finished as the highest ah European once the dust had settled.
00:20:19
Speaker
So it's not like he he he was he was honestly on the verge of making that top five run, top top eight run, and only lost to some of the most elite trainers in the stadium ah that that weekend. So I think AV Rip has a lot of um a lot of potential. I really want to see what he's able to do in Worlds, and I think that he's shown he can beat trainers from all regions. Also, fun fact, ah the trainer that that knocked AV Rip out of those two um best performances he had this season was actually RocketClaire.
00:20:48
Speaker
So watch out for Rocket Claire. She might be ah making a name for herself as well. Well, maybe, maybe Rocket Clear will feature further down the list. But yeah, I definitely, I definitely do agree with your overall sentiment that, um, I also like, did you confirm that it's AV rip? Because I always wondered whether it was that or AV rip. Um, I just, I just do not know. gentlemen I shall, uh, I shall ask our Aussie correspondent. Yes. Yes. Please, please make the call to Melbourne right now.
00:21:24
Speaker
Um, but yeah, like I do believe that, um, like him, but also the rest of the Australians have been, um, I think outperforming expectations quite consistently on the big stage. And I would not be surprised if I, um, saw another performance like that this time around, especially because even though they are part of the, um, TPCI region, um,
00:21:52
Speaker
Especially after the abolition of OCIC, we only get like three opportunities to see Australian trainers battle um every year.
00:22:05
Speaker
and Even though it's like, purti Perth is a meme amongst Australian trainers, right? Like not everybody will make it to all three. So we have they have very limited exposure as far as showcasing their um capabilities to a larger audience. And yeah, like what better opportunity than Worlds, right? So I'm definitely excited to to see what comes from Down Under in terms of World Championship threats.
00:22:34
Speaker
i Speaking of world championship threats, um I do believe it is time for our heating up category. The players that had maybe a great month of May, maybe a great NAIC, definitely like recent performances that put them on the map. And I will start it off with somebody who also might not have had the limelight that he deserved based on his performances, um which is Mr. Shadow Quagsire himself. It is decent.
00:23:02
Speaker
um he He won Bueno Cyrus, he came second in Santiago. He innovated the meta by basically introducing a mud boy that can hit back flyers, which was um just a natural reaction to um the prevalence of Altaria, I believe. um And he made it work at a high level. He also had some um impressive Guzzlord gameplay. So he he brought Claude Zaya to one that made it work.
00:23:29
Speaker
like he's definitely somebody who um uses off meta effectively. I would not say like a pure spice trainer because I feel like the spice category is kind of reserved for like either I have like five meta pokemons and one pick that is just super wacky or like trainers who um try to build spicy cores, like really spicy cores. Like, um I don't know. That was like a Molokalurantis, right? That's a core, maybe, I don't know.
00:24:02
Speaker
Um, so yeah, I don't believe like decent is in that sweet spot between like being aware of what's good and being aware of opportunities to.
00:24:15
Speaker
defeat what's good by maybe utilizing picks that are a little more out there without being too crazy. And he's had the consistency. He's been, like he had very recent success. And I do believe he had to skip any IC because like he was, like considering it, if he didn't do well during the May tournaments, but he did exceptionally well during the May tournaments and now he's basically saved the money to instead, um put it all out there in Hawaii and maybe make another deep run. I think it was, um, I think there was a Samsung event as well, where they had, they hosted a Pokemon go tournament and desync'd also won that one. So no yeah, that might not be on Dracovis. I was like, I was thinking, didn't you win two, but then I checked Dracovis and I couldn't find it. So you might actually be very much correct.
00:25:05
Speaker
so So he actually, he did win too. So he won in Buenos Aires and then he also won in Lima. He came runner up at Santiago and then he also won that Samsung tournament. So I appreciate that you have him in the heating up category, but I think that honestly is is not giving him enough credit. I think D-Sync is on fire and he's going to be ah not not in the heating up category for me, but he will appear in a different category later.
00:25:31
Speaker
So my first pick for the heating up category is S. James P 21. I don't think, and this is the thing, right? He'd had a strong performance, lost to King Alexander early on in the season, came back and won a regional in a really dominating fashion. But I don't think I've ever seen a more technically gifted player than S. James P 21.
00:25:54
Speaker
I mean, ah you can look at Doonbug and say, okay, he has all the calculations. He knows the counts. Everything is coming together for him. Or you can look at Lyle Jeffs and see how he just manages a game, kind of like a um ah pocket passing quarterback, right? He just manages everything and doesn't let things get out of hand. But S. James P. had things down to a granular cellular cellular level in how he manages games. And I think that but Now that he's got that big win under his belt, ah came back into the circuit and and got that big victory, I feel like S. James P. is probably one of the best position trainers in the entire world to win the World Championships. I think ah he's honestly one of my favorites going into this competition.
00:26:36
Speaker
um I'll tell you now because we did, um, to decide against the list of trainers, like of the top 16 for this particular world's preview, but I did have as James P in my top eight. Um, so that's, that's how highly I rate him. I didn't put him into heating up because I do believe that, um, like he's very selective about the regionals he attends and.
00:27:04
Speaker
For me, the heating up category is um basically players who really announce themselves um during the month of like May, maybe June. And for me,
00:27:23
Speaker
Like as James P finishing runner up so early in the season, basically a signal to me that, okay, like we, we know who this guy is from GBL, from, um, show six, um, factions, no better frontier, like.
00:27:38
Speaker
He's been, he's always been this good. Like he's not just hitting a hot streak right now. And also like heating up. This guy is like, i he's as cool as a snowman. Like he's just never losing his cool on stage. Um, and I do believe that is one of the, that is one of the characteristic characteristics you want in a champion for such a big event. And.
00:28:02
Speaker
Obviously, there's a limited sample size of tournament experience here. But just in terms of raw ability, in terms of execution, I do believe stream speed is probably second to none. So yeah, I definitely have him as one of my top, top favorites for Worlds. And he would have come later in my list as well. But I guess I have backup picks for that. So I'll just skip over that. Always for him.
00:28:31
Speaker
A trainer that I do believe you will not have on your list, I might be wrong, but I try to be a little more innovative with but that one. It's actually um a player from Hong Kong. um It's a prodigy named Yekai0904.
00:28:50
Speaker
And Yekai won the APEC qualifier, if I'm not mistaken. um And obviously we don't really have a lot to to go off when it comes to players who only get to play one official Pokemon tournament per season.
00:29:07
Speaker
but He's just a trainer that I've been playing a lot when I was having my my number one push ah last season and who I've not been playing at all this season because I've been off the leaderboards for a month and he's just way up there typically. So he's actually managed to um hit legend within the month of June and there was not even a go battle day or go battle weekend.
00:29:34
Speaker
um And he also already came number one in the world. He topped the leaderboard this season. So he obviously knows what to do within the current meta. And yeah, I just, I just believe that there's APAC talent that isn't really on the radar and just from everything I've seen from Yekai. I do believe that this is one of the trainers who could make a big impact at Worlds.
00:29:59
Speaker
So you Kai, I first, uh, became aware of this player through GBLA. And, uh, believe it or not, you Kai was the season five GBLA champion, which was, uh, was in August of 2022. It's been hitting up for a while. Okay.
00:30:16
Speaker
he No, you guys is fascinating to watch. and And when you look at that, that list, um for example, you said the W.C.S. APAC, if you look at any of the W.C.S. competitions this season, because we don't have a stream for those those tournaments, we just kind of have to go off the names and the match ups and see what we can decipher from it. But I know through and through that you guy is going to be a force. I definitely think you guys a great pick. And I really appreciated that you shouted out to APAC and in particular, Hong Kong.
00:30:46
Speaker
So Yaki coming over to Hawaii is going to be a treat. um My next pick, I think that and the reason I picked this player for for the heating up category is because I don't think his work is done. And some players or some some listeners might say, oh yeah, this is a um a champion or this is someone who we know is really good and don't have to worry about it. My next pick is out of pocket.
00:31:08
Speaker
And I feel like out of pocket has really gotten a hold of his mental game over this season. He was running with a really talented group with Dodge on Frank and himself. And you can consider, you know, Lyle, partly part of the group or elite part of the group. And all those players were winning championships and just excelling in a very high level.
00:31:30
Speaker
Meanwhile, Pocket was coming in with unique teams and trying to win with, with a Bastion on or trying to win with, uh, I can't, I can't recall Diggersby or something like that. He was just bringing weird stuff. Yeah. He was bringing weird stuff. And he, and I remember talking with him after NAIC and he said, yeah, I wanted to prove that I was good enough to win with things that were off-meta or that were unexpected.
00:31:53
Speaker
and I feel like when there was a tournament in particular when out of pocket went in into day two on the loser's side of the bracket and you could almost just see it on his face that he just didn't want to be there. He felt like it was going to be too hard to come back and and win. He didn't want to force the bracket reset. He didn't have the the grit of somebody like Doonbug or the you you know, selfless belief in your, in, in your abilities that would allow someone to do that. But then he came into NAIC and was in such a dominant position, especially, you know, in the grand finals, it was really fun to watch the big three. Oh, but I feel like out of pocket has been one of those players that needed to prove something to himself. And now that he's done that, I feel like he's on the verge of unlocking a brand new level. And that level could be world champion next weekend.
00:32:40
Speaker
I do not disagree and I will say that I have still, I still have three more picks in the heating up category just in case like we had a little bit of a crossover. And I'm glad I did because one of those three is out of pocket. I just do believe that this is run off ninth at Los Angeles before that even third at Indianapolis and then obviously winning the biggest tournament of the NA season but also the only tournament that happened in this current meta. It's just like he's he's a champion spiritually but he's also just been the most successful trainer recently so it would be like it would be appropriate to put him into either category but he has to appear here like he's
00:33:30
Speaker
is one of the top favorites going into Worlds and for a good reason. The only thing that I want to mention regarding um Pocket and his NEIC success is that he might have to think of a new team because I do believe that with the limited amount of um examples to go by, the NAIC winning team will have a big target on its back. I don't think that many trainers will go into Worlds without having clear answers and clear strategies for um the winning team at the only tournament that happens so far in this meta. So I do believe that maybe there needs to be a little bit of reinvention, but obviously, Pocket's been on his A-game and he's been on that for a while and that immediately makes him a top threat for Worlds.
00:34:18
Speaker
um Okay, who of those two trainers will I put into on fire and who will I put into my champions? um Okay, i'll I'll put this trainer here because this trainer is the definition of on fire. um She's been on fire all season, but it's just like some people have on fire energy the same way as James P has like, okay, like ice in my veins energy. Palasha has on fire energy.
00:34:48
Speaker
um And I do believe the the run of fourth at EUIC, first and and in Stockholm and third in Bologna, with three different iterations of a shadow madness zone team. The most successful of those being with the Skeletorch 2, adding onto my on fire theory. um it's just It's just so impressive. And honestly, again, like both like both her and Pocket could have easily been the champions.
00:35:18
Speaker
My mystery trainer as well, but they will come up later. So yeah, I just I just do believe she is probably the Strongest, yeah, i'm I'm comfortable saying that she is the strongest trainer in Europe this season. This is like um a little bit controversial. I'm pretty sure we'll get to that later. But yeah, I've just i've just been really um impressed with her gameplay. And also just with Shadow Magnezone, right? Like Shadow Magnezone is my baby. um I'm a big Shadow Magnezone enthusiast. I might not bring it to worlds because I have other weird plans, but
00:35:54
Speaker
um i can appreciate shadow mech zone gaming and the thing is just so lethal so dangerous it forces and forces the forces the opponent's hand in unconventional ways um and yeah i just i just believe that palasha just has the resume that makes me believe that she will definitely top card potentially go like top 16, top 8. She could win the whole thing. Obviously, she could win the whole thing. There's there's some volatility to Shadow Magna Zone play, but I'm just i'm just excited to to see what she cooks up. It's always amazing when Paula is able to land the wild charge. and you know we we're're Through a shield, this is the best part.
00:36:38
Speaker
We're Pokemon Go gamers, right? We play this game quite a bit, probably some would argue a bit too much, and we've seen wild charges land before, but then ah when Paula takes the stage with it and absolutely fries something with the wild charge in a neutral matchup, doesn't even have to be super effective, just a neutral wild charge, my eyes go wide every time. I'm like, oh my God, that's a lot of damage. It's it's it's obscene amounts of damage, and it's just so exciting to watch.
00:37:04
Speaker
Well, my next pick for the heating up category is actually a trainer from Mexico. And earlier we talked about how Zardy was one of the premier Brazilian trainers. Everyone was watching and he's kind of been overshadowed by a couple of other competitors. This trainer is part of a very powerful team, right? A team that travels to multiple events, has won multiple regionals, has placed very highly, has has multiple members that have attended worlds and performed really well.
00:37:32
Speaker
But I feel like this player in particular is kind of like he's ah he's a sleeping giant. This player is just as competitive as his teammates. He's just as talented as his teammates, but has not been able to find the breakthrough moment. But I feel like he's on the verge of it. That trainer is Rocha Babyface.
00:37:51
Speaker
I feel like Rocha is a player that everyone knows is being kind of funny, easy to be around. His streams are hilarious. I highly recommend you watch his content, but at the same time, I feel like he really puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed and he really, really cares about winning.
00:38:08
Speaker
and I think he does have all the tools he needs. So this season he finished 25th overall at LAIC, finished 17th in Vancouver, 9th overall in the Mexico City qualifier, and then 17th at NAIC. He also just beat Inadequance 2-1 in a Clash of the Casters tournament hosted by PVP Steve.
00:38:28
Speaker
And taking down inadequate two to one is definitely an impressive feat no matter what region you're from. But I feel like that win, although it wasn't an officially sanctioned tournament, although it was, you know, for fun, I think that win probably was a big confidence booster for Rocha. And I think he's carrying a ton of momentum into worlds in Hawaii.
00:38:49
Speaker
I love that pick in part just because, as you mentioned, Rocha was just like great to be around at NAIC. I still think that it's so impressive that he actually went out of this way to um gift Hawlucha Steadicord to out-of-region players.
00:39:06
Speaker
so Yeah, it's it's just like a really good guy, just somebody who is a force as a creator and also somebody who ah doesn't shy away from like the more an but unconventional pick of talent flame, yes which um I do believe is quite exciting. And like, it's it's not even like the most used fire type currently. I do believe Skeleton only has a leg up on that one. um But yeah, i just I just like it when people just really,
00:39:37
Speaker
learn um a Pokemon that is maybe slightly off meta and really trust in it, really believe in it. I do believe he even had the ah Fly or Brave Bird moveset for his NAIC run. So i would I would love to see some Brave Birds land at Worlds for sure. it He absolutely did. And then when he was in that Clash of the Casters tournament during the cast of the finals, I literally called it out. I said, this is the Z Zweiler special. He's got little Fly talent flame.
00:40:07
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Actually, and this is where we come full circle. Um, I got inspired by Martijn, by an adequate for to, to run that in Dortmund because I saw him use it at like one of his locals and then I, then I thought about it and oh yeah, like you will live a, you'll have a skull from like a non shadow with sketch, maybe even from a shadow. I'm not too sure anymore. And you can hit those, hit those water types bag really hard with, with a brave bird. Same with like an Azumarole. And then I thought, yeah, maybe, maybe that's just the way to go. and That's how things fall into a place and yeah, I do believe it's
00:40:42
Speaker
an exciting Pokemon in the hands of a very talented trainer. So what's not to lie? Our next category is on the rebound. These are trainers that performed really well early in the season, or maybe they had a really strong finish to 2023. And maybe they were kind of quiet for a little while, didn't succeed very often in the first half of this 2024 season. But maybe they just came out, won a regional championship or just made a top cut and they are on the the uptrend right on the upswing in terms of trajectory my first pick for on the rebound is lnds hardjeff and yeah we could call him a em a champion he was the first player ever to have a 100 win rate when he when he took the title in curatiba and then he turned around and won laic
00:41:28
Speaker
So yeah, he's got some pretty good wins. But on the other side of that, he came to San Antonio after a success in LATAM and hoped that he could come to a North America, US regional and perform really well. And he was kicked out of the tournament by a trainer named Flying Pizza, who granted people in the community know Flying Pizza, know he's a very talented player, but he's not like the name on everyone's lips when you talk about potential regional winners.
00:41:54
Speaker
So Harjef had kind of a slump towards the middle of the season, didn't attend tournaments for a little while, had a couple of middling performances. Then he came to NAIC and as you mentioned before, he and Steiner just took the stage by storm. I felt like their friendship and their dynamic was the beating heart of that tournament and definitely added so much passion and inspiration.
00:42:18
Speaker
And I think that Harjef, having had a ton of success, being maybe a bit humbled in Texas and then coming back to NAIC is the definition of a U curve. And I think that he is on the upswing and he is poised for success in Hawaii. I do believe so too. Um, I can only highlight that Roger was actually, um, the trainer that knocked me out of NAIC this season.
00:42:45
Speaker
And he did that because he just played better than I did. And I was, I did not play badly that weekend. He was just more locked in. I do believe that I even had like, I don't know whether it was a big team common advantage, but I felt comfortable with my team into his, and I just lost Oh two. Um, so yeah, he's definitely, um, on another level, like he's.
00:43:10
Speaker
one of one of the trainers that I would feel comfortable putting into that the champion tier. But I also had like a working theory towards the middle of the season that he was actually um mainly just the master of that superior meta that we had for three for three months. And after that, he was just a regular, very good player. But yeah, he might be you might be returning to form and returning to form for a player with like such a high floor and high ceiling such as Rajeev might just mean that he's among the top candidates for a really, really strong Hawaii performance. And I wonder whether he will adjust the team that served him and Steiner so well at NAIC or whether we'll see them run it back because it felt so neutral, it felt so flexible. And I do believe that if you're a top trainer, um you don't need to
00:44:05
Speaker
rely on RPS strategies because if you like with RPS strategies, if you get one call wrong, it doesn't matter anymore that you're a top trainer yeah um with more flexible teams. Even if you get the lead wrong, the lead call wrong, you can, you can still find a way to wiggle yourself out of the situation. And I do believe Rajiv is definitely capable of that. Um,
00:44:29
Speaker
Okay. From a trainer that I lost to to a trainer that I beat and um apparently destroyed because nighttime pleasure. Where are your top cards? Like I've been, I've been looking at Drake of this and I see 25th at Stockholm, 33rd at UIC, 17th at Dortmund.
00:44:48
Speaker
what What happened in Dortmund that after your Liverpool win, ah nothing nothing else really happened since? like I'm just wondering, I'm just wondering out loud. Is it that Jeff said, do you need the Jeff setback? um I actually didn't take it. I didn't take it. And i I have to say that I have nighttime pressure on here because I do believe that that Eric is actually so capable of playing in and a stacked field.
00:45:15
Speaker
like Because not only did he beat everybody at the Liverpool Regional, which was at that point, I do believe the um maybe biggest regional in Europe to date, definitely up there with the biggest, probably just if trailing to anything, then to a special event such as Utrecht where it's free registration.
00:45:36
Speaker
Um, but he also like, he had such a strong summer, like before worlds, um, he, uh, let me, let me check it just to, just to be super certain. Like he had, um, yeah, obviously like.
00:45:51
Speaker
first announced himself with Tokutomaru Gaming coming 7th in Fresno, then taking that stupid Tokutomaru to NAIC and placing 9th all of a sudden. And after that, people started taking him like seriously at a real competitive threat and not just as this guy with the Tokutomaru.
00:46:09
Speaker
And he followed it up with ah fifth place in Pittsburgh, third in Peoria. like what kind of like What kind of stretch is that from April-ish to like October? He's just been like taking names. That was before his Liverpool run even. And then it's just been cricket since. like I do believe that Nighttime Clash is due a top, top result. um And I wonder i wonder whether he can bring the energy that he brought to last summer to this summer with maybe a high world's placement.
00:46:44
Speaker
i have a um I have a close friend who also knows ah NTC and he genuinely believes that NTC, if if he continues to progress at the rate that he did over the past year, could be a perennial top five competitor, no matter what stage, whether it's a regional IC or worlds, because he just learns that fast.
00:47:06
Speaker
very fast learner has picked up pokemon go um coming from different mobile games in the past right this is not his first mobile game as it probably is for a lot of us and he's just been able to adapt so quickly it's been very very impressive to watch would i put him on the the rebound category probably not i think i would slot him more towards the wild card ah area but he's a wild card kind of character right That's true. That's true. You never know what you're going to get. Even in the interviews, right? He said, what do you say in one of his interviews? He says, the most polite thing to do in a trainer battle is to throw the non-effective move. That's what you should do. And he's right about that. He's so correct about that.
00:47:45
Speaker
and NTC is a character ah we know and we love him. ah Looking at the on the rebound list my number two pick is actually a trainer who enjoys basketball quite a bit as well right a little little Giannis flair. I'm going to point to rise to occasion because Rise to Occasion is a trainer that finishes ah top cut at a lot of tournaments, has done a lot of different things. you know I think there was one tournament where he just brought every core breaker he could think of. It was like Abomasnow, Jellicent, and a bunch of other just really devious picks. But I think Rise to Occasion is is is a player who had a lot of a lot of success through the season, but it was kind of like
00:48:26
Speaker
how do How do I describe this? He had a lot of top cuts, which for a lot of players would be enough. They'd be very happy with that. But I think that Ryze's standards are just a lot higher for himself. And after winning l LA late in the season, right, the last NA regional of the season, after winning LA, I think that he is firmly on the upwards trajectory going into Worlds. And I feel like.
00:48:48
Speaker
He secured that tournament win first player to do it three years in a row. And that was the seal of confidence. He really needed to go into worlds because I think the rise that we see next weekend is completely different than the rise we would have seen if he did not win that regional championship this season. I don't know if you agree or disagree on that. Yeah, I have to say that, um, like I was trying to find a place for rise in this list and I was really like,
00:49:18
Speaker
Um, I was, I was at a loss kind of, because is he him a champion? Kind of like he's been a champion in every single season, but when I put him top three, maybe just barely not. Yeah. Is he a wild card? No, he's too good to be a wild card.
00:49:35
Speaker
um like he's been like I was actually like considering him as maybe one to put as like returning to Worlds just because he kind of fits into that category, but he's also just been so successful recently that I feel like you highlighting him here is actually very fair and very deserved. I actually loved the um six core breaker team that Rice brought to the one regional, especially because I was like a big believer in Jellison. I'm still a big believer in Jellison. I'm pretty sure I highlighted it as one of the top core breakers in our last episode. So I definitely appreciated the jellymeister in action in that tournament.
00:50:14
Speaker
um And I do believe that Ryze just expected a little more of himself um for NAIC specifically. But NAIC was also just like, okay, he just came off that really successful um Los Angeles tournament. And now the meta shifted, now maybe the eyes are on him a little more. And it's just like, okay.
00:50:39
Speaker
Where do I go from here and obviously he wanted to go further than he did but like we don't we don't have to we don't have the ah we don't have to ask the question whether Rice is capable of like coming like top eight, top four, maybe winning world. So he's definitely up there with the best to ever do it. um And yeah, i'm I'm happy about the inclusion because I was just like struggling. Like he's in between like a category like this and the champions for me for sure. um One player that I do believe is like kind of on on the rebound currently in a very particular way,
00:51:22
Speaker
is somebody who doesn't even have that big finish yet. But I just think that's a personal story that I want to highlight because Maximilian P actually had some good to like some very impressive performances this this year. He came fourth in Barcelona after a very, very deep loser bracket run. like um dropping dropping a set really early, but then probably winning more best of threes than I did in that entire tournament.
00:51:54
Speaker
um And I'm just very happy that he started losing right before he would have faced me because I was not prepared for his team. He also came seventh in Utrecht, so another really, really large, really big tournament in Europe. He's, I think he's been like, like nobody really takes GPL all that seriously, but He's been tryharding a little more recently and had some success in that regard as well. But the reason why I have him as on the rebound is because the um European invasion for NEIC was planned to be a six people invasion. It got to be a five people invasion because Maxi actually got his passport stolen from him just before NEIC.
00:52:39
Speaker
So he couldn't travel, he couldn't go. um It was a huge, huge inconvenience for him. um And I do believe that he's really gutted about that lost opportunity and that he really wants to make up for it at Worlds. And I do believe he has the skills, he has the tools to do so.
00:53:00
Speaker
um He's very good with energy-based Pokemon. like he He brought the Shadow Charizard to Barcelona, if I'm not mistaken, like those high-maintenance Pokemon, those those flashy Pokemon. um He's got the grit to fight through a lower bracket, which like you mentioned Dancing Rob earlier, which like it's occasionally needed at Worlds to really succeed. and I do believe that he was still one of those trainers who maybe doesn't make it out to too many tournaments.
00:53:29
Speaker
But who's always like, like people are just waiting for his real breakout performance. And obviously he's like one of the less obvious picks for the category, but I would not be surprised to see him actually pop off at Worlds.
00:53:45
Speaker
I think it's a great call out. I mean, if you look at, like you pointed out, Barcelona, he brought a shadow Charizard frost last, which is very high octane, high offense oriented. And then Liverpool and Utrecht, he brought a talent flame to both events. So definitely needs to keep an eye on energy management and fire is a interesting ah core breaker. ah He ended up bringing Wiggly tough to EUIC as well. So always looking to stay one step ahead of the competition. I'm really glad you, you pointed him out.
00:54:14
Speaker
ah The next competitor I want to point out is also from the EU region. And this trainer's had a very emotional season. I will say that early on in the season, just absolutely soul crushing loss in the grand finals of a tournament. I mean, I don't know who would be so cruel as to defeat this player ah when when he's just having just such a good tournament run, but was able to course correct, come back in November and win Gdansk. And this player is Patoman.
00:54:44
Speaker
Now pots a man obviously very talented second in Barcelona ah next to a trainer I can't remember the name of ah one in Gdansk and then he had a 17th place finish in Liverpool finished 49th at EUIC and then 25th at Stockholm so definitely not the bar that he had set for himself early on but finished seventh overall in Bologna.
00:55:05
Speaker
with actually Umbreon, Vigaroth, and Altaria on the team. So I feel like, again, the U-curve is here. Started off the season with a bang, had a bit of a lull, and then is on the upswing again as we head into the final stretches in this quote-unquote new meta that we've since established. So I believe that Potomain is a young star. You know, I put him in the same category as Emmy Weedle in Out of Pocket. He's the next generation of players, and I feel like Potomain uh, can succeed at worlds and he's on the right trajectory. So funny that you would say that because actually, um, my pick for, um, on the rebound, my last pick would also be part of man. Like I had, like, I had like accent as a backup, but we talked about accent already. Now we also talked about Pat part of mine. So I'm already out of pigs for this category.
00:55:57
Speaker
Maybe if you have a backup, you can share it after, but I'm really happy that you put him here. Otherwise I would not have put him there. And yeah, like he's so talented and like, honestly, like, obviously I will not say that I did not deserve to win Barcelona. I just, um, made the right team selection and I executed.
00:56:19
Speaker
Now, like, like, I, I know, I know, I know, but like I made the right team selection and I played it cleanly. So I did deserve that win, but I have to say that it was such an uphill battle for him. And it's crazy that he managed to pull it out, like it wasn't uphill battle because of the team composition is what I want to stress. And it's crazy that he pulled out the win in the winner's finals, because he sent me down to the lower bracket at first. Then I had to claw my way back through the lower bracket, um, beating Tomahawk in, in the,
00:56:49
Speaker
um, loser's finals. So I also had a team comp advantage over, um, to then finally write my team comp advantage into the sunset facing part two again in the grand finals.
00:57:00
Speaker
But the first thing I said to him after that win was, you're so good, you you will win one this season. And he won the next one in Gdansk. So i was I was right on cue with that prediction. And I think I will be right on cue with this prediction as well, having him as like the on the rebound category, and somebody who is very talented, who had great results, who missed out on top cut three times in a row, but who is definitely good enough to top cut at Worlds.
00:57:29
Speaker
And I do believe his last world's performance was also quite impressive. I didn't um note down where exactly he finished, but I do believe that he was definitely one of the higher placing Europeans, which is not saying much.
00:57:42
Speaker
I know with that, but um still, I do believe that he is one to look out for you. 17th at Worlds. That's that's yeah and nothing to scoff at. I think it is saying a lot, and he was able to beat Fishy Legs from Australia, Balk 88 from North America, and- Regional champion two. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, two regional champions. Yep.
00:58:02
Speaker
Yeah, ended up losing to Inadequance and Ishikawa boy. And I got to say, no matter who you are, if you have those two losses on your resume, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, those are two of the best players. And I would argue some of the most unpredictable players in the world, definitely especially Ishikawa boy, right? Some of the most aggressive and also at times spicy players out there.
00:58:23
Speaker
Personally, I like that we agreed on a pick here, so let's just go ahead and and slide over to our next category. We've already been through three, so we're we only have three more categories to go. Let's talk about Dark Horse Candidates. These are players that maybe aren't on everyone's mind as far as as potential winners, but we think that they have a sneaky or that they had the potential for a sneaky, good run.
00:58:46
Speaker
at Worlds. I'm going to say the first trainer on my list is a trainer who has had five top nine finishes and only seven competitions across the past two seasons. So that's impressive. Finishes within the top nine more often than he even goes to tournaments period. And that player is elite.
00:59:05
Speaker
Elite, as far as I understand it, is the only trainer in the world to 3-0 every single grand finals he's ever been in. I think he's 9-0 in the grand finals or maybe it's 12-0 because i think I think against Caleb he had he had to force the reset and won both of those sets 3-0 last season. So I think he's the only trainer to not lose a single game in the grand finals once he gets to that stage. So if you're going to stop Elite, you better do it before he gets to the finals.
00:59:34
Speaker
So with the lead, the question always used to be, okay, can he do it outside of California? And the answer at both Worlds last year and NAIC where he narrowly missed out on top cut was maybe not quite as comfortably as as on his own soil.
00:59:56
Speaker
But i have ah I have a working theory. Maybe it's not about California specifically, but it's about how far west you go, which would be very, very fortunate for elite because it doesn't get more Western geographically than than Hawaii. you um So maybe there could be something to that. But yeah, like, um first of all, I will say that I really ah like his team composition choices at NEIC and Los Angeles. That's um five out of six of a team that I was considering as well. Like, Aman decided between the illustrious Shadow Gyrodos team and another team that, among others, features Gazelord, Skeletor, Charzobak, Vigoroth, and Azumarill.
01:00:49
Speaker
um So i do I do definitely think that team building is a strong metacall. And yeah, he definitely has that resume. I feel like if he just maybe like toned it down a little bit in terms of showmanship here and there, um maybe like obviously like he's he's playing to... like That's probably something that can be said about him in a more general sense. He's playing to his audience, and there's nothing wrong with that in in some respects.
01:01:21
Speaker
But I think it might be a little hot in that suit is what I'm getting at. Hey, you know, look look good, feel good, play good. That's what they say. So what we're all trying to accomplish at the end of the day. um So my dark horse. And i want I wonder whether this is someone that you considered as well, because I feel like this is like an obvious dark horse pick in many respects.
01:01:49
Speaker
um It is Shiny Dialga. Oh, I was looking at 7th at NAIC, like a top 8 IC finish. And what I think is so impressive about um Shiny Dialga is not only ah the recency of his um really ah high scoring performances,
01:02:14
Speaker
but also also the type of opposition he faced and needed to overcome during those tournament runs like he beat matine he beat inadequance he beat rocha babyface who we mentioned earlier he beat house stark who is one of the top NA players he even beat lyle jeffs in indie so he's definitely been Like a little bit of a giant slayer in that regard. And in a tournament full of giants, who better to bet your money on? Don't actually do that. This is like no, no financial advice than Shiny Dialga.
01:02:49
Speaker
I, you hit all the points, right? I was, I was sincerely looking at shiny at the alga as well, because I feel like he's come leaps and bounds in his technical gameplay. And it felt like regional champion after regional champion, he was just too owing or too wanting all of them. And I was so impressed to watch it. It's one of those things where you look at top finishes for players and maybe, you know, you look at their games play and you say, Oh, I don't recognize this name or I don't recognize this name.
01:03:13
Speaker
But when you are literally taking down three regional champions in a row in order to get your top cut, you're playing the game on hard mode and there's no other way to put it in shiny. The alga seems to really thrive under that pressure. Plus also he's a really cheery guy. Like he's really fun to yeah interview. He's always got this like devious smirk, you know, like he's planning something and it's, it's always a.
01:03:36
Speaker
like like People have been on the record that he actually and inspired like their non-PVPing relatives to um pick up PVP. so Just because of his cheerfulness and his demeanor in interviews. so That's actually the type of energy we need more at those events. so All the more reason to root for Shiny Dialga.
01:03:58
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. I'm so glad. Seriously. I'm so glad that you pointed him out because he was somebody I took him. I put on my list. I took him off, put him on again, and then I eventually removed him. So um'm it's very serendipitous that you mentioned him. ah My next pick is a trainer who I feel like.
01:04:13
Speaker
When you look at LATAM, there are tons of good players. Of course, D-Sync, you can talk about ah the LNDSs, whether it's just me and his or hard Jeff. You can talk about Ice Chris and Emilio. You can talk about so many different players. And I think that this trainer is is proving that he's able to step out of the shadow of a lot of these other LATAM titans and really make a name for himself. He actually had the most efficient tournament run of the entire season.
01:04:42
Speaker
He played 18 out of a potential 22 games on the way to his sweep in Goliangia. And that trainer you're already familiar with is LNDS Steiner. And the only reason, right, he plays really highly at an NAIC, has performed consistently well. The only reason he's a dark horse candidate in my mind is because the world championships for him are kind of uncharted territory. We don't know exactly how he's going to perform against the best of the best. Granted, he finished 33rd in the world's last season. I don't know how he's going to hold up against trainers from APAC trainers from North America trainers from EU.
01:05:21
Speaker
It's going to be interesting to see if he can continue to succeed because he showed that he can do it at NAIC, but does he make that final step away from his opponent or excuse me away from his friends and colleagues and separate himself as one of the premier Brazilian trainers?
01:05:41
Speaker
um I can now reveal that my mystery trainer from the heating up category that I um labeled as between heating up and my champion was Ellen DST Steiner.
01:05:53
Speaker
Um, I do believe that, and I also will say that if we had the ranked list, um, of trainers to likely to win worlds and then the ST Steiner would have been my number one pick. Whoa. Number one. Yes. Number one. Um, wow his last four tournaments.
01:06:11
Speaker
tournaments were all top four. The worst was the tournament most far down memory lane, like all the way in like, I think it wasn't like November, like it was LAIC, it was a whole different meta and he came forth with an Araquanit.
01:06:29
Speaker
um And since then, he won Goyanya, he um placed second in Sao Paulo, and he came third at NEIC. So he he made top four at two ICs this season, and his most recent regionals were a win and a second place.
01:06:45
Speaker
like how How consistently world-class do you have to be to not be considered the favorite going into Worlds? Especially because, unlike many of the other top favorites, his very like his most recent performance was the Championship Sunday they appearance. True. This guy is so good. he's He's so good. He's almost scary to play against. I was very surprised that it can be done. like um When Ash and Ash got that clean sweep, I was like,
01:07:13
Speaker
eyebrows raised like um I was I was kind of betting on it being a Steiner versus pocket affair and pocket only being slightly ahead because he was going into day three from the winner side. Um, I do believe Steiner is like the most ruthless and lethal battle going into Worlds just because nobody has consistentency consistency on that level. Like with no dots between LAIC and now and with just like two IC top fours like
01:07:47
Speaker
It's, it's just crazy what he achieved, especially because just from like some, some tweets that, um, he put out just before LAIC, he was close to giving up on the game and then he didn't. And now he's this good. I think that's just so, so impressive. And he's, he's my number one pick to win worlds. I I'll say it right here. Wow. So I've got SJP and you've got Ellen Diaz Steiner. All right. So.
01:08:17
Speaker
i guess I guess I should point out my next like this will be like a little bit of a change of pace I guess with um my next player because like for me that category was a little more like we we have a wildcards category later and I was like hmm Like what differentiates a wild card from a dark horse? And I guess like a wild card is someone your you might just be really looking forward to. And the dark horse is someone where you think, okay, like I'm also like expecting a deep run of them. um But it's like, it's like blurry because I kind of like enjoy watching my dark horses.
01:08:58
Speaker
And I also expect a lot of my wildcards. So it's like, nothing, you're not there. Anyway, my, my next pick is someone who you probably don't have on your list. And I don't even know how to pronounce them. I don't know whether it's VIX, V-I-C-S, VIX, Rosie, Rosie Snapper. Oh, yeah. That was the person coming third and, uh, the PGA, PGA CS tournament. Um, he's a 70 year old better from Japan.
01:09:27
Speaker
Um, he hit the 37 hundreds Elo in GBL before. And this is a name that stood out to me because, um, I was playing a bunch of, um, practice tournaments, like inadequate practice tournaments over, um, in the candle cold server. And this person was entering so many practice tournaments. And I just like, because I didn't watch.
01:09:54
Speaker
like Like I watched a little bit of the PJCS, but you only get government names of the players. So I don't know who I watched there realistically. And I was not familiar with that name. And then I started researching them a little bit. And the resume is actually so, so impressive. Like coming in third in probably the most um competitive national competition, um placing the 3700s in the Go Battle League,
01:10:22
Speaker
And also like this player basically announced that like they were considering taking a break after PJCS just because like, Oh, they didn't expect to make it this far. And they have like exams coming up and like just real serious adult life just right ahead, right ahead with like 17 years, but they decided to give it their all and be laser focused at Worlds.
01:10:48
Speaker
Um, and yeah, I think like we've, we've known our like PVP prodigies from, um, other regions, be it pocket over dash, be it Pataman. Like we have, we have so many trainers around that age range who are just really, really impressive. And if you have somebody who has all that, like.
01:11:11
Speaker
Japanese GBL hero. I'm constantly on page one of the leaderboards ability, plus the prodigy prodigy factor factored in. Um, I do believe that is a trainer that many people will not be familiar with, but it's definitely one to watch out for for worlds.
01:11:30
Speaker
The, sorry, the, the GBL stat you just gave the 3,700 ELO is just, I dunno, that just shatters any belief that I had in myself that I was good at the game. Just knowing and knowing that someone is able to climb that highly is just phenomenal. Uh, Vicks Rosie Snappers is a name I've heard, uh, multiple times, definitely one of the top players in APAC. I think that's a solid pick.
01:11:52
Speaker
And, uh, again, um, credit to you for not only shouting out Yekai, but also Vicks Rosie snapper as, uh, as players that I think from, from TPC, from the TPC region and from APAC in general, I think are going to be big surprises at worlds. I really appreciate you've, uh, you've done that. I was looking at other players like, uh, like Beelzeboy as being, yeah, yeah. I'm glad, I'm glad that you brought this exact name up because it was actually.
01:12:19
Speaker
I wanted to put one more APEC player, and it was for me between Beelzeboy and McStrowsy Snapper, and I was thinking Beelzeboy had potential to come up in another category, and like I was like hoping for that name, and I'm glad that you at least mentioned him, but go ahead.
01:12:36
Speaker
My final Dark Horse candidate is actually a Spaniard named Senhudigo. And the reason I picked Senhudigo is because he had just an incredible series against Palasha in Stockholm earlier this season. And he was actually one of the only trainers that was able to beat Palasha.
01:12:54
Speaker
And I feel like it's really, it's really kind of a serendipitous when you have, for example, two Brazilian trainers battling each other or two trainers from the same country, the same region battling each other and seeing the friendship and camaraderie that San Juanigo and Pala Shah had was so much fun. And I feel like.
01:13:11
Speaker
Some of the plays, some of the calculations, if I remember, there were a couple of really good catches there as well. Say, who'd he go? Really, really impressed me with just a small performance. So I think if you, if you can take that magic and replicate it and and do it over a few times at worlds could be a candidate to make a deep run in the bracket.
01:13:31
Speaker
I personally love that this exact series stood out to you as as much as it did because I vividly remember this exact matchup. I also remember um saying to friends of mine that after this series,
01:13:47
Speaker
I was like tipping Sanxurego to win it all in Stockholm. yeah Obviously, it ended up being an incredible MAC zone showcase by Paul Ascher basically coming from behind and sweeping the field from the lower bracket. But yeah, like her only loss in the tournament was Sanxurego and that will count for something. He's only one of those trainers who has been very consistently good and who's probably do a breakout performance. Will that be at Worlds? I do not know.
01:14:16
Speaker
But I definitely do know that this is somebody who like on their day can go toe to toe with the best of the best. And it's just a really humble guy and wholesome dude. So yeah, definitely. Definitely somebody like the Spanish have such an abundance of talent. Like when we were talking about, Oh, who is the best region? Like that's, that's one thing, but there's also a conversation that we had like,
01:14:42
Speaker
with all those nation states in Europe, who's the best nation in Europe when it comes to PvP. And it's probably between the Netherlands and the Spanish for the most part. And San Francisco definitely plays a big part in why I would rank the Spanish players as highly as I do. um Yeah, i would I would be not surprised at all if he it was able to take down a few big names on the way.
01:15:09
Speaker
um And I guess it is time for me to reveal my last pick in this category. Yes. And I want i want to make it a two-parter in a way because those trainers are like, they're quite different, but also very similar because both hail from Canada and both have really made a name for for themselves during the Toronto Regional.
01:15:35
Speaker
One of them is probably like out of the two, more of a household name, just because he's also a s streamer and like a well-known PvP prodigy making the grand finals with, I do believe it was a Clefable. It is SS Thorn. One of the strongest trainer to emerge within um the last year of competition. Very limited in terms of um how many tournaments he can actually do per season.
01:16:04
Speaker
but also just really prolific when it comes to ah um doing well in in local tournaments. Also, I do believe that I was like very close with qualification just because of how limited opportunities are for Canadian players, but he he did sneak in. He is qualified for Worlds as far as I'm aware. um and yeah I do believe that he has a lot of potential and also just um the willingness to think out of the box.
01:16:35
Speaker
Speaking of the willingness to think out of the box, I just, I don't believe the the next trainer that I want to mention has a box. um It is MacMyMan26, who came third during that same um Toronto Regionals, if I'm not mistaken.
01:16:52
Speaker
correct um And he did so with Emolga, Lurentis, and Shadow Canto Ninetales. Like, even Mantine, which was also on the team, was considered a little spicy in that day and age. um And to make it this far, was it with the team this wacky? ah you had You almost had... And Emolga Laurent is core as mentioned previously on this episode, um, on in like the, the grand finals of a big, big regional. And like, he's been really consistent about doing well, uh, with out there Pokemon. And he did have a top 10 placement in Vancouver as well with, um, obstacle and jellison, uh, you know, when Stanfisk and talent flame. So.
01:17:40
Speaker
Like he could he could easily been on my wild card list, but again, I mentioned that I consider Dark Horses and wild cards like um very much related. And yeah, I just think this is the spiciest top level competitor that we do have. um And therefore I wanted to shout shout him out alongside SS Thorn, yes, like two trainers from Canada who are a little unconventional, but definitely real threats and just very knowledgeable out the game in their own right.
01:18:08
Speaker
I can just feel a lot of ah ah lot of our listeners hearing you say Magmar Man, and I think half of them probably threw up their hands like, are you kidding me? The Emolga guy, the spicy guy, really? You think he's going to go to Worlds? and He's going to go toe to toe with Inadequance and with with Magic Mason and with all these other really good players. You think he's going to beat those people? Come on, it was just a Canadian regional. but I can just hear him, right? I can hear him in my head.
01:18:34
Speaker
Well, I want to remind everybody that at that regional in Canada, Magmar Man had a 2-1 victory over Magic Mason, he had a 2-0 victory over Ryze, and a 2-0 victory over Jaco Loco, who would go on to win the Bogotar Regional Championships later this season.
01:18:52
Speaker
in the final stages, right? In the best of five series that he was in, he took JJAN, the eventual champion, all the way to game five. He only lost two to three in a decisive game five. And then the eventual runner up that you mentioned, SS Thorn, he took him to game five. It was tied up two to two and the final fifth battle is what kept Magmar Man out of the grand finals. So that is not, that doesn't feel like a fluke.
01:19:18
Speaker
That doesn't feel like, Oh, he just went in and, you know, beat some trainers that are just new to the game. No, I think men men actually had a very impressive run. And he's been doing this for a while, like he's definitely like a little bit of the mad scientist type. Like when, when it goes wrong, it goes really wrong. But like he's been like during like Toronto, 2023, he came ninth place with a Lolan Raichu, Aurora's Digger SP, Shadow Venusaur, Mantine. And like, obviously you managed him because back in the day you were like.
01:19:51
Speaker
obliged to have ah have a Medichime on your team. But still, like this this guy has just been doing this for a while, and it's it's impressive how often districts work on people.
01:20:03
Speaker
i'm I'm interested to see how he holds up against the world's competition because no matter what, we can count on Magmar Man to cook. While it's wireless, I'm going to deal you three cards and you're going to have to reveal those cards to the chat. We're headed into our wild card portion. I want to say this is different from the Dark Horse concept because the Dark Horse concept i think I think of it as trainers that have proved themselves. We know that they they can be consistent, they can be successful, they have the tools they need, and they can maybe make a deep run. These trainers, in my mind, in the wildcard section, have a few more question marks around them. I'm not exactly sure
01:20:41
Speaker
how they can really adapt. Yes, they've had moments of brilliance. Maybe you could argue several moments of brilliance. And I think a lot of people will be frustrated that we picked these players. But I do think that, like I mentioned with Steiner, you know going into uncharted territory, these trainers could go off or they could completely fizzle out. These are the wild card choices that we've made. So my first one, again, I think I'm going to get a collective groan from across the Atlantic.
01:21:11
Speaker
My first wildcard pick is actually Colin. Colin, one of the most successful EU trainers in history, probably arguably the most successful, winning two events in one season and then finishing second place at a third event. Colin has a reputation for seeing a really successful team, copying that team and then running it better than the trainer that first created it. And the main reason, the primary reason why Colin is in my wild card slot is because there is no meta team to copy. There is no blueprint. We came out of NAIC with one team, as you mentioned, out of pockets team that has a huge target on his back. And granted there were 11 unique Pokemon out of a total 12 potential in the grand finals for NAIC. But still, I don't feel like Colin has a team example to go off of.
01:22:04
Speaker
So the team that he picks could be the best thing in the, in the world. It could win in the title. It could be, it could cement him as one of the greatest players of all time, or the team he picks could lead to a, a team that doesn't even make day two. So Colin, the the cards are in your hands. The deck is shuffled and it's up to you. I love this pick because it's so creative because.
01:22:29
Speaker
Like you would typically think of Colin as one of the med champions, like like the only ah European who won two regionals in a season and also like won a third like way back in Lille over a year ago. um So definitely won with like very like his peaks were like massive peaks and he also came second in Dortmund. So like he was like one series away from becoming a three-time regional champion in just one season, which is like almost unheard of if it wasn't for this one guy, right?
01:23:04
Speaker
um But yeah, I do believe that the question marks round column, I feel them in in some respects. And I want to stress that um this is not me saying that Colin is less of a battler than like players such as Paul Ascher, who I would label probably the European favorite to play swell in Worlds currently.
01:23:37
Speaker
But for me, it's not even about the, okay, I just take a team from someone and I run a better idea. Because if if you do remember like the the very first time um that came to ah prominence during this season, it was during the Stuttgart regional, right?
01:23:56
Speaker
And if you remember, the Stuttgart Regional was the first regional um after the time this travels update that made Wiscash good, that made Skarmory good, um that made Polyrath good, that changed the trajectory of the meta so decisively that the meta that we are facing today is still largely based on that Timeless Travels update. We only had like some minor corrections, some minor additions such as Annihilape that definitely added to the meta, but didn't shake it up substantially.
Colin's Tournament Challenges
01:24:32
Speaker
So for Colin to just come into a new meta, take a team that might not entirely be be his creation and just win a tournament,
01:24:44
Speaker
um i don't think it's I don't think I have reason to assume he couldn't do that again at Worlds. The reason why I have a little bit of doubt still when it comes to comments performance is that it's Worlds. Because when he has all those peaks, he also does have some fluctuation that you would not expect from a player of his caliber, especially when it comes to larger tournaments. like We talked about Utrecht and Liverpool. Liverpool being like two of these standout tournaments when it comes to just like um large amounts of competitors. Colin placed 65th at both of them, and he also just barely missed out on top-cutting EUIC. So that's three large tournaments.
01:25:36
Speaker
and like three missed top cuts and i don't know whether there is a correlation but it definitely feels as if there might be a slight correlation like whenever like there's just like so many people so many routes and maybe like a degree of randomness introduced into a tournament because of it um it feels like there there have been hurdles that um Colin has stumbled over in the past. But also I do believe that some of that might have just been, um, like unfortunate early pairings against some real good trainers. But I don't like, again, like if you look and into the, the world's field, that's all just really, really good trainers. I feel like Colin just needs a little bit to warm up. And once he made day two, he, he also just always pops off and goes really deep.
Colin's World Championship Proving Ground
01:26:27
Speaker
Like he won Stuttgart, he came second in Dortmund, he won Bologna and he I think he like made 13th place in Stockholm but like almost all his top cuts were like really, really impressive top cuts recently. And I feel like his big hurdle is day one.
01:26:46
Speaker
If he makes it out of day one, I would have him as like one of my favorites to win it. But like there's just a serious um threat of him not making it out of day one. I wish he does make it out of day one because I do believe he's like... like First of all, he's just a really likable dude. um And also he's one of the most talented trainers that we do have in Europe. So I'm rooting for him.
01:27:08
Speaker
But I would have him in a category like, Oh, something to prove. Like there's something to prove there. And I want him to prove that in Honolulu. So a lot of rambling about an esteemed European competitor. Um,
RNAX Legend Push and 'Triple Shadow' Strategy
01:27:25
Speaker
but I've been like, I've been the APEC guy for the duration of this podcast. I think it's great. So, um,
01:27:36
Speaker
I have another third-place finisher from one of those TBC tournaments. And it's um from one of, I think there were like two Korean ones. And one of the Korean ones had a third-place finisher who managed to fit shadowd dragonide Shadow Shadow Magnezone, and Shadow Sable Eye onto his team. This person finished third. It's RNAX Legend Push. That's their name.
01:28:04
Speaker
um And I just believe there's few trainers that are more for Wildcard than a person that we've never seen battle on stream, but that we know can wield triple super squishy shadows to like that level of effectiveness against top competitors.
01:28:28
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. I mean, again, these traders are going to be really fun to watch. And, uh, we really don't know what we're going to get. I'm looking here at some of our next legends, other appearances. And if I'm not mistaken, it looks like they ended up, did they lose to goji? I believe they lost to goji early on in the season, or was that the tournament that they were able to win?
01:28:53
Speaker
I have, I have Goji is winning the WCS South Korea. You said that our next legend was the runner up. Correct. Uh, I think he placed third in one of them. Third. Okay. Okay. the the The format for those WCS tournaments is also strange because, uh, they have like a ah qualifier stage and then they go into best of threes throughout and they play a ton of games. So, uh, I think I got a little lost in the sauce there, but yeah, and a South Korean trainer it would be fun to watch. Um, our next legend push, I don't know. We're going to see, we're going to see what we get.
01:29:25
Speaker
maya my My next pick is a trainer we've seen quite a bit, but is also
Jakobovich's Strategic Playstyle
01:29:30
Speaker
from APAC. And again, I think I'm going to collect a lot of ah lot of groans. um Looking back at my list now, these I think these are pretty hot takes. My wild card pick number two is actually Jakobovich. Oh. Yeah, right. That is very interesting because I said right now, I had Jakobovich as one of my three champions.
01:29:54
Speaker
What? Okay. Okay. Well, then this will make for an interesting discussion. So the reason I have Jokobrovich here is, is I feel like Yako is beloved, right? Very, very talented player is seems to be permanently, perennially in the finals, right? In Brisbane, in Melbourne,
01:30:15
Speaker
uh looking at um the season as a whole he's he's done the two-peat just like Lyle just like Colin just like Dune he's one of the few players in the world who's ever been able to achieve that but what I was looking at was actually his run in Melbourne Now, Jaco faced triple crit in the grand finals, and he played all the way to game number 10, right? The grand finals reset was Jaco, triple, Jaco, triple, and then Jaco took the decisive game number five. So out of a potential 30 games he could have played in the tournament, he played 27 of them, which means he he played 90% of potential games, which is actually the most of any player that qualified for the world championships this season.
01:31:01
Speaker
Jaco is a grinder. He grinds his way through matchups. It's not always like pretty to watch. It's not flashy. It's not ah something that you say, oh my god, what ah what a good read on the lead, or what ah what a nice call on the swap. like What a hard counter situation. It's never that.
01:31:20
Speaker
It's always like shaving off a little energy here. One, you know, one turn, um, dragon breath to, to get to this next attack. It's always very small movements that he makes towards his victories. And he'll he'll play the same Pokemon over and over again, too. Maybe he decides, for example, that this was earlier on in a tournament, I think in Brisbane against Stumpy.
01:31:41
Speaker
He decides that that Superior, Medicham, and Froslass is just going to be the way to go. And he just plays those three Pokémon over and over and over and over and eventually just wears down his opponent because anytime they make even a slight mistake, he's able to capitalize.
01:31:56
Speaker
And I think that this playstyle has worked for Yako. It's made him one of the most decorated players in the world, not just in APAC, but in the world.
Jakobovich's Australian Success vs. World Stage
01:32:04
Speaker
He's obviously very talented. But the question I have is, does Jokobrovich have what it takes to just put trainers away, to win the mental battle early on in the series and deflate his opponent so that he can build on his advantage?
01:32:19
Speaker
Can he have decisive victories? That's the big question for me because grinding through the grand finals, it shows impressive grit. I think um Steve spoke to Yako afterwards and yaku Yako basically said, yeah, by game five, I had no idea what to run. I just picked three random in Pokemon and just played.
01:32:37
Speaker
And I think that's okay. And obviously he won, which is more than I can say for myself. But I don't think you can pick three random Pokemon and beat somebody in the world championship grand finals. It's not going to happen that way. So Yako's been impressive, but this is uncharted territory for him as well. Like I'll grant you that you do have a point, but I just, I just can't overlook the fact that the last three times.
01:33:07
Speaker
Yaku entered an Australian tournament, be it OCIC, be it Brisbane, be it Melbourne. He just came away as the champion three times. like and We talked about, like I don't know, the Steiners of this world, and that was already so impressive. But how did you, like obviously, he he didn't make it as far in like last year's worlds,
01:33:34
Speaker
um But that's Worlds, right? Like, obviously we're talking about the upcoming Worlds, but also there have been two more tournaments tourment tournament wins since. So I don't believe like maybe there's been some slight improvements on his part as well. Definitely improvements to his profile just on like an international stage.
01:33:53
Speaker
um But yeah, just I just feel like somebody who out of his last four events he entered won three and also did it in a way that like you highlighted, but also we highlighted earlier in this episode um when I talked about Oh, like the best players typically want to play neutrally, because if you're a really good player and you play polarized Pokemon or polarizing Pokemon, being a good player will not matter once you find once you find yourself in a bad matchup. True. And I think Yakko is somebody who um similarly similarly to players like Steiner,
01:34:37
Speaker
um actually manages to utilize neutral pokemon to just a really impressive degree. And I feel like the the only reason we have to we have to kind of disregard him as one of the favorites going into Worlds would be to say that, okay, Australian tournaments, like they're they're a little smaller, they might not count as much, but you can only beat what's ahead of you. And for the last three non-Worlds tournaments,
01:35:11
Speaker
Jakob Vavic has done exactly that and I would not be surprised if um this time around he was also able to replicate that that success on the biggest of stages.
01:35:25
Speaker
But yeah, like I definitely respect your willingness to go where it hurts in terms of takes. First, you take down the most successful successful European competitor. Now you talk shit about the most successful Australian competitor. um This is NA bias in action, folks. Oh, very funny. Very funny.
01:35:48
Speaker
But no no, really, I do believe i do believe there's merit to the points you made. And I'll just out of experience will say that just picking three Pokemon, like sometimes it do be like that. um But maybe that's why like I'm like very good, but not as very good as some of the other trainers that we've been talking about in terms of competitive performance. and like top four consistency. um Speaking of top four consistency, I did not intend on on this to be as smooth as it is.
Rocket Claire: Australia's Standout Female Player
01:36:26
Speaker
um really We stay in Australia and I want to talk about Rocket Clear. I hinted at that previously, but I do believe that um like everybody obviously talks about like Paul Asha in terms of okay which which
01:36:45
Speaker
women battlers actually can hold their own within the sausage fest that is um competitive mobile gaming. And if we talk about people who like really i have a claim to being a threat within this environment, I do believe Rocket Player has a really strong one because she does come off back-to-back top three performances.
01:37:12
Speaker
And I do believe that this consistency is impressive. And again, like we've talked about it within the context of the Avrib Worlds run last year, that Australians are not to be underestimated. And they have been overperforming their expectation at Worlds for like at least last year and maybe even two years in a row, because I do believe that.
01:37:36
Speaker
Vulcan Wish might have had a pretty impressive run at the 2022 World Championships as well. So if you thrive in that environment and come very close to grand finals as well within like those parameters, I would not be surprised to see a rocket player do something that people might not expect from somebody from Australia. um And that is maybe like, like, again, this is like the wild card category. And I don't want to burden her with like expectations of winning worlds. I don't want to rule it out. But like, um, I will just say that I think she will
01:38:21
Speaker
beat more trainers than she will lose to at worlds. Um, and I could see like a big name or two fall to her her gameplay. I love the the shout out. That's great. Yes. Yes. Great point. Rocket Claire is definitely a force to be reckoned with. And she did take down, uh, Avrip, the trainer that I mentioned earlier, again, she took me down twice.
01:38:45
Speaker
in two different tournaments. So very impressive. Rocker Claire, also very kind, was able to meet her in ah in Australia. She's genuinely very, very kind person. um Next pick for me, as we as I wrap up my third wild card pick, you said I'm an NA bias, right? I'm pretty sure everybody clipped that and they ah they recorded the accusation. My next wild card pick is actually an NA competitor.
Auburn's Consistent Performances
01:39:11
Speaker
This is Auburn.
01:39:14
Speaker
Now, Auburn reminds me, it's it's so it's so um relevant right now because the Olympics are still going on. Auburn reminds me a lot of the Turkish shooter. I knew you would say that. I knew you would say that. I think that's such a such an accurate comparison. Because you know you've got so many players that are min-maxing their their IV spreads, and they're you know spending hours upon hours looking at simulations, and they're going out grinding, trying to catch all kinds of stuff. And meanwhile,
01:39:42
Speaker
You have one of the most prolific GBL heroes in history who is a pilot in his day job and basically like plays most of his GBL games on hotel Wi-Fi. And he shows up to tournaments and there's no smiles. There's no you know celebrations, no pop offs, no sad looks. He always has the same look on his face. Like he showed up this morning and he's going to play extremely well.
01:40:07
Speaker
But he is just as ready to go sit down on the couch, crack open a beer, and and watch the Olympics, for example, right? Auburn is is is just very stoic in all his approaches. But his performances are really, really outsized um when you compare it to his personality. Because at the World Championships in Yokohama, he finished 13th overall.
01:40:29
Speaker
This season, he finished 13th in Knoxville and fifth overall at NAIC, which is definitely an impressive feat. Now, when he did ah get knocked out of the tournament last year, he was actually defeated by Rubik's Master, who is the eventual runner-up, and Ro-Roy, 1230, who also, I believe, made either top six or top eight at the tournament.
01:40:52
Speaker
He took down Yekai and Buti along his way to his 13th overall finish. So Auburn has proven that he can take down trainers from other regions. He's proven that when he does show up to a tournament, he is not playing around. And the reason he's my wild card, my third wild card is because I feel like Prime Auburn can do exactly what the Turkish shooter did and and get off the couch, put a hand in his pocket and just demolish everyone. But I think Auburn also can have some quiet performances too. So I'm curious to see what he's going to do at Worlds this year.
01:41:27
Speaker
Okay, so I first I want to add that I do believe that Auburn is also one of the examples um of people who have just been very, very good for a very, very long time. Like kind of Crescent Angels category in a way. Um, I feel like that's just a name that has been popping up for years and years and was like,
01:41:49
Speaker
one of the original GBL heroes. Like even when I was not even hitting legend, Auburn was already a household name. It was like somebody that I heard like, King IV talk about back in the day. um So yeah, definitely somebody who has a reputation and also somebody like, I can't really imagine um Auburn having a bad tournament ever. like I have not looked at his record at all. There's potential that he might once have had a bad tournament. or like like i don't I don't know that, but he doesn't look like the type. He just looks like somebody who is so calmly confident um and just so able to perform. And he's like very much not
01:42:40
Speaker
out there with team building quirks or anything. He just knows what to do and he does it. I guess that's what you want in a pilot. And and he's also just been like a good pilot of whatever team he chooses. so um I would not be surprised if your wildcard pig actually shows up in in the world's top card. I feel like that's the caliber of player that Auburn definitely belongs into.
01:43:09
Speaker
and Yeah, like how do i how do I get to my last wild card? Can I do an Olympics comparison as well? like course so you know what the Do you know the pommel horse guy? It's like...
01:43:23
Speaker
It's like this US gymnast. Yeah, explain it for the riskers who might not be familiar with that sport.
Elam's Quest for Victory
01:43:29
Speaker
Exactly. like The Pumble Horse guy is ah a US gymnast who are um whose claim to fame basically was just looking like a regular dude with glasses and like just like a regular dude you might meet at a library.
01:43:47
Speaker
And then he helps the team of us gymnasts to win their first bronze medal in ages. And then he also wins an individual medal because he's only there to show up and do pommel horse. And he he's like the regular that guy turned into a hero because he does this one thing so good. What if you had a GBL or not a GBL here, a play Pokemon competitor, who just looks very like unfazed by everything, but His one job is carving, and once it comes to doing carving stuff, he shows up and does so, so well. This is Elam. This is Elam's NAIC performance specifically. yeah Another trainer who who knocked me down, I had no shot, and probably the trainer who came the closest to a tournament wins many, many times without actually having won a tournament.
01:44:39
Speaker
And I feel like that makes him a prime contender for that wildcard slot, just because everybody knows knows he's so, so good. But there's always just been like this ah one or a few moments in a tournament that prevent him from actually taking it all the way. But like, we're just waiting for it. We're just waiting for it. And we know it's going to happen. And it could happen at Worlds.
01:45:02
Speaker
Elon was such a great shout and he was actually a trainer I looked at as well. Almost put him on the list, but I feel like I love him as a wild card pick here. I think this is the perfect place for him because again, like you said, he leaned into carb ink when everyone else was leaning away from it and it paid off tremendously for him. And then he leaned a little bit too hard.
01:45:22
Speaker
into carbink and it was eventually his undoing. So I think if Elam leans the right direction just slightly, then his natural talent, his his wealth of experience and his his team building ability will do the rest for him. He just needs to just line up things just a little bit better. So again, he could have a banger performance could be top eight, even higher, or he could be a trainer that has a few tough match-ups early on in the tournament and, uh, doesn't make a deep run. So the wildcard pick incarnate Elem is a really good choice. We're headed to, I believe our last section, this is our me champions. And I think I've been kicking off the past three or four of these. So I'll allow, uh, I'll allow you to jump in here and offer your first pick because I'm really curious who you have lined
Emmy Riedel's Mastery Challenge
01:46:07
Speaker
up.
01:46:07
Speaker
ah k k Okay, okay, okay. I have to say that I only have three of them left because, like, some of my backup picks have come up in other categories. Like, Yakobovich was actually one of my main three. um Then there was also, like, Colin, who was one of my my backup candidates. And then there was also T. Steiner, who I was willing to move down. um But my first but champion that doesn't appear in any other category Um, we'll be Emmy Riedel will be the UIC champion, um, former world champion. Um, I do believe that he has just been keeping so sharp with his GBL performance. Um, he knows how to win big, big, big events.
01:46:52
Speaker
um And he definitely will want to add a second World Championship um outfit to his collection, um especially because like Obviously, a world championship is a world championship, but he did it in seniors back in the day because we still had this two-way split. But I do believe that he's eager to do it in this like unified master's division as well. And like we know that he has the tools for it. i've seen um like
01:47:25
Speaker
um people posting about a local tournament or like the the kickoff of local tournaments for the next season there was like a bigger event in the the south of Germany actually with like four events held on the same weekend and we don't want three out of those four so and that was against like some world's qualifying opponents as well so he's definitely on his A-game right now Um, and yeah, like he just loves showing up to those big events and making the magic happen. So I would not be surprised if we have a repeat world champion.
01:48:03
Speaker
Emmy Weedle is such a good shout. I feel like he had, again, like you said, a lot of success in 2022. The question was, can he adapt to the next, uh, the next level, you know, being integrated with all of the, uh, master's division players, but then you have, you have players like Wedaj who immediately prove that to be true. You know, players like, um, like out of pocket who also succeeded really well. And then to see Emmy Weedle win EUIC was absolutely poetic. I would say if worlds were in London again this year, I would just hand Weedle the crown.
01:48:34
Speaker
I don't think he can lose when he's inside the Excel Arena in in London. I don't think he has ah any any risk of losing a championship there because he's just so, so darn impressive. ah My first candidate for the champions, I think this is the
DuneBug's Competitive Edge
01:48:48
Speaker
obvious one. this is the The elephant in the room, everyone has been talking about this player all season long. And I think for good reason, because I think he is the most complete trainer in the championship series. And what I mean by that is every single facet of the gameplay, if you've been listening to the whole episode so far, you notice we pinpoint certain areas of gameplay that we think are strong for trainers, certain areas that maybe need a little help, certain areas that knock them into a different category than they otherwise would be.
01:49:16
Speaker
This player's got it all. He's got the team building prowess. He's able to make predictions and reads in the heat of battle. He's able to count and manage his energy perfectly. He's got grit and determination unlike any other player that has probably ever played this game.
01:49:31
Speaker
and he's able to close matches. He does not let his opponent stick around. He makes decisive plays when he needs to when the moment calls for it. He's won three regional championships this season and he was runner up at EUIC. It's Doonbug 97.
01:49:46
Speaker
And I think it's so hard to argue that he is not the most well-rounded player in the entire world. I think that he took Skeletorge after it had just been released into the game. He took Skeletorge to not only its first top cut, but he also won a regional with it. And then he went to another regional months later with Shadow Pidgeot, and he was able to win that one, just brave birding the hell out of everybody.
01:50:09
Speaker
And all the while, he's able to maintain a sort of cohesion with his team, mainly with a double ground strategy of Gligar and Wiscash. And I think that Dune's ability to pivot and shift and change, but still stay true to his own play style, is a massive differentiator. And he didn't have the best performance at NAIC.
01:50:30
Speaker
And I've told this to some friends before, not succeeding at and a tournament like NAIC right before Worlds can be the best thing in the world or it can be the worst thing in the world. It can be the best thing or the worst depending on how you contextualize it. If Doonbug looks at NAIC and he says, oh, my run was over. I only peaked in the middle part of the season. I can't play Gligar Whiskash anymore, so I guess I suck.
01:50:55
Speaker
He can look at it negatively, or he can say, I am still the best. I won three regional tournaments. I was runner up at EUIC, the meta shifted, and now I just need to do what I always do and adapt. And I think that Dune is going to choose the ladder because historically, right through all the battles we've seen him in, he has had an unshakable faith in himself that he is the best player in the world. He's going to look to prove that in Hawaii.
01:51:21
Speaker
I think the the last point you made is actually like very accurate. I think like many top competitors still from time to time battle with self-doubt in a way.
01:51:33
Speaker
um And I've been talking to Dune a little bit just after the, um like like during NAIC still, it was like the goomy community day. And um we played it for like, I don't know, just like 15, 20 minutes together a little bit. And I was wondering how shaken he would be from like not being able to repeat his Knoxville EUIC Orlando heroics like he came he came off a run of like first second first going into NAIC I was wondering whether that would impact him at all but like he just
01:52:09
Speaker
wasn't faced at all. And I think that's just like really impressive to just shrug it off like that and just be be cheerful and confident and go into the next tournament with the same mindset again of I'm probably the best around here and I will prove it. Um, so yeah, and he has proven it the season. He has proven it more than any other competitor.
01:52:32
Speaker
Um, no, no shred of self doubt. Um, so yeah, I don't believe that a lot of it will hinge on the team composition just because, um,
01:52:47
Speaker
I do believe that Jun excels with neutral play as well. Like he has always said Liketang on his team, he has always said Glaiga on his team um for like the last four tournaments. I do believe that is a theme that will continue, that will stick with him.
01:53:04
Speaker
But it depends on how to really fill in the gaps with that team. And I remember the Orlando shadow Pidgeot win and that was just so impressive. And I wonder whether he finds another shadow Pidgeot or whether he just goes for like the most.
01:53:21
Speaker
reliable and consistent gameplay, because I think that also speaks to his well-roundedness that he can do it both. Like he can win a tournament with the out there Spice Pig, and he can win a tournament with Wiskash Skarmory and ILA Blickettankor. Both of that is possible for him. And like this, this shout puts me in a tough spot because now I only have one more player to shout out in my Machampion tier because I was like very particular about who I would allow into that tier.
01:53:51
Speaker
um But yeah like obviously Dune is a big favorite going going into Worlds and while he has nothing to prove anymore, he will still want to prove everything because his mission isn't done.
01:54:09
Speaker
so For my apparently last pick, um I and do have the person that came closest to matching Dune's achievement in the NA region. But he's also somebody who didn't really manage to go to all that many tournaments, um which like you you might take it one way or another. It is Lyle Jeffs III. And this trainer, I feel like, has the perfect blend of
01:54:40
Speaker
like aggressiveness and unpredictability and also just like consistency and like bit of a stoic demeanor to his gameplay. Like I feel like Lyle is...
01:54:53
Speaker
should i Should I say Lyles just to mess with people? I feel like that's that's joke that joke has been played out a little bit. Oh, you're talking about- Congrats Lyles on the gold medal in the 100-meter sprint at the Olympics. um You're talking about Lyles Jeff, not Lyle Jeffs. It is true. It is true.
01:55:13
Speaker
um and yeah like speaking of well-rounded players i also just do believe that this is somebody who just excels with neutral play to a degree that very very few people out there can claim something mean that very rarely makes mistakes that like i don't know it doesn't really get tilted in a tournament setting and um like winning two out of his last four tournaments is impressive. He placed ninth in the other two, but it's like a pattern. He won in Charlotte, came ninth in Knoxville, it won in Vancouver, came ninth in Indianapolis. The next one has to be another number one. Okay. I also didn't pick him as my world's winner. That was, I was diner, but anyway, I'm just, I'm just making the case where I'm being a potential a champion, right? I'm just, I'm just like trying to
01:56:05
Speaker
i'm not goingnna I'm not going to argue with any of your points about Lyle's capabilities, but I do have a an asterisk I want to add to the final point you made about him not getting rattled. and um What's interesting about this is that Dune had just come off his third regional victory, won in Orlando.
01:56:24
Speaker
And I feel like as a community, right? This is this wasn't Lyle himself. This was the Pokemon Go competitive community. I think all of us in NA put a lot of pressure on Lyle to match Dune's achievements and to win a third regional. So when Lyle went to Indianapolis,
01:56:43
Speaker
there was external pressure on his shoulders to win that competition. And again, like it's one thing to be really good at the game to excel and to have people supporting you. But when those supporters turn around and they're like, Lyle, you're going to you're going to do really well, right? You're going to win this tournament, right? I mean, you're so good. You have to keep up with Doonbug. I mean, you're the favorite man. You can do it. And everyone is is pushing you in this direction that maybe internally It feels like it displaces you a little bit. I think that can be really challenging. And I think somebody like Dune would respond to it and say, yeah, you know, I think I'm the best here, but now it's up to me to prove it. And that's how he would answer those questions. And then Lyle has, because he has a different personality, he would answer it differently. he And he'd probably say something like, you know, I want to, I'm going to try, but I don't know if it's possible.
01:57:36
Speaker
Right. Yes. And I think that's giving off a little bit of a more modest energy. And that is true. Exactly. Much more modest. And I feel like ah the reason Lyle didn't make it into my my champions tier is because we don't yet know how he's going to deal with that external pressure when it's at its highest degree, because it's even higher now, you could argue, than it was when he was trying to keep pace with Doonbug and just trade places on the regional championships poster for the season. Right.
01:58:05
Speaker
So while at Worlds, we're going to see what happens. One thing that I want to add, by the way, is also, I just i just looked up the numbers. Lyle competed at six events and Jun competed at nine events. So they actually won events at the same rate this season.
01:58:22
Speaker
Wow. Okay. Okay. I like that by the numbers. they are They're, they're roughly equal, right? Yes. Interesting. Well, I mentioned Doonbug is my first pick. I feel like he won a lot of people's respect this season, but my next pick.
Palasha: Europe's Passionate Contender
01:58:37
Speaker
I think she won everyone's heart and I think it's almost impossible to bet against this trainer. And it's, it is, I'm just going to say it it is impossible not to smile and get hyped and get excited when she pops off. And that player is Paul Asha. Paul Asha has been one of the most Sorry for the pun. Electric trainers to watch this entire season. The Palasha Popoff needs to be trademarked because it is unique. It's one of a kind. The fist pump standing up on stage, you know, you can see her like screaming too. She is in it. She's so in it and she loves every second of it. And that kind of enthusiasm and passion is infectious. You can't resist it.
01:59:20
Speaker
I think Palasha, like you pointed out earlier in the episode, probably the favorite from EU going into worlds. I agree with that sentiment 100%. She has won a tournament this season, but I think she's got it in her blood, in her DNA to go to Hawaii and just absolutely shock everyone. And and the the problem is, you know, the the the bittersweet part of it is that even the people she beats are going to see her on stage popping off and you cannot help but feel happy for her.
01:59:50
Speaker
It is true. It is very much true. Yeah, I put her earlier in like the the heating up category, but that was, that was more of a vibe space choice, right? Like we've been over that. I had like three trainers in there that would easily be able to start into the Machampian category. Um, so yeah, I'm definitely, I'm definitely very, very much in agreement with you that Paula is like probably the standout competitor in Europe this season.
02:00:19
Speaker
um especially because, like, we've we've been talking about Colin and how he has been matching Paula's highs in his performances with two championship wins and a runner-up performance. But Paula's lows aren't as low. Like, even a bad tournament for her her would be an excellent tournament for the next person. So, yeah, I feel like this consistency especially um makes her very much a favorite going into Worlds.
02:00:46
Speaker
And yeah, I feel like if I, I could go over more of the trainers that were on my shortlist, uh, namely obviously a T Steiner, who I, um, already mentioned as probably my favorite to win at all. Um, as James P who is like your favorite to win at all, apparently like, or one of your favorites to win at all. Yes. Um.
02:01:07
Speaker
And yeah, I just ah just do believe there's, there have been so many, like I think we've actually curated a really good list because we probably talked about most of the big favorites. And yeah, I don't actually have that much to add anymore. Like Colin we talked about at length, June obviously was going to come. Like the first very first word after June in my notes is obviously. So that yeah tells you everything about this guy.
02:01:34
Speaker
And yeah, like i'll I'll let you take it away with ah with the very last pick of the day because I'm all out of trainers. Yeah, I definitely have, have commandeered a few of your picks. If we shifted our order and, and we shifted who would list their picks first, I would be in your situation. I'd have to look to my, my backup list. So I guess I was fortunate at this time, but, um, my third and final mid champion is from the LATAM
D-Sync: LATAM's Serious Contender
02:02:00
Speaker
region. Again, I alluded to this earlier. I think that heating up is a total disservice. I don't think that captures this trainer accurately whatsoever.
02:02:09
Speaker
My third and final a champion is D-Sync, aka Ricardo. This is a player that we know has been good for a long time. you know Likes to stream, likes to contribute content to the community, has competed in tons of grassroots formats, but this season in particular,
02:02:25
Speaker
pioneering and popping off, right winning in Buenos Aires, finished second overall in Santiago, and then was able to win the Samsung tournament as well, and do it with his own flair. Find a pick that nobody else is really looking at, and really kind of show the entire world just how powerful the sire could be. And then you have to look at the Santiago regionals in and recognize that he not only ran Quag sire, he ran double sire. He had Quag and Claude.
02:02:53
Speaker
on his team and he he accompanied those with mandibuzz and shadow obama snow which i believe if not mistaken was the only dual shadow obama snow and mandibuzz grand finals of the entire season which he narrowly lost in in game five of the grand finals ah which i believe he was able to reset but Along the way, he took down Horov, Vintuski, Paulino Tad, and Memi. And those are all very, very talented LATAM players. And he built such an impressive resume over the season. I think that, that desync is beyond heating up. I think he's on fire. And I think that, um, if, if I would nominate any player from, from LATAM, that's not a Brazilian, it would probably be desync to win it all.
02:03:39
Speaker
Yeah, again, like I featured him for a reason very early in this episode because I just, I just believe in him. I just believe that he can really, um, maybe take it all the way. I'm, I'm a little more doubtful, but I honestly shouldn't be because the same reasoning I um gave for Jakobovic should also apply to desync and that if you just enter like a set amount of tournaments within your home region and you ah basically like come and like make the grand finals and like three in a row. Um, you should probably be considered a favorite going into worlds. And I would not disagree. Like Ricardo is definitely a favorite going into worlds. Also still to the state, the only, uh, the only trainer to ever sweep yours truly. And, um, team based PvP, like formerly self factions, um, now better frontier. So almost unswept then Ricardo came and actually like three out me.
02:04:35
Speaker
So yeah, like one of the strongest trainers out there and I would not be surprised at all if he managed to do some shadow quacksire business um at Worlds. I almost forgot to mention, not only did he win in Buenos Aires and come second in Santiago, but then he turned around and won in Lima just a few weeks later. And ah the Lima competition was insane as well. You can add Ice Chris and Javier V20 to the list of players that that he was up against and was able to come out on top. So I think D-Sync again makes an argument for for potentially the best overall player in Latin, but he's got a lot to prove in Hawaii.
02:05:13
Speaker
So this has been a really fun episode. I hope everyone enjoyed the different categories that we ran through, ah from dark horses to wild cards to mid champions and all kinds of picks across the board. um If there were any picks that were controversial, I hope people let us know, whether via DM or maybe commenting on the Twitter video, whatever it might be. I would love to hear people's feedback. I'm not sure if you have any closing thoughts because we did cover a lot of ground here. Yeah, I think I need some rest. One thing that I would like to mention is like you can take those categories like you exactly you i'm talking to you listener take those categories and maybe leave us a little reply on on the tweet that speedy will definitely put out for this episode because i'm actually interested in everybody's like especially like the dark horses and the wild cards i do believe that a lot of people
02:06:01
Speaker
um have the same kind of favorites, but I want to know like who are those picks that could surprise us, those trainers that are maybe a little underrated. like I would be really interested in reading your thoughts out there. Great point. We'd like to see those comments, like to see those interactions. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review on whatever platform you're on. And with that, zo iless i can I can proudly say that I will be seeing you next week in Hawaii. I'm looking forward to it so much.
02:06:30
Speaker
Awesome. Stay tuned. Everybody will, we will absolutely have a world's wrap-up episode. And then we're going to kick off the 20, 25 season. And if Zweilis is keen, maybe he will like to keep recording with me, but only time will tell. I'll leave, I'll leave the cliffhanger there. Maybe he's just going to leave the show. Who knows? But, uh, that being said, my friend, a pleasure as always, it's a longer episode, but a damn good one. And I hope everyone enjoyed it and we'll see you in Hawaii.