Smogon Premier League VI - Semi-Finals

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jake

underdog of the year
is a Tournament Director Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Top Dedicated Tournament Host Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW WE HERE

As a reminder:

On... Sportsmanship
Note the sportsmanship infraction may be used liberally this SPL, and any unsportsmanlike conduct on the forums, in #spl / #pokemon / any of the semiofficial tier channels, or in opposing SPL team channels (I won't infract for you being a dick in your own SPL team channel unless the situation is so extreme I feel I absolutely have to make an exception (consider basically any masterclass interaction ever)), will be grounds for an infraction. We encourage you to play semi-aggressively, but don't be a Masterclass.

~ Aldaron

On... Scheduling Matches
I'm sure plenty of you have come across activity drama while scheduling matches. I'm here to reduce the arbitrary element associated with some of these decisions. It is entirely your decision to adhere to these STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS, but note that if you choose not to, I'll most likely ignore any pleading from your end.

YOU MUST ACTIVATE YOUR VM WALL IF YOU WISH TO PLAY IN THIS TOURNAMENT. THIS IS HOW ALL OFFICIAL SCHEDULING WILL BE HANDLED.

Once that week's thread is posted, you have up to 48 hours to contact your opponent ON HIS VM WALL and mention your timezone and exactly what dates, what time ranges you are available, and where you will battle. Note that the default accepted sim and server is the official server on Showdown/Smogon Tournament Server, or PO if you're playing an old gen. You must provide at least 3 different time ranges at least 48 hours from the timestamp of your message, with at least 2 that are 24-hours apart from each other. The minimum and maximum length for 1 time range is 30 minutes, and the minimum difference between the 3 required time ranges is 3 hours. If you give 3 time ranges that stick with this policy, you can give any additional time ranges at any time you please.

NOTE THAT THIS SCENARIO INVOLVES RESPONSE DYNAMICS; THERE IS SOMEONE WHO WILL CONTACT FIRST AND SOMEONE WHO RESPOND...THESE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT FOR BOTH OF YOU TO ASSUME TO YOU CAN BE FIRST CONTACTS...WHOEVER CONTACTS FIRST IS THE FIRST, AND THE OTHER DEFAULTS TO THE RESPONDER. THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS BUT SOME OF YOU ARE DUMB.

Once your opponent has contacted you, you now have up until 72 hours after the week's thread has been posted (NOT after your opponent's message) to respond with times that are good for you. What this means is that if both of you spend the maximum time contacting and responding, you should have back and forth collaboration at a maximum of 72 hours after the round has been posted, with both parties given an additional 24 hours to prepare for the battle should it be scheduled as soon as required. If none of the opponent's proposed time ranges are good for you, you must respond with alternative time ranges.

The first opponent now has X hours to prepare for the battle (if the second opponent agreed to some time) or 24 hours to contact a TD if, for whatever reason, this second set of time ranges does not suit the first opponent. Note this should be an absolute last measure.

Once a time is agreed upon, please make a message on your opponent's VM wall between 10 minutes and 1 second before the agreed upon time and say you are ready to battle and then get to agreed upon location (regardless of whether or not your opponent sends you a response VM). Please protect yourself by making this message, as it makes decisions much easier. You will be required to wait for your opponent for the duration of the time range.

If neither of you contact each other before 48 hours after the thread has been posted, you're both opening yourself up to a potential no contest or substitution. If I look at the situation, I might just determine I'm going to no contest, or whatever based on however I'm feeling at that moment. Don't leave yourself and your team vulnerable to this.

Just because at anytime one of the responders does not respond within the given range does not give you automatic activity win credentials. If they don't contact at all on your VM wall up until 48 hours before the end of the round (note, I'm not going to take irc or sim messages as evidence due to how easily they can be doctored...so if you want to protect yourself, stick to the VM messages), then you obviously have activity win justification. You WILL contact your opponent in a timely manner. However, if they do contact you at all after the suggested response time and before 48 hours before the end of the round, you are required to respond before 24 hours before the end of the round with 2 1-hour time ranges at least 1 hour apart before the end of the round. The opponent, since he did not stick to the proposed response schedule, WILL BE REQUIRED TO PLAY AT ONE OF YOUR NEWLY SUGGESTED TIMES, so you have the advantage here. This obviously puts a bit of an emphasis on the last 48 hours of each round (as is standard operating procedure for most of our official team tournaments anyway), so I will try my best to keep the last 48 hours of the round as close to the majority of the weekend for as much of the world as I can.

If you follow all of these guidelines, you will a.) most likely get your match done with minimal issue or b.) protect yourself and your team from an undue no contest or activity decision. Yes, I hate activity decisions in official tournaments. Yes, I will do my best to prevent activity decisions in the playoffs (the qualifying round is fair game however and I will have no problem issuing an activity call here), but don't push your luck.

Here is an example of how following this would work:

Week 1 thread is posted June 7, 2013 at 12:00 AM. Its deadline is June 14, 2013 at 11:59PM. User A and User B are matched up. User A contacts User B on his VM wall on June 7, at 9:00 PM (47 hours after the thread was posted, so ok), and gives 4 time ranges: June 10, from 7:00-7:30 PM (22 hours after the timestamp of his message, which is only ok so long as at minimum 3 of the other proposed time ranges adhere to the requirements), June 11, from 9:00-9:30 PM (48 hours after the timestamp of his message, which is ok), June 12, from 6:00-6:30 PM (69 hours after timestamp of his message, so ok, but only 21 hours after the earliest time range that is 48 hours after the timestamp), and June 12, from 9:00-9:30 PM (72 hours after the timestamp, so ok, and 24 hours after a legal time range and 3 hours after another legal time range). The June 11 and both June 12 time ranges satisfy the requirements, so User A can propose his first June 10 time range as well. User B responds on June 10, at 8:00 PM (23 hours after User A contacted him, so ok), and picks June 11, at 9:00 PM to battle, which is ok because it is 24 hours after his own response.

You'll note I made most of my response ranges multiples of 24 hours, but also included 24 hours. This means I expect you to be able to check Smogon at least once a day. If that is not feasible, you put yourself at risk.

~ Aldaron

On... Disconnecting and timing out drama
Ah, the big beefcake. I'm going to go ahead and put this out there: we reserve the right to judge any individual match on a case by case basis, regardless of assumed precedence set. If you don't like that, you are welcome to not play. Be aware of this.

Also, to protect yourself as much as possible from DCs and timer issues, play on Showdown (because it has an at least semi reliable system of rejoining after a DC) and make a gentleman's agreement to not hit timer and not be hour-a-move dicks.

That said, here is the main way we will probably handle DCs / timing out:

To handle all DC cases...you're gonna submit your teams before the match. Zebraiken and Aldaron, who are not playing nor affiliated with any team, will manage this team submission form. You don't have to submit, but if you do, you protect yourself from the opponent taking a win. If you do DC (and you can't rejoin the battle) and you haven't submitted your team, your opponent will have the right to take the win. Yes, I'll most likely make a judgment call if he is on his last turn with 1 Pokemon at 5% and paralyzed and with you at 6 100% health Pokemon, because the only way to lose this is to misclick multiple times. However, if you're at 6 100% Pokemon and your opponent is at last Pokemon 10% needing to crit flinch you 6 - 12 times for the win, I'll give him the win if you DC and haven't submitted your team.

I know people like Philip7086 will beg me "to use common sense for a judgment call" for all cases and I would normally agree, but I am giving you all a 100% out by allowing you to submit your team. Basically, submit your team, and protect yourself and your team from any and all DCs. It's a simple procedure that removes almost all subjectivity from a decision regarding a DC. Unlike with the scheduling restrictions, all you have to do is submit the team your are using at anytime before the match takes place, and you'll have 100% protected yourself. Read this rule and understand this now before you join the tournament. Since I'm stating this now, I'm basically going to ignore you if you DC, didn't submit a team, and "had a guaranteed win." Expect it. Also note that I'm going to let the PLAYER (not the team), decide whether he is going to take the win or go another route (replay same moves, replay different teams, etc.).

To further ensure no funny business, if, in the case of a DC replay, there is any concern from either party about funny business, both parties have the right to request a screenshot of the current Pokemon's stats in battle. This is irrelevant for Showdown as you can simply rejoin a battle there, but PO allows you to see the currently out Pokemon's stats if you scroll over it with your mouse. Just hit PrntScrn (windows) while scrolling over it if requested by your opponent, preferably with proof that it is a screenshot of that actual battle (consider including the opponent's request in the battle screen in the screenshot).

Regarding time outs, they are a bit more complex, specifically because some timeouts are due to DCs. The best we can do for this scenario is say that there is some number between 1 minute and 2 minutes (which we will not publicize) that we will set as a limit for timing out, and if you timeout with more than that limit time remaining, we'll assume it is a DC, whereas the opposite is a true timeout. A true timeout defaults to a loss, while the DC timeout is prone to the DC rules (did you submit or not).

~ Aldaron
Basically: use VMs to communicate and schedule your matches, don't be a drama llama, submit your teams, and we'll get along fine.

---

[#1] Ever Grande Bigs (4) vs [#4] Congregation of the Classiest (7)

ORAS OU: Destiny Device vs CTC
ORAS OU: TheEnder vs ben gay
ORAS Ubers: Evuelf vs Jibaku
ORAS UU: Sam vs Hikari
ORAS RU: Ginku vs Bad Ass
ORAS NU: Finc2612 vs FLCL
ORAS Doubles: Laga vs Braverius
BW OU: Jirachee vs papai noel
DPP OU: boudouche vs 199 Lives
ADV OU: McMeghan vs Triangles
GSC OU: Hill vs Mr.E
RBY OU: During Summer vs KratosMana



[#2] Alpha Ruiners (8) vs [#3] Firebot Falcons (4)

ORAS OU: PDC vs Tesung
ORAS OU: Tokyo Tom vs IAmGingy
ORAS Ubers: steelphoenix vs PROBLEMS
ORAS UU: reachzero vs bugzinator
ORAS RU: Meru vs Pearl.
ORAS NU: Teddeh vs Toxzn
ORAS Doubles: finally vs TheFourthChaser
BW2 OU: SoulWind vs High Impulse
DPP OU: august vs TV-Rocka
ADV OU: dekzeh vs Golden Sun
GSC OU: Tiba vs Bomber92
RBY OU: idiotfrommars vs marcoasd

23/24 matchas completed

HF. Let me know if any of the above is incorrect. Submit your teams!
 
Last edited:
[#1] Ever Grande Bigs (7) vs [#4] Congregation of the Classiest (5)
ORAS OU: Destiny Device vs CTC
ORAS OU: TheEnder vs ben gay
ORAS Ubers: Evuelf vs Jibaku
ORAS UU: Sam vs Hikari
ORAS RU: Ginku vs Bad Ass
ORAS NU: Finc2612 vs FLCL
ORAS Doubles: Laga vs Braverius
BW OU: Jirachee vs papai noel
DPP OU: boudouche vs 199 Lives
ADV OU: McMeghan vs Triangles
GSC OU: Hill vs Mr.E
RBY OU: During Summer vs KratosMana


[#2] Alpha Ruiners (8-9) vs [#3] Firebot Falcons (3-4)
ORAS OU: PDC vs Tesung
ORAS OU: Tokyo Tom vs IAmGingy
ORAS Ubers: steelphoenix vs PROBLEMS
ORAS UU: reachzero vs bugzinator
ORAS RU: Meru vs Pearl.
ORAS NU: Teddeh vs Toxzn
ORAS Doubles: finally vs TheFourthChaser
BW2 OU: SoulWind vs High Impulse
DPP OU: august vs TV-Rocka
ADV OU: dekzeh vs Golden Sun
GSC OU: Tiba vs Bomber92
RBY OU: Hantsuki vs marcoasd
 

AM

is a Community Leader Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
LCPL Champion
ORAS OU: Destiny Device vs CTC
ORAS OU: TheEnder vs ben gay

ORAS OU: PDC vs Tesung
ORAS OU: Tokyo Tom vs IAmGingy
ORAS NU: Teddeh vs Toxzn
 
ORAS OU: Destiny Device vs CTC
ORAS OU: TheEnder vs ben gay
ORAS Ubers: Evuelf vs Jibaku
ORAS UU: Sam vs Hikari
ORAS RU: Ginku vs Bad Ass
ORAS NU: Finc2612 vs FLCL
ORAS Doubles: Laga vs Braverius
BW OU: Jirachee vs papai noel
DPP OU: boudouche vs 199 Lives
ADV OU: McMeghan vs Triangles
GSC OU: Hill vs Mr.E
RBY OU: During Summer vs KratosMana


ORAS OU: PDC vs Tesung
ORAS OU: Tokyo Tom vs IAmGingy
ORAS Ubers: steelphoenix vs PROBLEMS
ORAS UU: reachzero vs bugzinator
ORAS RU: Meru vs Pearl.
ORAS NU: Teddeh vs Toxzn
ORAS Doubles: finally vs TheFourthChaser
BW2 OU: SoulWind vs High Impulse
DPP OU: august vs TV-Rocka
ADV OU: dekzeh vs Golden Sun
GSC OU: Tiba vs Bomber92
RBY OU: Hantsuki vs marcoasd


Been high on Evuelf all year and Jackal vs. Probs is gonna be a lot of fun. Hoping for some clean Ubers games.
 
IronBullet93 i can take win now cause it works like that, right?

Classiest

ORAS OU: Destiny Device vs CTC
ORAS OU: TheEnder vs ben gay - Upset pick, like both guys, but Ender has something to prove
ORAS Ubers: Evuelf vs Jibaku
ORAS UU: Sam vs Hikari
ORAS RU: Ginku vs Bad Ass - Look forward to this one
ORAS NU: Finc2612 vs FLCL
ORAS Doubles: Laga vs Braverius
BW OU: Jirachee vs papai noel - I think Sogeking will come up with something sneaky. He's proven he wins these games.
DPP OU: boudouche vs 199 Lives
ADV OU: McMeghan vs Triangles
GSC OU: Hill vs Mr.E
RBY OU: During Summer vs KratosMana

Why isn't Metalgross playing?

Ruiners

ORAS OU: PDC vs Tesung - I cant pick against PDC
ORAS OU: Tokyo Tom vs IAmGingy - If Ciele believes in you Tom so do I, go get 'em
ORAS Ubers: steelphoenix vs PROBLEMS - skitty will hax
ORAS UU: reachzero vs bugzinator
ORAS RU: Meru vs Pearl.
ORAS NU: Teddeh vs Toxzn
ORAS Doubles: finally vs TheFourthChaser
BW2 OU: SoulWind vs High Impulse
DPP OU: august vs TV-Rocka
ADV OU: dekzeh vs Golden Sun
GSC OU: Tiba vs Bomber92
RBY OU: Hantsuki vs marcoasd

Did I gave away my allegiance?
 
uh had fun scooters sorry it didnt end the way we wanted it to end. was clearly not good enough or experienced to play in spl this season, even if my friends won't admit it, and let my team down as a result. i really and truly am sorry for that. met some awesome people along the way that kept me from quitting before spl even started, and learned the brevity of how comically bad most of the community is at communicating and dealing with rudimentary social interaction.

had a great time this season, and cant wait to keep in touch with the people ive met and get the chance to play again if im still around.
 

Lavos

Banned deucer.
what a season. couldn't have been happier with the scooters this year. i mean really an upstanding group of guys and we stuck it out until the end. also some personal achievements with my first positive record in spl, and in a new tier as well. high level gsc is crazy and im glad i had the privilege of getting to play it this year. shoutouts inc

bro fist: best manager. honestly im most impressed with your ability to keep cool in really high pressure situations. there were a lot of times when it looked like the team was gonna fall apart and you pulled us back together reminding us what this is all about. that alone makes you the best. but aside from that you are online all the time and always there for every single player on this team. you made me feel like i never had to worry about the team atmosphere, upcoming weeks, games i wasn't confident in, and anything else. respect

CrashinBoomBang: man we go way back, i remember when me you and funk would get on skype and watch avgn, good times. i still don't know why the narrator needs a fucking chicken mask (get it?) but i do know that you're the one guy i was most excited about being on a team with. you're motivated as fuck like you were always down to test and helped build and all around contributed a huge amount to this team for which i am grateful. and you are hilarious. and stay up to ridiculous hours in the night watching games.

onto players (im just gonna go by tier order, nothing personal)

Stathakis: you're a fucking boss. very rarely have i met such a kind guy who's also good at mons and happens to additionally be an excellent team player. literally always positive, always supportive, hardly heard a negative word the entire season. do not let that last game define you because you're far better than what the haters say and tbh the stath i know lets his balls hang loose so keep that shit up and you will go far. i really hope you return for next spl because it was a honor to call myself your teammate. stay strong loukianos

xray: didn't get to know you as well as i would have liked bc you joined midseason and i was less active then. but in the couple of your games that i saw you made some dirty plays and i was impressed. scoot on brother.

Hack: the ubers lord himself, first of all props to you for playing 9 games of one of the most bullshit garbage metas i have ever had the misfortune of witnessing. your teams were always cool and once again just like stath you were always positive and kept your head up and motivated the rest of us to keep trying. that is the most valuable characteristic a teammate can have and luckily it was more than common on this scooters squad. wish i could have gotten to know you better as well.

IronBullet93: actually fuck it let me just say now, hella respect to all you oras guys because i do not understand a single thing about this new gen and i think it's really cool that you all can handle it so easily. what is a fairy type anyway? but ib93 once again (im sensing a theme here) a fucking upstanding positive dude who always offers to test even in metas he doesn't know, keeps us confident and does not put others down for their mistakes. one of the most chill guys on the team and really should have talked to you more. ah well, next year.

New Breed: not gonna lie i had no idea who you were before we picked you up at midseason but you did not disappoint in the slightest. funny and friendly guy and you give cased enough shit that you're worth it even without those traits. i feel like you should be new bread though, bread is delicious.

RiCH HOMiE CA$ED: good lord where to even begin with this one. well you are certainly a character. never have i seen anyone who is so fucking obsessed with spl. you put your game face on every single week and were the driving force behind more than a few of our wins. you have your highs and lows too...crazy hyped after a win and ready to e-punch shit after a loss, downright crazy man who might shoot up a school someday but i thoroughly enjoyed your presence in the channel. learn a lil lesson from the older guys on the team and calm yourself, being pissed off doesn't ever help anything. on a more mons related note you are the best NU player i've seen in this tournament and it is a fucking travesty that you went 4-5 because you played a million times better than that record indicates.

Lohgock: idk what type of shit you and pwnemon get up to every week but somehow it produces incredible results so keep doing what you're doing. your plays are insane and i respect you hella for being able to wreck in a tier that most people can't even play to an adequate level. doubles is some next level shit and you showed us all how it's done.

SkillinJah: what the fuck is this namechange free marth. we have been through some shit from clan mates back in early 2012 to not even speaking to one another and maximum disrespect all around to rivals in terms of some of the best bw ou players, and now to friends again. glad the cycle has hopefully stopped revolving bc you're a great player and an even better person. just downright fun to talk with, we share a lot of interests and could probably go on for hours to each other about the most obscure shit. beyond glad you joined the team this year and i hope to see you back next year as well, and before midseason this time

liberty32: lol i remember my first interaction with you back in week 1 ended with both of us calling the other irrelevant trash, idk when we stopped shooting daggers at one another but im glad we did because you're a dope guy with some funny stories and a soothing skype voice to boot. appreciate the fact that you let us shuffle you around different tiers and still performed at a high level the entire time. i feel like i know you pretty well now but we still don't talk as much as i'd like. don't be a stranger yeah?

Alf': ah the mysterious darkloic himself. i feel like masterclass put it the best when he said that you are the guy every team has who sits in the chan watching and reading everything all the time but rarely speak a word. in fact i only saw you talk once or twice outside of games. i remember a couple years ago when you shocked everyone with the plays and this spl was proof that you still got it.

Isa: talk about saving the best for last. i honestly cannot even begin to put into words how much you helped me and this team. when i started the season i was a know nothing gsc noob who thought boom teams and stall were the end all be all and didn't know to switch a phazer into misdreavus. and instead of shaking your head at me and letting me sink you took me under your wing from the very start and made me a hundred times better of a player than i was 9 weeks ago. teambuilding, coaching, testing, theory, you took the time to show me all of it and more and i can't thank you enough for it. you were an omnipresent force for me and gave me the training and the confidence i needed to show up for this team. and in addition to essentially doing everything but playing for me over the season, you handled rby like it was nothing and racked up a fucking stellar 7-2 record. and that's not to mention your constant help in other tiers, complete willingness to test, unparalleled activity into the late hours of the night, and incredible patience with idiots like me. i forget what we paid for you (15k?) but regardless of the number it was HANDS FUCKING DOWN the biggest steal of the season. if there was an award for best teammate of all time it would go to you. again, words cannot even describe what you did for us. tack så mycket, bro.

additional shoutouts:

Stratos: change it back to pwnemon you fucker. but seriously you and lohgock was the best doubles duo i've ever seen. individuals be hating because you didn't play a game but you can stake at least a partial claim on all those wins. also a straight up kind guy. been a pleasure

Henry: you had a rough season but who cares, still a great player and i have faith you'll go far in future tournaments. stay chill.

Windsong: left at midseason but stayed in our hearts, rip

BKC: and who could forget the legend, Kevin Crocune. i gotta say i was heartbroken when you didn't end up on scooters but you might as well have been on our team from the presence you exerted over the season. thanks for always being down to test, linking me dope music, and staying with me through the tough times when i played like shit and everyone else got mad. you're a good friend and i hope the game will never get in the way of that.

it's been a great year. felt like a roller coaster the whole time with all the ups and downs of the season but i'm proud of where we finished, especially this week starting off 0-3 and clutching some tough games to pull out a tie. amazing effort by every single one of you guys to get us there. we fought super fucking hard. we won together, and we lost together. at the end of the day, i'm glad i can call you all my teammates and my friends.

i look forward to scooting next year!
 
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