Hello and WELCOME BACK to yet another Tiebreak edition of the UNBIASED PREDICTIONS
Europe (0) vs. Brazil (3)
SM OU: Mana vs Eternal Spirit | Mana played beautifully against mncmt, but he faces a much stiffer test this time around. Gama usually manages to pull off wins. Super Saiyan Tony did dismantle him last round with a hard read on Gama's Greninja, but this is still a player that has filled up the sheet at an astounding rate in the past year and a half. I think he's a better player and should take this one.
ORAS OU: TonyFlygon vs Nintendi | Probably the biggest surprise of the tournament alongside LA's miraculous run is the ascension of TonyFlygon. The former YouTuber went from being known as a great manager who didn't play an ounce of competitive Pokemon to being a multi-gen threat who qualified for the Smogon Classic playoffs and smashed all of his World Cup opposition. His showings have been pretty impressive, and he's shown that he has the potential to be a top player in the game. That being said, there's no way I can favor him over Nintendi. I've thought Nintendi was really good for a while, and his performance this tour is showing that his Snake performance against ABR was merely an anamoly. Tony is tough in 2019, but Nintendi should be better.
GSC OU: Jimmy Turtwig vs Tamahome | Jimmy's been pretty impressive in the recent months and is proving himself more and more to be worth his hefty SPL price tag. I think he's a pretty solid GSC player. His opponent, though, is no slouch. Tamahome is one of the best old gen players of all time, and while he may not be known as much for his GSC prowess in comparison to his DPP and ADV skills, I am confident that he can pull through in a close one here.
So...here we are once again LOL US EAST IN A TIEBREAK! West has to be feeling demoralized after ben gay did his trademark routine of making people think he's amazing before snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. They had this series wrapped up. Giving second chances to a dynasty team rarely works out well. On the bright side, though, they do have higher odds of beating NE in the tiebreak than they did of beating them at 0-0.
US Northeast (2) vs. US West (1)
SM OU: bro fist vs. lax | lax got the best of John in their initial meeting, but I have a hard time believing that the best tiebreak player ever is going to lose again. lax has proven himself to be a capable player, but until John loses a tiebreak, he should be favored against anyone on Smogon.
DPP OU: BKC vs. Philip7086 | BKC is definitely the best DPPer in recent memory, and arguably the best ever. His knowledge is unparalleled and we all know how skilled he is. He doesn't seem to be in this best of form, but a game in his home tier might just be what he needs. That said, this is in fact the variance madhouse. Phil knows his way around this tier too, and ultimately, this game's probably going to come down to some nonsense tech. I think Phil will get a better matchup and pull through in a fun one.
GSC OU: ABR vs. Lavos | Lavos is without question the best GSCer. But, something just tells me that ABR will win this one game. I've been very high on his GSC abilities for a while and think the more defensive nature of the tier perfectly complements his playstyle. ABR's form right now is crazy good; his Classic series vs. BKC was one for the ages. He should have lost to ben gay, but at the end of the day, no one is better at playing fat vs. fat than Archie. This should naturally be a close game, but I think ABR edges out Lavos slightly in a repeat of last year.
Picking two 'underdogs' strays from my normal practices, but nothing about US East / Northeast 2013-19 is normal. As an avid sports fan, every instinct I have tells me that West blew their chance of winning this with the ben gay throw. It reminds me of when the Patriots came back from 3-28 to tie the game and won the coin toss. After being on US East for several years and witnessing many absurd runs first-hand, this series seems destined to go 1-1 with John winning the final game. It just seems like destiny. West still has pretty decent odds of winning the tiebreak, but something tells me that East will only lose when John's unbelievable streak comes to a close. lax slayed blunder in SPL to clutch it for the Ruiners. But, can he take down the tiebreak God himself? I don't see it.