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Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Playoffs Smogon Grand Slam XII Playoffs [ Won by Giannis Antetokommo-o ]
- Thread starter Finchinator
- Start date
- Status
grats on winning giannis, after watching all those incredibly deep indiv runs, makes it so worth it to finally see it pay off
Really well deserved, grats!
Congrats to mence for a killer run!
Giannis Antetokommo-o MY GOAT FINALLY WITH THE PIXEL LETS GOOOOO!
Amazing run bud, all the work all these years finally paid off!
Giannis Antetokommo-o MY GOAT FINALLY WITH THE PIXEL LETS GOOOOO!
Amazing run bud, all the work all these years finally paid off!
God Giannis
G1 (UU) | G2 (RU) | G3 (NU) | G4 (LC)
ggs to mncmt, an amazing player, consistently tough opponent, and someone who has put up nothing but impressive results across several tournaments and tiers.
And somehow this became a reality?!? This feels UNREAL man, I am super glad to finally accomplish my goal of winning an individual trophy after so many other close attempts. As an OU main, I NEVER EVER expected Grand Slam to be my first ring. I joined this tournament with a very casual mindset, simply wanting to mess around with non OU tiers for a change. I had several early round exits and didn't begin taking this seriously until I saw I had a chance to qualify if I won the Ubers Open. I thought the chances were slim, but I went for it and ended up winning to sneak my way into playoffs. From there I faced a big dilemma as I had practically zero knowledge of any lower tier aside from Ubers. So, what did I do? I went ahead and started to tackle the tiers by relying on my crutch for all tournaments: the ladder. Grinding six separate ladders was no easy task and a big time commitment on my end, but I attribute it immensely to my success. Slowly but surely I started getting the hang of the intricacies for each tier, growing more and more competitive as my knowledge of them increased. Thank you to everyone I faced on there and for providing a venue for me to practice.
Equally as vital to my success were the people who were kind enough to reach out and lend a hand to me during these playoffs. You all deserve some recognition, so here I go:
Thanks to everyone else who supported and encouraged me from the sidelines. I think this tournament was a big personal turning point for me as a player. I proved to myself that I am more than just a OU one trick pony and can adapt to other tiers quickly while making use of different team styles along the way. It really provided me with a newfound respect and admiration for players and legends of the game who show such insane consistency across multiple tiers. Winning this really lit a new fire in me and I want to see what else I can do as a player as I continue to compete. See you all in other tournaments.
DIOR DIOR
ggs to mncmt, an amazing player, consistently tough opponent, and someone who has put up nothing but impressive results across several tournaments and tiers.
And somehow this became a reality?!? This feels UNREAL man, I am super glad to finally accomplish my goal of winning an individual trophy after so many other close attempts. As an OU main, I NEVER EVER expected Grand Slam to be my first ring. I joined this tournament with a very casual mindset, simply wanting to mess around with non OU tiers for a change. I had several early round exits and didn't begin taking this seriously until I saw I had a chance to qualify if I won the Ubers Open. I thought the chances were slim, but I went for it and ended up winning to sneak my way into playoffs. From there I faced a big dilemma as I had practically zero knowledge of any lower tier aside from Ubers. So, what did I do? I went ahead and started to tackle the tiers by relying on my crutch for all tournaments: the ladder. Grinding six separate ladders was no easy task and a big time commitment on my end, but I attribute it immensely to my success. Slowly but surely I started getting the hang of the intricacies for each tier, growing more and more competitive as my knowledge of them increased. Thank you to everyone I faced on there and for providing a venue for me to practice.
Equally as vital to my success were the people who were kind enough to reach out and lend a hand to me during these playoffs. You all deserve some recognition, so here I go:
bb skarm - While we didn't work together in playoffs, you will be the first person I mention. You were the one to put the idea of Grand Slam into my head and if you didn't I likely wouldn't have joined or be writing this post today. My introduction to lower tiers started with you and our friendlies. I want you to know I appreciate the time and talks we had regarding these tiers and other subjects. You're an insane talent and I'm hyped to see how far you go.
Vert - Ubers is the only reason I qualified for playoffs and you are the main reason I got into the tier. You already know how much I enjoy the time we spend together laddering and talking Pokemon, whether it's Ubers or OU. Your hold on SV is insane and there are very few players, if any, that I consider to be on your level in this generation. I think you believed I could win this tournament more than I did early on and really appreciate the encouragement.
Eniigma TheShoddyStrawman - After Ubers, LC is my favorite lower tier despite all the negative opinions I've seen on it. I think it's really cool and was very confident when playing the tier, partly due to both of you. You were both of great help in fleshing out teams and ideas, and I am very thankful that you were both willing to provide me with guidance. The amount of beatings I took from Eniigma in particular to learn this tier is embarrassing, but it worked out in the end!
Togkey lax - My NU crew! The amount of work and ideas put into this tier was insane but extremely worth the payoff. Togkey, you in particular have an incredible grasp on NU and genuinely believe the teams you helped me with were metagame altering (shout-outs to Pyroar). Your idea to embrace the cheese with Wyrdeer in my one PU game was also super clutch. If anyone is looking for a lock and free dubs in those tiers for SCL, look no further than Togkey.
Booty Sage - Booty, you were the driving force behind my UU and your skill with building and playing in this tier is ridiculous. I didn't drop a single UU game and this was in large part due to your help with making me feel at home with the tier. This isn't the first time we have worked together and you know how highly I think of you. Sage, you were also integral to my success in this tier. You weren't afraid to call us out on any garbage ideas we had and were a great help with filtering the good from the bad (and making us all laugh while doing so).
Edgar Inder - I am so glad you guys were willing to lend a hand. Of the Ubers players I've watched, you two are up there as my favorites. When I started to run dry on building ideas for Ubers, you guys were there to change that. You all provided me with different outlooks on the tier and I can't thank you enough for offering your assistance with ideas and teams during the later rounds of these playoffs. I really love Ubers and look forward to playing the tier more with you guys in the future.
BluBirD Rarelyme - Massive thanks to both for the RU help. This is the tier where I struggled the most in terms of ideas and teams, partly due to the crazy amount of threats RU has, but you were both so helpful and patient with me when it came to figuring this metagame out. Congratulations to BluBirD in particular for the doctorate degree bro.
TPP Star - Two kings! You were both there to help with ideas and plenty of tests for several tiers whenever needed and I can't understate how helpful it was to have players of your caliber for high quality games.
Aurella - THE GOD MATRIX. I am glad to have seen what all the legends and tales were about during finals. You reached out to me about managing SCL out of thin air and while the idea of us leading a team together sounded crazy, I knew it'd work. Grinding these tiers was partly motivated by the intention to manage with you and while it didn't work out in the end, perhaps we will have the opportunity in the future. Glad to have made a new friend in you during the past few months.
Vert - Ubers is the only reason I qualified for playoffs and you are the main reason I got into the tier. You already know how much I enjoy the time we spend together laddering and talking Pokemon, whether it's Ubers or OU. Your hold on SV is insane and there are very few players, if any, that I consider to be on your level in this generation. I think you believed I could win this tournament more than I did early on and really appreciate the encouragement.
Eniigma TheShoddyStrawman - After Ubers, LC is my favorite lower tier despite all the negative opinions I've seen on it. I think it's really cool and was very confident when playing the tier, partly due to both of you. You were both of great help in fleshing out teams and ideas, and I am very thankful that you were both willing to provide me with guidance. The amount of beatings I took from Eniigma in particular to learn this tier is embarrassing, but it worked out in the end!
Togkey lax - My NU crew! The amount of work and ideas put into this tier was insane but extremely worth the payoff. Togkey, you in particular have an incredible grasp on NU and genuinely believe the teams you helped me with were metagame altering (shout-outs to Pyroar). Your idea to embrace the cheese with Wyrdeer in my one PU game was also super clutch. If anyone is looking for a lock and free dubs in those tiers for SCL, look no further than Togkey.
Booty Sage - Booty, you were the driving force behind my UU and your skill with building and playing in this tier is ridiculous. I didn't drop a single UU game and this was in large part due to your help with making me feel at home with the tier. This isn't the first time we have worked together and you know how highly I think of you. Sage, you were also integral to my success in this tier. You weren't afraid to call us out on any garbage ideas we had and were a great help with filtering the good from the bad (and making us all laugh while doing so).
Edgar Inder - I am so glad you guys were willing to lend a hand. Of the Ubers players I've watched, you two are up there as my favorites. When I started to run dry on building ideas for Ubers, you guys were there to change that. You all provided me with different outlooks on the tier and I can't thank you enough for offering your assistance with ideas and teams during the later rounds of these playoffs. I really love Ubers and look forward to playing the tier more with you guys in the future.
BluBirD Rarelyme - Massive thanks to both for the RU help. This is the tier where I struggled the most in terms of ideas and teams, partly due to the crazy amount of threats RU has, but you were both so helpful and patient with me when it came to figuring this metagame out. Congratulations to BluBirD in particular for the doctorate degree bro.
TPP Star - Two kings! You were both there to help with ideas and plenty of tests for several tiers whenever needed and I can't understate how helpful it was to have players of your caliber for high quality games.
Aurella - THE GOD MATRIX. I am glad to have seen what all the legends and tales were about during finals. You reached out to me about managing SCL out of thin air and while the idea of us leading a team together sounded crazy, I knew it'd work. Grinding these tiers was partly motivated by the intention to manage with you and while it didn't work out in the end, perhaps we will have the opportunity in the future. Glad to have made a new friend in you during the past few months.
Thanks to everyone else who supported and encouraged me from the sidelines. I think this tournament was a big personal turning point for me as a player. I proved to myself that I am more than just a OU one trick pony and can adapt to other tiers quickly while making use of different team styles along the way. It really provided me with a newfound respect and admiration for players and legends of the game who show such insane consistency across multiple tiers. Winning this really lit a new fire in me and I want to see what else I can do as a player as I continue to compete. See you all in other tournaments.
DIOR DIOR
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gz Giannis, its been a long time coming
Congrats
Grats! Long time coming
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