[#1] Team Raiders (6) vs [#4] Circus Maximus Tigers (5)
SM OU: reyscarface vs p2 - Reyscarface is surely the bigger name and more experienced tournament player. Hell, his results this SPL easily outdo those of p2, but I do not think this will be a one-sided battle. P2 has used some questionable teams, but he's a solid player who tends to not donate away games and if he makes a good team choice, I expect this to be a close game. Still have to favor Rey given all that was said above, but should be good.
SM OU: KratosMana vs Steve Angello - Another interesting battle. Anti has been one of the most impressive SMers in terms of team choice and I think he's clearly a high-level player, too, but Steve has a knack for some interesting brands of creativity and he isn't afraid to make some unconventional plays and manuvers throughout his games. I think that Steve might have a bit of a stylistic or match-up oriented advantage against Anti given how both of them play, but I think Anti has been too solid to predict against ever since the NJNP game and even before that, so expect another close one, but leaning in Anti's favor.
SM OU: Nedor vs Eternal Spirit - I think this game is going to be interesting because ES tends to use some really offensive stuff and it might but Nedor on the ropes, so it'll depend a lot on how well he prepares and is ready to handle whatever is thrown at him. So far, I think the two of them have shown to be on a similar playing level, but I think ES starting out 3-0 in SM and bringing some interesting teams might give him the edge, especially with Nedor coming off of a tough loss and being in the spotlight for the first time (not that ES handled OLT finals incredibly well, but he's a proven solid player at this point, in my opinion).
SM Ubers: Hack vs Mazar - Mazar has done so many improbable things this tournament and I know a lot of people in this community tend to dislike him, but I think he's a competent player and if anyone is going to pull this sort of upset, it's him. With that said, Hack was rated the best Ubers player by just about everyone coming into this tour and despite having a mediocre start and then taking a break for a while, I think he's the type to come back even stronger and that'll be an issue for Mazar. Just based off of this and tier knowledge, Hack should win.
SM LC: Kingler12345 vs OP - Kinglernumerous is good at playing SmogTours friendly and probably good enough to break into the LC playerbase during SPL, but OP has came back from a really rough start to turn some heads and help lead the Tigers into the fourth seed they somehow ended up with, so you have to give him some credit and I think he's the likely winner given all of the momentum he has on his side and how solid his teams have been for his opponents as of late.
SM DOU: Stax vs MajorBowman - Stax has showed a really high ceiling throughout the season, but I think Bowman is the best Doubles player over the past two SPLs and he knows how to handle a big match, so predicting him to win just based on that.
ORAS OU: TDK vs Nintendi - TDK looked really good in most of his ORAS games this SPL and I think he's going to handle this in a similar fashion to those. Nintendi has been surprising and showed that he's quite capable, but I think he's a league below TDK when it comes to preparation. In terms of gameplay, TDK also has the edge, so going his way here.
BW OU: Jayde vs Tokyo Tom - Tokyo Tom still feels like a bit of a WIP to me when it comes to being one of the better BWers out there in an SPL environment and the results have, more or less, reflected that. Jayde has been the better player in almost all of his games and has a fuckton of support (not that Tokyo Tom doesn't, but I think Jayde's might mean a bit more here). I think this will probably go to Jayde in a pretty straightforward fashion, but I'm interested in what each of these guys bring.
DPP OU: roscoe vs Tamahome - Probably one of my favorite games overall and one that will fits the playoff atmosphere. I thnk this game can truly go either way as Roscoe has handled SPL this year and in past years very well, but Tama is one of the all time greats overall and in the tier. I expect a great game and I hope to be able to catch this one whenever it happens to be. I am leaning slightly towards Tama because I like his teams more, but it honestly could go either way.
ADV OU: UD vs JabbaTheGriffin - I mean neither of the two have had particularly successful SPLs, but Jabba has had a few in the past and has a much higher ceiling as a player, in my opinion. UD is probably a bit more active and will put a bit more into preparation, but I feel Jabba is the better player and generally those are safe to go with when in doubt.
GSC OU: BKC vs McMeghan - Whewww, this is going to be one hell of a match. I think I'd probably have the longest paragraph of analysis and tryhardery in my prediction for these two in just about any other tier, but I'm not familiar enough with GSC and I think the names say enough for themselves as is, so yea - hoping for a great one.
RBY OU: Tobes vs Zebraiken - I really hope Zeb wins and he actually showed competence last week and even consistent high-level play in a couple of his games with Peas, but Tobes is essentially an RBY veteran at this point and has been solid this year for the most part, so favoring him.