Nugget Bridge Major Round Four: Highlight Matches

Fish is almost double the age of kingofkongs, and he’s got the experience to back that up. Although both have had relatively easy paths up to the Top 16 thus far — this is, in fact, their both battlers’ first appearance in the Highlight Matches — they both have the skill and ability to advance all the way to the top. Both are very skilled players who have qualified for the World Championships in the past, Fish in 2011 and kingofkongs in 2012. Looking towards the future, the winner of this match will play the heavily favored FonicFrog in the Top 8 — another grueling match. It’s safe to say that the easy matches are over for both players as they play only the best of the best from here on out.

FonicFrog is a clear favorite against his opponent Rukario, a name many may not recognize. Rukario is actually a good friend of mine who lives in NYC, and he qualified for the World Championships all the way back in 2008. He’s had a relatively poor showing at tournaments since 2008, but I’m sure he’s ready to change that and prove his strength. Both have had relatively difficult paths up to this point, with FonicFrog defeating Human in an incredibly close set of 3 the previous round while Rukario defeated one of Europe’s finest, trainer Koryo. Don’t sleep on Rukario; he definitely has what it takes to pull an upset and defeat FronicFrog.

Also known as: the real Canadian vs. the fake Canadian. nachocheese999 has shown that he the skill to take down to best of the best as he defeated veteran Huy in the last round. He is, after all, Canada’s best (Senior) trainer despite living in America. R Inanimate is bound to give him a tough time, though, and attempt to take the title back to Canada once and for all. As long as nacho doesn’t misclick and Spore his own Pokemon, we’re in for an excellent match. That is, unless his Pokemon manage to avoid a bunch of Leaf Storms. Then we’re in for an awful match.

This is definitely the feature match of this round. Two of the most consistent players in recent times finally meet head to head in what’s sure to be an epic set of matches. Crow’s 10-1 streak at Nationals clearly shows his skill, but Nightblade has done consistently well as well, especially with 3 NB Circuit tournament victories in a row. Surprisingly, neither player has yet to qualify for a World Championship yet. The winner of this may very well go on to win the entire tournament.

Somehow Scott and I both managed to choke early enough to allow Snake and MrBopper to fill up the Top 16 portion of the quadrant. Snake has had a pretty difficult path after playing Calm_Lava in the first round and Cypher in the second. Mrbopper is however 6-0 at the moment and I watched him destroy Red Striker in the previous round. Snake, the 2011 US Juniors National Champion, recently proved he isn’t afraid to play with the big boys as he finished 4th at the 2012 World Championships in the Senior division. We’ll see how he fares against an even bigger boy this round.

DrFidget has kind of flown under my radar until Regionals, but his Top 8 performance at Indiana Regionals with such a unique team shows his team building and playing abilities. He’s also probably had the most difficult path to the Top 16, defeating Unreality, TheGr8, AND cakesofspan 2-0 in each round and is the only other player that is 6-0 thus far next to MrBopper. Although Wolfey is the clear favorite here, I think Fidget will give him a real tough time and maybe squeak out with the W.

In a bracket with Zach, Alaka, Dozz, and *cough* evan, this Top 16 matchup pairs two true bros together. Eiganjo got away with the free win last round, but he’s won all four games he’s played so far. Falco’s had a relatively difficult path up to the Top 16, coming on top of drcossack, evan, and Nickscor who are all notable names. Having qualified for Worlds before and with a recent Top 4 finish at Cali Regionals, Evan’s got the experience behind him. Eiganjo, as one of the Netherlands’s only competitive VGC players, is looking to bring home a title to his home country.

wer has managed to defeat 3 past Worlds participants in IceArceus12, Duy, and 2012 World Champion Dim in his rouote to the top 16. I didn’t even expect him to make it past the first round, but he’s proved me dead wrong each round. Alison has a ton of experience in VGC 2012 with a Regionals victory and Top 16 at US Nationals. Will that be enough to propel her through wer’s hot streak, or will she go down in another unfavorable matchup for the underdog?