FRLG 2023 Tourney Round 1 Pickems

1. Juanly, Chippy, Sheltie

Juanly double bags his way to first, Chippy has played well in races this past month so i wouldnt sleep on them, could end up being a very close race since Sheltie isn't a slouch either despite not having recently been doing runs. Kaizo Ironmon is still FRLG afterall

2. Wave, Bounxii, Maddict

This could be the closest race for 1st in the first round. Despite not having a 2:02 bounxii plays to and above that level. None of these three have been apart races the past month or in general so kind of up in the air on how the results will play out. One thing to watch is that id expect Wave and Bounxii to do WR route while Matt does Late Surge, meaning if Surge does Surge things this could be a lot closer of a race between everyone then people expect

3. Randall, KR, Xan

This could be a very close race between these 3, no slouches or inexperienced racers here (maybe not as much Xan but theyve been grinding attempts). Randall hasnt played much FRLG in a while unlike KR + Xan, but imo playing FRLG is like riding a bike, its hard to forget. KR gets the most FF memes of anybody but he'll finish out 2nd place and qualify for R2

4. Truely, Bang, Ekman

Pot 1 runners are Pot 1 for a reason, Truely has come back to FRLG and hasnt lost a step. Bang has a lot of FRLG experience but i don't think itll be enough to take 1st here. Ekman is learning the game for the tourney, and while a good runner its hard to imagine he gets as comfortable with the game as the other two are, but with that said I still would not count any of these racers out from winning this one. Should be a good watch

5. Main, Eddaket, Leaf

Main is a bad matchup for anybody so I don't expec thim to drop this race. Eddaket i believe is doing Late Surge for the tourney which ill use as my reasoning to give him an edge over the more frlg experienced Leaf. Also hard to ignore his performance across all generations of pokemon games

6. Icy, Krolm, Tso

Could be close between Icy and Krolm here. Krolms been improving fast but Icy is still a bit ahead. Don't know too much about Tso but its hard to pick them above these more experienced runners. Another good race, assuming Icy does the good route I see a steady victory for him

7. Ana, Amoeba, Ceegs

Ana is the scariest person to race in this entire tourney imo. This is just a blanket 'Ana will win his race' pick. Amoeba also a great Gen 3 runner, and can definitely give Ana a run for his money with his history of race upsets. Ceegs got an unlucky draw here, drawing some of the top runners in their respective pots

8. Pokeguy, Kadir, Doumeis

Not gonna be the person who picks against Pokeguy lmao. Kadir is a great runner and i have a lot of faith that he'll make this race a close one. I dont know much about Doumeis but i'd say again that they got unlucky, both of these runners know what theyre doing and your not gonna be seeing to many mistakes coming from either of them

9. Kukker, Nerdy, Viroda

Kukker has been away from frlg for a while now but left on top, and based on his past tournament performances I wouldnt be surprised to see him show why he's still there. Nerdy has put a lot of practice into the good route and has been improving steadily, would expect this to not be a blowout, this race has high upset potential. Viroda coming in rusty against Kukker and Nerdy is unlucky but i dont think he'll be that far behind these two. If i had to guess how this goes Kukker is on pace for a 2:03 and has a terrible death, still wins with a high 2:06 just because

10. MathGenius, GShark, Odden

Hahahahaha what a suprise, stock Tourney winners for all of round 1. Mathgenius is easily at a WR level in this game and thats quite hard to beat. Gshark still aint no slouch and neither is Odden, could be a banger race but if MG ends up running away with it i wouldn't be too shocked

Round 2 Advances on Time: ChippyToothy, Bounxii, KR, Xan, Bang, Krolm, Amoeba, Kadir, Nerdy, GShark