Lol. But I thought you were done with us, ESAM? XD <3 We love you too.
Was going to make my post this morning, but I ended up having no time, so y'all will have to wait another day.
On a serious note, if anyone thinks ESAM is better than the people above him on the list, well, that sounds like a personal problem. All I really see right now is a bunch of people from FL rolling up in the thread out of nowhere -- people who don't know the Pikachu community anywhere near as well as the people on the panel do unless they secretly lurk and stalk us -- to defend their golden boy. I appreciate the debate, I do, but at some point, it gets a little ridiculous, and now people are arguing about things that aren't even relevant to the list.
History? Why are we bringing up tournament results from the Stone Age? Why are we bringing up results from after the list was made? If you're going to argue about the rankings, at least take the time to understand exactly what the list is about instead of:
1. Look at list.
2. See ESAM not ranked as 2nd or 3rd.
3. Head spins, flip the **** out.
Also, really take a moment and look at ESAM from an objective standpoint. Wait -- don't quote yet -- seriously take a moment. He's a good player, but when was the last time he played anyone good outside of his state? When was the last time he played anyone good outside of his subregion? How many tournaments has he been to recently? How far out of his comfort zone has he been pushed in Brawl, or has he been playing the same people -- good people, but the same people -- over and over and over again?
Familiarity can skew results just as much as other factors can. The people above ESAM -- every single one of them has traveled and/or been to a large tournament with significant OOC/OOS attendance. God****, even the people below him have except for LDPK and Bigman. Every single one of them has played various players from outside of their region and proven that they have skill with Pikachu.
ESAM is good.
Want me to say it again for you?
ESAM IS A GOOD PIKACHU PLAYER. But because he doesn't travel or attend larger tournaments, he plays the same people over and over, he's learned their playstyles, and it puts him at a distinct disadvantage to the people above him on our PRs.
There are other factors as to why he's placed where he is, but I'm at my internship, so I don't have time to run around and find things to quote atm.
Not hating on FL, because you guys have some talented players. But your love for ESAM is a liiiiittle bit subjective. I have faith that if he went OOS, he would do well, but until he plays outside of his little box where he's loved and cared for and everyone is on his ****, excuse us for the reality check.
EDIT: No disrespect meant to anybody, of course. I'm just being straightforward.