[Certain]

A few thoughts while I kill time trying to avoid heavy traffic on my way home from work.

Title Match - Frank (6-2) vs. PancakeBrah (5-1)
This match clearly is the on-paper battle of the week. What it's going to come down to is how much PancakeBrah cares compared to Frank. Frank cares a lot. PancakeBrah is the more polished and nuanced writer, but Frank uses his imperfections to deliver emotion. He might even be better off against very polished writers because his style stands out more as against the grain. Also, PancakeBrah no-showed in a similarly high-stakes match against Mike Wrecka in the Writing Challenge League and has not fully invested himself in this league aside from maybe one verse. He often writes to his own whims, but to win this he will need to be more creative than Frank. Pick: Frank, 60-40.

Contender Match - Vividlyvague (6-2) vs. Vulgar (4-2)
Vulgar has been dancing around his true talent for most of his run in this league. His best verse probably came against NYCSPITZ way back in his first or second match. But this week, he might even be better off taking the conservative route as he did last. Vividlyvague writes with tremendous sprawl and swings for the fences more than anyone in this league. His best is elite, but he only has hit that level once or twice with full verses. More often, he is beset by one or two lesser stanzas in otherwise strong verses. Vulgar is consistent and refined and won't have similar issues. Pick: Vulgar, 70-30.

Mr. J (5-3) vs. NYCSPITZ (3-3)
This battle will be interesting as hell. Mr. J has not shown his full ability since beating me for the title, but consecutive losses with personification/twist verses may force him to re-examine his strategy. NYCSPITZ has not written a full verse in probably at least five weeks, but at his best, he is one of the five best writers in this league. Even if we imagine a world in which NYCSPITZ shows with a full verse, there still is the issue of him actually addressing the topic. One point in his favor is he needs to win to make the playoffs, while Mr. J already has assured himself a spot. Pick: Mr. J, 53-47.

Mike Wrecka (4-4) vs. patrown (3-2)
Mike Wrecka was writing with half his ability for the first half of this season, but he seems to have figured out what was going wrong and fixed his issues lately. patrown is one of my favorites for his fluid writing style but sometimes struggles to narrow his focus and tell a story clearly and cleanly. That will play in Mike Wrecka's favor. Pick: Mike Wrecka, 60-40.

Diode (3-0) vs. Adonis (3-4)
This is not the battle of the week, but it might be the closest matchup. Both of these guys would really like to win this week to bolster their chances of making the playoffs. Time may be an issue for Adonis, but he writes with a chip on his shoulder and will show one against Diode. Still, Diode has a very unique style. He has cleaner diction than Adonis and has shown terrific creativity. Picture week seems as though it might work in his favor, too. Pick: Diode, 51-49.

Buddha (2-4) vs. symetrik (2-3)
Buddha is the better writer in this matchup. His mechanics are cleaner and his flow is significantly stronger. By all means, he should be an elite-tier writer in this league. But he almost always seems to shoot himself in the foot. symetrik doesn't. He's quiet and tends to write short but well-crafted stories. Unfortunately, some people have missed what he's writing about in the past. If symetrik can deliver a creative and tangible story, he could make life tough on Buddha. But my guess is Buddha is determined to right his wrongs. Pick: Buddha, 55-45.

King Ra. (2-4) vs. ThisIsDAM (2-0)
King Ra. has the mark of Buddha (please tell me someone else has seen How High). He similarly is one of this league's better writers but similarly seems to find ways to lose, though in his case, it's often a no-show. ThisisDAM has a throwback style, reverting to what a lot of writers were doing back in 2003 or so. He will outrhyme you and come up with a creative topic, but he lacks the nuance or fundamentals of some writers. That's not such a bad thing, especially because King Ra. doesn't show those traits every week anyway, though. Pick: ThisisDAM, 55-45.

ZYG (1-2) vs. Mordycai (1-0)
ZYG already posted a 40-line verse. I haven't read it yet and prefer to wait until both verses are in, but if I had to guess, he took a very literal take on an abstract photo. I like that about him and often use the same route. Mordycai will need to focus on emotion to win. His verse last week was good enough and showed topical league experience but lacked the kind of depth and nuance he'll need to beat ZYG. Pick: ZYG, 80-20.