(3)Vulgar vs. (7)Lars
*BATTLE OF THE WEEK
Topic: Old Men Playing Cards
Stats
Vulgar: 15-4 Vote Spread, 0 NS, 1 Shutout
Lars: 17-1 Vote Spread, 1 NS, 1 Shutout
OATS: This is the topical version of a striker vs. grappler. Lars is an all-time titan, a fine-tuned topical machine. His storytelling is unparalleled as far as the remaining competition, and his rhyming is always immaculate. He enters the semifinals with a strong resume, pitching a perfect opener against Objective before toppling highly-regarded Certain in the second round, coasting in the quarterfinals with a no-show win. Where Lars will be at a disadvantage is against the daunting creativity of Vulgar. For all of Lars' skills, he can approach a topic with in a straight-forward manner that leaves him vulnerable against Vulgar's hyper-imaginative musings. Lars will have to forego the first few ideas that come to him and wait to find the stronger concept to compliment his elite level writing.
Vulgar is one of the expected semifinalists in many ways. As the overall third seed, Vulgar has clearly carved his spot among the most talented writers on the net. Vulgar is probably the most original writer of the semifinalists, which is saying something considering the other participants. Of course, this is his greatest asset as a writer, as he is wont to overwhelm just about anyone conceptually, giving him a headstart off the line. He's shown his consistency through arguably the hardest path to the semifinals, eliciting the mercy rule in his opener against Innovator on his way to handily defeating Split Eight in one of the best matches of the tournament, as well as the ever-so-handsome oatmeal. In Lars, Vulgar faces his toughest test so far, and will have to avoid going too deep in the rabbit hole conceptually while also maintaining a higher standard of mechanics than he has needed to thus far.
Verdict: This matchup becomes closer given the picture, which I expect to favor Lars and his narrative finesse. Vulgar is on a roll though, and looks to be a serious contender to win it all. I predict Vulgar to win by 1, maybe two votes
PANCAKE: This is basically a coin flip, with two diametrically opposed styles. Lars has had the second best run in the tournament, next to dead man. He’s gone 12-1 in matches that have actually gone to votes with wins over Objective and Certain. He was no-showed by Pent but wrote a verse that would’ve held its own against another submission. Vulgar has had arguably the toughest road to the Semis; after Innovator he beat Split Eight and oats, two writers who have the skill to be in this round. After shutting out Innovator he won his next two matches by a three each. Lars is a topical legend, having champed leagues and tournaments over countless years and sites. Vulgar also has been writing for quite some time and is more of a name on the current version of Netcees.
Although Lars is a topical mainstay, I was relatively unfamiliar with his writing before the tournament. Aside from the random Open Mic or brief NWL appearance I knew him more by name and reputation than as a writer. In this tournament, though, he’s backed up that reputation. His rhyming mechanics and style are understatedly complex; he uses relatively standard scheming with a nice dash of internals but focuses on slightly off-kilter or non-normal word usage to make them unique. He can drop the occasional vocab as well which is always a nice weapon when in deft hands. Also, it seems his readily accessible style and content works well with voters which can’t be overlooked. In terms of concepts used towards the topic he often goes straightforward but writes with enough nuance and uniqueness that it leaves the reader interested and satisfied. He’s yet to truly blow me away in this tournament, though. He’s simply written better than each of his opponents. In this match I agree with oats; Lars will have to be a bit more clever in his approach. I have no worries that he can match Vulgar on a technical level. It’s losing the battle before it’s even started that he has to worry about. I think it’d be short-sighted to say a writer of his caliber and repute is incapable of stepping up in the big stage and crafting a unique concept. I expect we’ll see a great verse from end to end; concept to execution.
Vulgar is a writer unto himself within the Netcees topical scene. Along with Black, he has the most distinct style on the site. As someone who’s usually more interested in the rhyming as opposed to the content of a piece I have a high level of respect for Vulgar’s technical ability. He writes some of the most unique rhymes on the site, often complex, rhymes I’ve never seen before. His content is almost without exception deep. He employs metaphors, imagery, and commands to detail the human condition or situations and topics he’s interested. I find that no matter what he’s writing about it’s couched within the framework of his view on life; a verse as an explanation of how and why. Sometimes he gets to be a bit highfalutin for my tastes, but that’s a good side to err on when writing here, I think. Every style has a possible negative, whether it be complex rhymers having ‘no content’ or dour writers being ‘too serious’, and that possible negative of his style isn’t that bad. That’s a bit too many words talking about his negatives; he’s almost always razor sharp in his execution and can out write basically everyone when he’s at the top of his game.
The topic is even, in my mind. For some reason I think Vulgar will do well with the age aspect of the picture and Lars will do well with interaction of the people, whether it be in the present of the picture or in the past.
As I said, this is a coin flip. I’ve underestimated Lars every round of the tournament thus far, having picked him to lose the last two rounds. I think this will be slightly against the grain but I’ll go with Lars. Gut call, and I expect this battle will be a great one.
Lars 51/49