During the end of March/ early April my gf and I went on a 3 week coaster trip throughout China, Japan, and South Korea. I wanted to make this report about China since it's pretty difficult to plan a trip to China with the lack of information available.
Planning started last year in September and we used coast2coaster to map out our trip, then we tried to find any information about the parks we picked which ended up not being much. The Coaster Kings had some great blog posts, and we found a couple YouTube videos from ATLsloan which ended up being super helpful.
I also digged through reddit and reached out to some very helpful Redditors that gave me advice! Thanks u/MrBrightside711 and u/Noxegon
We visited:

• Hong Kong Disneyland
• Ocean Park
• Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park
• Oriental Pearl Tower
• Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World
• Joyland
• China Dinosaurs Park
• Shanghai Disneyland
• Happy Valley Shanghai
• Universal Beijing
• Happy Valley Beijing

The Hong Kong portion of our China trip was super simple. Uber existed and there are no internet complications. I do recommend getting an octopus card and loading it with money, you are able to put it directly on your iphone and you will use it for trains, taxis, checking out of stores, it was even accepted in Disney!

Hong Kong Disneyland:

We flew into Hong Kong from Osaka and landed about 2am. We got a hotel right in the airport, and woke up at 8am to uber over to Disneyland, check into our hotel at the explorers lodge, and rope drop at 10:30am. After getting to the park we realized rope drop wasn't needed.. this park was DEAD. We went right to Mystic Manor and was one of 6 people in the pre-show section. (amazing ride but not a coaster)
Then we went over to Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. This instantly became my favorite Disney rollercoaster. (at this point we had been to all Disney parks except Shanghai, which only has clones) The fakeout lift, and the launch section were great.
The new Frozen area of the park really was beautiful, and made the visit that much more worth it. Their version of Frozen ever after is a bit more modern, but much the same of the Orlando version. Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs is great to look at, but not that great to ride. It's very short and probably great as a child's first coaster.
Not much to say about RC & Hyperspace Mountain. If you have ridden any of their counter parts, you have already experienced these as well.
Wandering Oakens Sliding Sleighs
Big Grizzly

Ocean Park

This park has 2 areas, the lower entrance area which has a ton of shops, smaller rides, and a aquarium. The upper area on top of the mountain which required a chairlift ride up is home to the larger thrill rides. While the bottom portion still seems fine, the upper portion has about half of it closed including the 2 SBNO coasters still sitting there.
However, their 2 operating coasters were both open. Hair Raiser was a great B&M, and the setting and usage of the terrain only amplifies it. Arctic Blast isn't much to write home about, but it was enjoyable and they sent us around the track multiple times.
Hair raiser from the loading area
SBNO mine train

Mainland China

Once you hit mainland China everything becomes so much more difficult. Thankfully we did plenty of research in advance and downloaded DiDi (taxi app) WeChat, and Alipay (Payment apps) You also need to verify yourself with your passport in these apps DO IT BEFORE you get to China unless you want problems. The language barrier exists much more here than any other country I have visited, Google Translate was needed for EVERY conversation. If you are planning a trip here make sure you download the Chinese Simplified translations in google translate incase your internet gets spotty (it will.)
Call your cell provider to ensure you will have working service in China, it prevents the need for a VPN while out and about.. however still download a VPN for when you are on wifi as the great chinese firewall blocks EVERYTHING. We used LetsVPN and it worked amazingly the whole time in the mainland.
Most places will not want to take your cash. Before you leave make sure that you have a credit card added to both alipay and wechat. There is still a chance your apps wont work! Your hotel can take cash and send you the money on either alipay or wechat. When taking a taxi if your DiDi app isnt working, there is a mini DiDi app in alipay that works as well!

Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park

This park is where all my fears about my trip came true immediately. When you go to parks in China there is absolutely no way to know if coasters will be open or closed, even if you can find a website with posting they are probably not accurate.
We landed in Shanghai at 10:30 am and immediately got a taxi to drop our bags off at the hotel, and they waited for us to take us to Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park. As we arrived we saw Steel Dolphin cycling and I thought to myself how great it was that we would be starting this portion off strong. As we got to the steel dolphin entrance it was blocked off with an employee explaining via google translate that the ride failed a inspection earlier in the month and they were only testing to regain its certification. I asked if there would open anytime in the next week, they said no. We then went over to Family Coaster which was CLOSED. We then decided we would try to salvage the day and ride a couple other rides.. we couldn't find a single one that was open.
Our taxi driver was still outside when we left 30 minutes after he dropped us off and he asked why we were leaving so early. We explained the situation and he took us to guest services and complained for us without us asking for that. They offered us the ability to view a sea lion show which took place in 2 hours which we declined. I highly recommend skipping this park, it was a MESS.
An empty Steel Dolphin train RIP

Oriental Pearl Tower

Immediately upon the horrors of the last park, our taxi driver took us over to The Bund. While we were exploring there we figured out there was a coaster in the Pearl Tower so we headed on over. To get to the coaster you have to go to the top of the tower first, which is similar to every other observation tower experience in the world. Very nice views of the city though.
VR Rollercoaster is a junior coaster which probably isn't worth going out of your way for, but it may of been my favorite VR coaster I have done as it didn't make me sick!
Loading platform for VR Rollercoaster

Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World

On this day we attempted (and succeeded) to visit 3 theme parks in one day. There were too many parks in the Shanghai area I didn't want to miss so we had to hustle all day. For this to work I hired a private Taxi Driver to follow us all day and wait on us at the parks so we didn't have to figure out how to maneuver from park to park.
When we arrived at Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World we were met with another DISASTER.. the sign in front of the park showed that my #1 bucket list China coaster Beyond The Cloud would be closed. Hopeful we still bought tickets and entered the park because we saw the tilt coaster testing.
We ran immediately over to Broken Rail Roller Coaster and got front row on the first train of the day. This was my first Tilt Coaster and man was it awesome! Jinma rides while they may be a copycat company they did a great job on this. It was smooth, thrilling, and could compare to any other big coaster company creation.
While walking over to Beyond the Cloud, we found Roller Coaster a coaster which wasn't on coaster count or RCDB! It was a kids ride but we had to ride it since it was undocumented! Its a Jinma kiddie coaster and could compare to the junior Vekomas you can find in many places in the USA. We also got the ride published on RCDB! We skipped the spinning mouse because we couldn't find it and we were in a rush to get to our next park.
When we did arrive at Beyond the Cloud we were met with another heartbreak as it has a sign explaining it was closed for the day. I was pissed and desperate to ride this coaster so I didn't give up. The day we flew out we woke up at 7 am and risked missing our flight for another shot at riding. When we got there it was drizzling and every ride was closed.. except Beyond the Cloud! I believe we were the only 2 people in the park this 2nd go around and were able to ride 5 times by ourselves before we moved on and headed to the airport. They made us wait 5 mins each ride to see if other riders would show up (they didn't.) It was 100% worth the effort, this was my favorite coaster in China, and my #2 Mack overall behind RtH.
Beyond The Cloud just for us! They never opened any of the back restraints so we had to sit in the front every ride.
Big boi
The Jinma Tilt Coaster

Joyland

After about a hour 1/2 in Suzhou Forest we got back to our taxi and darted for Joyland! Upon arrival we went through the knockoff Dr Seuss area on our way to Starry Sky Ripper my #1 bucket list flyer behind flying dino which we rode a few days prior. I think Sky Ripper edges out my top B&M flyer just over Flying dino. Its smooth, thrilling and most importantly it doesn't have the immense pain pretzel loops bring me.
To our surprise all of the coasters here were open! We ended up going to Dragon Roaring Heaven next. There was a school trip and they all seemed to be waiting to just ride this ride, so it took about 30 minutes to get on. This mine train coaster was decent, and is comparable to some of the great mine trains in the USA, but the theming here makes it a slight step above the rest.
Next was Clouds of Fairyland which seemed to be in a state of despair. The front car of the train was closed, and they had these makeshift restraints behind your head that they made you hold for the duration of the ride which was uncomfortable. The ride itself was okay, I'd like to ride another one that doesn't have the weird behind the head nonsense.
Flying Loop
Mine Train Theming

China Dinosaurs Park

We got to China Dinosaurs Park around 3pm the park closed at 5pm, and stopped letting guests in at 4. We jogged straight to Dinoconda to ensure we got a ride in, and to our surprise it was a WALK ON! As with the other 4d coasters it was very intense, but it was the smoothest by far. I would put it behind Eej as you can't beat that intensity.
Next we went in circles trying to find Dinosaur Mountain it took us about 20-30 mins to actually find it hidden in the mountain side but it was a cool indoor Zamperla motocoaster. The theming was cheesy but it was all still great fun.
Super Roller Coaster went down and stayed closed until park closure.
Dinoconda

Shanghai Disneyland

This is a great Disney park! Pirates and Zootopia made this visit worth it alone. The Pirates here is the best version of the ride, and I'm glad i went in blind. I wasn't expecting what I experienced at all. The zootopia area was really well done and I hope we get some version of it in the US.
All 3 coasters here are clones of coasters I've ridden at other Disney Parks so I'm not going to go into detail about them. They are great, ride them if you get the chance.
Zootopia Ride
Tron but the not Florida one

Happy Valley Shanghai

Unfortunately when we woke up we realized the forecast was rainy and had high winds but we decided to attempt to go get some credits anyway. We knew that it would probably not work out but yolo.
We were greeted with 4 out of 7 coasters closed including Diving Coaster, Mine Train, Wooden Coaster, and Coastal Ant.
We headed straight for Mega-Lite which was good fun, we had ridden its clone Piraten in Denmark back in June of 2023 so we knew what to expect. Still a enjoyable small coaster that packs a punch. Truly is a mini I-305
Next was Crazy Elves which is your basic spinning mouse. Then we got a ride on Family Inverted Coaster which wasn't anything crazy but was fun and will be perfect in BGT as a step-up coaster.
Mega-Lite loading platform
Family inverted coaster

Universal Studios Beijing

After a hectic morning in Shanghai trying to get a ride on Beyond the Cloud we flew to Beijing! We got there late at night and checked into our hotel right outside Universal.
We bought the "Set of all Express Passes" which was good for all the major rides. This ended up being worth it is the park got more and more crowded as the day went on. Upon entering the park we heard an announcement that all rides are open but there is inclement weather which may close outdoor attractions so we headed right to Decepticoaster. Decepticoaster is everything the Hulk retracking should of been. The coaster is glass smooth, the jank is gone, and made for a much better ride experience. Personally, I love Hulk as its at one of my home parks here in Orlando but I find myself riding it less and less due to how I feel after riding.. I didn't have this issue here.
Next we took a wrong turn trying to get to the Jurassic area and ended up going through Kung Fu Panda's area which was really cool, and its boat ride was worth riding once. This path put us in a circle which had us ending up in Harry Potter land so the next coaster was Flight of Hippogriff. This was the same as all its counter parts, nothing special here. We skipped the other rides in this land as we have been to every other universal park (other than Singapore) and didn't need to experience them again.
We finally found the Jurassic area and got on Jurassic Flyers which was not what I expected. I was assuming it would be interactive similar to Arthur at Europa Park, it wasn't. Just did a loop around the mountain and got some great views. While in the area we did arguably the best dark ride in the world Jurassic World Adventure. That ride is INSANE.. nothing we have in the US compares to it.
On our way out we hit Loop-Dee-Doop-Dee which I believe is the only Jinma at a major park? It's a basic family coaster, and worth the credit if you can get on with no line.
Better Hulk
Jurassic Flyers

Happy Valley Beijing

The last park of our trip before we spent our last few days sightseeing! We arrived at opening to a very large crowd (the biggest of the trip.) All of coasters had staggered openings so we tried to strategically plan it out to be at the opening of each one.. which didn't work out at all. Extreme Rusher was closed all day and has been closed for a while due to its sister coaster rolling back and crashing into another train in the station.
We headed to Crystal Wing first for its 10:30 opening. We weren't the only ones with this idea as there was already a decent line formed. We waited bout 30 mins to get on missing the 11am opening for our next coaster. This is a clone of Superman but with some really cool terrain and theming. Worth the ride.
Golden Wings over the Snowfield was stop #2. I'm not a fan of SLC's but this didn't ride like one. It wasn't smooth, but it wasn't painful either. It also has a different layout from the SLC's all over the US which was cool.
Next we went over to Flight of the Himalayan Eagle Music Roller Coaster which had a 11:30am scheduled opening which we missed by 30 mins. The line took about a hour, and we noticed there was a fastpass system that we couldn't figure out because of the language barrier. I used google translate on the signs at the entrance to no luck. The ride is a great mini hyper coaster that blasts music as you ride. Easily the best coaster in the park.
We walked past Family Inverted Coaster which had a hour+ wait which we didn't want to wait for as we just rode the clone the other day with no line. So we headed over to Jungle Racing which had a 45 min wait but we noticed a QR code next to the line which we scanned and ended up being the fast pass system! We bought a fast pass and walked right on. It was a great Mine Train that was very similar to the one in Joyland.
We then bought 2 fastpasses to Family Inverted Coaster just to get the credit.
This park felt a lot more taken care of than its counterpart in Shanghai, and is definitely worth a visit.

The end

We took a couple days to visit all the big sites like the great wall of china, the forbidden city, the temple of heaven, etc. which is a must-do.
Then we flew over to South Korea for our next portion of our mega coaster trip!

Well folks, the season is over, with the final whistle being blown on a 4-2 loss to Hoffenheim, and the remaining excitement now revolves around which manager will Bayern manage to pull in after the massive debacle this past season has been. There is much blame to go around, with Tuchel, many of the key players, and the supervisory board all failing in significant fashion as Bayern fall to third-place in the Bundesliga, and a very early exit in the Pokal in embarrassing fashion (though Bayern did manage to rally for a strong run in the Champions League).
Roberto de Zerbi in action.
At this point, Italian manager Roberto de Zerbi seems like the most likely candidate, which an announcement coming that he'll be leaving Brighton this season. However, some additional candidates remain available, as Erik ten Hag, Massimiliano Allegri, and some others are still out there and de Zerbi is not a lock to Bayern yet.
Ten Hag with Bayern II.
Either way, this post explores what I would largely do if the transfers were up to me at Bayern. While the specific manager does play a degree of importance in these decisions, part of this does extensively look at some options who could fit a number of schemes, styles, systems, tactics, and such. My slight preference is for Erik ten Hag, as I think his familiarity from Bayern II and his past success at Ajax would be easier to replicate at Bayern than it was at Manchester United, a club I find is more concerned with its branding than its footballing. But I think de Zerbi has a lot of potential, though I worry about whether Bayern's supervisory board would be willing to let de Zerbi do his own thing, and the lack of German is going to be a problem for that board. It's problematic that the board feels so much need to do things one way and operate in such a chaotic fashion, so whomever Bayern hires is likely going to be fighting an uphill battle.

Defense

Bayern's future keeper, Nubel (left) and current keeper, Neuer (right).
Let's start off with the goalkeeper position, a spot that Bayern are largely set at. Right now, Bayern is set at that spot, as Manuel Neuer continues to be an elite goalkeeper even at 38-years old. And while the Bavarians have Sven Ulreich as the immediate backup keeper, Alexander Nübel is the long-term successor being eyed and groomed for the role, recently extending his contract at Bayern, though he remains loaned out to Stuttgart. Then of course there's also Daniel Peretz, a 23-year old keeper that Bayern added this past season. He seems likely to head out to a club such as RSC Anderlecht for a loan period for awhile this summer. In the meantime, Bayern might have Johannes Schenk back from Muenster to fill that third keeper on the roster, or he might get loaned back out once more. Overall, Bayern appear to be in really good shape for the goalkeeper spot, with Neuer continuing to lock things down for another season or so, before probably passing the torch over to Nübel in 2025 or 2026.
Shifting to the centre-back position, Bayern right now seem to have a good deal of interest in adding another big time centre-back, with rumored links of varying degrees to Ronald Araujo and Virgil van Dijk. This would likely mean that at least one current centre-back would need to be sold, as Bayern have a decent enough set of four starting caliber CBs on the roster, headlined by Matthijs de Ligt, but also including Kim Min-jae, Eric Dier, and Dayot Upamecano. My guess would be that if any departs, Upamecano is the most likely, given his inconsistent play and limited role in the lineup these days. De Ligt is the leader of the backline and has had some terrific outings as of late. Min-jae was a big time signing this past summer from Napoli, but has had some bumps along the way adjusting to life in Germany, and meshing into the current defensive system, which is quite hectic from the frequency of errors committed as a whole. Min-jae was excellent at Napoli and so it would not be too difficult to project him returning to that level of form after additional time in Bavaria.
Eric Dier was brought in as a late in the window depth addition, but so far has become a very solid add, starting a good number of matches alongside de Ligt. And whether he projects to start or is a rotational player next year, Bayern have already triggered an option to keep him next season. He's a solid piece to the puzzle overall, capable of giving them some veteran experience, and another Englishman alongside Harry Kane.
If Bayern did opt to sell Upamecano, then they reasonably could take a look at some other options to add into the mix. The top end of options here probably starts with discussing Ronald Araújo further, a 25-year old Uruguayan star for FC Barcelona. He's been a long desired prospect for the Bavarians, but he'd cost a pretty penny no doubt, as some have projected it could be upwards of 100 million € to acquire the talented CB. That's a big price tag, especially after Bayern spent almost €60 million last summer to bring in Min-jae.
Riccardo Calafiori in action for Bologna.
Should de Zerbi take the Bayern job, it's already been rumored that he has some targets in mind, namely Bologna center-back Riccardo Calafiori, a 21-year old Italian talent who can also handle some duties at left-back. He's been excellent this past year under Thiago Matta, and could fill a very valuable role for Bayern, competing with Min-Jae and Dier for the starting position next to Matthijs de Ligt. He also happens to be a left-footed defender, something Bayern have been lacking there as of late.
Some more middle tier options that peak the interest could be Kevin Danso, a 25-year Austrian CB playing for RC Lens in France. He spent a handful of seasons at Augsburg, and so has a good deal of Bundesliga experience and 100 appearances for Les Sang et Or these past three seasons. He's projected to cost about €25 million, so a much cheaper option that could fit well. Another mid-tier option could be Maxence Lacroix, currently in the Bundesliga at Wolfsburg. He's valued at about €20 million, and is a very strong and menacing presence on the backline, still 24-years old. He did get cooked a couple of times against Bayern, which probably harms some appeal there for some, but week-to-week he's been a quality player for Wolfsburg. The third name I'd mention here is Feyenoord's Dávid Hancko, a 26-year old Slovakian talent. He's a smart, savvy defender, and also provides some versatility between centre-back and left-back, which could be quite useful going forward. Oh and I'd be remiss to not mention German national Malick Thiaw, currently at Milan, as another promising option there.
The other option is to go with a younger, less established talent, someone like Armel Bella-Kotchap, who landed on Bayern's transfer rumor threads a good deal in the winter circuit as they were searching for some defensive help.
At left- and right-back, Bayern are in another similar spot where they might be fine, as the Bavarians have a deep rotation of capable options, but positional versatility, injuries, and inconsistent play have caused varying levels of upheaval. Let's start with this one -- if Bayern's new manager is able to convince Joshua Kimmich to remain as a right back, that would be one of the biggest wins they could manage. Kimmich is an elite player at the position, and while he's certainly a high caliber midfielder as well, I think he's best at right back. Whether that's likely or not, is a to-be-determined piece, but it should absolutely a conversation a new manager has with Kimmich.
While Bayern has kept its contract offer on the table for Alphonso Davies, I must admit, whether this is a popular position or not, I would not be a huge fan of Davies remaining with the club at this point. Part of this is because it very much appears as though Davies largely checked out of the season, instead letting all the plotting of a Real Madrid move occupy his headspace, leading to some very uninspired performance. Essentially, I hate to put it so bluntly, but I have been unable to really see it any differently despite my best desires to, it really looks like Davies quit on his team midway through the year, dreaming of Madrid. Whether Madrid come in with an offer at this point or not remains to be seen, but I would look for a way to remove Davies. As much as he offers a lot of potential, any new project for Bayern is going to require players who are bought in to making it happen once against in München, and I just cannot see that happening with Davies at this point.
Behind him, we've seen some excellent play down the stretch from Raphaël Guerreiro and Noussair Mazraoui, tag teaming duties at left-back and left wing to various degrees. I think if Kimmich is willing to man the right-back position, then a trio of Mazraoui, Guerreiro, and promising youngsters like Frans Krätzig and Adam Aznou would be sufficient.
Milan's Theo Hernandez, potentially Bayern's new left-back.
Bayern have been linked, however, with major moves such as AC Milan's Theo Hernandez, a world class player with elite pace and ability. They've also apparently looked into hijacking a potential reunion of Ian Maatsen and Borussia Dortmund, as the Chelsea-owned talent was quite good in Dortmund on loan. BVB would like to get Maatsen permenantly, though Bayern could pull a heist there. I think Bayern could also look at some other German options, such as 27-year old Stuttgart left-back Maximillian Mittelstädt, who recently broke out to the tune of some national team call-ups lately, or perhaps emerging youngster Luca Netz, who looked very promising at Borussia Mönchengladbach this past season.
And then the final note here, but Bayern are likely set with their right-back room, as Joshua Kimmich, Noussair Mazraoui, Josip Stanišić, and Sacha Boey are all on the team. However, there have been rumors that Bayern are interested in Leverkusen's Dutch phenomenon there, Jeremie Frimpong. While he plays as a very forward-oriented RWB, he's a very prolific player outright, with tons of big moments for Leverkusen this past season and a big part of their success.

Midfield

Do not for this one, while the no. 10 position is classified as a midfield position, I am including it in attack, with this one more just focused on the no. 6 and no. 8 roles in the midfield.
Pavlovic had a breakout season in Bavaria.
Bayern's midfield is going to need a major reshuffle. The two most certain pieces to be kept around are emerging youngster Aleksandar Pavlović, an academy talent who has worked his way up to being a go-to starter late into the season, and Konrad Laimer, who is valuable due to his versatility, intensity, and toughness. Kimmich, we'll touch on more below, but in the mean time, one of the major questions for any midfield duo at Bayern is going to be who departs and how things align? I think the one guy probably on the outside looking in is going to be Leon Goretzka. He's had his moments, some ups and downs, but right now figures as the odd man out for assorted reasons, namely the need for more defensive help in the midfield. Goretzka would have a market too if Bayern opted to move forward without him, with teams such as Juventus, Manchester United, and West Ham all having interest over the past year. Unknown. I'd lean towards a departure, even if only because Kimmich in the midfield is a better overall asset, and Bayern would need to free up some funds to acquire a better midfield partner than Goretzka provides.
Then of course there is 29-year old Joshua Kimmich. Mentioned him earlier as ideally slotting in at right back for Bayern going forward, but he's also proven to be quite capable in the midfield. He's excellent at dictating the play going forward, with timely, precise passes, and an aggressive demeanor. He's not terribly reliable as a no. 6, and some of this was the source of the rift between Kimmich and Tuchel earlier this summer, where he and Tuchel were somewhat publicly feuding over whether or not Kimmich could handle that role. Ultimately, I do think Kimmich is better as more of a no. 8, with a more defensive-oriented type of player brought in to compliment him. I think in that role, Kimmich can be wildly successful for Bayern in the remaining years of his career, but a long-term extension is needed at this point. As I've said earlier, I would prefer to keep Kimmich as a right-back, but I am quite content keeping him in the midfield if Bayern can find that no. 6.
Everton's Amadou Onana is a tempting target for Bayern.
And speaking of the need for a defensively minded midfielder... I do believe there is one genuinely excellent option there, with Everton's Amadou Onana available. Onana is a Senegalese-born Belgian national, and came up playing in Germany, with time at Hoffenheim II and Hamburger SV. Thus, he's fluent in German and could integrate to life in München quite easily. He's a very disruptive defensive stopper, with excellent ability to make tackles, halt offensive build-ups, and then quickly turn and push the ball forward for his side to go on the counteroffensive. He's an ideal fit for the system, able to help turn defense into offense in a hurry. Another one for the no. 6 that's been mentioned for Bayern is Adam Wharton, currently at Crystal Palace. The 20-year old English midfielder had an excellent season this past year.
The other one that I would anticipate being a priority if we see ten Hag taking over is a ramped up pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, a fellow Dutchman who was at Ajax under ten Hag for awhile. De Jong's had some injuries issues plaguing him lately, but when he's on, he's an excellent possession-oriented central midfielder, bringing a very well-rounded game as well that includes some noteworthy capacity with dribbling, defense, and passing as well. De Jong also has a notable history/connection with Bayern's Matthijs de Ligt, which makes it seem more feasible that he'd integrate well into the team. In many ways, I think de Jong probably only makes sense as a replacement for Kimmich if he were to depart.
Additionally, while he has been mentioned more as a Tuchel target than anything else, Fulham's Joao Palhinha is an intriguing option as a defensive midfielder. He's an elite tackler and defender in the middle of the defensive half, and shows some solid ability to distribute the ball and lead the build-up. Personally, I think Palhinha is the ideal partner in the midfield to be paired with Aleksandar Pavlovic, whereas Onana next to Kimmich is more preferable there. So some options based on how Bayern wants to set-up. And one other name that could pop up here is Mats Wieffer, currently at Feyenoord, a central figure to Arne Slot's success there. A 24-year old Dutch midfielder, Wieffer has been an excellent option in Slot's midfield, and it seems likely he'll be pursued by Liverpool with Slot taking over there, but Bayern could perhaps try to hijack it.
While at this point, I think Bayern would probably add Onana or Palhinha, maybe de Jong if Kimmich leaves, and then call it a day with Konrad Laimer and Aleksandar Pavlovic there as well, with Kimmich maybe even splitting some time between right-back and midfield throughout the season, there could be room for more players to be added. For some additional depth in the midfield, I think Bayern would do well to go after former academy player Angelo Stiller, who appeared in almost 30 matches this past season for third-place Stuttgart. The 23-year old is an excellent passer, able to distribute the ball forward with precision and anticipation. He'd be a nice reunion for Bayern as well, as he's also born and raised in München, and was added to the national team roster for the EUROs. However, I think Stiller's probably one that Bayern does not really need at this point, though if additional midfield help becomes a need (say perhaps next winter), then he's one to continue monitoring. One other name here would be OGC Nice's Khéphren Thuram, a talented 23-year old midfielder who is quite cheap considering his talent. His brother played for several years at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Another younger option I'd love to add to the roster here would be 17-year old Sverre Nypan, a Norwegian midfielder who currently plays in-country with Rosenborg BK. I admittedly don't know much about Nypan personally, but am going off of something from I read earlier about Ten Hag and United already monitoring his progress. He'd be a nice piece to add to the mix with other young midfielders like Zovrenek and Wanner coming through the ranks. However, I think a loan for at least one of them would be worthwhile.

Attack

Simons has been electric this past season at RB Leipzig.
Looking at the no. 10 role for Bayern, I have some questions. Jamal Musiala is an exceptional talent, and at only 21 years old, Bayern need to be doing everything in their power to extend him and make him the central figure of the club in the years to come. But, as far as position goes, he's very versatile and that allows for Bayern to get very creative in how they configure their attack alongside him. And while Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is a top target for the 2025 transfer window for Bayern, I do tend to agree with take from Complexes on Twitter, that Wirtz probably follows Alonso to Madrid in 2025, and thus I'd be very much in favor of Bayern opting to add Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig this summer. This isn't to say Bayern should abandon its pursuit of Wirtz, but rather that I'd say that Bayern should pursue Simons this summer and be quite happy/content to land him, lest they risk going 0-2 on both if Wirtz does indeed land with Madrid next summer.
The thing I love most about pairing Simons and Musiala together is the versatility and creativity. While both tend to occupy a spot more frequently as a central attacking midfielder, Musiala has played a decent amount of time on the left wing and Simons has also played over as a right wing. Add in Bayern's current right winger, Leroy Sané, also showing some versatility between right wing and occasionally cutting in and operating centrally, and you have the recipe for a versatile, ever changing, flexible attack that can advance the ball. Overall, I think Simons addition into Bayern's attack would unlock a new level of effectiveness for the incoming regime.
The other one to mention here is Schalke academy product Assan Ouédraogo. At just 18-years old, Ouédraogo has already landed on the monitor of Bayern and RB Leipzig, and the two clubs appear to be battling for his signature. A move to acquire Ouédraogo and then loan him back out for more experience, whether back to Schalke or moving him up to the Bundesliga, would seem to be a solid plan for the Bavarian giants to see if Ouédraogo could become a long-term fixture in their lineup. If a move for Ouédraogo falls through, another young attacking midfield with immense promise that I think Bayern should look at is 16-year old Polish midfielder Jakob Adkonis, currently at Legia Warsaw. He'd definitely be a development piece long-term, but the upside is very high.
Then looking at the wing spots, Bayern are in an interesting spot. Jamal Musiala and Thomas Müller have interchangeably slotted in as attacking midfield types with the ability to spell time out on the wings. Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are both very talented options there, but suffer from a lack of reliability with their frequent injuries.
Fuhrich is a very solid player who could be a strong add for Bayern.
This section thus deals with a lot of ifs. I think Bayern could theoretically look at it and say Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Müller and then maybe some Mathys Tel, as well another who can play wing at a good level, and be content. But, if they choose to sell one of Gnabry or Coman, which I think they should, Bayern could be in the hunt for a replacement there. They've already been linked with German international talent Chris Führich. He has been very good for Stuttgart this past season, and would only cost Bayern a fraction of some bigger names. At 26-years old, Führich could still give Bayern a solid run of play, and has shown some versatility to alternate sides or even drop into the midfield as required. He's a steady and solid player, not a superstar by any means, but could serve as a valuable rotational piece if Bayern do move on from Coman or Gnabry.
Another option would be the speedy Nico Williams, a 21-year old Spanish winger playing for Athletic Bilbao. He's going to be in the very expensive price tag range, but with his combination of potential, production thus far, and excitement, he could be well worth the cost. Another younger option here, and a more affordable one, would be Brajan Gruda, a 19-year right-side winger playing for Mainz. He infamously had the jersey swap photo already with Thomas Müller and seems like a rising talent with 27 appearances for Mainz. While Gruda statistically hasn't had much production thus far, at just 19-years old, he's given some very promising performances against the likes of Bayern and Dortmund as well while getting acclimated to life in the Bundesliga.
If Bayern continues to play Tel more as a winger than a true no. 9 striker, which I think is also the correct call, then Bayern are going to need to be in search of a strong replacement for Eric Chuopo-Maxim after this season, a genuine backup to Harry Kane. There are two routes they can go which is to either find a youngster who could theoretically take over for Kane in 2-3 years (as most of the reports indicated he'd probably want to return to the Premier League before the end of his career to chase the all-time EPL goal record), or a veteran looking to milk the last couple of years out of their career and be a part of a championship squad. If Bayern go the youngster route, two names that stick out are Leipzig's Benjamin Šeško, a towering 20-year old Slovenian who has looked really sharp in Leipzig spelling Lois Openda. Sesko would likely cost a pretty penny, but if Bayern are willing to pay it, I think they should make that move. If they want a more budget friendly option than perhaps angling for Hoffenheim's recent DFB call-up, Maximillian Beier as a promising up-and-comer could be in the cards. Beier scored against Bayern in the final match of the season. Not as young, but Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind, a 25-year old Danish talent, could perhaps fit nicely, as he can also operate as a second striker and produced 11 goals in the Bundesliga this past season.
If Bayern want a veteran option, Serhou Guirassy has been a player that Bayern are already linked to. He's also got some interest from Dortmund and Tottenham as of late. While Guirassy is a fun player, and a talented one, as he was second in the Bundesliga in terms of goals scored, I don't think that he should be a significant priority for Bayern, as they need to allocate funds to other positions before coming around to landing a backup striker to Harry Kane. And since we've mentioned significant versatility for a lot of others, both Mathys Tel and Thomas Müller could certainly be able to fill in situationally, though if there's a major injury to Kane that becomes more problematic.
Personally, the move I think is much more likely is finding a veteran striker on a lower level squad who might be interest in chasing some titles with a bigger club. Bayern added Chuopo-Maxim as a 31-year old, albeit from PSG rather than a smaller club, but I do think it's a decent example of a reasonable move Bayern can make to shore up their depth without breaking out too much spending. Two names I think really intrigue in this kind of mold are Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramarić, a 32-year old Croatian forward who scored 15 goals this past season for Die Kraichgauer, including a hat trick against Bayern in the season finale as well. The other one is Tim Kleindienst, a 28-year old German who has played largely in the 2. Bundesliga but has spent a few seasons in the top league at Heidenheim and Freiburg during his career. He had an excellent showing in Heidenheim's upset win over Bayern earlier this season, netting himself a brace, two of his twelve total goals this season. Both are veteran, experienced strikers with some capacity, but might be open to a diminished role behind Harry Kane in order to potentially get some bigger opportunities with Bayern's pedigree.

Final Squad Planning

Now, time to prioritize.

• Top priority for me would be figuring out what Joshua Kimmich is going to do. I'd still love to extend him, and ideally keep him at right-back which he's indicated he's open to. Besides, Kimmich's non-stop motor, stamina, and intensity make him well suited to being a highly versatile piece, so someone who starts at right-back every week, but can easily spell others in the midfield throughout the season. That's the top priority.
• Next one is figuring out who goes. In this exercise I am going to go ahead and move forward with the idea that I would sell the following players:
  • Midfielder Leon Goretzka
  • Winger Serge Gnabry
  • Defender Dayot Upamecano
  • Left-Back Alphonso Davies
• I could certainly be talked into selling some others, like Kingsley Coman, Kim Min-jae, or Noussair Mazaraoui, maybe even Leroy Sane if the contract talks don't prove fruitful. In this scenario, let's just say Kimmich is set to take on the right-back role, and thus we facilitate a departure for Noussair Mazraoui who still is in a stage in his career where he could command a bigger role at plenty of other quality clubs. With Kimmich and Stanisic taking on the roles there, the right back spot remains set.
• Before we even think about what the team needs, I'd see what Bayern can make happen to bring in PSG's Xavi Simons into the lineup, ideally a loan with an option to buy afterwards, though PSG seems reluctant to sell, and thus it's probably only a loan on the table. I'd still be fine with a one-year loan, as it'd set Bayern up to see about integrating him for one season and then either pursue and land Florian Wirtz next summer, or at that point revisit a purchase with PSG.
• After that, Bayern's defense needs better shape. They've had some rough stretches lately, and while the backline has shown some shakiness, I think adding a true no. 6 to command more of the structure and steadiness there is ideal. I would prioritize a pursuit of Everton's Amadou Onana, as his time in Germany suggests he'll be able to integrate into the team quite easily. Palhinha would be my backup option.
• Next up is the left-back role, and I'd be glad to see them make a big signing here, going for Theo Hernandez, whom it already sounds like they've been back-channeling with to facilitate something. He's a world class player who should fit just about any manager. After him, I think my next choices would be Maatsen and then Mittelstadt, though at that point, I would just as soon not sell Mazraoui and let him take over at left-back. But if they can move Davies, get Theo, then I am estatic.
• I'd want another CB option here with Upamecano on the way out. If it's de Zerbi as the manager, Riccardo Calafiori seems like a no brainer for him to add, though Kevin Danso would be a fun choice as well, as both play similar styles.
• For a striker behind Harry Kane, I'd make a push for Hoffenheim's Maximillian Beier. He's a very talented younger player, and Bayern can use him behind Kane and then he has the pace and speed to contribute as an additional versatile forward.
• With Gnabry out, the right wing needs some solidifying. Even though Sane is the starter, it would be nice to have further options there, so we'll go ahead and target Stuttgart's Chris Führich to join Bayern. Again, versatile and can be an excellent piece for Bayern.
• After that, it's youth stacking time, as I'd push to add both Assan Ouédraogo and Brajan Gruda, though probably with the desire to send both out on loan for another season or so. The priority is towards Assan, but either would be a very fun add.

Additions:

Position	Player	Former Club	Valuation*
MID	Amadou Onana	Everton	€50.00m
MID	Xavi Simons	PSG	Loan
LB	Theo Hernández	AC Milan	€60.00m
CB	Riccardo Calafiori	Bologna	€25.00m
ST	Maximillian Beier	Hoffenheim	€24.00m
RW	Chris Führich	Stuttgart	€23.50m
MID	Assan Ouédraogo	Schalke	€15.00m
RW	Brajan Gruda	Mainz	€9.00m

*- number listed is the value projected for the player on Transfermarkt for the sake of consistency.**- my preference here would be to facilitate a loan with an option to buy for Simons.
And of course, that means a number of players need to depart. Here's ultimately who I'd move on from:

Position	Player	Any Where In Mind?	Valuation*
MID	Leon Goretzka	Juventus	€30.00m
RW	Serge Gnabry		€45.00m
CB	Dayot Upamecano		€50.00m
LB	Alphonso Davies	Real Madrid	€60.00m
RB	Noussair Mazraoui		€30.00m

Again, just using the Transfermarkt values for consistency on these. This would lead to pretty much net zero spending if only these values were used. The reality of it probably becomes that Bayern would end up shelling out more than they'd get back, as I know, just off the top of my head, that with Davies contract where it's at, it's likely he wouldn't command as much as the valuation indicates. So overall, it's a spot where if Bayern can sell some of these guys for bigger figures, they can make multiple changes to the squad to revamp it.

Bayern Munich "Depth Chart" 2024-2025 Season

Harry Kane (left), and Joshua Kimmich (right front) are major pieces for Bayern's chances at a turnaround.
The idea of a "depth chart" isn't used in international football as much as it is in other sports, namely American football. However, think it's a useful organizational tool to get a feel for roughly what the squad would look like headed into this next season. The bolded names are the ones I'd most want in an ideal starting XI, and then the rotation and depth players would also see various minutes based on how far into the Champions League, Pokal, and other competitions that Bayern goes through, or injuries require.

Position	Starter	Rotation	Depth
Goalkeeper	Manuel Neuer	Sven Ulreich	Johannes Schenk
Left Back	Theo Hernández	Raphaël Guerreiro	Adam Aznou
Centre Back	Riccardo Calafiori	Eric Dier	Tarik Buchmann
Centre Back	Matthijs de Ligt	Kim Min-Jae	- - -
Right Back	Joshua Kimmich	Josip Stanišić	Sacha Boey
Defensive Midfield	Amadou Onana	Konrad Laimer	Noel Aseko Nkili
Central Midfield	Aleksandar Pavlović	(Joshua Kimmich)	Lovro Zvonarek
Attacking Midfield	Xavi Simons*	Thomas Müller	Arijon Ibrahimović
Left Wing	Jamal Musiala	Kingsley Coman	Yusuf Kabadayı
Striker	Harry Kane	Maximillian Beier	- - -
Right Wing	Leroy Sané	Mathys Tel	Bryan Zaragoza

And this sets up fairly well for the 2025 summer transfer window, as Bayern can aim to bring in Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, and either shift Musiala over to the left wing, where I personally think he has the highest potential, or find ways to integrate both together more centrally.
Loans

Position	Player	Club
GK	Daniel Peretz	R.S.C. Anderlecht (Belgium)
MID	Paul Wanner	Lower Bundesliga.
LB	Frans Krätzig	Austria Wien
MID	Assan Ouédraogo	Schalke

Could also maybe throw in a loan move for Zaragoza depending on how things shape out there. Feel bad for him. Not much opportunity for the guy lately.
Probably plenty of other good options, and I'm sure there's some parts that'll happen quite differently than projected, but this would be my ideal outcome for Bayern at this stage in the process. It's been a rough process so far, but think there's still lots of potential for Bayern with a revamped and refreshed squad.

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I do not know shit about fuck. That being said. What if ....
the NYSE is out of GME Stock since Jan 2021 but they won´t admit it. If there is no stock, is it impossible to have a real price discovery? They have demand but no supply. It's literally not possible, right?! That would explain why we see huge positions of "sold, not purchased yet?" in the books of market makers. What to do besides trading sideways? Well, the business goes on.
It's probably not all of it. I think DFV returned because he saw that GME broke out of the Dorito of Doom. What was the reason for the breakout? Probably it was about time. Full-year profitability, successful candy con product launch, change of investment-policy and a lot of cash on hand. Looks promising, doesn't it? Time to break out. DFV intensifies the breakout. Retail traders exercising calls intensifies the breakout. But still, there are no real shares! How do they do real price discovery if the NYSE is still out of Stock?
In reality, something has changed.
Everybody knows besides public/retail investors. There is no real stock! Therefore nobody buys. And suddenly there is a few shares. 4/23/24 suddenly 13,471 hit the market. And another 7,779 hit the market. They are real. Finally, somebody can close his position and not only cover it, with something that is not real. In the end, these shares are sold for 10.15 USD. There is a huge demand for this tiny supply, it's not the stock market anymore but a Madhouse with auctions like in the good old days when humans were yelling numbers at each other. It goes on for some days and somebody who can cover its short position or FDTs or clients accounts or whatever gets real shares. Finally. A few lucky can secure these shares for higher and higher prizes. The last REAL share for only 80.01 USD. What a fire SALE!!
Until that, it was the longest Mexican stand-off in the history of markets. 3,5 years.
The Company in question knows about it for years but did not do anything about it. Instead, the company improved secretly. And just now the company is ready to show the new face and because its like a birthday party, GME delivers a brand new batch of stocks.
Only now since there are real shares and not the fucked up phantoms, that they claim to be real, we can have a real price discovery. Nobody knows how long the company will be selling this brand new batch of stock, they only know its 45 million max and probably just enough for one big player to get out of the trade and finally cover. Maybe to off set a risk. There is no waiting, as soon as these shares hit the market, the rocket is off. At the beginning probably for about 20-ish USD a share. But soon for way more.
In this Mexican standoff, nobody moved. Not the HF, not Retail, Not the SEC, no institution, nobody moved for 3,5 years and know the company is ready and has some hope in for those who just buy buy buy!
But the company maybe does not plan to sell this batch of fresh stock to the public. The company has something else in mind ... TEDDY.
Neither way, I have no reason to believe that this company is hurting me – a DRSed Investor – because our interests are aligned. They told me, what they want Full-year profitability first. Check. RC told us he would hold the board of directors of BBBY accountable for their actions. The fraud case is on. Check. They told us they would not telegraph their strategy. Check. They told us bad news early, good news on time. Bad News, Q1 is not great. Good news on the yearly Shareholder meeting. Just in Time ... Checkmate.
PLEASE NOTE I DO NOT KNOW SHIT ABOUT FUCK.

Got to meet up with a buddy for my first Joe Nall RC event. It’s been planned for a bit over a month and never thought I’d get my Tacoma in time for the event but I’m glad I did. My Scion wouldn’t have made it. Torrential downpour (to which I got got caught in) left the airfield (Triple Tree) a mudpit. Good chance to test out the 4H.
Took delivery Taco Tuesday 2 weeks ago. Put 1k on it by the end of the trip. First Tacoma. I’ve been wanting one for over 15 years but just couldn’t justify when my xB has been paid off for over a decade, still runs great, and needed a van more for the kids. My day finally came though!

Think about the big picture. Think about who we’re talking about. Keith gill, who stood with regular shmegular people, he who in fact is also a regular ordinary guy..he helped a lot of folks get rich overnight and is back doing it again this week…. He said in one of the memes that this is not a SEQUEL but a REQUEL! I think there is sooooo much more stuff going on behind the scenes. Last time was a squeeze by identifying shorts and trying to win some money, this time he knows wtf is going on and has had 3 years to analyze the bs going on with Wall Street and formulated a plan. Tbh if you want my opinion RC AND RK are working together with other people and this is an elaborate scheme to take them down once and for all. This is a REQUEL, yeah a squeeze is going to happen as a result of what they are about to uncover, but this time the squeeze is not the main focus. (Every action has a reaction). He didn’t pump the stock to $60 and dip out he has a huge reputation and is a real person (family,friends,etc) he’s not going to risk that backlash of being labeled a swindler. Kmsl Naked shorting and market manipulation is affecting LOTS of honest good companies who have no choice but to RS and dilute, to keep the company public or go bankrupt and die. The ceos look like assholes but they are all suffering from these hedge funds and have no choice. Be patient. It’s bigger than what we think. Don’t give in to the fud and media. That’s where they control you. All I’m saying is chill. I’m down 3k+ as well but we’re not dealing with the possibility of rs or delisting (like we usually do in penny stocks) let’s just be patient and work together. #Gamestop #RK #DFV

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One thing that has stood out to me is that he put "Directed By Roaring Kitty" which makes me feel that this was probably edited in some capacity as one single "movie". So, like any movie, let's focus on the themes, and what these months of preparation have created ...

Disclaimer: I'm just a simple ape. None of this means anything. It's just memes and a single guy who just likes the stock. This is not financial advice. I put my full notes at the bottom.

Theme #1: Roaring Kitty Is A Symbol (and a Distraction)

In many of his tweet throughout, Keith often refers to Roaring Kitty like it's this symbol, idea or mask that is put on. In many cases, he alludes to the idea that RK is this scary monster, or a villain. Part of this is probably due to how he knows he will be portrayed by the MSM when coming out, but part of it seems to be a confidence game. His total confidence coming back so strong would/should be threatening for SHFs.
In many of his tweets, there is constant attention brought to Roaring Kitty being a symbol used to either strike fear in the hearts of SHFs or used to cause some sort of distraction.
Some tweets even seem to be that themselves, where they are used just for hype or on the fly as we saw to tease Jim Cramer. In this, I think the cat behind the bear is a bit on the nose (something is ready for a surprise).
There's actually one specific tweet that stood out to me, which is the one from Batman. \"3 years of nights. have turned me into a nocturnal animal. We have a signal now for when I'm needed. But when that light hits the sky, it's not just a call. It's a warning to them. Fear is a tool. \"It feels somewhat clear here that his return is a broadcast. He seems to be very aware that his return would be attacked by the MSM, and he would be the focus for the \"evildoers\".
Kitty is wearing everything on his chest, open and flaunting it. He's not hiding anymore.
He also makes multiple nods to being \"the villain\", and I think that's exactly how he is aiming to showcase himself to the MSM.

Theme #2: RC Approached RK With A Plan

It's hard to ignore the fact that many of the videos involve a "team" of people who gather together to pull off a plan/heist/fight/etc. There are many more not included here like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid references, multiple Ocean's movie references, Bevis and Butthead laughing about memes, etc.
Ryan introduces Kitty to a larger group of shareholders who like the stock and are ready to ride to battle. An \"Avengers\" of sorts.
\"Come hang, let's go out with bang\" Ryan told Kitty.
Ryan coming to him for help. There's a ton of them that feel like this type of conversation that could be between RK and RC.
Kitty is contacted like an agent and brought into the fold to help.
This Ocean's 12 scene where the team talks semantics about who takes the credit for what happened (and the job they are preparing to do). Sure feels like a funny conversation that could happen in real life if RC and RK got together.
These jokes continue as if the two are having a bit of banter. Kitty making a sarcastic nudge to RC about now being the CEO.
After telling us that there are \"no coincidences\" the very next meme tells us \"there are two of them talking\".

Theme #3: The Kansas City Shuffle

Kansas City Shuffle. An advanced form of confidence trick where the mark is aware of being involved in a swindle and believes that he or she can outsmart the swindler; however, this is all part of the trick, and by attempting to retaliate, the mark unwittingly assists the con artist.

I think this plan is what RC and RK might've set in motion. Think the timing of RK jumping back in before the end of the week was an attempt to rile up SHF, and quite possibly, this runup was greedy bears increasing their short position before RC or someone/thing else pulls the trigger.
This idea of a Kansas City Shuffle is littered throughout his memes.
Just like in the Prestige, the diversion is integral to pulling off the trick.
I think this is actually directed at the SHFs, showcasing that \"the plan requires them to fall for the trap\".
There's a \"plan\" continually mentioned.
Getting caught was part of the plan.
This one video of the two cars and the \"Kitty\" character has to charge headfirst into the truck before coming out on top. There is a game of chicken going on.
This one is interesting. he says \"this is art. get it?\" but the three photos used are all known optical illusions. The memes are serving a purpose.

Putting it all together TL;DR

• Kitty is purposefully causing commotion in order to distract and bait SHFs this week into getting greedy and increasing their short position, open up more crap contracts and dig their hole even deeper. There's nothing wrong with what RK has done, it's just memes, but he knows the scrutiny will be on him.
  
• RC and Kitty have had some kind of communication. I think that has to explain the timing of RK coming out of nowhere with a treasure trove of memes that must've taken weeks or months to make.
  
• I think the release of the 424B5, 8-K, and S-3ASR out of nowhere were going to give the game away for them on the bear trap. As we are finding for ourselves, the unique nature of the filings give their hand away more than they probably want.
  
• I think RK's sudden come back on a Sunday night is part of the confidence game. He needed to send a shock to SHFs and get them to come up with hasty plans to make money come Monday. It may have even been SHF that ran the price up early in the week only to increase their short positions on the way down.
  
• What are the chances that the stock is pumping this week and we hear nothing from memelord Ryan Cohen? Not even an emoji? I think there's a chance it might've given the game away. That said, I'm not very confident that's why, just a thought.
  

To Roaring Kitty: You are a saint RK. If you are reading this man, and you need help, I am a wizard with After Effects. I could help you keep producing these en masse. Happy to sign an NDA. HMU.

There's more but reddit only lets me upload 20 pictures. If there's a part 2 I'll add it below.

Sign up with this link and choose a plan to get extra free months. https://ref.nordvpn.com/YVoExRcMwUO

Prior posts:

• [ANALYSIS] Split1 and LAN Performance Review - APAC S (the prior post of this series, looking at APAC S. also explains some of the technical bits at the start)
• From Unknown to Unstoppable: Stat-Based Talent Scouting in Apex Legends (Split 1 analysis, in depth explanation of the model used here)

This is a series where I take a closer look at all the teams and players that played at LAN, review their stats, trace their progress from split1, and talk about the overall role of the region.
Today we're continuing with APAC N - this region is many things. Second-weakest, most top-heavy, and interestingly enough, also the most predictable region overall. Let's get into it.

APAC N

If APAC S was the weakest, APAC N would be the most imbalanced region. Looking at PVs, most regions have players of pretty much any level, so that when you order them by PV, you see a nice smooth slope from the worst to the best player. APAC N has no player with a value in the 50s. They don't have a player in the 60s either. They also almost don't have a player in the 70s. They go from CR Jusna at 47.0 straight up to KN 4rufa at 79.3.. with nobody inbetween. Things are weird in APAC N.
APAC N has produced a number of great teams, most notably:

• FNC, who have been considered the strongest APAC N team for ages
• RJW, formerly REALIZE and FUN123 before that - our tournament winner!
• PVX, who won the hearts of the crowd by doing well as a duo 2 years ago and who have probably been the most passive team in the world on the international stage, relying on placement points to an unbelievable degree but always doing well with that strategy (although they didn't qualify this time)
• NTH, there was a stretch where they were the main team next to FNC, but they could never get a great finish at LAN
• CR, a south korean team that was led by Ras, who was considered one of the best players at that time. They have since completely changed their roster and picked up the orgless team "ganbare otousan", who have also managed to gain quite a following

Once again we'll look at the teams from the last finisher to the best in order.

HAO - 40th

HAO is a Japanese esports organization. They have parted ways with their two coaches on May 10th.
There isn't much to say here. Their stats weren't great during Split 1, and they got worse at LAN. It looks like all three of them got caught off guard by the level of play that was thrown at them on the international stage. There are no big surprises here - you could point out HAO Right as the formerly best player on the squad, who fell to being pretty much the same as his teammates, but at the end of the day, this just looks like a team that simply got run over by everyone else and there wasn't much that any of the three could do about it. HAO 5CG only had 8 kills.
40th place. LAN is brutal.

NORTHEPTION - 34th

NORTHEPTION is a Japanese esports organization. They have parted ways with yukaPEROdator on May 14th.
NTH has an interesting history. They've finished APAC N PL in second place both splits in year 3. You'd think that this would mean that they'd be at least decent internationally, but this couldn't be more wrong. Their last finishes internationally have been 28th, 30th, 24th and now 34th - their worst placement so far. Their PL placement in year 4 hasn't been great this time around, barely making it to LAN with an 8th place finish. NTH is a struggling team, and their stats reflect that.
Taida, who has been a household name for APAC N still shows up being ahead, but his performance fell significantly between PL and LAN. YukaPEROdator seems to have been affected even more, as he lost 16.5 PV, which is a lot when your values aren't that good in the first place. With only 11 kills, he was the 6th worst this tournament, sharing that place with COL Kimchi.
One thing that stands out to me is that the entire team had decent damageratios going into the tournament (especially Taida, who had one of the best in the world), but got humbled hard in that department. It seems that where they could trade favourably in APAC N, they got instead put down at LAN. Just like HAO, they likely just got outgunned by teams that were much stronger fighters than anything they were used to. The only player that appears to have been able to put up a fight was Taida, but that's just not enough to even make it into losersbracket2. Taida had the third highest UR of the region, at 25.7.
I'm curious to see where NTH will go from here. I'd love to see them bounce back. We'll have to see who they pick up to replace yukaPEROdator.

RIDDLE - 31st

RIDDLE is a Japanese esports organization. Meltstera has stepped down from the roster on the 12th of April, and UmichanLoveti, who has won PL with FNC 2 splits ago, got signed today, on the 17th of May. Interestingly, Meltstera was his teammate on FNC back then, so Riddle effectively just switched one ex-FNC player out for another one.
Riddle shares this 31st place with 2 other teams, PUA and OXG. They're the last APAC N team that didn't make losers2 and had to go home after only 30 games.
Meltstera immediately stands out as the star-player of the team. He used to play for FNC and has scared NA teams into submission by tapstrafing around their heads for years, making a name for himself as one of the most experienced and mechanically skilled players in APAC N. And I think he's still got it in him, rocking the second highest UR in all of APAC N at 32.1. He certainly tried to carry, but just like with NTH, one strong player isn't enough to make it very far.
Another thing to point out is that Yukio entered LAN as one of the worst players of the field, with the worst damage and damageratio out of everyone (ignoring the 4 chinese/SA squads). He should probably work on his damage, as 276/game really isn't much, but he did seem to improve across the board and actually outkilled both of his teammates. That's nothing to scoff at. With that, he's the 3rd most improved player in the region at PVdiff +16.1! However, this says more about the region as a whole (barely anyone improved in APAC N), and the level he was at before.
Yukio actually has the third lowest dmg/kill value out of everyone at LAN, at only 367 dmg/kill. A cynical person would say that he's really good at stealing kills from Melstera, and a more charitable person would say that he's really making his damage count. I'm neither of those people, so I'll leave it up to the reader to decide which interpretation is more true. He also took the least damage out of everyone in the entire tournament! If we think a second about what that implies, we should quickly come to the conclusion that this is in fact NOT a good thing. Hint: The next 3 players on that list are all on NTC, the chinese team that finished 39th and that had the weakest stats overall by a long shot.
Saku was one of the people with the fewest kills in the tournament at only 8. This puts him at a shared 2nd worst overall, sharing that place with a HAO 5CG. There was probably someone who outkilled the poor guy in just a single game. I don't want to keep going about this, let's just say thank god for Meltstera (who is now gone!) and leave it at that. If nothing changes, I think there's a real chance they don't make LAN next time.
Onto the next team.

Red Rams - 29th

RED Rams is an Japanese team owned by Rakuten esports. They parted ways with their analyst on the 10th of May.
We have finally made it past losers bracket 1 and entered losers bracket 2. Here's the infamous team that got TSM into a world of trouble. Nicewigg jokingly commented that Red Rams was the first team that got the better of TSM by successfully contesting them and making them back off. I will say it not so jokingly: Red Rams are the first team that got the better of TSM by successfully contesting them and making them back off. Kudos to them.
Looking at their stats, it's a beautiful mess. Red Rams is like a mini-Aurora, in the sense that they don't give a damn if they take damage at all, as long as it means that they get to shoot back. Datch and Tikochan both do good damage but eat even more damage. Wayachang takes just as much damage but doesn't deal any, which can't be healthy for the team, but if it's enough to screw TSM then who am I to argue. They're team with the lowest average dmgratio out of all 40 teams, and I repeat: They made TSM leave.
Wayachang was also the player that got carried the 2nd most in all of APAC N. He was also the player that lost most PV between Split1 and LAN for APAC N, at -31.20. If you think back to APAC S, there's probably 10 players there that lost more, but that's APAC S. In APAC N, it's wayachang all the way, going from being the best on his squad to being the worst. I wonder what happened to him, and if they could've put TSM down even harder if wayachang had kept his level.
They're a fun team to watch. If we see them again, I recommend everyone dedicate a game or two to their POV.

Crazy Raccoon - 21st

Crazy Raccoon is a Japanese esports organization. They signed the formerly orgless team \"ganbare otousan\".
Here's the team with the 3rd best name, only behind "Reject Winnity" and behind what happens when you translate MDYw to english. Not surprising, as these guys had the absolute best name and also the best logo before they got signed, when they played as "ganbare otousan".
So how did they do? They missed finals by just 2 points. In a different world they could've denied Alliance their spot in the finals, but it didn't happen this time. Maybe it's karma for them sneaking into winners bracket in 20th after group stages. Just looking at their placement, if there's a team that's "the average team", it's probably them.
The first thing I notice when looking at the stats is that there's a beautiful staircase going up from Dogma's dmg all the way to jungHee's dmgratio. If jungHee had gotten 80 more kills, we could've added another step, but that also wasn't meant to be, as he got the fewest kills on his team.
jungHee's stats are a little strange, because they're just so unbalanced - his dmgratio is obviously great and it seems that he can regularly outtrade everyone in fights, but he doesn't get too many kills. He's the only CR player who runs the triple take (although it's not his primary gun), so maybe that goes some way to explain these stats, but even then it's pretty high and he really didn't play the triple take THAT much. It looks like he's really just a step above when it comes to efficient fighting and poking without getting poked back instantly.
Jusna's stats are bit more even where jungHee's are not, but they come out to be around the same at the end, as his overall PV is pretty similar to that of jungHee.
As for Dogma, he managed to improve by getting more kills, but seems to have gotten carried both at LAN and during Split1. At -27.4UR he is very clearly falling behind his teammates. The bottom step of the grande dogma-jungHee staircase is especially concerning - at the 6th percentile for damage, it seems like Dogma is barely doing any damage at all. This is the 3rd worst for APAC N and the 8th worst in the world, despite being on a team that really isn't doing too poorly (again, they almost made it to finals!). Despite that, he's the 5th most improved player in the region. This is mostly because almost nobody in the region does any improving.
In conclusion, jungHee and Jusna played great, Dogma not so much.

KINOTROPE - 20th

KINOTROPE gaming is a Japanese esports organization. They have since parted ways with the entire roster.
One of three APAC N finalists, this team has some interesting stats. The obvious player to talk about is KN 4rufa who has the highest UR out of all players this tournament, with 48.9UR, meaning he was the hardest carry player. What a tournament for him. Remember this clip? That's him right there, carrying KN on his back. Just a godly performance all around. He has a PV of 79.3, which is the highest we've seen so far. At +26.57PV he was also the most improved player in APAC N, and the 11th most improved in the world. He had the greatest positive UR change in all of APAC N and the 4th greatest in the world, at +48.68! But UR is teambased, so it didn't only have to do with him, it also had to do with....
MiaK, who was the carry player during split1 and he was the player who has lost the 2nd most PV in APAC N (-28.87), only behind RR wayachang. The same thing is true for UR, where he again gets beaten by wayachang. Nevertheless, his PV is still pretty good for APAC N at 44.8, it's just not the same MiaK that we've seen during PL. His greatest weakness seemed to be that he just took a lot of damage. Playing in a weaker region can build bad habits that are then relentlessly exploited by the top teams in the world, so maybe a bit of that has happened here. Sloppy positioning, peeking a second too long, moving just a little too predictably - all things that you can get away with in APAC N, but once you get squeezed between DZ and AUR you'll find yourself in a world of hurt if you don't play it perfectly.
1tappy was the weakest player on the squad during LAN and during Split1, but where he managed to get kills before, it appears he is now struggling to simply survive. He was the player who got carried the most in all of APAC N by a large margin, with a UR of -45.9, which is the 6th overall for this tournament.
My biggest questions after viewing this team are: Can 4rufa keep it going, and will he be the next up and coming player in APAC N? And: Can MiaK bounce back from this performance and reclaim his old level?Definitely keeping an eye on that roster next split, provided they stay together. One of the teams where I can't guess at all at how they're going to do going forward.

FNATIC - 3rd

Before we get to the last two teams let us take a quick breather and look at this old thing:
Discussion before LAN with a few guys from the apex power rankings, shoutout to kppoll.com - RJW, DZ and FNC went on to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.
It's march and I had been looking at stats for PL, noticing that certain teams appear to have extremely odd numbers, where odd means out of this world, crazy outliers. FNC's stats were so good that I thought I had made a mistake somewhere and inflated them by accident, but they turned out to be real. What's the deal with FNC? Let's set the scene a little.
Going back in time, they had YukaF, Meltstera and Umichanloveti, then that squad dissolved and FNC was rebuilt around YukaF, who was the carry player at the time. I believe he needs no introduction, as he's literally THE APAC N player. Possibly the most famous player of the region, except for maybe Ras who no longer plays the game.
So who else do they pick up?

1. Lykq. He plays split2 on Naked (now known as Riddle), together with 4rufa, who we know is INSANELY good. Both of them had PVs in the 90s - but Lykq's value was even better than 4rufa's. At playoffs he sets himself apart from 4rufa, Lykq's UR there is 38 (!) while 4rufa is lagging far behind. Fast forward to champs, he's now on NTH where he has a UR of 28, so he's carrying there too. But if you think that is impressive, look at his teammate on NTH, who was the second pickup:
2. Satuki. Forget about the placements and look at the stats, he's the hard carry player of NTH. Playoff1 last year he has the highest UR on his team at 27, carrying hard, before Lykq joined the team. Split2 last year, he has a PV of 94.1, which is the 5th highest in the region. Playoffs2, he has the 2nd highest UR in the world, only behind ezflash. Champs? Highest UR for all of APAC N. If hardcarry was a person, it would be Satuki. And he hasn't played on a bad squad either, he's been on NTH all this time. That is not a bad team! Lykq was on that team!!

We take 2 hardcarry players who played on the best teams in APAC N and give them to YukaF, what a brilliant plan. What do we get? A monstrosity.
Fnatic is a British esports organization. Their team is also pretty good at apex.
Lykq has the 3rd highest k/d in the world, only behind two DZ players, who had the benefit of farming group stages to a truly disgusting degree. He also had the most kills in the tourney, at 72. That's 6 more than genburten, which is crazy considering that DZ broke all records during the group stages.
YukaF is YukaF.
Satuki plays just as well as when he carried NTH, which is to say.. FNC doesn't have a weak link. They could've easily won it all. They almost did.

Reject Winnity - 1st

REJECT WINNITY is a Japanese esports organization. Our tournament winners!
They're another superteam, but unlike FNC which was carefully constructed to be a superteam, they just grew together over time and all became goats together.
Sangjoon really came in with all 100s, and that's despite the 15% NA-buff that i discussed at the start of the last post. This man deals more damage in PL than I do in pubs. He also has the best dmgratio in the world, at 1.64 - For reference, the second best player (RC obly), has a dmgratio of 1.45. That is quite the gap. How does he do it? Peacekeeper-magic, being a human aimbot, he might also just be a savant when it comes to playing around cover. Seriously, if you've never watched him play, you need to check him out for a game or two.
There's only a few players that I would consider for the title of best in the world (EZflash, SangJoon and Genburten), and he's probably the most serious contender. Absolutely insane performance.
On to Obly. His lowest value is 97. Wtf Obly?
KaronPe is a bit behind in damage, but he was on Wattson so that's understandable. Seeing this guy putting down fences, he puts them down faster than RR puts down TSM. My goodness.
I could go on, but I don't think I need to. The stats speak for themselves. Overall, I don't think anyone can argue that these guys didn't deserve the win. What a joy to watch, and I can't wait to see what they do next.

Closing thoughts on APAC N

RJ winning and FNC coming third can give the mistaken impression that APAC N is a strong region. They are not. APAC N is a region with two outstanding superteams, and then... well, what then? There are 6 players over PV80 in the region, all of which are shared between RJ and FNC. 4rufa is close, but that's it. Who else is there?
Taida, who has struggled for quite some time. MiaK, who looked good during the Split, but has seemingly lost his touch, at least during this LAN. Meltstera? Looking good, but again, doesn't have the teammates to back him up and has stepped down from his team. There are some obscure players like Raygh and Kuroton who didn't make LAN but had the highest UR values in the world for split1 - there's probably something there, but there's a fair chance that they'll simply go unnoticed. The PVX players have all been looking pretty bad recently. CR seems to have found their limits as well. Jusna is a demon if he wants to be, but where was he this LAN? Or at champs? Or at Playoffs2? There are a few other stragglers, players like UmichanLoveti that didn't look too great recently, but at least have a history of great play if you look further back.
Looking at APAC S, I can easily see the potential for 3-4 additional top tier teams that could be formed rather easily by switching out just a single player. In APAC N, I can barely see one additional team, maybe two at most. It seems like the talent just got insanely concentrated and now the rest of the region is struggling to keep up. While it is great to see APAC N on top, the performance of the rest of the region does not give me much confidence for the future. What I'd like to see from them is at least one more team that can reliably get close to the top10 at LAN, but I'm not sure if that's in the cards.
Final Stats

• Average PV: 44.7
• Average PV diff: -1.3

showing that APAC N performed basically as expected, but still poorly overall. Of the 4 regions, these are the second lowest averages. APAC S isn't too far behind them. If the top2 teams are removed as outliers, that average drops to 28.4 for APAC N, for APAC S it only drops to 37.9. If you are a fan of APAC N, those numbers should scare you. They scare me.
correlations Split1 to LAN:

• Dmgratio 0.71
• Dmg 0.83
• KD 0.83
• PV 0.89 (!!!)
• UR 0.57

The correlations are frankly insane. APAC N was the most predictable region by far. 0.89 means that the values are almost perfectly correlated, which seems unbelievable but I guess when the model works it REALLY works.
Highest PV players

• RC obly 97.2
• RC SangJoon 97.1
• FNC Lykq 96.0
• FNC YukaF 93.0
• FNC satuki 89.7

Highest UR players (hardest carry)

• KN 4rufa 48.9
• RID Meltstera 32.1
• NTH Taida 24.6
• RR Datch 19.0
• CR Jusna 16.7

Most improved players

• KN 4rufa 26.6
• FNC Lykq 17.1
• RID Yukio 16.1
• RR Tikochan 15.9
• CR Dogma 11.9

And that's it for APAC N - EMEA is up next.
Note: There were two errors with the data before, which is why this post took so long to get out - I was waiting for the data to get fixed before posting.
1) The site that I use for my data (shoutout to https://apexlegendsstatus.com/ ) pulls all the data directly from the tournament, and apparently their API had some sort of buffering issue for one single game, which is why game 3 of the finals was just missing from the data. The team that has been most affected by this was LG (especially Fuhhnq who had a gazillion kills that game), since that particular game was the best game they had all tournament. Luckily, none of the most affected teams were APAC S, so nothing much changed there, and the APAC S post is still pretty accurate.
2) Zone damage was bugged and was counted in dmg received, which should've not been the case. This means that the dmgratio value too low for every player. Since I only use relative values for the PV, and everyone was affected the same way, this ended up not mattering too much, except for a few outliers. Luckily (again), there weren't any weird zone outlier teams for APAC S, so again this ended up not mattering much for the last post. The team was affected the most was Aurora, who got buffed a little bit because they practically live in zone, so now their dmgratios are a bit better.
Overall, changes of +/-2 PV were typical, so it's not a lot. The overall picture remains unchanged despite these errors, so I will not go back and edit the post.
The most important change is that Gnaske is no longer the #1 most improved player, I think he got fried a bit too hard in the missing game 3. Also, o7 only took very little damage to zone, which further nerfed them and is related to something very funny I'll talk about in the next post. Sorry Gnaske!
The most improved player is now HRZ Bastiaan0Z from APAC S, who was a close 2nd before and just barely overtook Gnaske.