Round 1: Necroxus (0-0-0-0)
Cutoff: 6-1-0-0 (7.8rg)
This file is amazingly fun. I was a tiny bit worried about the ending, since there are some tricky patterns there, but luckily I was able to lock down the AAA after a couple of attempts.
Favorite file release of this round: The End of Dreams

Round 2: Parallel Skydive (0-0-0-0)
Cutoff: 5-1-1-1 (9.4rg)
Really love the vibe of this song, the piano is so nice. Warmup was kinda mehhh today, so I was pretty surprised to pick up the AAA on the first attempt. Definitely lucky from the standpoint that I think mindblocks would set in on this file pretty quickly.
Favorite file release of this round: tossup between Illumination Reel and Angel's Salad

Round 3: Dancecore Moldovenesc (1-0-1-0)
Cutoff: 8-1-0-3 (10.4rg)
This is yet another fantastic file. I had some slight hesitations on how scoring would go for this file, both because some of the bursts are tricky and also because there are definitely some people in D6 who can crush this sort of file. Picked up a 1-0-1-0 on my 3rd attempt and then saw my scores start to move in the wrong direction on subsequent attempts... so in the event that I can't improve this score again, I'm hopeful 3.4rg is enough to see me through to round 4.
Favorite file releases of this round: Organ Lesson, Dancecore Moldovenesc, [line:zeta] (picking just one file is too hard...)

Round 4: Swamp Thing v2 (7-0-1-1)
Cutoff: 3-0-0-0 (3rg)
I quite enjoy this one, but it quickly became apparent during the round that the cutoff was going to be tight. Grinding this endlessly wasn't appealing to me, since I'd rather come back to and enjoy this file after the OT... so I was okay with going out this round.
Favorite file release of the ronud: Swamp Thing v2

Do you enjoy spying on the other competitors in your division? Fear not! I have compiled all the OT logs I could find to aid you in just this pastime. (I may be missing some, please let me know if there's any I should add.)

D2
DeltaNein

D3
Jetfire300
Black_Shield
megadrive7

D4
Kawaii025
Laplace
InstaKill195


D5
Frostwind47
DDRNSTPMGMX

D6
Lights
MysticChromium
Hakulyte
E-B-E
CammyGoesRawr (Skayles)
QwertyVibin
Zlyice


D7
jh05013
EppuJoloZ
Elite Ninja
Ultimate Mike7
Diamondblaze
ToonE156
Klarion
TheTrueXfish
iironic (WirryWoo)
Novelties
luvkeise

D8
NoobiesAreTheBest
NotSpiralingEnough
ASharpp
UnityBoi

Last year, jh05013 compiled a list of everyone's OT logs. I thought it was a good idea, so I went ahead and made a list of this year's. If there are any I missed, give me a heads up and I'll add them.

D2
sff_writer_dan
diddleysquin
Puzzler64
Black_Shield

D3
:(

D4
Kawaii025
Laplace
Mr.Stepmaniac

D5
katanaeyegaming
Frostwind47
TheFFRPerson
kmay
QwertyVibin

D6
ToonE156
EppuJoloZ
Lights
Zlyice
Evo972
AAAorQUIT
velaachlorine
3lijah
Jonlovesddr
jacobvl39

D7
FlynnMac
jh05013
Ultimate Mike7
Elite Ninja
Deamerai
Novelties
NotSpiralingEnough
Hakulyte
Ghost_Medley
kjwkjw
fishwee

D8
ASharpp
TristanJacob9
Jade5_
fastype

After spending a couple of months agonizingly close to achieving D6 (<20% of a level away), I finally managed to get the last score I needed yesterday. 6-0-1-2 on Grief & Malice, who would have thought?? With the OT starting in just a couple of days, this is really perfect timing -- since I'd already been placed to compete in D6 this year anyway.

Like last year, I'm planning to keep a brief log here of my thoughts each round. Might shadow d5 as well, just out of curiosity how I would have done if I had been placed there.

Round 1: NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A [[BIG SHOT]] (gomotion RMX) (Score: 8-0-2-1, 13rg; cutoff 30.4 rg)
Quite a fun file, but there are some easily mindblockable bursts in this. Struggled a bit on the first day of the round, but after taking a day off any trying it again, I'm now sitting on 8-0-2-1. I think this will likely see me through to r2, so I'll probably leave my score there unless it looks like I'll be in danger.
D5: Walking the Streets of a Former Hell (Score: 1-0-0-0, 1 rg; cutoff: did you even play the song)
Swing file with a scary ass trill in the middle. Sightread the blackflag (51ms in the trill).

Round 2: Janus (Score: 14-0-1-4, 17.2 rg; cutoff 27.2 rg)
I have to be honest -- I really don't care for this file. Nor am I super excited that we've had two jack files back-to-back. Hoping 17.2 rg will see me through to round 3.
D5: GLAZ (Score: AAA; cutoff 36.2 rg)
Really enjoyed this file and picked up the AAA on my first full playthrough. Really jealous that d5 got such a fun file.

Round 3: Micro Media Broth (Score: 9-0-0-2, 9.4 rg; cutoff: 34.4 rg)
My first impression upon seeing this had been picked for this round was that we had received another glut-heavy song. However, this plays infinitely more comfortably than Janus did. My first play was 12-1-3-0, then improved to 9-0-0-2 on my second try, which was very unexpected (but welcome!). I might give this another shot if I happen to have a session with some speed later this week, but otherwise I'm pretty content with my score for now. Really didn't expect to still have a shot in this tournament by round 3.
D5: The Friendly Wolf (Part 1) (Score: 4-0-0-0; cutoff: 17 rg)
This is a little like a slightly tamer Shatterscape. It's pretty easy to mistime notes here and there, so I probably won't grind out a AAA on this.

Round 4: Sapling (Score: 25-0-1-3, 28 rg; cutoff: 22.8)
Oh hey, I'm still in this somehow. Likely to be short lived, because while Skayles made a great file, it is very much not aligned with my skillset. I cut a fair number of goods in my first few plays by fiddling with my settings a bit, though I'm still sitting around 58rg and don't expect any major upscores by the end of the round. I might give my hands a couple of days off to see if that helps things.
Mid-round update: I actually managed to improve my score on this quite a lot, but the cutoff is almost assuredly going to be closer to low 20s compared to my 28. I'm not sure I really want to pressure myself to grind out that kind of score, and I'm satisfied with my OT performance thus far -- so I'm okay with going out this round.
D5: Evanescent (Score: AAA; cutoff: 8.4 rg)
I really love this chart. Good job, Pizza!

Round 5:
Sure enough, I went out at the end of round 4 in 19th place out of 58 competitors. I'm pretty happy with where I ended, to be honest -- being ranked so close to the bottom of the division at the start of the OT didn't inspire me to think I'd get this far. And now it's time to be a piss zombie!
D5: Keep Shredding, Little Man! (Score: 12-1-0-0, 13.8 rg; cutoff: 17 rg)
This file is super fun, d5 has really been getting all the best files. I feel like I have an sdg in me but haven't gotten there yet.

Round 6:
D5: The Everlasting Calamity... [more title here] ...Basis (Score: 15-0-0-2, 15.4 rg)
Probably my favorite file of the tournament so far. I'm glad I managed to set an okay score on this the first day, because I've been struggling a little bit with speed on some of my other sessions this week. There are two days left in the round as I'm typing this and I'm not 100% confident this will remain safe, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I've enjoyed looking the OT thoughts other people have posted, so I thought I'd make my own. This is the first OT I've competed in, and I've been placed into D4 (which contains players roughly between level 65 and 76 this tournament). I was level 75 at the beginning of the tournament, so I'm planning to track my scores on the d5 songs as well to see how I would have stacked up.

Round commentary here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hGeaED2Db3LEqZCcR7EJmKWotE2wqtaB6tYqiXsbKAs/edit?usp=sharing